And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

Today’s guest is a singer, songwriter and musician whose singular sound has spanned punk stages, intimate recordings and songs that have traveled around the world. From “1234” to the unexpected second life of “My Moon My Man,” her music continues to find new audiences.
And The Writer Is… Feist!

In this episode:
- How losing her voice helped her find a new sound
- Why finding your people can change your creative life
- The collaborator who believed in her before she knew they were making a record
- How The Reminder brought different songs together into one world
- The unusual musical choices behind “My Moon My Man” and its unexpected return
- What “1234” taught her about success, belonging and staying true to herself

And The Writer Is… is presented by Amazon Music and SONA.
Listen on Amazon Music:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bfeec5ec-e02d-43eb-917c-5d4e182eadb4/and-the-writer-is-with-ross-golan

Join the ATWI Patreon for monthly Zoom hangs, demo feedback, special guests and access to 200+ archived audio episodes: https://www.patreon.com/andthewriteris

Subscribe for more conversations with the songwriters behind the songs
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Chapters
00:00 Introducing Feist
01:05 The Stories Behind Her Guitars
04:49 Growing Up Around Art and Finding Her Voice
09:36 Amazon Music & SONA
09:48 The Punk Band That Changed Her Life
18:28 Losing Her Voice on Tour
20:25 Why Singers Have the Least Fun on Tour
21:40 How a Doctor’s Orders Changed Her Sound
23:45 Find Your People
25:35 Inside Broken Social Scene
27:53 Peaches, Chilly Gonzales and Their Creative Community
32:59 Finding the Freedom to Make Let It Die
38:29 The Friend Who Quietly Funded Her Breakthrough
42:12 Creative Control and Growing Beyond a Slow Start
44:05 Supporting Your Friends Instead of Competing
47:48 The Reminder, Folk Music and Sea Lion Woman
52:33 Making The Reminder and the 14-Day Sessions
55:23 My Moon My Man’s Heated Rivalry Resurgence
57:17 Why My Moon My Man Is Such a Strange Song
1:00:21 1234 and the Difficult Side of Success
1:02:21 Imposter Syndrome and Letting Yourself Shine
1:05:06 The Song She’s Most Proud Of

Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is a three-time GRAMMY-winning singer, songwriter and producer behind some of country music’s biggest songs.
Across more than two decades, she’s built a career on honest stories, unmistakable songs and doing things her own way.
And The Writer Is… Miranda Lambert!

Recorded live at Casa Rosa in Nashville, Miranda joins Ross to tell the stories behind “Kerosene,” “Gunpowder & Lead,” “The House That Built Me,” “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “Vice” and “Tin Man.”
She shares how she co-wrote “Choosin’ Texas” with Ella Langley, why she gave Steve Earle half the credit for “Kerosene,” and why some of the most important songs in her set weren’t written by her.

And The Writer Is… is presented by Amazon Music and SONA.
Listen on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bfeec5ec-e02d-43eb-917c-5d4e182eadb4/and-the-writer-is-with-ross-golan

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introducing Miranda Lambert
00:56 Writing Choosin’ Texas with Ella Langley
05:21 Finding New Song Ideas After So Many Albums
06:36 Chris Stapleton and a New Retro Sound
08:47 Songwriting Retreats and Creative Chemistry
16:35 Learning the Craft in Texas Honky-Tonks
21:37 Nashville Star and Her Mom’s Wake-Up Call
25:06 Casa Rosa: A Place for the Girls
27:30 Kerosene, Steve Earle, and Doing It Her Way
33:42 The Stories Behind Gunpowder & Lead
36:52 Revolution and The House That Built Me
42:24 Writing Over You with Blake Shelton
45:03 Mama’s Broken Heart and Outside Songs
49:49 Building Platinum
53:55 Somethin’ Bad with Carrie Underwood
57:54 The Weight of These Wings and Vice
1:02:55 Writing Tin Man
1:06:01 Wildcard, the Love Junkies, and Bluebird
1:08:47 Life Off the Road and Writing on Zoom
1:13:08 Palomino and a Changing Music Business
1:14:52 Letting Go of Expectations and Staying Yourself

Join the ATWI Patreon for monthly Zoom hangs, demo feedback, special guests and access to 200+ archived audio episodes: https://www.patreon.com/andthewriteris Subscribe for more conversations with the songwriters behind the songs.

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nstagram: https://instagram.com/andthewriteris
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is the British singer-songwriter behind “Escapism.” and “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”
After seven years in a record deal without releasing her debut album, she went independent, landed a UK No. 1 and won six BRIT Awards in one night.
This is the story of how she found her own way to succeed—and brought her people with her.

And The Writer Is... RAYE!

In this episode, we get into:
• Signing a record deal at 17, having hits, and still being unable to release her debut album.
• The album called “too risky,” the partner who backed it, and “Escapism.” changing everything.
• Bringing her family and band into the success, and demanding fairer treatment for songwriters.
• Her full writing process, early “Click Clack Symphony.” demos, and nine hours on the “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” bridge. and much more.

Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.
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A special thank you to our sponsors for making these conversations possible.

Our lead sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers' Association. Your support means the world to us.

PRS for Music — supporting songwriters, composers and publishers. Find out more: https://www.prsformusic.com/join
And @splice — the best sample library on the market. Period. Have you tried variations yet?

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:10 Making music and touring with her family
7:38 What happened to her grandfather's songs
9:49 Ad: PRS for Music
11:09 Ad: Splice 12:16
Ross's stolen-song story and the line between influence and theft
17:33 Who deserves a songwriting credit?
19:52 Why songwriters deserve fees and master points
25:29 The power to say no and protect your splits
28:50 Advice for young writers: choosing your battles and avoiding comparison
33:18 Writing her first song at seven
36:48 The BRIT School and finding her voice
42:21 Subscribe to And The Writer Is
42:50 Jazz freedom and her first music-industry reality check
47:13 The dance hits that came with conditions
48:17 Signing her record deal at 17
54:26 Seven years, hit records and still no debut album
56:33 Going independent and the Escapism. breakthrough
1:02:56 Ice Cream Man. and finding strength through music
1:08:15 The BRIT Awards night she still has not watched back
1:10:38 Making THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. on her own terms
1:12:38 Playing the early Click Clack Symphony. demos
1:14:53 Why she writes with Auto-Tune
1:17:15 Title first: heels, lyrics and theatrical melodies
1:18:48 Nine hours on the WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! bridge
1:21:19 Getting bigger without trying to please everyone
1:23:30 Who is Suzanne? Picking a song for every mood
1:26:18 Her grandfather's poems in Fields
1:27:04 Opening for Bruno Mars
1:28:48 Closing: building a better music industry

CREDITS
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is the Swedish producer and songwriter behind "Problem," "Into You," "Love Me Like You Do," "No Tears Left To Cry," "Santa Tell Me," and "Unholy,".
He finally sits down with Ross for an And The Writer Is interview ten years in the making.
He taught himself to make music from a demo CD that came in a cereal box.
A radio singing contest got him discovered, and he signed a publishing deal at 17.
It then took him ten years to land his first real hit. He tells Ross how a year of playing FIFA with Shellback led to Wolf Cousins, and what Max Martin's famous "math" actually is.
If you've ever wondered how the biggest pop songs of the last decade actually get finished, this one's for you

And The Writer Is... Ilya Salmanzadeh!

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: what Max Martin's "math" really means
1:32 Welcome Ilya Salmanzadeh
3:12 What MXM is: "like Real Madrid signed me"
4:46 Jantelagen: why Swedes won't brag
9:57 Born in Iran, raised in Denmark
16:22 A cereal-box CD and teaching himself music
19:54 The hits: Problem, Into You, Unholy and more
21:32 Early influences: Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson, hip-hop
24:50 Why the world's biggest pop writers live in Stockholm
27:14 Wanting to be an R&B artist
32:36 The radio singing contest that got him discovered
37:26 Ten years from publishing deal to first hit
39:09 Telemarketing and Apple tech support
43:08 The immigrant drive to prove he belongs
46:21 His first cut: the Bratz album
48:20 A year of FIFA with Shellback and the birth of Wolf Cousins
52:37 The MXM pop family tree
54:21 Competition vs. family inside MXM
58:40 Max Martin: "Why aren't you in LA?"
1:00:41 What Max Martin taught him about songwriting
1:03:13 "Problem": Savan Kotecha's original voice memo
1:08:59 The morning "Problem" hit #1 on iTunes
1:10:57 His father and the number he keeps seeing
1:14:31 Weeks on one pre-chorus: making "Into You"
1:21:55 "Love Me Like You Do" started as a Sunday hang
1:27:08 Producer vs. writer credits: "Bad Blood" and "Bang Bang"
1:31:42 His creative wavelength with Ariana Grande
1:32:23 "No Tears Left To Cry" breaking the pop rules
1:34:00 "God is a woman" was almost for Beyoncé and JAY-Z
1:35:48 Ariana Grande as a producer1:37:27 "Unholy": the hotel staff, Max and his daughter
1:44:20 When a release doesn't hit
1:47:11 14-hour days: how he finishes so much music
1:48:57 Chris Martin, Coldplay and the "mind movie"
1:52:17 Why he keeps working with new artists (Tate McRae, LISA)
1:54:53 "eternal sunshine" vs. "petal": the two-room process
1:56:54 "Santa Tell Me" and chasing a Christmas classic
1:59:24 Has Ilya finally proven his worth to himself?

And The Writer Is, hosted by Ross Golan, is a podcast about the songwriters, producers and artists behind the songs you love.
Instagram: instagram.com/andthewriteris
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London and Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.