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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Apr 17, 2019 at 10:02am PDT

Panda Bear is musician Noah Lennox. He’s a founding member of the experimental, genre-defying band Animal Collective, and as a solo artists, he’s released six solo albums.

In February 2019, Panda Bear released the album Buoys, and in this episode, he and his co-producer Rusty Santos break down the opening song, “Dolphin.” You’ll hear the original demo, and how they drew inspiration from music from all over the world.

You can buy or stream “Dolphin” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
“Tezeta” – Mulatu Astatke
Sung Tongs – Animal Collective
“Papi Dame Lo Que Quiero” – Lizz
Digitakt drum sampler
Galaga

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Apr 3, 2019 at 10:07am PDT

Sharon Van Etten is a singer and songwriter who’s put out five albums. She’s also an actress–she’s in The OA and Twin Peaks. Her most recent album, Remind Me Tomorrow, came out in January 2019. In this episode, Sharon breaks down a single from that album called “Seventeen.” She shares the original demo she made with the song’s co-writer Kate Davis, and we’ll hear from producer John Congleton, who helped craft Sharon’s new, more electronic sound.

Buy or stream “Seventeen” here, and watch the music video below. You can buy her album, Remind Me Tomorrow on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Zebulon
“Wandering Star” – Portishead
“Ghost Rider” – Suicide
“Skeleton Tree” – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Heather Woods Broderick – Backing Vocals

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A post shared by Song Exploder (@songexploder) on Mar 20, 2019 at 10:45am PDT

Nakhane is a singer and songwriter from Johannesburg, South Africa. His first album, Brave Confusion, won the South African Music Award for best alternative album in 2014. He starred in the award-winning film “The Wound,” which was shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Nakhane’s second album was originally released in 2018, and then released in the US in 2019, as a deluxe version. The deluxe version includes this song, “New Brighton,” featuring guest vocals from Anohni. In this episode, as Nakhane breaks the song down, he talks about his complicated relationship with Christianity, why the song wasn’t on the original version of the album, and what it was like to work with one of his musical heroes.

Buy or stream “New Brighton” here, and watch the music video below.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
“Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)” – Hugh Masekela
“The National Anthem” – Radiohead
Port Elizabeth
Fort Frederick
“Hope There’s Someone” – Antony & the Johnsons

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