You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here ... But It Helps

Charlie Grant and Jonatan Bäckelie
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  • TWICE MONTHLY

Two professional songwriters, trying to stay sane in the sometimes crazy world of the music business. The show touches on how to take care of your mental health, navigating being a creative with being a parent, tips and tricks about how to keep writing good songs, have co-writing works (and why it sometimes breaks down) and much more.

Episodes

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    The Songwriting Mum - Jessica Greenfield interview (Part Two)

    Welcome to episode 8 – featuring part two of Charlie's chat with Jessica Greenfield of Wonder 45, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and The Kondoors. Lots of interesting stuff came up: identity crises, the blessing/curse factor of having a creative brain, and the ways women in the music industry have to deal with crazy amounts of BS... all this and much more. Jonatan and Charlie also circle back to how Jonatan is feeling about his new album "3 på svenska" now that it’s out in the world. We also put together another ditty for you, called Hot Mess. As always, we’re pretty excited about it!

    1h 8m

  2. 7 JUL

    The Amazing, Horrible Roller Coaster That Never Ends - Jessica Greenfield Interview (Part One)

    Welcome back! We have a treat for you this time. Charlie recorded an interview for the podcast with a singer, songwriter, and artist he’s known and admired for a long time - the vocal force of nature that is Jessica Greenfield of The Kondoors, Wonder 45, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. It’s a deep chat covering the highs and lows of a life in music, the additional layers of b******t that women have to deal with, and the challenges of being a creative parent whose work involves touring the world. (We covered so much ground that we decided to make it a two-parter.) Jonathan and I have also created another song starter that we’re really excited about. It’s called “Domino,” and it’s definitely a vibe. Enjoy!

    51 min

  3. 4 JUN

    The Songwriting Dad

    Welcome to episode 6 - The Songwriting Dad. This time we kick off with some essential chat about our shared love of high end crisps, then get into the real stuff - what it’s like trying to be a present, hands-on dad while keeping the creative life and music career going. The highs, the struggles, and how maybe it can even make us better versions of ourselves. We also collaborated on a new song idea that started with one of Charlie’s riffs. (working title Totally Toto) Jonatan took it and ran with it and honestly, we think it could turn into something pretty special. Next episode: part one of our interview with Jessica Greenfield from Wonder 45 and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Don’t miss it!

    1h 3m

  4. 19 MAY

    I Don’t Get the Beatles — Please Explain?!

    In this episode we talk about Jonatan’s status as a person who is immune to the charms of The Beatles, who are Charlie’s favourite band of all time. We also discuss the craziness of deciphering briefs from record companies and Charlie’s recent experience of running a songwriting camp in Berlin, and what we love about attending camps as a writer. And we bring you a fresh song starter ditty based on a guitar idea of Charlie's. Enjoy!

    52 min

  5. 5 MAY

    Albums and Anxieties.

    We’re back! In this episode we take a deep dive into the highs and lows of making and releasing an album as an independent artist. Timely stuff, since Jonatan just dropped his latest collection, ”3 på svenska.”  We talk about how to find joy in self promotion (spoiler alert - it’s a nightmare) and how we can define success on our own terms.  Charlie shares a tale from his early days as a pro songwriter, riding the mechanical bull of excitement and disappointment while trying to master the fine art of letting go. Check out Jonatan's new album "3 på svenska" https://open.spotify.com/album/6yz0PQwE2tY21qlHfEFbIV?si=u4SzmqjNS3-w1umQn5BNKg

    49 min

  6. 17 MAR

    I Don't Get Dance Music...Please Explain!?

    In this episode Charlie outs himself as a dance music ignoramus and seeks help/advice/forgiveness from Jonatan. We talk about the days where music fandom was way more tribal than it is now, back when our identities and music tastes were intertwined. All this and more plus a snippet of ”Andrahand” - a stone cold banger from Jonatan's forthcoming album.

    56 min

  7. 24 FEB

    The Slump

    Welcome to episode two of You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here, But it Helps! Ever have those moments where the bottom crashes out of your confidence? yup, us too. Charlie and Jonatan do a deep dive into those times where you have a major wobble as a creative, as well as exploring changes in our attitudes to how to approach a songwriting session. We take a look back on former versions of ourselves and how we’ve changed along the way as songwriters and as humans. All this and more plus another spontaneous song starter ditty. Leave a comment and give us a follow! Here's some songs we've made: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747 Find us on Instagram: Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/ Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/ Our artist projects: Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g Artwork by Martin Kelly. All music by Charlie and Jonatan.

    52 min

  8. 17 FEB

    You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here... But It Helps.

    Welcome to the first ever episode of "You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here... But It Helps". We’re delving into things that affect us as full time creatives, how to hack creativity and productivity, what a great day in the studio feels like, and how to be OK with the very real possibility that most of our songs will end up gathering dust in a dropbox folder. We talk about different ways of approaching songwriting that have worked for us and helped to bust our brains out of bad habits, and as mental health is a big topic for the podcast we do a round of: What brings you joy and drives you mad - real talk about the roller coaster ride that is a life in music! Here's some songs we've made: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747 Find us on Instagram: Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/ Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/ Our artist projects: Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g Artwork by Martin Kelly. All music by Charlie and Jonatan.

    1h 11m
  • 8 Episodes

About

Two professional songwriters, trying to stay sane in the sometimes crazy world of the music business. The show touches on how to take care of your mental health, navigating being a creative with being a parent, tips and tricks about how to keep writing good songs, have co-writing works (and why it sometimes breaks down) and much more.

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