Whilst touring in Canada, George sent a spur of the moment request to Leif Vollebekk to see if he'd like to record an episode of Ezra & Friends. Two hours later and they are backstage talking all things music. Leif Vollebekk is a Canadian indie folk singer-songwriter, whose 2017 album Twin Solitude was a shortlisted finalist for the 2017 Polaris Music Prize and the 2018 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. This podcast was edited by Warren Borg. The animations and visuals are thanks to Oisin Griffin. Thank you to Josh Sanger and the Closer Artists team. Thanks to Leif for chatting with George. And of course, thank YOU for downloading and supporting this podcast.
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019. Leif Vollebekk

Had it not been for the introduction of podcasts into my life, my second album could well have been ready six months sooner. Who knows, maybe even seven. The world of podcasts has been an extremely welcome and comforting distraction from reality. Listening to interesting people talk to other interesting people about interesting things. New ideas, old ideas, thinkers and dreamers.

A lot of the shows I enjoy are comedians talking to other comedians, candid accounts of their experiences in the industry they work in. I find them inspiring and often relieving. To hear entertainers, talk so openly about the highs and the lows of performance feels like something that hasn’t really happened before and, personally, as a performer, it’s something that really helps me.

I began looking for musical equivalents: honest, long form conversations between two musicians, the unquestionable highs of creating and performing, alongside honesty regarding things they have struggled with along the way. At the time of digging, nothing jumped out at me. I sat on the idea for some time before finally plucking up the courage to try and do it myself and went out and purchased the gear necessary for me to travel and record at the drop of a hat.

So far it has been better than I could have ever imagined. I travel to my guests wherever they may be and it is just the two of us in the room. After the initial ten minutes of chat we both loosen up and start to share stories and experiences from our time on the road.

What started as a labour of love and somewhat of a passion project is shaping up to be one of the best and fulfilling projects I’ve ever been a part of. I hope you find it as interesting and fun to listen to, as it was to make.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Music

For our final special compilation episode, we hear legendary tales from the likes of Emily Eavis, Sir Tom Jones, Sigrid, Niall Horan and more. I hope you’ve enjoyed a little look back at some of our favourite clips from the first 2 series of George Ezra & Friends. I’ll see you back here next year for some brand new episodes. I hope you’re well, look after yourselves and each other.

This podcast was edited by Natalie Jamieson. The animations and visuals are thanks to Oisin Griffin. Thank you to the teams at Closer Artists and 4th Floor Creative. And of course, thank YOU for downloading.
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Special Compilation #3: Legendary Tales

This week, we look back at some of our previous guest’s stories of songwriting. Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Nile Rodgers, Jessie Ware and more tell us about how some of their biggest songs came to be.

This podcast was edited by Natalie Jamieson. The animations and visuals are thanks to Oisin Griffin. Thank you to the teams at Closer Artists and 4th Floor Creative. And of course, thank YOU for downloading. See you next week for the third and final special compilation; legendary tales.
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Special Compilation #2: On Songwriting

For the first of three special compilation episodes of George Ezra & Friends, we look back at our favourite stories from our previous guests about their start in the music industry. You’ll hear stories from legendary musicians such as Elton John, Lily Allen, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi and many more.

This podcast was edited by Natalie Jamieson. The animations and visuals are thanks to Oisin Griffin. Thank you to the teams at Closer Artists and 4th Floor Creative. And of course, thank YOU for downloading. See you next week for the second special compilation, which will be on the subject of songwriting. 
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Special Compilation #1: Starting Out

This is an intro to a new podcast series from George & Ollie MN. Search 'Phone A Friend' to subscribe... When George and long-time friend Ollie MN both experienced issues with mental health, they found comfort in opening up to one another about what they were going through. Phone A Friend is a podcast that captures their candid and light-hearted chats, with the intention of encouraging the listener to start conversations of their own. In each episode, George and Ollie work their way through a pile of listener correspondence, sharing thoughts and advice on how to keep your mental health in check during uncertain times. New episodes are released every Monday. Search 'Phone A Friend' wherever you get your podcasts, or visit smarturl.it/PhoneAFriendPod (https://www.smarturl.it/phoneafriendpod) . Visit Mind’s website for information and support on the subject of mental health. https://www.mind.org.uk
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Introducing: Phone A Friend with George Ezra & Ollie MN

For our special New Years episode George sits down with the one and only Shania Twain. Shania needs no introduction but as a recap she has 3 DIAMOND selling albums and 'Come On Over' is the 11th biggest selling album of all time. George and Shania discuss her early life in Canada, performing live as a child in rowdy bars, her musical influences, her incomparable successes and her current musical projects. This podcast was edited by Liam Thorne. The animations and visuals are thanks to Oisin Griffin. Thank you to Josh Sanger and the Closer Artists team. Thanks to Shania for chatting with George. And of course, thank YOU for downloading and supporting this podcast.
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019. Leif Vollebekk

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