NYC-based 2000s x-Island Records innovators Laptop return with “I Don’t Know”, the third single from their forthcoming album “On This Planet” (out spring 2026). Following the viral momentum of their topical, TikTok-fueled singles “Weirder” and “Additional Animals”, the band delivers a sharp back-to-school anthem laced with trademark deadpan wit. Balancing childlike defiance with Orwellian unease, “I Don’t Know” doubles as personal history and protest in these authoritarian times. Both playful and unsettling, it’s another strange dispatch from life on this planet.
Laptop emerged in the early 2000s on Island Records with the cult classic albums “Opening Credits”, “The Old Me vs The New You” and “Don’t Try This at Home” earning praise from NME, The Guardian, and others for its stylized blend of synth-pop, irony, and heartbreak. The cult indie project has seen a proverbial reboot as a father-son duo with Jesse Hartman now joined by his 19-year-old son Charlie Hartman. An extension of a classic band, Laptop’s witty indie-pop is a logical evolution, presenting a cross-generational blend that is part indie-pop, part satire, part family therapy session.
Written years ago by Jesse Hartman and his then four-year-old after Charlie gleefully sabotaged his first standardized test, this song channels the spirit of rebellion, absurdity, and questioning authority. As the chorus shrugs: “I don’t know, I’m just a kid — thinking about silly stuff.” You can even hear 4-year-old Charlie during the intro and outro, as he and dad wrote this crazy song.
“This song has always cracked me up — Charlie was four when we came up with it, after taking an IQ test. We knew he was a child genius (for real), but he failed this test, gleefully answering every question with purposeful wrong answers or a plain “I don’t know”. The song stuck with us all these years because it felt bigger: a child’s joke that is really a protest anthem. And boy, do we need a protest anthem right now. It’s rebellion by accident, which turns out to be the perfect kind,” says Jesse Hartman.
Originally tracked in Valencia, Spain during a chaotic family trip, it was later overdubbed in Nevis, in the Caribbean, before being finalized back home in New York City. Its cinematic cast includes Nevis vocalist Anna Hadeed, whose playful lines spar with Jesse and Charlie; Hartman’s daughter Lulu, standing in for young Charlie with echoes of the song’s origin; and a raw, soulful harmonica turn from Santo Fazio—an actor and longtime Hartman muse, now lending a theatrical edge to Laptop’s sound.
The video, directed by Jesse, was filmed at Bravo Studios in New York. It reimagines a classroom as a surreal stage: Jesse and Charlie at school desks, Korina Deming as the stern teacher (and also choreographer), and Stephanie Koffroth as “Lulu”. Shot against a green screen and punctuated with animated detours (based on the brilliant animation on “Weirder”), toy harmonicas, and absurdist deadpan, the origin story is transformed into a playful, cinematic echo of the song’s fever dream.
Prior to Laptop, Jesse Hartman got his start as a teenage Voidoid with Richard Hell before co-founding the indie rock band Sammy (with Luke Wood, later President of Beats by Dre) and releasing albums on Fire Records and Geffen Records. Known for his dry humor and cinematic aesthetic, Hartman was once described by The Guardian as the master of “insincere sincerity.”
Laptop’s reboot has already amassed millions of streams and views worldwide for “Weirder” (4M+ views), mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, Julian Lennon), and “Additional Animals” (2M+ views) with Britain’s Radio 6 and Radio X also lending strong support.
Laptop recently staged an epic return to New York live performance with a 14-piece band at Sony Hall — their first hometown show in two decades. This Stop Making Sense–like spectacle underscores the scale and ambition of Laptop’s reboot, setting the stage for their October 20 headliner show in London at The Waiting Room with support by Room Service.
As of September 26th, “I Don’t Know” is available on major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The full album “On This Planet” is forthcoming in Spring 2026.
CREDITS
Jesse Hartman – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synths, piano, bass, percussion
Charlie Hartman – vocals
Lulu Hartman – vocals
Anna Heddad – vocals
Geddys “Ch4se” Ferguson – vocals
Mike Desmarais – drums
Lluisen Capafons – drums, congas, additional percussion
Santo Fazio – Harmonica
Matthew Dakoutro – violin, viola, cello
Oliver Freiberg – drum programming
Recorded by Iñaki Ariste Aznar (Valencia), Edward Douglas (NYC), Jesse Hartman (NYC/Nevis)
Mixed by Jesse Hartman, Ray Aldaco, Edward Douglas (Final mix by Hartman & Douglas)
Produced by Jesse Hartman
Mastered by Dave Trumfio
Recorded in Valencia (2022), Nevis (2023), Final overdubs & edits in NYC (2023–2025)
Written by Jesse Hartman (BMI)
Published by Exurbia Music, Inc.
Released by Hurricane Cove Records
Video concept, direction, cinematography & editing by Jesse Hartman
Featuring Charlie Hartman, Jesse Hartman, Korina Deming, Stephanie Koffroth
Filmed at Bravo Studios, NYC
Cover artwork by Jesse Hartman & Scott Ratner
Artist photos by Thomas Krause
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR