Meet Our Makers

In this episode, we get to meet electronic music duo Matmos. Matmos is made up of musical and romantic partners Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt, who have been putting out some of the strangest and most bewildering electronic music around for over 20 years. In this chat, we discuss their most recent album, The Consuming Flame, as well as whether or not there's such a thing as a "typical Matmos conce...

In this episode, we get to meet Kaki King. Kaki is best known as a guitarist, but her skills and range go far deeper than that description may suggest. With her impressive blend of adept fingerpicking, strumming, and her signature tapping technique, Kaki has been able to create a distinct voice all her own. In this chat, we discuss her specific style of playing and composing, her life over the pas...

In this episode, we get to meet singer-songwriter Mirah. Recently celebrating the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Mirah has been in this business for quite a few years, putting out numerous acclaimed and beloved albums of her smart, emotive folk and sometimes-experimental songs. In this chat, we discuss her recent livestream concerts where she played her first three albums in full, her songwr...

In this episode, we get to meet Robin Pecknold, frontman of folk-rock band Fleet Foxes. In this chat, we discuss the many facets of the band's new, surprise-released album, SHORE. We talk about Robin's distinct approach to songwriting, as well as how the 2020 pandemic shaped the album. We even stop for a moment to revel in our shared love of songwriter extraordinaire, Joanna Newsom. I hope you enj...

In this episode, we get to meet Mary Lattimore. Mary is a harpist and composer, known for her electronics-inflected, effects-laden, experimental take on the classical instrument. She's worked with lots of big names in the music industry, from Kurt Vile to Sharon Van Etten to (most recently) Julianna Barwick and Jónsi. In this chat, we discuss her love of the harp, her thoughts on its place in mode...

In this episode, we get to meet Raphaelle Standell-Preston. Raphaelle is best-known as the singer and guitarist for the band Braids, but she also has a more dance- and pop-oriented side project called Blue Hawaii. In this chat, we discuss the different worlds she inhabits with either band, as well as her writing process, performing live, and what it's like being a musician in this apocalyptic year...

In this episode, we get to meet Kristin Hersh. Kristin is best known as the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of rock band Throwing Muses, who have been releasing music since the 80s, and have a new album out this year. She has also put out several celebrated solo records, as well as a couple critically acclaimed books of narrative nonfiction. In this chat, we discuss a wide array of topics, from...

Go to bleach-books.com & use promo code MAKERS20 to get $50 off one of Christopher's gorgeous cinematography books. In this episode, I get to meet Christopher Blauvelt. Christopher is an acclaimed, renowned cinematographer, who has worked with the likes of Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant, and - most recently - Audutmn de Wilde on her directorial debut, EMMA. He is perhaps best known for his work along...

In this episode, I get to meet Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, of iconic indie rock band Low. In this chat, we discuss how their lives are going right now during the pandemic, as well as the beginnings of Low, the evolution of their sound, what typically goes into a Low song, and more. I hope you enjoy, and thank you for listening.

In this episode, I get to meet Larkin Grimm. Larkin is a folk singer-songwriter from New York, who has released five albums under her own name, from her witchy and cathartic debut Harpoon to her most recent album, the spiritual and piercingly honest Chasing an Illusion. In this chat, we discuss her music career, growing up in a musical family in a restrictive South, the power of finding and trusti...

In this episode, I get to meet Lady Lazarus. A singer-songwriter and pianist, Lady Lazarus is the pseudonym of Melissa Ann Sweat, who last fall released her fourth album, Impossible Journey of My Soul Tonight. In this chat, we discuss what it's like to be an introvert in a time of social isolation, the inherent healing in being left to one's own devices, as well as covering her entire discography....

This episode is dedicated, with infinite admiration and warmth, to filmmaker Lynn Shelton. In this episode, I get to meet Anamaria Marinca. Anamaria is a Romanian actress, probably best known for her work in the Palme d'Or winning film 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days. She is a BAFTA-award winning actress, who has been in many films and television series, ranging from small realist dramas, to big scien...

In this episode, I get to meet Ryan H. Walsh. Ryan is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of folk-rock band Hallelujah the Hills. He is also coming up on the two-year anniversary of his celebrated book Astral Weeks, a portrait of the Boston underground music scene of the late 60s. In this chat, Ryan and I discuss his most recent album, the life-consuming research process for his...

In this episode, I get to meet Rainer Maria front-woman, Caithlin de Marrais. Caithlin has had a long career with the beloved band Rainer Maria, including a surprise reunion in 2014, which ultimately led to their first new record in 10 years, S/T, in 2017. In this chat, Caithlin and I discuss Rainer Maria's history as well as their impact. We also discuss the act of being vulnerable on stage, what...

In this episode, I get to meet Shearwater frontman, Jonathan Meiburg. In this free-flowing and open chat, which Jonathan was nice enough to join me for between recording sessions, we discuss the projects he's been occupying his time with in quarantine, whether that be working on a new Shearwater record, finishing a record for his other band Loma, or putting the last touches on his long-in-the-work...

In this episode, I get to meet kindhearted drummer extraordinaire, Thor Harris. Thor is best known for drumming with bands like Shearwater and Swans, but he has had a long, esteemed career, playing with many of our favorite musicians. We have a nice chat about music, art, family, kindness, politics, the current pandemic sweeping the globe, and more. I hope you enjoy.

In this inaugural episode of Meet Our Makers, I speak with composer and Stars of the Lid co-founder Adam Wiltzie, whose current band, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, just put out their third album last fall. We have a chat about music, the various projects he's been involved in, film scoring, as well as the current pandemic and the state of his life in Belgium, where he's lived since the 90s. I h...