The Hardest Part

Palm Tree Island
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Biweekly

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection. Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time. Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

  1. 22h ago

    HP #51: Jamie Webster: "Small Town Life"

    Jamie Webster joins Kieron Banerji on The Hardest Part to break down the writing, meaning and performance of his song “Small Town Life.” Jamie explains how years spent touring through towns across the UK inspired him to write a song celebrating the people, characters and communities that exist beyond the country’s biggest cities, places that might look imperfect from the outside, but mean everything to the people who call them home. Jamie takes us inside his songwriting process, from keeping fragments and ideas in his phone to beginning “Small Town Life” with a musical manifesto: make it anthemic, make the chorus immediate and write something people can sing together. Jamie also discusses how growing up in Liverpool shaped him as both a person and songwriter, the passion and defiance he associates with his hometown, his working-class identity, and why speaking from the heart remains central to his music. This episode also features an intimate live performance of “Small Town Life.” Subscribe for more conversations and exclusive live sessions from The Hardest Part. - 00:00 Jamie Webster on Working-Class Life01:16 The Story Behind ‘Small Town Life’05:20 Turning Where You’re From Into a Strength08:50 Jamie Webster’s Songwriting Process09:36 Building the Perfect Chorus11:12 Finding the Idea for ‘Small Town Life’12:37 Don’t Play the Game, Change It14:38 The Characters That Make a Town15:12 A Wild Small-Town Pub Story18:18 Liverpool, Football and Finding an Audience21:15 How Liverpool Shaped Jamie’s Songwriting24:30 Paddy Pimblett and the Scouse Mentality25:27 Writing About Working-Class Life28:18 The Hardest Part of ‘Small Town Life’33:21 Why Jamie Won’t Comp His Vocals34:06 ‘Small Town Life’ – Full Performance - The Hardest Part dives deep into the most emotionally complex songs ever written. Every two weeks, host Kieron Banerji sits down with artists to unpack the creative process behind their hardest songs—exploring songwriting breakdowns, emotional storytelling, cultural influences, and moments of personal growth. Each episode ends with an intimate, stripped-back performance—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time. Produced by Palm Tree Island, a London-based creative studio known for standout music documentaries and original voices. Kieron Banerji is a seasoned producer and engineer based in London with extensive experience in music, media, and entertainment. He’s worked with Grammy and Academy Award winners, and has recorded sessions with Portugal. The Man, Jason Isbell, Katie Melua, Rae Morris, Jason Mraz, BROODS, Baio (Vampire Weekend), and more. 🎧 Follow the Podcast: https://linktr.ee/thehardestpart - #jamiewebster #musicpodcast #smalltownlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  2. Aug 19

    HP #50: Le Ren: "Die Inside"

    Le Ren almost threw this song away. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up "Die Inside" from her album Don't Be Funny Without Me, a song that was easy to write but hard to sing, about a crush that was never going to be reciprocated, and the strange courage it takes to perform the plain, un-metaphored truth. It's a conversation about honesty in songwriting: why singing it live once made her "feel like a loser," how Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" gave her permission to be vulnerable, why she tests every song live before recording. Guest: Le RenHost: Kieron BanerjiSong: Die InsideCreative: Callum BakerAudio: Max Walker -00:00 "Easy to write, hard to sing"01:51 Writing the truth, not the revenge song03:21 Bonnie Raitt & choosing to be vulnerable04:55 The hard part: making it public05:42 Why she tests every song live first08:09 "Long hair's better": brutal honesty10:05 How she actually writes12:51 Her heroes: Prine and Dolly18:20 Inside "Die Inside": the story arc20:03 Live Session: Die Inside- The Hardest Part dives deep into the most emotionally complex songs ever written. Every two weeks, host Kieron Banerji sits down with artists to unpack the creative process behind their hardest songs—exploring songwriting breakdowns, emotional storytelling, cultural influences, and moments of personal growth. Each episode ends with an intimate, stripped-back performance—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time. Produced by Palm Tree Island, a London-based creative studio. Kieron Banerji is a seasoned producer and engineer based in London with extensive experience in music, media, and entertainment. He’s worked with Grammy and Academy Award winners, and has recorded sessions with Portugal. The Man, Jason Isbell, Katie Melua, Rae Morris, Jason Mraz, BROODS, Baio (Vampire Weekend), and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  3. Aug 11

    HP #49: Rosa Walton: "Halfway Round The World"

