Surprise! Jenny Lewis and Serengeti have teamed up for a new song just in time for the holidays. Titled “Unblu,” the quiet, downtempo number is out now on Lewis’ Loves Way label and was produced by Lewis and Andrew Broder.
Though it may seem like a strange pairing on the surface, the two have actually been pals for quite a while, and they trace their friendship and how the song came to be in the statement that you can read below:
Jenny met Dave down a long hallway in a former Communist Media Center in East Berlin during the People Festival of 2018. Dave asked Jenny to sing on a song about Tom Selleck passing on the part of Indiana Jones. Can you imagine a world where Tom Selleck is Indiana Jones?
A fast friendship was born as they skulked about, cracking jokes and chatting about their mutual love for boxing.
Jenny threw a show for Dave at Dino’s in East Nashville when they returned from Europe. The bartenders said it was the best show they ever had. Jenny was among the 9 fans that attended and danced their asses off.
To cap the torrid evening, Dave said “J, I need 7 tracks! Just piano or guitar or whatever!” Jenny inquired if one would do?
Then the world shut down and Jenny & Dave hunkered down in Los Angeles & Chicago, respectively. Jenny smoked weed every day and Dave stayed totally sober.
The result is five songs made on Jenny’s iPhone, for Dave. Beats, bass, drums, digital tanpura & topline, sent via text, ripe for Dave’s poetry. To accompany the music, Jenny made videos on her phone during the witching hours, editing while under the covers.
Then Jenny texted the tracks to another People alumnus–Andrew Broder in Minneapolis—who co-produced and mixed the songs, taking them from Garageband phone music to music that gently thumps you. Music to dance around your living room in a Day-Glo bathing suit to. Music to go bananas to while watching the news & Forensic Files on mute.
Thank you for reading this.
Enjoy, Jenny Lewis & Serengeti
P.S. It’s almost Christmas!
Watch the video for the song (directed by Lewis), which features bouncing balls, a hallway, a snowman and Lewis, below.
This is Lewis’ first new song since 2019’s On the Line and its subsequent Black Friday Record Store Release On the iPhone. Serengeti recently participated in our 2020 NFL season preview, which you can check out here.
