Mayer Hawthorne & The County have just released a music video for “A Long Time”, the first single off their upcoming sophomore album, How Do You Do. The album is set to drop Oct. 11th and is already on the breath of soul fans across the world. The music video is based on the 1980s Detroit cable access program, “The New Dance Show”. Hosted by R.J. Watkins, the show featured local dancers getting down to the hits of the day. Apparently, Andrew “Mayer Hawthorne” Cohen was a big fan of the show when he was younger as it was on every day when Cohen got home from school. Director Henry Demaio sharply nailed the 1980s low-budget film techniques used in the original show; the clothes and dance moves are unsettlingly period-appropriate. Check the video below, check the “A Long Time” Chromeo remix here, and if you’re wondering “Who the hell is Mayer Hawthorne?”

Andrew “Mayer Hawthorne” Cohen burst onto the L.A. music scene in late 2008 with his debut single “Just Aint Gonna Work Out”. The single, released by Cohen’s label Stones Throw Records, immediately caught the attention of young and old soul fans everywhere for its long forgotten style and structure. While most modern attempts at soul re-creation blend elements of current music with older songwriting, Cohen’s style is decidedly loyal right down to the recording and mixing methods. The incorporation of J-Dilla-esque drum patterns only serves to illuminate the strong link between 1950s soul and 1990s hip-hop. Where neo-soul artists would contrast, Cohen compared for similarity.

After assembling a backing band in 2009, Cohen released his debut album A Strange Arrangement. The album garnered critical praise across the spectrum; nods from Rolling Stone and Beyond The Race Magazine made the album an assured success beyond Cohen’s most liberal expectations. It turns out that Cohen, long time hip-hop DJ and producer, had never planned for his soul songs to end up anywhere except the hands of his family and friends. Cohen’s father has long been a Detroit musician, and Cohen simply wished to make songs for him to appreciate. Nobody could have predicted the instant success that Mayer Hawthorne & The County would gain by releasing A Strange Arrangement.

Cohen was soon showered with accolades from music magazines, outlets, and blogs across the world, including being the Starbucks iTunes pick of the week. Famous fans quickly began to come out of the woodwork. John Mayer invited Mayer Hawthorne & The County to be the opening act at his New Years Eve show and declared A Strange Arrangement the “Album of the Year” on Twitter. Snoop Dogg commissioned Cohen to create a soul remix of his hit song “Gangsta Love” and included A Strange Arrangement on his Celebrity Top 5 Albums list on iTunes. Kanye West and Spike Jonze used ”When I Said Goodbye” in their short film, We Were Once A Fairytale. The Cool Kids invited Cohen to appear on their 2011 LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles.

Mayer Hawthorne & The County have toured extensively throughout the past three years, even making stops in Australia and Europe. They’ve played SXSW, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza 2011 earlier this month. They’ve also been busy in the studio preparing their new album, How Do You Do.

Now, with the critical success of A Strange Arrangement on their heels and a new home at Universal Republic Records, Mayer Hawthorne & His County look to double up on Oct. 11th with How Do You Do. It has been reported that Snoop Dogg will be on the album, so stay tuned to this site for the track listing when it drops!