Glass Animals is a band from Oxford, England. They’ve released three albums since forming back in 2010. One of their biggest hits is the song “Heat Waves,” which came out in June 2020. It was certified gold in a bunch of countries, and platinum in Australia, where it hit #1. Dave Bayley is the singer, songwriter, and producer of the band. He won the UK’s Music Producers Guild award for “Self-Producing Artist of the Year,” and he’s produced songs for other artists, as well. In this episode, Dave tells the story of making “Heat Waves,” over several months. First, on his own, and then later with his bandmates, Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer, and Drew MacFarlane.

You can buy or stream “Heat Waves” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The Church, studio
Arlo Guthrie
Auto-Tune
Johnny Depp
808s

Sasha Sloan is a singer and songwriter based in Nashville. She put out her debut album, Only Child, last year. Before that, she’d written songs for artists like Katy Perry, John Legend, and Charli XCX, and she’s been a featured guest vocalist on songs by electronic artists Odesza and Kygo. Sasha made her album with her boyfriend, producer Henry Allen, aka King Henry, whose other production credits include songs by Beyoncé and Diplo. In this episode, Sasha, along with Henry, tells the story of making her song “Until It Happens to You.”

You can buy or stream “Until It Happens To You” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Danny Silverstein, acoustic guitar
LANY
Jake Goss, drummer
Snow Patrol
Arcade Fire
Explosions in the Sky
Granulator

PJ Morton is a singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s the first artist ever to be nominated for a Grammy for the Best R&B album three years in a row. In 2020, he won the Grammy for Best R&B song for his track, “Say So,” which is a duet with the singer JoJo, a platinum-selling artist in her own right. But that version of “Say So” almost didn’t come to exist. In this episode, PJ takes us through his original voice memos, the demos, and the isolated pieces of the final studio recording, as he tells the story of how the track was created, then disappeared, and then got re-created, and ultimately became one of his biggest songs.

You can buy or stream “Say So” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Moog Model D synthesizer
Quincy Jones
DJ Raymond, bass player