Secretly Society

Hosts Tom Davies and Mike Holdsworth sit down with Sharon Van Etten to conduct an interview-by-song across her illustrious catalog. If you can believe it, we’re commemorating ten years since the release of ‘Are We There,’ one of her most powerful and timeless collections, with a new limited-edition vinyl and a 7” including a live rendition of beloved tune “Every Time the Sun Comes Up.” Sharon’s polymathic nature is on full display in this episode, discussing producing, performing, writing, collaborating, and her sonic influences.

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Sharon Van Etten Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Sharon Van Etten:

Sharon Van Etten Website Link

Sharon Van Etten on Instagram

Sharon Van Etten on X

Sharon Van Etten on Facebook

Our Secretly Frequencies hosts sit down with Paul Mahern from Zero Boys to conduct an interview-by-song with a blind playlist of tracks spanning the band’s esteemed catalog. We’re celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Zero Boy’s ‘History Of...’ with a special reissue, including a previously-unheard 1980 live set at Indianapolis venue Crazy Al’s. Paul has been a literal professor of punk rock history, in addition to his storied career as a musician, producer, and engineer, so pull up a chair and have a listen – you may learn something!

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Zero Boys Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Zero Boys:

Zero Boys on Instagram

Zero Boys on Facebook

We’re back in label mode today with the revered Ghostly International and our guests, label owner/founder Sam Valenti and Molly Smith, Ghostly’s Senior Art Director. Currently celebrating its 25th year, Ghostly established itself as one of the most well-loved artist-centric labels around, having put out records by the likes of Tycho, ADULT., Gold Panda, Matthew Dear, School of Seven Bells and Telefon Tel Aviv. In the last few years, the label's scope has been broadening with releases from Julie Byrne, Kate Bollinger, with many more exciting new acts to come. Sam and Molly share their memories of working with artists over multiple decades, collaborating on Ghostly’s famous aesthetic sensibilities, and more.

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Ghostly International Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Ghostly International:

Ghostly Website Link

Ghostly on Instagram

Ghostly on X

Ghostly on TikTok

Ghostly on Facebook

Today’s guest is Ruban Nielson of the mighty Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The project was started in Auckland in the late noughties by Ruben, and grew over the following years, expanding to include friend Jake Portrait and brother Kody and a number of other incredible musicians along the way. UMO - as they are affectionately known - have released five albums, four with Jagjaguwar, of sprawling, psychedelic rock music. Now based in Portland, Oregon, Ruban chats with us about his early analog influences, songwriting processes, and more from UMO’s storied history.

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Unknown Mortal Orchestra Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Unknown Mortal Orchestra: 

UMO Website Link

UMO on Instagram

UMO on X

UMO on Facebook

Geographically, Bizhiki is almost wholly a made-in-Wisconsin project, a collaboration between Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, Joe Rainey and the multi-instrumentalist Sean Carey (aka S. Carey), who for years has been a secret weapon within the Bon Iver family. 

The collaboration between these three musicians first began at the Eaux Claires festival in 2015. The festival was being organized on Ojibwe’s ancestral homelands, and the organizers didn’t feel right without the inclusion of the native communities who lived nearby. The open-endedness of the initial invitation and the “let’s just do something together” spirit continues to inform Bizhiki’s process.

Recording steadily over the course of years — and between several projects from Bizhiki’s members, including two solo albums (Joe Rainey's Niineta and S. Carey's Break Me Open) – the trio chipped away at an expansive, ambitious and unique record that sounds like no other music being made today. On Unbound, the powwow style is entwined with synthesized voice modulation, and hand drumming is accented with electronic samples and beats. The harmonies and resonances on this album are equal parts cultural and musical. 

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Bizhiki Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Bizhiki: 

Bizhiki Website Link

Bizhiki on Instagram

Bizhiki on X

Bizhiki on Facebook

Secretly Society presents a three-episode mini-series about collaboration, friendship, and a community-driven project; originally formed by Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner in 2008, this is the magical and illusive tale of Big Red Machine. This series is narrated by music writer and broadcaster Laura Barton, including live interviews with Vernon, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Sharon Van Etten, Anais Mitchell, and more.

The conclusion to the story, for now. Big Red Machine has been a rejection of the music industry's expectations weighing upon Dessner and Vernon, but also a place of solace for the pair amongst their sometimes painful struggles with mental health. The pair take turns grounding each other through their successes and supporting during their lows, while writing songs like “Brycie” and “Hutch” that pay tribute to close-knit family and friends. The pool of collaborators ripples out ever-further, and new methods of working to complement each others’ contributions carry on the experimental spirit of Big Red Machine.

