For the 45th anniversary of The Soft Boys’ influential second album, Underwater Moonlight, we take a detailed look at how it was made. When Robyn Hitchcock first started a band in Cambridge, England under the name Dennis and the Experts, he recruited Morris Windsor, Andy Metcalfe and Alan Davies. They changed their name to The Soft Boys and released an EP called Give It to the Soft Boys in 1977. Kimberly Rew replaced Alan Davies on guitar as they began working with Radar Records, releasing a single in 1978. After Radar dropped them, they self-released their first album, A Can of Bees, in 1979. At this point, Matthew Seligman replaced Andy Metcalfe on bass as they began working on the material for their second full-length album. Underwater Moonlight was eventually released by the Armageddon label in 1980.

In this episode, Robyn Hitchcock describes how the band shifted musically from doing Captain Beefheart-inspired art rock into more Beatles-influenced pop rock. With Matthew Seligman rejoining the band and bringing a more melodic approach to his bass playing, Hitchcock began coming up with more traditional song structures. As punk was rearing its head in England in the late 70s, The Soft Boys proudly wore their 60s influences on their sleeve, incorporating three-part harmonies, jangly guitars and the occasional sitar. Hitchcock wrote with some of the political anger of punk, but also added J.G. Ballard-influenced grotesque imagery. From recording on a shoestring budget, to producer Pat Collier’s 60s approach of bouncing tracks, to the absence of a former girlfriend inspiring the majority of the songs, to the band ending early but going on to inspire legions of fans, including bands like R.E.M. and the Replacements, to a record chock full of power pop gems, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the debut Bat for Lashes album, Fur and Gold, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Natasha Khan had grown up in Hertfordshire, England and studied art at the University of Brighton. After graduating, she taught as a schoolteacher while writing songs and performing as Bat for Lashes. Her manager, Dick O’Dell, got her a publishing deal and connected her with producer David Kosten to work on some demos. The first Bat for Lashes single, “The Wizard” was released on her own label in early 2006. After signing with Echo, Natasha and David began working on a full-length album together at Jacobs studio in the Surrey countryside. They brought in other musicians, including Abi Fry and Caroline Weeks, who had been playing as a group with Natasha at this time. Fur and Gold was eventually released in 2006.

In this episode, Natasha Khan and David Kosten have an in-depth conversation where they revisit their initial collaboration that continued long after this record. David shares how he was first asked to co-write with Natasha until he realized she had no interest in co-writing and already had a fully formed vision for this album. Natasha describes wanting to create the world of the album and use unconventional recording techniques, such as recording in a forest and under blankets, to try to achieve the sound she had imagined. Even though Natasha had a fondness for lo-fi MIDI sounds, she worked with David to craft a unique hybrid of well-recorded acoustic instruments with lower quality digital components. The result was the Mercury Prize-nominated Fur and Gold, which launched Natasha’s music into the world. From a cinematic approach of method acting and practical effects, to a shared love of girl groups, to David finding a CD-R meant for another producer, to a memorable tour with Devendra Banhart, to taking inspiration from contemporaries Cat Power, Joanna Newsom and Gwen Stefani, to being averse to anything trip-hop, to having high standards and holding the vision, we’ll hear the stories around how the album came together.

For the 20th anniversary of the fourth My Morning Jacket album, we take a detailed look at how it was made. The band originally formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky by Jim James, Johnny Quaid, Tom Blankenship and J. Glenn. After signing with Darla Records, they released their debut album, The Tennessee Fire in 1999. Danny Cash joined on keyboards before the release of their second album, At Dawn, in 2001. Patrick Hallahan took over on drums as they signed to ATO Records. Their third album, It Still Moves, was released in 2003. At this point, Johnny Quaid and Danny Cash decided to leave the band so they held auditions and recruited Bo Koster and Carl Broemel. For their fourth album, they hired producer John Leckie and began recording outside of their home studio for the first time. Z was eventually released in 2005.

