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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Aug 21, 2019 at 10:02am PDT

Justin Vernon founded the band Bon Iver in 2006. Bon Iver’s released four albums and won two Grammys, including Best New Artist.

The most recent album i,i came out in August 2019, and in this episode, Justin breaks down a song from it called “Holyfields,.” He’s joined by producers Chris Messina and Brad Cook. We spoke to him in July, from his studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where the song started. They finished it at Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, Texas, on the border between the US and Mexico.

You can buy or stream “Holyfields,” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
EML Electrocomp 101
Yamaha Reface CS
The Messina
Rob Moose – Strings

 

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Aug 7, 2019 at 11:18am PDT

Sleater-Kinney was formed in 1994 by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. Drummer Janet Weiss was a member of the band from 1997 until 2019. In 2001, author and critic Greil Marcus named Sleater-Kinney “America’s Best Band” in Time Magazine. Over the years, they’ve made nine albums, including this year’s The Center Won’t Hold which was produced by Annie Clark of St. Vincent. In this episode, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein break down how the song “The Future Is Here” was made.

You can buy or stream “The Future is Here” right here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Joseph Keckler
Weirdo Night at Zebulon
St Vincent episode of Song Exploder

 

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Jul 24, 2019 at 10:04am PDT

Denzel Curry is a rapper from Miami. He started his career at age 16 as part of the hip hop collective Raider Klan. He released his first solo album while still in high school.

In May 2019 Denzel released his fourth album, ZUU. He made it with the Australian production duo FnZ, who have been collaborating with him since 2016. The album was named “Best New Music” by Pitchfork, and Denzel made his TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In this episode, Denzel Curry and FnZ break down the song “RICKY,” which was named after Denzel’s father.

You can buy or stream “RICKY” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
“Twisted Blood” – Lukid
“Boyz-N-The-Hood” – Eazy-E
“Been Around the World” freestyle – DJ Screw
Wu-Tang Clan
“Break Da Law ’95′” – Three 6 Mafia
Dipset