Links: 

Big Red Machine Pt. 3 Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Big Red Machine: 

Big Red Machine on Instagram

Big Red Machine on Facebook

Secretly Society presents a three-episode mini-series about collaboration, friendship, and a community-driven project; originally formed by Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner in 2008, this is the magical and illusive tale of Big Red Machine. This series is narrated by music writer and broadcaster Laura Barton, including live interviews with Vernon, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Sharon Van Etten, Anais Mitchell, and more. Part Two finds Vernon and Dessner working out just what Big Red Machine was, and should be; exactly what role it should play in their respective musical lives was proving hard to pin down. Making their second record, more voices were added to bring Dessner and Vernon’s songs to life, expanding the Big Red Machine identity and sound, and discovering that the defining quality of the group was something intentionally experimental.

Links: 

Big Red Machine Pt. 2 Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Big Red Machine: 

Big Red Machine on Instagram

Big Red Machine on Facebook

Secretly Society presents a three-episode mini-series about collaboration, friendship, and a community-driven project; originally formed by Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner in 2008, this is the magical and illusive tale of Big Red Machine. This series is narrated by music writer and broadcaster Laura Barton, including live interviews with Vernon, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Sharon Van Etten, Anais Mitchell, and more. Part One starts with a pivotal Myspace exchange and a shared raw piano track between Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon, that would shape the trajectory of their relationship and careers over the upcoming years. Engage with stories about the beginning of the PEOPLE label (37do3d) in a Berlin residency as well as the ultimate cementing of their self-titled album. From long-distance partnerships, onstage improvisations, and the gathering of talented musicians, the story of Big Red Machine is an inspiring account that unveils a new energy and way of working for creatives alike.

Links: 

Big Red Machine Pt. 1 Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Big Red Machine: 

Big Red Machine on Instagram

Big Red Machine on Facebook

Today we're going to be chatting with the band Bonny Light Horseman. That's right, all three of them! Over two and a soon-to-be-released third record, Bonny Light Horseman have crafted and created an immediately recognizable folk sound all of their own and picked up a Grammy nomination along the way. A bit of a supergroup comprising Eric D. Johnson, who you may know from Fruit Bats; Anais Mitchell, highly-acclaimed musician and writer of the wildly popular musical, Hadestown; and Josh Kaufman, a musician and producer you'll have heard on countless records, including ones by The War on Drugs, The National, His Golden Messenger, and a new artist who's starting to make a bit of a name for herself, Taylor Swift. Join us for the first Secretly Frequencies episode of Season 3, where we test artists and labels on their own catalogs and hear a few stories about the songs and history along the way.

Links: 

Secretly Frequencies: Bonny Light Horseman Playlist Link

Secretly Society Podcast Link

Secretly Society Podcast Store Link

Secretly Society General Information Link

Bonny Light Horseman: 

Bonny Light Horseman Website Link

Bonny Light Horseman on Instagram

Bonny Light Horseman on X

Bonny Light Horseman on Facebook

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs put together a special long-form episode of their Super High Quality Podcast to tell the behind-the-scenes story of how the record was made. Between sessions in Hoboken and North Carolina, Adam Granduciel worked regularly with engineer Jeff Zeigler in Philly adding “paint” to a collection of songs that would be widely hailed as the band’s first masterpiece on its release in March 2014. As the band struggled against the repetition and inevitable distractions of working close to home with local friends and collaborators, as the recordings took shape, Adam  was simultaneously struggling with the unpredictability of his own mental health. In candid conversations with the key players, and using previously unheard early mixes and demos, we’ll follow the work in progress from the first sessions in early 2013 through the late summer and early fall when the songs took their final form during mixing.  We’ll also ride shotgun with Adam on his journey home from the mastering studio to the shoulder of I-95 in a fitting conclusion to the making of Lost In The Dream.

“One of 2014's Truly great records. The perfect American road trip”  - NME

“The War On Drugs make archetypal road trip music. Shimmering, steady, gritty as pavement and open as the sky.” - Rolling Stone

Host: Dominic East Guests: Adam Granduciel, Dave Hartley, Robbie Bennett, Charlie Hall, Dusdin Condren Cross-posted from Super High Quality