American Idol alum Blake Lewis joins forces with electronic music drummer and producer KJ Sawka to form The Private Language, a new project that combines cutting edge electropop, indie dance and future funk.
On the heels of their debut single, a cover of Tears For Fears 80s smash “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” the duo returns with the carefree summer stylings of “Cali Girls,” released via Blackhole Records.
The season 6 runner up shares what inspired the song: ‘The initial idea was to write an updated version of The Beach Boys “California Girls.” That never happened, but during the writing session I kept thinking of this amazing woman I met in Berlin. We walked the streets for hours, had some Mezcal, deep conversations and a friendship blossomed. While writing, my brain just kept going back to that moment. ‘Catching flights for your love life, there ain’t nothing in the world like California girls’ Sometimes the lyrics just come together organically and you can’t fight it. That’s what happened that day writing with KJ & Jacob Luttrell. I love this song, it’s fun and I can’t wait to sing it loud!”
Sawka adds that “Blake brought in a demo with some chopped-up vocal samples, a rough bassline, and a guitar and I loved it, so we immediately started working on it. I did what I normally do; attack the beats, the groove, and sound design the chords, leads, and fill sounds.”
Watch the “Cali Girls” music video, wait for the cameos
Check out the music video. Don’t stop watching! The end features cameos, including fellow season 6 alum Brandon Rogers, season 10 singer Casey Abrams.
Blake and Sawka met amid the Seattle hip hop and rave scene, becoming friends and fellow musical travelers. Blake rose to fame as one of the most distinctive and memorable finalists on American Idol, featuring his impressive arranging ability, beatboxing and scat-singing.
Sawka has been playing drums and producing for over 28 years, working with artists such as Illenium, BT, Amon Tobin, Andy Summers of the Police and dubstep supergroup Destroid. He is most known as the drummer for drum n’ bass legends Pendulum.
Blake recently celebrated his 40th birthday
Blake recently celebrated his 4oth birthday, and wrote on Instagram: “On this day I’ve made it one more lap around the sun. I signed to @blackholerecordings with my new band @theprivatelanguage, have a new home to create music in, my dog still thinks I’m the greatest & I’m starting to book shows again. Birthday celebrations with friends and family are about to go down and I couldn’t be happier. Plus, I have YOU!”
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