In this episode, Jim James describes this pivotal moment for the band when they were challenging themselves by recording outside of Louisville with a seasoned producer. By working with John Leckie, they were able to rely on his expertise in the studio and push themselves in a new direction sonically. He discusses how their early characterization as a southern rock band made him want to evolve musically and try new approaches by incorporating synthesizers and drum machines. He also shares how he was experiencing depression at the time and struggling after the suicides of two of his close friends, Tim Cushing and Aaron Todovich. With the pressure of trying to make a great record mounting, he describes how his depression was clouding his judgement as he felt like this might be the last record the band would ever make. Luckily the band was able to continue and Z proved to be a turning point as new members Bo Koster and Carl Broehmel have remained two decades later. From borrowing a Juno synth and demoing with a cheap Walmart keyboard, to getting into Prince and Fela Kuti for the first time, to mixing at the legendary Sunset Sound, to calling on friends Andrew Bird and M. Ward to play on the record, to writing abstractly about the state of the world, to using music as an outlet for anger, to the enduring quality of these songs that continue to make the MMJ setlists, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

In celebration of the Pogues’ 'Fairytale of New York' EP, we take a detailed look at how their classic Christmas single came together. The Pogues originally formed in London in 1982 by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. MacGowan had gotten his start playing in the punk band, the Nipple Erectors, and when that band broke up, he began playing in an Irish traditional music style. Gradually, he brought in James Fearnley, Cait O’Riordan and John Hasler to become a sextet. Andrew Ranken replaced John Hasler as they signed with Stiff Records. Their debut album, Red Roses for Me, was released in 1984. For their second album, they added Philip Chevron on guitar and hired Elvis Costello as their producer. Rum Sodomy & the Lash was released in 1985, and they continued working with Costello for the Poguetry in Motion EP, released in 1986. At this point, Cait O’Riordan left the band and they updated the lineup to include Darryl Hunt and Terry Woods. They signed to Island Records and hired Steve Lillywhite to produce their third album. If I Should Fall from Grace with God was eventually released in 1988 and included the Christmas single, “Fairytale of New York.” 

In this episode, Steve Lillywhite describes working with the Pogues at this pivotal time in their career when they were expanding the lineup and becoming more ambitious with their song structures and arrangements. Despite not having experience recording a traditional folk band, Lillywhite proved to be the right producer for the Pogues at this moment. His input and confidence in the studio led to them splicing two sections of “Fairytale of New York” together and also enlisting his wife Kirsty MacColl to sing the female part in the song. Jem Finer talks about his initial writing process for the song and how he wrote two potential Christmas ideas that his wife Marcia dismissed as being far too sentimental. Her input led to him rethinking the song and writing about a down on their luck couple, inspired by people who lived in their neighborhood in London. Finer describes how Shane MacGowan then took the song and moved the setting to New York City and added some key lines that were taken from real conversations. James Fearnley describes the thrill of recording the opening section with just piano and voice and how he practiced repeatedly to be able to get that part right. He talks about how the song deserved an ambitious string arrangement and so he worked out some ideas on a synthesizer before bringing in Fiachra Trench to help with the orchestration. By taking inspiration from film scores like Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon a Time in America and Leonard Bernstein’s On the Waterfront, Fearnley talks about wanting to bring a cinematic sound to match the classic American story that was being told. From the song’s long gestation period of a few years, to Steve Lillywhite bringing the tapes home and casually asking Kirsty MacColl to sing on it, to the inspiration behind the classic “I could’ve been someone”  line, to the initial disappointment of getting to number 2 in the charts, to the perfect sparring duet partners in Shane and Kirsty, to the anti-Christmas Christmas song that has become timeless, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together. 

In celebration of the deluxe edition of Foreigner’s fourth album, 4, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Mick Jones broke into the music industry as a session musician while playing in multiple bands, including Spooky Tooth, he envisioned starting a new project for the songs he was writing. He recruited musicians Ian McDonald, Dennis Elliott, Al Greenwood and Ed Gagliardi before turning his attention to finding the right lead singer for the band. After recalling meeting Lou Gramm when he was the singer of the Rochester, New York band Black Sheep, Jones asked Gramm to audition in New York City. Gramm was immediately hired and the lineup was complete. They signed a deal with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1977, which became a big success. Their second album, Double Vision, was released in 1978 and continued their run of hit singles. For their third album, Head Games, they clashed with producer Roy Thomas Baker and the album was not as successful as the first two. Rick Wills had taken over on bass at this point and after Head Games, they decided to let go of Ian McDonald and Al Greenwood to become a four-piece. They hired producer Mutt Lange and began recording at Electric Lady Studios. Foreigner 4 was eventually released in 1981. 

