Amanda Seyfried & Daniel Blumberg – “Clothed By The Sun”

Amanda Seyfried can sing. That's not her main occupation. She's a movie star. But Seyfried's movie stardom has offered her a few opportunities to show what she can do musically. She was in Mamma Mia, so that's a big one. As a guest on The Tonight Show earlier this year, she brought out a dulcimer and sang an instantly legendary cover of Joni Mitchell's "California." Seyfried, who celebrates her 40th birthday today, plays the lead in The Testament Of Ann Lee, director Mona Fastvold's new musical drama about the real-life founder of the Shakers, the religious sect. On the soundtrack, she's got a duet with the guy from Yuck, and we get to hear it today.

OK, fine: Daniel Blumberg is not the guy from Yuck anymore. Blumberg did once lead Yuck, the great old-school indie rock band from the UK. He has since moved on to bigger things. Last year, Blumberg composed the stirring score for Brady Corbet's The Brutalist, and he won an Oscar for it. He could conceivably get another one for scoring The Testament Of Ann Lee, another collaboration with the same team. (Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold co-wrote both The Brutalist and The Testament Of Ann Lee.)

Blumberg rearranged a bunch of old Shaker hymns for The Testament Of Ann Lee. He also wrote three original songs, one of which is "Clothed By The Sun," his new duet with Amanda Seyfried. Blumberg sings lead on most of the track, but it doesn't sound anything like Yuck. Instead, it's a stark, somber, pretty piece of music. In a press release, Blumberg says:

When I write songs, usually the best ones happen very quickly and naturally. With "Clothed By The Sun," I plugged in my electric guitar, and it all came out in one piece. I think that was possible because the whole world of the film and Ann Lee’s story was in my bones after having been so submerged in the project for over a year. I was missing my brother who lives far away from me, and found Ann Lee’s relationship with William [her brother] quite moving, so I started with that line about her brother’s love.

Amanda did the vocals the next day from a studio in New York. It was originally written as a solo for her to sing, but it ended up being a duet, mostly because Mona liked the new atmosphere that leaves us with at the end of the film. It has a more contemporary feeling to the song, which felt appropriate with the cards on the film explaining where the Shakers are today. Amanda and I would sing a lot together during the recording sessions for the film, so it’s nice to have a recording of us singing together finally and also an excuse to do some live concerts.

Check it out below.

Speaking of live shows, Daniel Blumberg and Amanda Seyfried performed "Clothed By The Sun" together at London's Café OTO in October.

Also, Amanda Seyfried returned to The Tonight Show last night, and she talked about the aftermath of her Joni Mitchell cover, including approval from Mitchell herself.

The Testament Of Ann Lee opens in select theaters on Christmas, and it'll get a wider release in January.