Meet Our Makers Meet OurMakers

In this chat, we get to meet Iron & Wine - aka: singer/songwriter/guitarist, and general indie folk icon, Sam Beam. Sam has just recently put out a brand new Iron & Wine record entitled Light Verse, so we do spend a good amount of time discussing this album. We touch on its themes of loss and acceptance, the time it took to make, and the collaborators he had on it - including none other than the legendary Fiona Apple. We also look back on his seminal 2nd record, Our Endless Numbered Days, which turned 20 this year. We talk about creative ruts, file sharing and leaked music, and do some light myth-busting about his debut album. I also get personal and tell Sam just how much his music has meant to me, and how integral its been to my development especially as a musician myself, over the year. It's a lovely, jovial conversation, and one I will go cross off the bucket-list now. Thank you for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet claire rousay. claire is best known as an ambient composer, crafting soundscapes with keys, found sounds, drone, and other experimental elements. But in this chat, she and I talk quite a bit about her brand new album sentiment, which is out now on Thrill Jockey, which includes much more singer-songwriter style material. Now, it's still a claire rousay record, and we discuss how she tried to keep a hold on her experimental spirit despite having more lyric- and guitar-focused songs than ever before, including her choice to produce all the vocals on the album with a sort of robotic autotune effect. We also talk about inspirations, how emo and folk music impacted her as a music listener and creator, live performance, and more. It's a very candid, down to earth, and occasionally lovably self-deprecating chat with one of our most intriguing voices in current-day experiment pop music, and I think you'll enjoy. Thanks for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet Julia Holter. Julia is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and composer extraordinaire, who just put out a wondrous new record, Something in the Room She Moves. In this chat, Julia talk a lot about this new album, including the production, the songwriting, the stories, and the risks of these songs. We talk titles, the Beatles, performance, as well as her work in film scoring (such as her score for Never Rarely Sometimes Always), and more. It's a lovely chat with one of our best artists. Thanks for listening.

In this episode, we get to meet El Perro Del Mar, AKA: Swedish singer, songwriter, musician, producer Sarah Assbring. In this chat, Sarah and I talk at length about her newest full-length EPDM record, Big Anonymous, out now on City Slang. It's been a while since the last one, and we had a lot to talk about. We talk about the dark and emotional (and very personal) themes on Big Anonymous, the ways in which her sound has (and hasn't) shifted over the years, her lyrical technique, and the ways in which this album was more therapeutic than she ever thought it'd be. We also touch on the peculiar but fitting choice to include a Burt Bacharach cover on this album, as well as how she wrestles with being a contrarian in a world of immediacy and people pleasers. Thank you for listening.

In this episode, we get to meet Bonnie "Prince" Billy - aka Will Oldham. Will has had a great year in music, putting out one of his best records yet with Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (by some counts his 21st record!) back in August. In this chat, Will and I discuss that album at length, including some of what went into and inspired it. We talk about his long history of selecting perfect singing partners and musical collaborators, and how important singing and voices are to him, and how much we have left to learn from older musicians. We also touch on his old material with Palace Brothers, his intermittent acting career (which was his original career aspiration), and the longlasting magic and legacy of his most famous song "I See a Darkness". It was a warm and rambling talk, like hanging with an old pal, and I think you'll enjoy it. Thank you for listening.

In this chat, we get to meet singer-songwriter Jess Williamson. Jess put out her most recent album, Time Ain't Accidental, back in June. (It also happens to be her most acclaimed record yet.) And in this chat, we get to be a bit reflective as opposed to anticipatory. We talk about what the songs mean to her now in the wake vs. the lead-up, and how proud she is of this album. We talk about how her year has gone since then, including touring and the general reaction to these personal songs. We discuss vulnerability and specificity in songwriting, rediscovering her love of her native Texas, and embracing imperfections (and her natural voice) in the studio. She also had a dream about Adrianne Lenker, so, there's that! It was a super fun talk, circuitous in the best way, and I think you'll enjoy it. Thank you for listening.