by Mary Dolan

Episode 256: Bakar

“Hell N Back”

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Bakar is a singer and songwriter from London. In 2018 he put out his first release, Badkid. A year later, he put out the EP, Will You Be My Yellow?, and this September, he’s releasing his second full-length album, Halo. One of Bakar’s tracks from the EP and the upcoming album is a song called “Hell N Back,” which went platinum, and hit number one on Billboard’s Triple A Charts. For this episode, Bakar told me how he wrote “Hell N Back,” and all the unexpected twists and turns it took before it became a hit.

You can buy or stream “Hell N Back” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
List of suicide crisis lines
Beach Noise – producers
Shangri-La – Rick Rubin’s recording studio
Aidan Cullen – music video director
“I Caught You In A Lie,” by Robert Parker – sampled in “Hell N Back”
Zaza World Radio
Isaiah Barr – horn

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by Mary Dolan

Episode 255: Natalie Merchant

“Sister Tilly”

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Natalie Merchant is an award-winning singer and songwriter from upstate New York. She was the lead singer of the band 10,000 Maniacs until she left in 1993. And then, as a solo artist, she’s put out nine albums over the last 30 years. Between 10,000 Maniacs and her solo work, she’s had multiple multi-platinum records. 

In April 2023, Natalie put out her first album of new songs in nine years. It’s called Keep Your Courage. And for this episode, she talked to me about the song “Sister Tilly.” It’s a eulogy for a fictional character – a woman who represents the generation of women who influenced her. Women who were activists in the 1960s and 70s, when she was growing up. 

You can buy or stream “Sister Tilly” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
“Waterloo Sunset” – The Kinks song
Sally Grossman
Bob Dylan
Gabriel Kahane – arranger
Led Zeppelin
Jimmy Page
Joan Didion
Alex Sopp – flute
Eleanor Norton – cello
Ravi Shankar
Sitar
Ashram
Tanpura

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by Mary Dolan

Episode 254: Feist

“In Lightning”

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Feist is a singer-songwriter from Canada. She put out her first solo album in 1999. She’s won 11 Juno awards, including two for Artist of the Year, and she has four Grammy nominations. She’s also been a member of the band Broken Social Scene since 2001.

In April 2023, Feist put out her sixth album, Multitudes. And for this episode, I talked to her about how she made the opening song from that album, called “In Lightning.”

You can buy or stream “In Lightning” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a trannscript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Robbie Lackritz – producer
Mocky – producer
Todd Dahlhoff – multi-instrumentalist
Amir Yaghmai – multi-instrumentalist
Shahzad Ismaily
Gabe Noel
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Michael Harris – engineer
Mike Mills – film director (and co-producer)
Banff Center for Arts and Creativity – location of Feist’s artist’s residency
Moog Rogue – synth
Key Change – Mocky record

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