Classic albums, told by the people who made them.
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The Making of THEY WANT MY SOUL by Spoon - featuring Britt Daniel, Jim Eno and Alex Fischel
1:25:36
1:25:36
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For the 10th anniversary of Spoon’s 8th full-length album, They Want My Soul, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Spoon concluded their remarkable run of records in the early 2000s with 2010’s Transference, they took a much needed break. During this time, Britt Daniel formed Divine Fits with Dan Boeckner, while Jim Eno produced record…
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The Making of DIARY by Sunny Day Real Estate - feat. Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner and William Goldsmith
1:29:59
1:29:59
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For the 30th anniversary of Sunny Day Real Estate’s iconic debut album, DIARY, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Dan Hoerner and Nate Mendel began playing music together in Seattle in 1992, they asked William Goldsmith to join on drums, despite the fact that he was already playing in three other bands at the time. When Mendel went o…
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The Making of THE RUNNERS FOUR by Deerhoof - feat. Greg Saunier, Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich and Chris Cohen
2:06:11
2:06:11
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For the past three decades, Deerhoof have been one of the most consistently inventive rock bands around. Their seventh album, The Runners Four, remains a fascinating result of a band obsessively recording themselves in their practice space for many months. After Deerhoof first began as a solo harmonica project by Rob Fisk, drummer Greg Saunier join…
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The Making of I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT - feat. Richard Thompson and Linda Thompson
1:19:57
1:19:57
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For the 50th anniversary of Richard and Linda Thompson’s first album as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Richard helped pioneer British folk rock in the late 1960s with Fairport Convention, he was feeling burnt out and decided to leave the band to focus on writing. In 1972, he married…
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The Making of VENEER - featuring José González
1:14:54
1:14:54
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For the 20th anniversary of the debut album by José González, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After getting his start playing in hardcore bands in Gothenburg, Sweden in the 1990s, José González began studying biochemistry at the University of Gothenburg. While he was a student, he continued playing in multiple bands while recording his …
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The Making of OUT OF STEP by Minor Threat - featuring Ian MacKaye
1:32:07
1:32:07
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In celebration of the recently unearthed Out of Step Outtakes, we take a detailed look at the making of the original record. After Minor Threat formed in Washington D.C. in 1980, they began to find an audience in the American punk scene. Their first two seven-inch records contained songs written by Ian MacKaye, such as “Straight Edge” and “Out of S…
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The Making of I SEE A DARKNESS by Bonnie "Prince" Billy - featuring Will Oldham
1:38:06
1:38:06
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For the 25th anniversary of the first Bonnie “Prince” Billy album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Will Oldham grew up studying acting but decided to pursue music while he was attending Brown University. In 1992, he released his first single with Drag City under the name Palace Brothers. A series of albums followed under several variati…
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The Making of SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF by Mudhoney - featuring Mark Arm and Steve Turner
1:00:35
1:00:35
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For the 35th anniversary of Mudhoney’s first 12-inch record, SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Mark Arm met Steve Turner at a show in Seattle, they became fast friends and began playing in multiple bands together. They started Green River with Jeff Ament and Alex Shumway and eventually added Stone Gossard on secon…
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The Making of CHUTES TOO NARROW by The Shins - featuring James Mercer
1:17:20
1:17:20
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For the 20th anniversary of The Shins’ second album, CHUTES TOO NARROW, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After getting their start in Albuquerque in the early nineties as a band called Flake, James Mercer, Neal Langford, Marty Crandall and Jesse Sandoval eventually morphed into The Shins. Mercer had first conceived of The Shins as an out…
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The Making of HOUDINI by Melvins - featuring Buzz Osborne
56:28
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For the 30th anniversary of the Melvins’ 1993 classic, HOUDINI, we take a detailed look at how the record was made. Buzz Osborne, Mike Dillard and Matt Lukin had formed the Melvins in 1983 when they were teenagers living in Montesano, Washington. Drummer Dale Crover ended up replacing Dillard early on and has remained with the band to this day. Whe…
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The Making of Cursive's DOMESTICA - featuring Tim Kasher
