Two members of The Social Experiment have joined forces for a new, separate project. On April 12th, trumpeter Nico Segal (fka Donnie Trumpet) and producer Nate Fox will release a collaboration called Intellexual.
Hard details are still a bit fuzzy, but an early trailer for the project suggests Segal and Fox called on a long list of friends and colleagues, many from their hometown of Chicago. Among the special guests are: Francis Starlite of Francis and the Lights, Chuck Inglish, Raury, Ric Wilson, and fellow Social Experimenter Peter Cottontale. Segal’s former band, Kids These Days, which featured Vic Mensa, also appears to be involved, as SPIN notes.
Segal and Fox participated in a reddit AMA Friday afternoon to divulge a few more tidbits about the forthcoming Intellexual. “The making of ‘Pass The Vibes’ for the Donnie Trumpet ＆ The Social Experiment project Surf inspired us to create something timeless and new,” the AMA’s introduction explained. “We’ve spent the last 2 years developing it and now we’re proud to start sharing our work.”
When asked to describe the new project, Segal noted that Intellexual “has a strong anchor in folk music and draws inspiration from a lot of classic singer songwriters like Paul Simon and Prince as well as the great songwriters of today like Benny Sings, Frank Ocean, and Francis and the Lights.” Segal and Fox notably worked with Simon back in 2016.
Elsewhere in the AMA, Segal gave an abridged version of how he and the Francis and the Lights mastermind first met. “The Francis story is really more of an odyssey. a tale of destiny really,” the trumpet player said. “I’ll tell it more in detail in the near future, but for now ill say… we met at a low, only to bring each other to the highest highs.”
Watch the Intellexual trailer below. Find the full AMA here.
In addition to Chance the Rapper, Segal and Fox have spent time in the studio with Neil Young, Joey Purp, J. Cole, DRAM, and Kehlani, among others. Segal most recently contributed to Jamila Woods’ upcoming record, LEGACY! LEGACY!.
