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

We're back with a brand new episode where we talk about how we approach the idea of work ethic as creatives - does the hustle culture idea of grinding it out work in the context of making art? We also touch on the joys of helping people get their creative vision over the line. Especially when they are dealing with the struggles that come with being part of a minority, and how we deal with lett...

Welcome to part 2 of Jonatan's conversation with Zahra Deljoui. They touch on learning to be authentic as an artist - focusing on storytelling and writing about what's really going on for us rather than what we think people want to hear. Also the power art can have to fundamentally shift our perception on big things...and how to not fuck up a co-writing session! Check out Zahra's lates...

We're back after a break and are excited to be diving back in. Kicking off our 2026 with Jonatan's conversation with British-Iranian alt-pop artist Zahra Deljoui, a brilliant songwriter and artist in the queer community. Together they cover topics such as what makes people gel when co-writing, identifying strengths and weaknesses as songwriters, imposter syndrome, and tune bullies.

Welcome to episode 9! This time, we’re taking a look at our experiences of being signed to music publishers - and the mix of joys and frustrations that come with it. We talk about the opportunities we’d never have had without a publishing deal, as well as the experience of getting lost in the system when you’re signed to a huge global publisher. It was a really fun conversation, as always - and we...

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 cir...

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 bullshit that w...

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 ide...

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...

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 s...

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.

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 ourselve...

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 approa...