1:20:34
1:20:34
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In celebration of the deluxe edition of Cursive’s DOMESTICA, we take an in-depth look at how the record was made. Following the breakup of the Omaha band, Slowdown Virginia, Tim Kasher reunited with his former bandmates, Matt Maginn and Stephen Pedersen, to start a new project called Cursive. They brought in drummer Clint Schnase and released their…
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The Making of GIVE UP by The Postal Service - featuring Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello
1:22:15
1:22:15
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For the 20th anniversary of The Postal Service record, GIVE UP, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Jimmy Tamborello was looking for vocalists to collaborate with for a Dntel album he was working on, he connected with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. Gibbard agreed to provide vocals for a track that became, “(This Is) The Dream of …
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The Making of SURFER ROSA by Pixies - featuring Joey Santiago, David Lovering and Steve Albini
1:48:21
1:48:21
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For the 35th anniversary of Pixies’ landmark debut album, SURFER ROSA, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Charles Thompson and Joey Santiago bonded as suitemates at the University of Massachusettes Amherst, they decided to form a band. By putting an ad in the Boston Phoenix for “a female vocalist into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Ma…
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The Making of VIOLENT FEMMES (Self-Titled) - featuring Gordon Gano, Brian Ritchie and Victor DeLorenzo
1:46:02
1:46:02
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For the 40th anniversary of Violent Femmes’ classic debut album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo first started playing around Milwaukee as a rhythm section, they met a teenage songwriter named Gordon Gano. Despite having limited experience and still just being in high school, Gano…
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The Making of LET GO by Nada Surf - featuring Matthew Caws
1:11:30
1:11:30
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For the 20th anniversary of Nada Surf’s third album, LET GO, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca formed the band in 1992, they eventually linked up with drummer, Ira Elliot. They spent several years grinding it out in their hometown of New York City where they worked multiple jobs and hustled to get their…
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The Making of JAMBOREE by Beat Happening - featuring Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, Bret Lunsford, Steve Fisk and Gary Lee Conner
1:22:37
1:22:37
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For the 35th anniversary of Beat Happening’s second album, JAMBOREE, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After meeting at the Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington, Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford formed Beat Happening and began releasing music under Calvin’s K label. In 1985, they released their self-titled debut al…
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The Making of SONG CYCLE - featuring Van Dyke Parks and Richard Henderson
1:21:02
1:21:02
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For the 55th anniversary of Van Dyke Parks’ debut solo album, SONG CYCLE, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After being born in the South, Parks grew up studying music and working as a child actor before settling in Los Angeles, California in the early 1960s. While playing guitar in different folk groups around town, he got his first job …
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The Making of VS. by Mission of Burma - featuring Roger Miller, Clint Conley and Peter Prescott
1:47:03
1:47:03
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For the 40th anniversary of Mission of Burma’s first full-length album, VS., we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Mission of Burma released their first recordings, the “Academy Fight Song” single in 1980 and the Signals, Calls, and Marches EP in 1981, they felt like they hadn’t fully captured the sound they were going for yet. For this…
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The Making of NEU! (Self-Titled) - featuring Michael Rother
1:03:57
1:03:57
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For the 50th anniversary of the first NEU! album, we spoke to Michael Rother about the extraordinary circumstances of how it was made. After Rother had been invited to jam with Kraftwerk, he had a fateful meeting with drummer, Klaus Dinger. The two of them ended up joining Kraftwerk for a time before deciding to leave and form their own band. Rothe…
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The Making of BRICKS ARE HEAVY by L7 - featuring Donita Sparks
1:04:30
1:04:30
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For the 30th anniversary of L7’s breakthrough third album, BRICKS ARE HEAVY, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After L7 had released albums on venerable west coast indie labels, Epitaph and Sub Pop, they decided to go for major label distribution with their third album. Seminal Los Angeles label, Slash Records, allowed them more reach as …
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The Making of #1 RECORD by Big Star - featuring Jody Stephens, Terry Manning, Holly George-Warren and Rich Tupica
1:59:05
1:59:05