In this episode, Lou Gramm shares stories of growing up in Rochester, getting to see artists like Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, which went on to inspire his lyrics for “Jukebox Hero.” He describes this turning point moment for the band when they wanted to update their sound and image for the 1980s. By paring down to a four-piece and bringing in outside musicians like Thomas Dolby on synthesizers, they forged a new path forward for the band. With the help of producer Mutt Lange, they were able to focus on crafting a tight set of rock songs while exploring new sonic territory with songs like “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “Urgent.” From long hours and late nights in the studio, to Mutt Lange’s perfectionist tendencies, to Thomas Dolby’s art rock approach, to Mick Jones falling in love with synthesizers, to spontaneously recruiting Junior Walker for a saxophone solo, to a mysterious muse in the studio while recording “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” to both Foreigner and Mutt Lange at the height of their powers, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

For the 40th anniversary of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s landmark debut album, Psychocandy, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Growing up in East Kilbride, Scotland, brothers William and Jim Reid had their lives changed by punk and both made plans to start their own bands. When they had trouble finding like-minded musicians in their town, they realized they could pool their resources and start a band together. After their father was made redundant from his job at a factory, he gave them a gift of 300 pounds, which they used to buy a Portastudio 4-track machine. Recording the songs they were writing allowed them to find the sound of the band that they were looking for. By 1984, they had recruited Douglas Hart on bass and Murray Dalglish on drums and were sending around a demo tape to try and get gigs. Their tape was passed on to Bobby Gillespie, who loved it and connected them with Alan McGee of Creation Records. After seeing them live, McGee signed them to a deal and they released their first single, “Upside Down,” in 1984. The single, along with their notorious live performances, generated a lot of interest and they ended up signing a deal with a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, called Blanco y Negro. At this point, Bobby Gillespie replaced Murray Dalglish on drums and they released their follow-up single, “Never Understand,” in early 1985. Their full-length debut album, Psychocandy, was eventually released in late 1985. 

In this episode, Jim Reid describes the impetus for starting a band with his brother William and how they would spend hours talking about music and envisioning the type of band that could start a cultural revolution. He describes how they were of a shared mind in those early days and how they would each write songs and flipped a coin to ultimately decide that Jim would become the lead singer. William Reid talks about his punk-inspired approach to guitar and how a chance purchase of a used Shin-ei fuzz pedal from a neighbor kid gave him the sound he was looking for. By blending feedback and noise with 60s-inspired pop, the Reid brothers found their unique sound and went to great lengths to protect it from being watered down by the record company. From being emboldened to experiment by engineer John Loder, to the chaos of their early live gigs, to the standup drumming style of Bobby Gillespie, to swapping shifts in the studio with Ministry, to creating an album where every song could be a single, to punk music as the missing ingredient in their lives, to their shared confidence in making a record that would stand the test of time, we’ll hear the stories of how the album came together.

In celebration of Sharon Van Etten’s breakthrough third album, Tramp, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Growing up in New Jersey, Sharon Van Etten studied music by learning several instruments and singing in the choir. After graduating high school, she went to Middle Tennessee State University to study recording. Though she started writing songs around the year 2000, she didn’t perform or release music until 2005 when she moved back to New Jersey. Later she moved to New York and started working for Ba Da Bing Records. She signed to the Language of Stone label and released her debut album, Because I Was in Love in 2009. Her next record, Epic, was released in 2010 and included the song “Love More,” which was recorded for the Shaking Through documentary series. After a group of musicians, including Aaron Dessner of The National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, covered the song “Love More,” Sharon reached out to them to see if they’d be interested in collaborating. She began recording songs with Aaron Dessner in his garage studio in Brooklyn. Her third album, Tramp, was eventually released in 2012.

In this episode, Sharon Van Etten describes this pivotal moment in her career when she was gaining confidence as an artist and learning how to collaborate with other musicians. She talks about how Aaron Dessner’s garage studio offered a her a place of refuge during a time when she was living between sublets and keeping her belongings in her car. In the garage studio, they were able to spend the course of a year building up her songs from minimal demos into fully fleshed out arrangements. Aaron Dessner describes his first time producing for another artist and how he was immediately struck by Sharon’s voice and musical mind. He talks about the music culture in Brooklyn at the time where he would be able to call in friends and collaborators to come over and record whenever they had time. This allowed them to have a community of voices, string arrangements and a full band sound for the record, which was new for Sharon’s music at the time. From touring with The National, to excavating songs from a hard drive, to bringing in friends like Bryan Devendorf, Zach Condon, Jenn Wasner, Julianna Barwick, Matt Barrick and more, to learning to deal with anxiety and crowds, to taking inspiration from Patti Smith’s Just Kids, to a turning point moment for both Sharon as an artist and Aaron as a producer, we’ll hear the stories around how the record came together.

Subscribe to ⁠Fela Kuti: Fear No Man.⁠

Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed?

In Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Jad Abumrad—creator of Radiolab, More Perfect, and Dolly Parton’s America—tells the story of one of the great political awakenings in music: how a classically trained 'colonial boy’ traveled to America, in search of Africa, only to return to Nigeria and transform his sound into a battering ram against the state—creating a new musical language of resistance called Afrobeat.

For years, the world’s biggest stars made pilgrimages to Nigeria to experience Fela’s Shrine, the epicenter of his musical revolution. But when the mix of art and activism got too hot, the state pulled out its guns, and literally opened fire.

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is an uncategorizable mix of oral history, musicology, deep dive journalism, and cutting edge sound design that takes listeners deep inside Fela’s life, music, and legacy.

Drawing from over 200 interviews with Fela Kuti’s family, friends, as well as scholars, activists, and luminaries like Burna Boy, Paul McCartney, Questlove, Santigold, and former President Barack Obama (just to name a few), Fela Kuti: Fear No Man journeys deep into the soul of Afrobeat to explore the transformative power of art and the role artists can play in this current moment of global unrest.

An Audible Original presented by Audible and Higher Ground. Produced by Western Sound and Talkhouse.

©2025 Higher Ground, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

In celebration of Peter, Bjorn and John’s breakthrough third album, 'Writer’s Block,' we take a detailed look at how it was made. When Peter Morén and Björn Yttling started playing music together in high school, they bonded over a shared love of guitar rock. When they moved to Stockholm after high school, they met John Eriksson, who was a trained percussionist, playing in a percussion ensemble. They eventually asked him if he would consider playing drums with them in a pop band and the trio, Peter Bjorn and John, was born. In 2001, they self-released their first EP with a self-titled album following in 2002. They jumped between Swedish labels Beat That! Records to Planekonomi and released their second album, 'Falling Out' in 2004. At this point, they considered ending the band, but decided to make one more album and record it themselves with Yttling producing. 'Writer’s Block' was eventually released in 2006.

In this episode, Peter Morén reflects on connecting with Yttling early on and how their sound evolved over the years. Morén shares how he originally approached guitar by using multiple chords and leaving little space until Eriksson encouraged him to play less. Björn Yttling describes his role as the producer and how the recording space he had at that time was not conducive to recording a full band. Despite the constraints of having no budget and only a couple of microphones, they were able to capture a unique sound by relying heavily on minimal drum arrangements, percussion overdubs and extensive use of a Space Echo. John Eriksson discusses his naive approach to the drums and how the relaxed recording atmosphere helped them to try new things with this album. With Morén and Yttling encouraging him to write and sing for the first time, Eriksson was able to add another dimension to the album with his own attempts at writing pop songs. From using a drum kit found in a trash heap, to relying on whistling instead of recording synth lines, to making the drum lines sample-able, to how hip hop artists like Drake, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar would go on to rap over beats from the album, to being in their late twenties and feeling like the band had run its course, to the unexpected global success of “Young Folks”, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.

For the 20th anniversary of the Smog album, A River Ain’t Too Much to Love, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Bill Callahan began recording music under the name Smog in 1988 and releasing music on his own label, Disaster. After signing with Drag City early on, he released a series of albums in the 1990s and continued into the early 2000s. At this point, he was living in Chicago and wanted a change of scenery. After moving to Austin, Texas, he began writing songs for his 11th album. He decided to abandon the Smog name and start using his real name, but Drag City asked him to wait until the next record before making that change. After a two week tour with Jim White on drums and Connie Lovatt on bass, the three of them immediately went into Willie Nelson’s studio, Pedernales, to begin recording the album. A River Ain’t Too Much to Love was eventually released in 2005.

In this episode, Bill Callahan reflects on this period of his life when he was in his late thirties and felt like he wanted to settle down. By moving to Austin and buying a house with a yard, he found himself spending a lot more time in nature, which greatly impacted the songs he was writing. Despite having writer’s block initially, his songwriting opened up when he bought a nylon string guitar and taught himself fingerpicking for the first time. This new approach to guitar playing really shaped the song arrangements and how his vocal would come across. Callahan describes how this transitional time in his life inspired him to give up the Smog name and start using his own name to reflect his newfound approach to making music. From the leap of moving somewhere without knowing anyone, to recording as a power trio, to the importance of a good title or central image, to taking inspiration from Mickey Newbury and Johnny Cash, to key overdubs by Joanna Newsom and Thor Harris, to a recording malfunction that lead to barely audible bass, to the lacking nature of waltz time, to a clear sound like a river, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.