Behind the Beats 🖤

We dissect "Nights" by Frank Ocean, a two-part odyssey whose iconic beat switch divides more than just the song's two halves. Listen to Dissect for free on Spotify and get episodes a week early plus e...Show More

The last full-length album from Björk, 2015's Vulnicurna, was a dark, brooding breakup record documenting the end of a longtime relationship. Now the enigmatic Icelandic singer is back with a new song...Show More

Andre 3000 opens up to Rick Rubin in one of his most candid interviews ever. He talks about the early days of OutKast, how he first found his voice, how his mental health diagnosis has been both a ble...Show More

Tyler, the Creator spent three days this summer in Italy with Rick Rubin. At the end of the three days they sat down to record a conversation about Tyler's new album, "Igor". They play through some tr...Show More

Solange Knowles released her first album in 2002, at the age of 16. Her third album, A Seat at the Table, came out in September 2016, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. It’s gotten widespread ...Show More

Jhené Aiko is a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. She’s released three albums so far. In addition to her own records, she’s been a featured guest vocalist on songs by Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Chil...Show More

Gorillaz is the creation of musician Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett. They’re a virtual band made up four animated characters. Their songs are written by Damon Albarn and a roster of ...Show More

In 2006, Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John released their third album, Writer’s Block. For months and months after that, it felt like you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the first single from tha...Show More

Chet Faker is the stage name of Australian singer and songwriter Nick Murphy. His debut album, Built on Glass, won five ARIA Awards, Australia’s version of the Grammys, including Best Male Artist, Pro...Show More

This trio from Houston, Texas makes trance-inducing music heavily inspired by 1960s and '70s funk and soul from, of all places, Thailand.

Hozier joins Simon and Brian for a chat about the writing of his new album Wasteland, Baby! In addition to discussing songs like 'Movement', 'Almost (Sweet Music)' and his work with the great Mavis St...Show More

In this special episode, legendary songwriter and Beatle Paul McCartney sits down with Simon and Brian at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts to discuss songs from his new album Egypt Station....Show More

Pianist, songwriter, musical director and vocalist Patrice Rushen sits down with Sodajerker to chat about the writing of songs like 'Hang it Up', 'Haven't You Heard', 'The Funk Won't Let You Down', 'T...Show More

Internationally renowned parodist, singer-songwriter, actor and accordionist "Weird Al" Yankovic takes some time out to chat with Simon and Brian about his approach to writing comedy songs and style p...Show More

Drake is the poster boy of Toronto, although the city's hip-hop scene was thriving long before it became known to his fans as 'The 6ix.' But the Canadian music industry’s history with its homegrown hi...Show More

Even as its popularity grew, hip-hop was ignored by most commercial radio. DJs and artists intervened and underground mixtapes became *the* medium for distributing new music and gaining clout — But th...Show More

FKA Twigs and Rick Rubin dive deep into the creative journey that lead to Twigs’ stunning new album, Magdalene. They cover the physical and emotional trauma that inspired the album, how she found sola...Show More

FKA twigs is a singer, songwriter, and producer from London. She’s released three EPs and two albums. Her most album, Magdalene, came out in November, 2019, and was named one of the best albums of the...Show More

In Grime, musicians, Selassie and Raj, curator Tory Turk and photographer Olivia Rose share some lively and honest opinions about Grime not only as a music genre but as a fashion sub-culture.

Wyclef Jean, who's had solo hits and with the Fugees, and produced hits for Destiny's Child, Shakira, and Carlos Santana came back this year with a new project, "Wyclef Goes Back To School." Every son...Show More

Lorely Rodriguez is a singer, songwriter, and producer who goes by the name Empress Of. She’s released two albums, and she’s sung on tracks with Khalid, Blood Orange, and Dirty Projectors. Her first a...Show More

In honor of Mitski’s new album, “Be the Cowboy,” here’s the episode she did in 2016. — Mitski has been making records since 2012. Her third record, Puberty 2, came out in June 2016 and was critically ...Show More

Alt-J formed in Leeds, England in 2007. Their debut album won a Mercury Prize and their second was nominated for a Grammy. Their third album, Relaxer, came out in June 2017. In this episode, they brea...Show More

In November 2015, I interviewed Kelela about her song “Rewind,” from her debut EP, Hallucinogen. Since that EP was released, she's gone on to collaborate on songs with Gorillaz and Solange, and releas...Show More

Rick Rubin sits with 21 year old British songwriter Rex Orange County to discuss his major label debut, "Pony." While Rex is still mostly performs solo on the record (aside from some expert bass playi...Show More

100 gecs is a duo, made up of Laura Les and Dylan Brady. In 2016, they put out an EP called 100 gecs, and three years later, they released their first album, called 1000 gecs. It was named the Best Al...Show More

Blood Orange is the project of songwriter and producer Devonté Hynes. He’s produced and co-written songs for artists like Carly Rae Jepsen, Solange, HAIM, and ASAP Rocky, among others. He’s been relea...Show More

Grimes is the project of Claire Boucher. In 2015, she released Art Angels, her 4th  album. In this episode, she breaks down her song Kill V. Maim, her feelings about singing, and how the experience of...Show More

Kelela is a singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. In 2015, she released Hallucinogen, and landed on critics' lists in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Pitchfork, and more. In this episod...Show More

In January 2015, Björk released Vulnicura. She described it as "a complete heartbreak album." And in November, she released Vulnicura Strings, a companion album that stripped away the electronics. In ...Show More

Singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama joins Simon and Brian for the first fully remote episode of the show in which she describes the collaborative songwriting process behind her stunning debut album SAWAYA...Show More