The xx formed in 2005, when they were still in high school. They signed to the UK label Young, and put out their first album in 2009. It won the prestigious Mercury Prize, and was named one of the best albums of the year by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and more. Since then, the Guardian has named it one of the best albums of the 21st century. This year, the three band members, Romy Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie xx played together as The xx for the first time in 8 years. I spoke to them in between the weekends at Coachella, where they were opening their sets with the song “Crystalised.” It’s the first song they ever released, back in April 2009, when the lineup also included Baria Qureshi on guitar. I spoke to Romy, Jamie and Oliver, here at my studio, about how they first found each other, and how they made “Crystalised.”

You can buy or stream “Crystalised” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Rodaidh McDonald – engineer
Portishead, Mazzy Star, and The Cure
Akai MPC
Hammerhead Rhythm Station

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Alynda Segarra is a singer songwriter from the Bronx. They formed Hurray for the Riff Raff in 2007, and since then, they’ve released 8 albums. Their most recent is The Past Is Still Alive, which came out in 2024. It was named one of the best albums of the year in the New York Times, the Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, and The Atlantic, and Pitchfork called it one of the best albums of the decade so far. For this episode, I spoke to Alynda about the first track on the album, “Alibi.”

You can buy or stream “Alibi” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Brad Cook – producer
Yan Westerlund – drums
Phil Cook – guitar
Life on Earth – Hurray for the Riff Raff’s 7th album
Dolly Parton

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Jack Harlow is from Louisville, Kentucky, and started performing and releasing music in 2015, when he was in high school. In 2020, he released his first album, which went double platinum. He was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. He’s had multiple number one hits across his first three albums. For his fourth album, Monica, which just came out in March 2026, he switched things up dramatically. I was curious how and why-how did someone who had so much success as a rapper approach a new way of making music? So for this episode, I spoke to Jack Harlow about the song “Say Hello,” which is the closing track on Monica.

You can buy or stream “Say Hello” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Aksel Arvid – producer
Jermaine Paul – bass
Robert Glasper – piano
Stephane Clement – trumpet
Ravyn Lenae – backing vocals
Jackman. – album by Jack Harlow
Slum Village and Outkast

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