Blood Orange is the project of songwriter and producer Devonté Hynes. He’s produced and co-written songs for artists like Carly Rae Jepsen, Solange, HAIM, and ASAP Rocky, among others. He’s been releasing his own music as Blood Orange since 2011. In August 2018, he released his fourth Blood Orange album, Negro Swan, and in this episode, Dev breaks down how he made the song “Saint.” You’ll hear the original version of the track from 2015, as well as the layers and voices that were added over the months to create the final version that appears on the album.

Buy or stream “Saint” here, and watch the music video below. You can buy his album, Negro Swan on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Arthur Russell – Let’s Go Swimming (Puppy Surf Dub)
Guest vocalists on the song: Bea1991, Ava Rain, Aaron Maine (Porches), Adam Bainbridge (Kindness).
Jason Arce, saxophonist

The Decemberists are a Grammy-nominated five-piece band from Portland, Oregon. They released their first album in 2001, and since then they’ve put out seven more, including the 2018 album I’ll Be Your Girl. In this episode, singer and guitarist Colin Meloy breaks down The Decemberists’ song “Once In My Life” — from his first demo, to the final tracks they recorded in the studio.

Buy or stream “Once In My Life” here, and watch the music video below. You can buy the album, I’ll Be Your Girl on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Richard Thompson – “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”
The Smiths – “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”
SinBin, home of Halfling Studios in Portland

Christine and the Queens is a singer, songwriter, and producer from France. Her debut album was first released in 2014 in French, and in 2015, she released an English version of it. It was critically acclaimed and she won the Victoire de le Musique—France’s equivalent of the Grammy—for Best Female Artist in 2015. In July 2018, she released the single “Doesn’t Matter” in advance of her second album, Chris. Like before, she made a French version and an English version, but this time she wrote both versions simultaneously. In this episode, she talks about what that translation process was like, and the possibilities it opened up, as she takes apart “Doesn’t Matter.” The song and the story first began in Chris’s basement.

Buy or stream “Doesn’t Matter” here, and watch the music video below. You can buy the album, Chris on vinyl here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Coryphaeus in Greek tragedy