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

HAIM is a band from Los Angeles, made up of the sisters Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim. They’ve released three albums, and they’ve been nominated for three Grammys. Over the years, they’ve worked extensively with Grammy-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid. Danielle and Ariel share the emotional story behind the song “Summer Girl,” from HAIM’s third album, Women in Music Pt. III. In this episode, they break down their experience creating the song, along with Este Haim and the song’s co-producer and co-writer Rostam.

You can buy or stream “Summer Girl” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Cass McCombs – “County Line”
Usher – “Climax”
The Valley
Something to Tell You, second album
Lou Reed – “Walk on the Wild Side”
Henry Solomon, Saxophonist
Bono
Paul Thomas Anderson