Dungeonesse is a collaboration between writer/producer Jon Ehrens (White Life, Art Department) and singer Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes). Born of a mutual admiration for Top 40 and R&B and the mechanics of what makes a hit song, the duo and longtime friends began putting jams together remotely. Ehrens would send tracks from LA to Wasner on tour, and they’d bounce ideas back and forth. Part party machine programming, and part homage to the great tradition of R&B vocals, the songs of Dungeonesse retain an experimental and playful inner beauty while leading the charge to a dance floor of abundantly inclusive and carefree spirits.
Says Wasner, “Something that Jon and I talk about a lot is the idea of reclaiming pop music; placing it squarely in the hands of, I dunno, say a couple of regular nerds from Baltimore.”
Ehrens adds, “I think we both knew that even if we intended to make something that was a straight ahead, radio-ready hit, it would come out sounding a little different because of both of our musical backgrounds in which the music we made did not have this intention.”
The charming strength of Dungeonesse rests in the dichotomy formed by of a bold re-introduction of the beautiful imperfections of the human voice into a landscape of what is an increasingly mechanized process of music making. The fun resides in the listen.
As a first taste of great things to come, Secretly Canadian is proud to announce “Drive You Crazy,” the first single from Dungeonesse.
