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Omah Lay is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer. He’s one of the young stars of Afrobeats, the West African genre that’s become a global phenomenon. His new album Boy Alone features a collaboration with Justin Bieber. But for this episode, Omah talked to me about the song “Never Forget.”  Boy Alone was Omah’s late father’s nickname, and the song “Never Forget” was inspired by him.

You can buy or stream “Never Forget” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Semzi – producer
EndSARS
Highlife

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In 2002, Sam Beam’s first album as Iron & Wine was released on Sub Pop Records. He’d given them a bunch of demos, and rather than have him re-record these songs, they released the demos themselves. Since then, he’s put out five more full-length albums and been nominated for multiple Grammys.

For this episode, Sam looked back at the making of his song “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” from his 2007 album The Shepherd’s Dog. A year after that album came out, the song was used prominently in a scene in the movie Twilight, and it’s been one of the most popular Iron & Wine songs ever since. I talked to Sam at Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio in Wimberley, Texas, in front of a small audience. You’ll hear the original demo he recorded, and how that transformed into the final version of the song.

You can buy or stream “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Brian Deck
Rob Burger
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Allen Ginsberg
EBow
Sherman
Beat Poets
Kristen Stewart
Watch the scene from Twilight featuring “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” here

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Santigold is a singer, songwriter, and producer. She’s put out 4 albums since 2008, and she’s been featured as a collaborator on songs with Jay-Z, Beastie Boys, Diplo, and more.

In this episode, Santi takes apart her song “Ushers of the New World,” from her 2022 album Spirituals.  She made it with collaborators she’s worked with before, including Grammy-winning producer Rostam, and producer Ricky Blaze. She told me about how she tries to channel her gut instincts, and how she wanted to transform some of the darkest feelings of 2020 into something galvanizing.

You can buy or stream “Ushers of the New World” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
Psymun, producer
Squamish, British Columbia
Disparate Youth
Nina Simone
Marvin Gaye 
Queen Latifah
Salt’N’Pepa 
Fela Kuti
Vampire Weekend (listen to their episode of Song Exploder here)

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