Before The Books broke up, they released four albums that combined composed music and found sounds. In this episode, Nick Zammuto explains how he crafted the song Smells Like Content, off of their 2005 album Lost and Safe, out of unlikely sources, like geometry, chance encounters, and a corrugated PVC pipe.

This video demonstrates how Nick Zammuto creates rhythms within the locked groove of a vinyl record:

Buy “Smells Like Content” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
After The Books ended, Nick Zammuto started a solo project, called Zammuto. Check out the new Zammuto record, Anchor, and read Nick’s extensive notes on the making of each track on the record on his blog.

Twitter

Facebook

email

Julia Holter studied composition, and in the song “Horns Surrounding Me,” she arranges not only acoustic and electronic instruments, but also layers of ambient field recordings and background noise. The song was released in 2013 on her acclaimed album Loud City Song. In this episode, Julia deconstructs the recording, and talks about what she did to evoke a feeling of fear in both the music and the way she sang, changing her voice on different parts of the song to create character and texture.

Buy “Horns Surrounding Me” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The song playing when Brian Ferry sings is Roxy Music’s “Love Is the Drug.”

Twitter

Facebook

email

Dave Hill is a comedian and host of his own podcast, which is on the Maximum Fun network. He’s also the frontman of the band Valley Lodge. In this episode, Dave will deconstruct the Valley Lodge song Go, which you might recognize as the opening credits of the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. This is a special episode produced for MaxFunWeek, seven days of celebrating the community of listeners and shows that make up the Maximum Fun podcast network.

Buy “Go” on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes

Twitter

Facebook

email