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For the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s iconic debut, #1 RECORD, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Chris Bell, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens had taken recording classes from Ardent Studios owner, John Fry, they began to learn the art of recording. John Fry generously allowed them to use the studio during the night as they recorded un…
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The Making of CELEBRATION ROCK by Japandroids - featuring David Prowse, Jesse Gander and Steven Hyden
1:17:26
1:17:26
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For the 10th anniversary of Japandroids’ second album, CELEBRATION ROCK, we take a detailed look at how the record was made. After the unlikely success of their debut album, POST-NOTHING, Japandroids found themselves leaving their hometown of Vancouver to tour the world and play to much larger audiences than they ever dreamed of. The expectations f…
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The Making of 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF… by Arrested Development - featuring Speech
1:20:42
1:20:42
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For the 30th anniversary of the 2x Grammy Award winning group, Arrested Development’s, pioneering debut album, 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF…, Speech joins us for a detailed look at how the record was made. After getting his start in a high school hip hop group in Milwaukee called Attack, Speech left for more opportunities in Atlanta.…
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The Making of HISSING FAUNA, ARE YOU THE DESTROYER? by of Montreal - featuring Kevin Barnes
1:21:39
1:21:39
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For the 15th anniversary of the landmark of Montreal album, HISSING FAUNA, ARE YOU THE DESTROYER?, Kevin Barnes joins us for a detailed look at how the record was made. After of Montreal had already released multiple albums by this point, Barnes had mostly been writing in a conceptual and fantastical style as a way to avoid writing personal songs. …
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The Making of PERFECT FROM NOW ON by Built to Spill - featuring Doug Martsch
1:08:12
1:08:12
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For the 25th anniversary of Built to Spill’s astonishing third album, PERFECT FROM NOW ON, Doug Martsch joins us for a detailed look at how the record was made. After Built to Spill released their first two records on indie labels, they ended up signing with Warner Bros. for their third album. Signing with a major label left Martsch feeling conflic…
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The Making of ONE YEAR - featuring Colin Blunstone
52:32
52:32
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For the 50th anniversary of the baroque pop classic, ONE YEAR, Colin Blunstone looks back on the unique circumstances around how his first solo album was made. After the end of The Zombies, a band he formed as a teenager with Rod Argent, Hugh Grundy, Paul Atkinson and Paul Arnold, Blunstone found himself unsure about continuing in the music busines…
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The Making of MIC CITY SONS by Heatmiser - featuring Neil Gust, Tony Lash and Sam Coomes
1:51:53
1:51:53
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For the 25th anniversary of Heatmiser’s third and final album, MIC CITY SONS, Neil Gust, Tony Lash and Sam Coomes talk openly and in detail about the unique circumstances around how this record was made. When Heatmiser embarked on recording their third album, it was a huge turning point for the band, as they signed a deal with a major label and beg…
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The Making of JOHN PRINE (Self-Titled) - featuring Margo Price, Amanda Shires, Erin Osmon, Dave Prine, Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman
2:09:11
2:09:11
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For the 50th anniversary of John Prine’s debut album, we take a detailed look at the extraordinary circumstances of how this record came to be. In this episode, John’s older brother, Dave Prine, describes the shocking moment when he realized his brother’s staggering talent. Erin Osmon, author of the forthcoming 33 1/3 book about this album, takes u…
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The Making of CIVILIAN by Wye Oak - featuring Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack
1:12:54
1:12:54
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In celebration of the 10th anniversary, Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack reflect on the writing and recording of the third Wye Oak album, CIVILIAN. In this episode, they describe this intense period as a young band when they were taking every touring opportunity available and were getting burnt out by working constantly. For CIVILIAN, they were moving ou…
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The Making of THE SOPHTWARE SLUMP by Grandaddy - featuring Jason Lytle
1:11:00
1:11:00
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In this episode, Jason Lytle reflects on the process of making Grandaddy's second album, THE SOPHTWARE SLUMP. Jason talks about being "a man with a mission" while holing up in a farmhouse outside of their hometown of Modesto, California and tracking and mixing nearly everything himself. During this era when bands were starting to record themselves,…
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The Making of MOUNT EERIE by the Microphones - featuring Phil Elverum
1:02:36
1:02:36
