Multi-Love is the title track from the 2015 album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra. When the song was first released, it was named Best New Track by Pitchfork. In this episode, Ruban Nielson tells the story of how he made the song with help from his brother Kody Nielson, and how it was influenced by Romeo and Juliet, Questlove, and a broken synthesizer.

Buy “Multi-Love” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Questlove interview with Red Bull (2013)
Quindon Tarver – Everybody’s Free (from the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack)

Thundercat is the alter-ego of bassist and singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner. He’s played bass for both Suicidal Tendencies and Erykah Badu and went on to help shape Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. In this episode, Thundercat breaks down his song “Them Changes.” Thundercat co-produced the track with his long-time collaborator Flying Lotus, with Kamasi Washington on saxophone.

Buy “Them Changes” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The Isley Brothers – Footsteps in the Dark
Ice Cube – It Was a Good Day
Moogerfooger Envelope Filter

Death Cab for Cutie released Kintsugi, their 8th album, on March 31, 2015. The song El Dorado, like other songs on the record, was written in the wake of the divorce between the band’s lead singer Ben Gibbard and actress Zooey Deschanel. In this episode, Ben talks about the metaphor of the city of El Dorado and how it fit the story he wanted to tell, about separation, unrealized dreams, and Culver City. Plus, he explains how a few pieces of equipment — a Fender Mustang, a Rhythm Master drum machine, and the VoiceLive unit — ended up shaping the creative process.

Buy “El Dorado” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The clip of Kimbra using the VoiceLive effects unit is from a live performance of “Settle Down.” Watch the video here.