    Rosa Walton spent over 18 months getting one song right. On this episode of The Hardest Part, Rosa opens up "Halfway Around the World" from her album Tell Me It's a Dream, her first attempt at a "straight-down-the-line" love song, and the hardest lyrics she's ever had to write. It's a conversation about craft: why literal songwriting scares her more than abstract imagery, how she knows the moment a lyric is finally right, why she refuses to explain what her songs are about ("it takes away the magic"), and the new ending she wrote just the day before this stripped-back session. Rosa performs "Halfway Around the World" live and stripped back for the show at the end of the episode. - Guest: Rosa WaltonHost: Kieron BanerjiSong: Halfway Around The WorldAlbum: Tell Me It's a DreamCreative: Callum Baker - 00:00 Intro01:43 Why "Halfway Around the World" was the hardest02:22 18 months to get the lyrics right03:33 Her first "straight-down-the-line" love song04:48 A song that works on one instrument06:06 What the song is really about09:48 How she knows when a lyric is right13:00 Why she won't explain her lyrics16:51 The new ending she wrote for this session18:09 A song as something that lasts forever - The Hardest Part is a podcast and live-session series where artists open up the one song that cost them the most, the story behind it, and a stripped-back performance. Hosted by Kieron Banerji. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  4. Aug 5

    HP #48: Tenderness: "Playing Country Roads"

    Tenderness didn't find "Playing Country Roads" hard to write, she found it almost impossible to hold. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up the closing song from her album: written on her late father Ivor's guitar, built on a voice memo she couldn't bring herself to re-record, and carrying two griefs at once. It's a conversation about turning loss into art without letting the performance swallow the feeling — the "healthy middle place" every songwriter has to find. Along the way: the hidden thread of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (via the Mountain Man version), the ELO "Mr Blue Sky" memory from just before her dad's funeral, and why she refuses to change the line "it's been three months since the funeral," even six years on. Tenderness performs "Playing Country Roads" live and stripped back in full at the end of the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  5. Jun 26

    HP #47: Julia Cumming on the Song That Scared Her to Write

    In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming to discuss “Please Let Me Remember This,” one of the most personal songs from her debut solo album Julia.  What began as an attempt to write about the smallest possible moment gradually became something much bigger. Julia describes songwriting as visiting her subconscious, placing a cup into a flowing river, and seeing what comes back. But while writing this song, she found herself confronting thoughts she wasn’t ready to face.  As the writing process intensified, so did the pressure. Weeks of obsessive thinking, creative paralysis, and mounting anxiety eventually culminated in a moment that changed everything. The experience led Julia to seek help, receive an OCD diagnosis, and better understand what had been happening beneath the surface for years.  Rather than abandoning the song, she returned to it months later with a new perspective. The result became not only one of the defining songs on the record, but a reminder that sometimes the hardest songs reveal something we weren’t ready to know about ourselves.  Guest: Julia Cumming Host: Kieron Banerji Creative Team: Callum Baker With thanks to Emily Connick at Toast Press and Crista Simiriglia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  6. Jun 12

    HP #46: Ava Joe on Songwriting and Nostalgia.

    In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of “Am I a Dreamer”, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia.   Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight.   This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how “Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we’ll miss before they’ve even ended.   Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them. Guest: Ava JoeHost: Kieron Banerji Mix Engineer: Max WalkerRecording Engineer: Giovani AlimonteCreative: Callum Baker - 00:00 Intro00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment05:25 The memories behind the song07:10 Why time is her biggest fear08:40 Building a song from emotion10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George11:00 Finding the right collaborators12:30 The writers who ask the right questions14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity18:20 How listeners hear the song differently19:50 Full session See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  7. Jun 5

    HP #45: Metric on the Song That Defined the Album

    In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of “Victim of Luck”, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn’t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right. Emily and Jimmy Shaw tell Kieron how the song was intended to introduce the entire record, setting the tone for everything that followed. But as the album evolved, so did the song. Lyrics changed, arrangements changed, production choices came and went, and even the title itself didn’t arrive until the rest of the album was complete. At the center of the track is a deeply personal realization. What began as a fictional story about a band’s rise gradually became something much more direct: a reflection on success, anxiety, self-criticism, and the strange feeling of becoming a “victim of luck.”  This episode also features an exclusive stripped back acoustic version of the track recorded for the show.  Guests: Metric Song: Victim of Luck Host: Kieron Banerji Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte Produced by: Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  8. May 31

    #HP 44: Will White of The Maccabees on Writing Through Discomfort

    In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Will White to break down the making of “6:30 AM”, a song that became the catalyst for everything that followed. Unlike most of his work, the song stayed with him for years. That alone was unusual. Will describes a songwriting process where songs either arrive fully formed or disappear entirely. He rarely revisits unfinished ideas, yet somehow “6:30 AM” refused to go away.  Kieron and Will explore discomfort as a creative tool, the mystery of songwriting, and why some songs seem to know more about your future than you do. Will also talks about how the meaning of “6:30 AM” has evolved over time, from imagining someone still awake after a long night to experiencing the same hour as a parent waking up to a completely different life.  Guests: Will White Song: 6:30 AM Host: Kieron Banerji Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte Produced by: Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection. Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time. Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

Information

  • Creator
    Palm Tree Island
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Palm Tree Island
  • Show Website
    The Hardest Part