Chicago artists NE-HI, the jangly four-piece, have teamed up with soul-stirring singer Jamila Woods for a collaboration. The track is a rework of “The Times I’m Not There,” a song off NE-HI’s first album, with all parts rearranged and re-recorded by NE-HI and vocal duties reimagined by Woods. All proceeds from the sale of the single will benefit SocialWorks, a Chicago-based arts empowerment charity co-founded by Chance The Rapper. NE-HI’s James Weir had this to say of the collaboration with Jamila Woods:

“We spent some time this summer reimagining the arrangement and rhythmic approach to “The Times I’m Not There”, a song from our first record. The idea was to explore new melodies and textures to shape around the guitar hook and find a different voice to take the song somewhere else. Jamila Woods, being the amazing vocalist that she is, came on and completely led the song into a new life. After tampering around with the edit for a while, what started as an experiment turned out to be a memorable song and recording process. Shout out to Jamila Woods, Dave Vettraino on production, and Dee Lilly on the keys! This being a project between two Chicago artists, we wanted to give all the proceeds back to young people in the city through the arts empowerment charity, SocialWorks.”

Jamila Woods adds: “I had a great time working on the song with NE-HI, we had never worked together before but I really like their sound and it was fun to collaborate during the process. I think it’s dope that they chose to partner with SocialWorks for the release.”

Also, last Friday marked the release of NE-HI’s new 7-inch, “Rattled and Strange” b/w “Long Time.” They shared the video for “Rattled and Strange” about a month ago. Revisit the smoky pool hall ambiance below and don’t miss them on tour, as November sees the boys supporting Chad VanGaalen and fellow Chicagoans Whitney.

NE-HI TOUR DATES

Wed. Nov. 8 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
Fri. Nov. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern w/ Chad VanGaalen
Sun. Nov. 12 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge w/ Chad VanGaalen
Tue. Nov. 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel w/ Chad VanGaalen
Wed. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite Club w/ Chad VanGaalen
Thu. Nov. 16 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ Chad VanGaalen
Fri. Nov. 17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar w/ Chad VanGaalen
Sat. Nov. 18 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar w/ Chad VanGaalen
Sun. Nov. 19 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive w/ Chad VanGaalen
Tue. Nov. 28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall w/ Whitney
Wed. Nov. 29 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater w/ Whitney
Thu. Nov. 30 – Minneapolis, MIN @ First Avenue w/ Whitney
Fri. Dec. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room w/ Whitney
Sat. Dec. 2 – Davenport. IA @ Raccoon Motel
Sun. Dec. 31 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall w/ Twin Peaks