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In this episode, Phil Elverum reflects on the experience of making MOUNT EERIE, the last album made under the Microphones name before adopting Mount Eerie as his project name. Phil gets into the process of taking a different approach from his previous album, THE GLOW PT. 2, and conceiving of a theatrical story about death and transformation. As his…
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The Making of THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE by Low - featuring Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk
1:04:09
1:04:09
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For the 20th anniversary, Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk reflect on the making of the classic Low album, THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE.After Low had made several records in their signature slow and minimal style, they were beginning to expand their sound while recognizing the possibilities of the studio. For THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE, Low took their t…
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The Making of LIGHT GREEN LEAVES by Little Wings - featuring Kyle Field
1:05:41
1:05:41
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In this episode, Kyle Field reflects on the experience of making LIGHT GREEN LEAVES, Little Wings’ second album for K Records. Kyle gets into the process of conceiving of a record about the fall and ambitiously deciding to make three completely different versions of the album for three different formats. As Kyle reflects on the writing and recordin…
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The Making of ONE MISSISSIPPI - featuring Brendan Benson
55:22
55:22
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For the 25th Anniversary, Brendan Benson looks back on the process of making his debut album, ONE MISSISSIPPI. In this episode, Brendan Benson reflects on the experience of unexpectedly being signed to a major label at a young age and all of the pressures that came along with that. After initially recording 4-track cassette demos with Jason Falkner…
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The Making of PLEASED TO MEET ME by the Replacements - featuring Bob Mehr and Luther Dickinson
1:37:02
1:37:02
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In celebration of the PLEASED TO MEET ME Deluxe Edition, we look back at the unique circumstances around how the record was created. Bob Mehr, author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements, offers a detailed perspective of this uncertain period when the Replacements entered Ardent Studios after splitting with guitarist Bob Stinson. Lut…
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The Making of ELLIOTT SMITH (Self-Titled) - featuring Larry Crane, JJ Gonson, Tony Lash, Slim Moon and Leslie Uppinghouse
1:30:17
1:30:17
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For the 25th Anniversary, Elliott Smith’s friends and collaborators, including Larry Crane, JJ Gonson, Tony Lash, Slim Moon and Leslie Uppinghouse, offer a unique oral history of how the Self-Titled record was created. With many new details that have never been heard before, Tony Lash and Leslie Uppinghouse describe the DIY processes that Elliott u…
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The Making of PENTHOUSE by Luna - featuring Dean Wareham
46:57
46:57
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For the 25th Anniversary, Dean Wareham looks back on the process of making Luna’s third record, PENTHOUSE. In this episode, Dean Wareham reflects on recording at Sorcerer Studios in New York City with engineer Mario Salvati and producer Pat McCarthy. Dean Wareham gets into the process of pushing for better performances, major label pressure, the gr…
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The Making of ESCONDIDA - featuring Jolie Holland
39:25
39:25
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For the 15th Anniversary, Jolie Holland looks back on her first studio album, ESCONDIDA. In this episode, Jolie Holland reflects on recording in the redwoods with Lemon DeGeorge and her band of San Francisco musicians. Jolie Holland gets into the process of going from the lo-fi aesthetics of Catalpa to the studio environment and finding new fans li…
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The Making of BOWS & ARROWS by The Walkmen - featuring Paul Maroon, Walter Martin and Peter Bauer
40:12
40:12
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For the 15th Anniversary, Paul Maroon, Walter Martin and Peter Bauer look back on writing, recording and touring the classic Walkmen record, BOWS & ARROWS. In this episode, members of The Walkmen reflect on recording in the south during a hurricane, opening for Incubus after 9/11, a tiger balm incident with Hamilton Leithauser, and the contentious …
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The Making of ÁGAETIS BYRJUN by Sigur Rós - featuring Kjartan Sveinsson
33:38
33:38
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For the 20th Anniversary, Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Rós looks back on the writing and recording of their breakthrough album, ÁGÆTIS BYRJUN. In this episode, Kjartan Sveinsson reflects on being an undiscovered, ambitious band in Iceland, working day jobs while recording at night, finding inspiration in broken equipment and rudimentary software, and…
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Life of the Record - A podcast where artists look back on the making of a classic album. Featuring Sigur Rós, The Walkmen, Jolie Holland and more.By Life of the Record / Talkhouse
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