LaunchLeft

Pharoahe Monch of th1rt3en joins this week’s episode of LaunchLeft. Pharoahe opens the show talking about his hip hop - rock musical group, th1rt3en. 2020 was a rough year, but Pharoahe, Daru Jones, and Marcus Machado are looking to cut through the lies and misinformation that have been spreading like wildfire. We talk about the importance of spirituality and how we need a collective conscio...

Ben Harper opens the show speaking about Winter Is For Lovers, his instrumental record from October 2020, and the inspiration behind his brand new label, Mad Bunny Records. Ben has been able to launch his label and help artists during the pandemic. Ben gives his advice to emerging artists & shares what it's like to introduce artists into the world. Today, Ben is launching The Cush&nb...

Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani Di Franco joins me for an interview on LaunchLeft. Ani opens the show explaining how she lost her job yet has been busier than ever. Ani explains why she created her own label in the 90s. At the time, it seemed so foreign, but she was happy to cut out all the middlemen of the music industry and sell directly to her community. Plus, Ani gives adv...

This week is our inaugural artist takeover show with guest host, Michael Stipe and his friend, Jem Cohen. Michael and Jem open the show talking about the role artists have in politics and activism and how artists want their work to carry on for generations. Fame is great, but infamy is really what an artist strives for. They talk about infamous works of art, like Moby Dick, that they simply haven'...

E from EELS opens the show explaining why releasing an album during the pandemic was sort of perfect. The EARTH TO DORA album was released October 30th; if you haven't already, you definitely need to check it out. Then, E explains how a little toy drum set led E to his bountiful musical career. Growing up, E would play the drum every single day and never lost interest. In sixth grade, E would writ...

George Clinton, the founder of Parliament-Funkadelic collective, joins us in our first episode of 2021 to talk about his family's group called 3GP. George is a singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer; he is a man who revolutionized music, stepped out of the box, and colored outside the lines. We discuss George's music, collaborations, and what it's like to go on tour with a band of 12....

Side B of our special year-end mixtape episode. You'll be hearing from various artists for quick Q&A before we play their featured song. I hope you enjoy side B of the 2020 LaunchLeft year-end mixtape featuring Rexx Life Raj, Tayla Parx, Deep Sea Diver, Tawny Newsome and Bethany Thomas, Divide and Dissolve, CHAII, Prayers, ON/NOTICE, Buzzy Lee, Evann McIntosh, Falu & Karyshma, and Duncan F...

We have a special year-end mixtape episode featuring new artists and their new songs. I hope you enjoy side A of the 2020 LaunchLeft year-end mixtape featuring Nana Adjoa, Alewya, SWIMM, Miloe, Leyla McCalla, Lo Talker, Henry Hall, Mobley, Couch Prints, B.Miles, Thunder Jackson, and Slow Pulp. In this episode: [00:50] Nana Adjoa - “N...

Thurston Moore joins the show to talk about his latest record,  By The Fire , and the launch of the London based band, Big Joanie. Estella Adeyeri, Big Joanie's bassist and co-vocalist, later joins the episode to share what the band is all about, what they are working on right now, and their involvement with Girls Rock London. Tune in as Thurston reveals the inspiration behind his music...

What’s it like to talk music with two friends who truly enjoy each other’s company? Well you’re about to find out when you tune into this week’s episode with The Kills. Alison and Jamie discuss their new Rarities Album 'Little Bastards', staying creative during quarantine and live shows versus live streaming... We end the episode with their new music video “Raise Me” which Alison starred, edited a...

James Blake cites his family as earliest musical inspiration, details the difficulties of solo music making and shares how the mandated lock down in NYC added so much to his very collaborative new EP entitled Before. Khushi joins the conversation part way through and we learn about how they came to know each other and work together on his new EP INSTINCTS, then James launches Khushi’s powerful son...

Two for Tuesday! Pretty much everything is messed up about the thanksgiving holiday, historically speaking, it’s all kinds of wrong, but, the thankfulness part is something we can get behind! So for this holiday week we are also thankful for London-based punk trio Dream Wife – who released their explosive sophomore album ‘So When You Gonna’ produced and mixed by Bjork-producer Marta Salo...

