Black Pumas formed in Austin, Texas in 2017, when singer Eric Burton met producer Adrian Quesada. Their self-titled debut was released in June 2019, and got them a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. In this episode, they break down their hit song “Colors,” which Eric started writing ten years ago, when he was first learning how to play guitar.

You can buy or stream “Colors” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Roland Space Echo delay unit
The Soul Supporters – backing vocalists

The 1975 are a band from Manchester, England, made up of Matty Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, and George Daniel. They started playing music together in 2002, when they were teenagers. Since then, they’ve released four albums, won three Brit awards, and got two Grammy nominations. Their most recent album, Notes on a Conditional Form, came out in May 2020. In this episode, Matty and George break down how they made the song “The Birthday Party.”

You can buy or stream “The Birthday Party” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
OP-1 synthesizer
John Waugh – saxophonist

Katie Crutchfield is a singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She’s been making music under the name Waxahatchee since 2010. Her fifth album, Saint Cloud, came out this past March. Pitchfork named it Best New Music, and The Guardian called it the best album of the year so far. In this episode, Katie breaks down how she made the song “Fire.”

You can buy or stream “Fire” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Brad Cook – producer
Bonny Doon – band
Sonic Ranch – studio