The way that Mary Lattimore and Sarah Neufeld met is kind of a rock and roll dream. Lattimore went to see Neufeld’s band, Arcade Fire, before they were huge stars, and they got to talking. When Lattimore mentioned that she’d be moving to Philadelphia soon, Neufeld and her bandmates asked her to perform with them—so her first time playing on stage outside a more classical setting was in front of a huge Arcade Fire crowd, and it gave her the performing bug.

Both Neufeld and Lattimore have released fantastic records recently: Lattimore’s Silver Ladders came out last year on the Ghostly International label, and it met with widespread acclaim. Sarah Neufeld’s brand new record, Detritus, was born via a collaboration with Canadian dancer Peggy Baker. Neufeld wrote the songs that would become this album to accompany Baker’s choreography, and she even went on the road to accompany the dance performances. She later went into the studio and, with help from her Arcade Fire bandmate Jeremy Gara, set to recording them. It’s an incredible collection that blends her primary instrument with ambient electronics, drums, and other sounds. 

In this conversation, Neufeld and Lattimore talk about the night they met and subsequent nights they don’t remember, a harp that lives in Prague, writing music to accompany dance, and how a harp might actually help induce labor in an expecting mother. Enjoy.

This episode was produced by Melissa Kaplan. The Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by The Range.