Two for Tuesday! Pretty much everything is messed up about the thanksgiving holiday, historically speaking, it’s all kinds of wrong, but, the thankfulness part is something we can get behind! So for this holiday week’s two for Tuesday first drop, we are thankful for new yorker Jackie Lynn, who introduces us to the bands concept record JACQUELINE about a long haul trucker... a day in the life...

Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes sits down with LaunchLeft! He talks about how his band is adapting to the challenges of recording new material and playing LIVE during COVID, how he manages his anxieties as a creative and molecular activism! Later in the show we are joined for a short Q&A with launched artist Christian Lee Hutson and he shares his song “Northsiders” off of his latest record...

LP sits down this week with LaunchLeft! The prolific singer/songerwriter expounds upon how she found her own voice in songwriting, how it evolved over time and eventually expanded her capacity to create music for different genres. She also shares her unique experience of her early days in the industry and the surprises that led to her current world-wide success. LP launches Nick Leng — closing out...

Standing in long lines to vote? Experiencing anxiety waiting for the election results? If you are, Wayne Kramer’s episode that dropped today is sure to leave you hopeful. His life, his journey and his experience with our favorite mashup, art & activism is sure to get you pumped for the long night ahead! But don’t worry there’s a healthy dose of music history to distract you when he breaks down...

The Resistance Revival Chorus joined together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices. On this week’s episode of LaunchLeft, hear the RRC go deep into art and activism, defining their music through strong purpose, message and inspiration. With the election only week away, their song and video “Rich Man’s House” off their brand new record 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑆 𝐽𝑂𝑌 is sur...

Katie Melua, Georgian-British singer/songwriter, joins the LaunchLeft conversation.  She discusses how she prepares herself for making a new record including how she finds ways to come out of “creative burnout” by “measuring your energies”.  We find out how music found her, her influences and so much more. We end the show with “Maybe I Dreamt It”, a track off her new record Alb...

Aloe Blacc, American soul singer, record producer, and activist joins LaunchLeft. He describes the profound moment music found him and turned him into an “active participant” and breaks down his recording process on some of his earliest songs. He expounds upon his form of activism and what his organization Artivist is doing to support and create music and art that inspires positive social tra...

Singer-songwriter and record producer Róisín Murphy joins LaunchLeft this week! Up for discussion: her earliest musical memories, her love for dance and the influence it has had on the music she creates. We talk about her latest disco-centric record Róisín Machine and close this week’s episode with an extended version of her new track “Simulation”. Find us at LaunchLeft.com or wherever you hear po...

Grammy-nominated music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and founder of Nice Life Recording Company, Ricky Reed joins LaunchLeft. He discusses a “day in the life” at the studio and the dichotomy of working with Top 40 recording artists such as Lizzo and artist just beginning their journey in the industry. He also talks about balancing his work with fatherhood, how music found him and sha...

Arlo Parks, breakthrough singer/songwriter/poet joins the LaunchLeft discussion. She opens up about her unique writing process by which she uses her poetry and “stream of consciousness” exercises as the foundation to her songwriting. Arlo also discusses some of her earliest musical memories and expounds upon her school of thought that not all art needs to be useful. We close out thi...

This week LaunchLeft welcomes the legendary Daniel Lanois from his home studio in Los Angeles California! He walks us through some of his earliest days in music, expounding upon how he connected with Brian Eno and later went on to co-produce with him many seminal records including U2’s The Joshua Tree. He gives us behind the scenes vignettes of Peter Gabriel’s SO and the iconic Emmylou Harris reco...

Singer/songwriter/musician Ondara sits down with LaunchLeft to talk about his new record, “Folk N' Roll Vol 1: Tales of Isolation” written entirely while in lockdown in Minneapolis over the course of a week. He shares about his deep need to create as a form of therapy, and how moving from Kenya to Minneapolis had an impact on his work. We close the episode with his timely and timeless song, “...

“We have to think about each other,  [we have] same feelings, same actions whether black or white, we have to come together instead of fighting each other.“ This powerful statement and many more from the legendary Toots Hibbert of Toots And The Maytals on LaunchLeft this week. In this brief but deeply personal conversation, Toots reveals some of his earliest music memories in church, his...