FUV Live Sessions

Singer, songwriter and musician José González made his way back to WFUV to play a live set and talked to FUV host Alisa Ali about his latest album, Against The Dying Of The Light, how his background in scientific research influences his musical exploration, the nuances of AI and where it can be most useful, and how he navigates songwriting in Swedish, Spanish and English.

Songs: Against The Dying Of The Light, Joy (Can’t Help But Sing) and Etyd

Young The Giant sat down with WFUV host Sam Sumpter after playing a live set in Studio-A to talk about their latest album, Victory Garden, how the band has evolved and taken on more production responsibilities over the past 15 years, the value of writing retreats to flesh out ideas as a group, and how the title for this album originated during an intimate conversation under the stars right before the band finished the record.

Song: Ships Passing, Different Kind Of Love and Mind Over Matter

Ben Gibbard of both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service talked to WFUV host Alisa Ali about Death Cab’s latest album, I Built You A Tower, what it was like to pull off a combined Death Cab-Postal Service tour post-pandemic, how his songwriting process has evolved as recording technology has changed, and how the band whittled down 90 potential songs into what you hear on this new album.

The live songs you heard in this episode were performed by Death Cab for Cutie at Studio Litho in Seattle, mixed by Jason McGerr, and engineered by Jon Roberts. Photo by Ryan Thrower.

Songs: Full of Stars, Pep Talk and Stone Over Water

Chicago-based band, Ratboys, joined midday host Alisa Ali at WFUV to talk about their latest album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, how they fashioned both a genre-fluid and cohesive record from this collection of songs, their mission to dispel any negative myths about Ringo Starr, and how a therapy session inspired the title for this album.

Songs: Anywhere, Penny in the Lake and What’s Right?

Australian singer, songwriter and musician Courtney Barnett played an exclusive show for WFUV at The Bitter End in New York City and sat down with FUV host Alisa Ali after the show to talk about her latest album, Creature of Habit, her songwriting process, what it was like to be the subject of a documentary, and how a picture of a praying mantis helped her finish the song that pulled the entire project together.

Songs: Site Unseen, Mantis and One Thing At A Time