When a meeting of musical minds turns into magic, there's always an element of mystery. It was on tour back around 2008 when Eric Rachmany, Rebelution's vocalist/guitarist, met Amp Live, the renowned producer, DJ, and remixer (then of the hip hop duo Zion I). Something about their personalities and musical sensibilities clicked creatively. Out of that mystery, Unified Highway was born.

The collaboration was natural from the start. Amp recalls grabbing the very first guitar riff Eric twanged off in the studio and building it into a song. Eric, in turn, incorporated into Rebelution's live stage act a guitar manipulation Amp Live had crafted in a studio remix. The partnership only accelerated from there.

While continuing to tour their own projects, they found time to join forces in the studio long enough to record the self-titled debut Unified Highway album, released in 2016. The sound grew out of Eric's and Amp's different musical backgrounds. Eric calls it a unification of differences, a sound without a lot of boundaries. Amp pictures two separate cars going in the same direction on a – unified, of course – highway.

The goal, in Eric's words, "is to just write and record with people that you feel open with and completely free, because in my experience that's just when you make the best music."

The duo's sophomore album, Headlines  dropped in April 2020, just as the COVID lockdowns were getting underway. Touring and personal appearances were out of bounds, but the timing of the release was perfect in another way – as Amp puts it, "We made the songs way before COVID, but some of the songs applied to some of the sentiment everybody was feeling at the time – the universe came together, and it came out at the right time."

We're all feeling that. So Unified Highway isn't trying to hit a certain demographic. Amp says, "I want people to be vibed out and moving and dancing – but also to think." And don't count out the fun factor – Eric jumps in with "We're just trying to make music that people like – and that we want to listen to in our car!"

The two new singles, collaborations with Rebelution, are perfect examples. “Pay No Mind” is about staying the course, ignoring the haters who want to bring you down or judge you for your lifestyle. "Taking My Time" captures being completely zen and not caring about how people look at you: "I closed my eyes so I could see / Pretty pictures in front of me / I'm exactly where I need to be."