The New Exchange with Ken Grand-Pierre

It’s finally time to announce season 6 of the podcast: The Passport Season. Six episodes, six different countries, and six additional radio broadcasts sharing music from each country.

To further explain how this season will work, I welcomed back my buddy Toby Tenenbaum to ask me about the who, what, when, why, and how of this different kind of season. 

Welcome to the last off-season episode before the launch of season 6 (which will be announced very very soon!). Getting to finish off this series of talks with Nottingham-based singer-songwriter Yazmin Lacey feels like the perfect situation, and I’m proper excited about you falling in love with Yazmin’s music the way I have. Her debut album, Voice Notes, is the perfect blend of R&B, jazz, soul, and electronica; with Yazmin cooly singing about her insecurities and doubts. The Guardian’s 5-star review of the album describes it as “there’s so much to love and savor.” and hand-on-heart, they’re dead on about that. But what is it like to put yourself out there in such a direct fashion? Well, that’s what we explore on today’s podcast, along with the importance of building community and what the word “legacy” means to Yazmin. Also, it must be said, we also trade a fuckton of laughs (Yazmin Lacey is funny as fuck). 

Corniness be damned: you just gotta love when good things happen to good people. My brother (and returning pod guest) Abraham Alexander is having a stellar year, all off the back of hard work and authenticity. His debut album, SEA/SONS is a contemplation on loss, redemption, and anguish, but also light, joy, and most importantly; hope. In a time of perpetual algorithms, AI tech, and diminishing attention spans, SEA/SONS almost acts like an antidote to the coldness of the world, offering a gentle reminder of “hey, it’s ok to sit with your feelings for a bit.” Throughout this episode, we explore the stories behind the songs off the album, along with delving into Abraham’s own life story (and of course, we chat about the fact that my brother has Gary Clark Jr AND Mavis Staples on his debut album).

Naaz is a Dutch-Kurdish alternative pop singer that brilliantly exemplifies what this podcast is all about. I’d forgive you for mistaking this series as a podcast about music, after all, I do talk to a lot of musicians. But no, this series is really about humanity and you have to admit, behind every great song and every great album is some form of hardship, some form of adversity, and quite frankly; a lot of tough shit. Naaz is no exception to that, having not only dealt with the usual struggles of everyday life but also having to navigate cultural clashes, societal pressures, and inner self-doubt. However, the result of navigating those hardships is an invigorating debut album called Never Have I Ever. Creating this album was in many ways a lifeline for Naaz, with the central question being “Who do I want to be?” We explore that and more across our chat.

This is an episode I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards. SAIAH is a west-coast based musician that intrigued me with their authenticity and unapologetic approach to writing. I don’t think it’s breaking new ground by stating how in 2023 we live in a society that constantly asks us to be “perfect.” Honestly, in my opinion, the best artists are the ones that look at that and say “fuck that.” You see it with acts like Christine and the Queens, Turnstile and now enters SAIAH. Their music explores how humans can be petty, angry, pain-stricken, and simply; how a lot of us can be tragic figures within the stories of our lives. Within this episode, we chat about all of that, along with the ‘why’s’ that drive SAIAH’s art.

I’ll be real with you: I’m incredibly biased when it comes to today’s guests. But hand-on-heart, I do feel like they’re one of the best rock bands in the world and their latest album has only further solidified that thought. They’re called July Talk, they hail from Toronto and they deeply care about the human condition. Specifically, how can the multitudes and nuances of the human experience be expressed in rock music? If that sounds objectively heady to you, don’t worry, these humans love to have some fucking fun; with a relentless energy that’s awe-inspiring. This episode is a talk about how anger, sadness, confusion, joy, and connection can beautifully inspire a group of people to pour themselves into art. This is the story of Remember Never Before by my friends, July Talk.

You can catch July Talk live across the states this April, be sure to visit julytalk.com for full tour dates.

Since childhood, it was obvious that twin sisters Naomi Diaz and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz would have music as the dominant fixture of their lives. When you have a father like the legendary Anga Diaz, how could that not be the case? That said, nobody could’ve expected the ways in which Naomi and Lisa have challenged the music world with their project; Ibeyi. For over a decade, the sisters have birthed, fostered, and evolved their own unique sound that blends r&b, soul, and dance with their Yoruba roots. Universally, it’s agreed that ‘no one sounds like Ibeyi but Ibeyi’ and that thought is further expanded on their latest offering, Spell 31. It’s their most decisive, concise, and personal body of work to date, but what was the journey to get here? That’s what this episode is all about, along with why the sisters hope these new songs make you “feel like gold.” You can catch Ibeyi live across the states this March, be sure to visit ibeyimusic.com for full tour dates.

I’m ecstatic to announce The New Exchange Radio, an extension of The New Exchange Podcast.

Starting February 7th, I’ll be releasing new episodes in a radio format that’ll be showcasing a wide range of artists from all over the world. The aim will be to share songs/artists that you’re both familiar and unfamiliar with, along with why those artists move me the way that they do.

Don’t worry, The New Exchange Podcast isn’t going anywhere, season 6 will be premiering in May. Something very important to note is that these radio episodes will ONLY be available to stream via Spotify. Don’t worry, the full podcast episodes will still be available everywhere else (both new and old episodes), but again, episodes of The New Exchange Radio will only be on Spotify.

So if you’re not already doing so, be sure to follow The New Exchange podcast feed over on Spotify and I look forward to sharing some great music with you.

It feels so fitting to me that we get to kiss season 5 goodbye with a friend of mine from Ireland, the incredibly talented Eoin French (aka Talos). A supremely talented individual, Talos has achieved international acclaim by creating these soundscapes that transport you elsewhere. Brilliant at experimenting with various electronic textures, beats and arrangements, it’s wild how he’s figured out this sweet spot between being abstract and direct with his music. A major theme of his music is embellishing contrasts, which he’s done so effectively on his latest body of work, Dear Chaos (which is out now). Naturally we chat about his works, but a lot of this episode centers around how personal art is by it’s very nature. Eoin is someone who deeply cares about the human condition, and with that he evokes so much of what this series is about; how we can learn about ourselves by trying to learn about those around us. In Eoin’s case, Dear Chaos is a body of work that was born in solitude but fostered by collaboration (including a mutual old friend of ours, the legendary Lisa Hannigan).

Season 6 of the podcast will be coming at ya May 2023, BUT don’t worry, there’ll be some special (and wildly different) bonus episodes coming February 2023. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out (especially on Spotify).