In this episode of The Hardest Part, Witch Fever break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “The Garden,” a song shaped by religious trauma, feminist rebellion, and the emotional tension of leaving the church behind. We talk about how the band nearly abandoned the song after feeling the chorus sounded “too Jesus-y,” triggering memories of Christian worship music and charismatic church environments. The band explains how growing up in a strict religious setting influen...
May 22, 2026•23 min•Season 3Ep. 16
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Lily Moore to break down the making of “Grown Up Girl Regrets” and why it became one of the most important songs she has ever written. Written during her first studio session after lockdown, the song emerged from a period of uncertainty, isolation, and emotional exhaustion. Walking back into a writing room for the first time in months, Lily found herself confronting feelings she had spent years avoiding in her songwriting. Kieron...
May 13, 2026•20 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Young the Giant break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “Different Kind of Love,” exploring how the band tried to return to the spirit of their first record. After years of touring, remote writing, adult responsibilities, and fragmented workflows, Young the Giant wanted to reconnect creatively by getting back into a room together and writing instinctively as a band again. Through writing retreats in Joshua Tree and Idyllwild, th...
May 06, 2026•23 min•Season 3Ep. 14
What happens when you can’t move, can’t escape, and a song is the only thing you can build. In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Westerman to break down the making of “Mosquito” from his 2025 album A Jackal’s Wedding . The song was written during a period of physical and emotional isolation, after Westerman tore his meniscus while travelling in northern Greece. Unable to move for months in extreme heat, with little contact with anyone else, the song emerged slowly i...
May 01, 2026•20 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Sometimes the hardest part is not writing the song, it is making it feel right. In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Winter to break down the making of “Misery” and how the song transformed completely in the studio. What started as a faster demo in a different key with only one verse became the longest and most complex process on the record. Through experimentation with tempo, pitch, and arrangement, the track slowly evolved into something entirely new. She explains...
Apr 24, 2026•23 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Athens-based band The Overjoyed to go behind the scenes of their track “Party Eyes,” exploring the songwriting process, music production, and the emotional realities that shaped it. The song begins with a deeply personal place: sleepless nights, hangovers, and the emotional comedown that can follow moments of excess or difficult periods in life. What starts as a reflection on insomnia evolves into something more vulnerable, touch...
Apr 17, 2026•18 min•Season 3Ep. 11
In this episode of The Hardest Part podcast, Tigercub break down the songwriting and creative process behind their track, "Fall In Fall Out". The track sits at the centre of their new album’s core tension, exploring contradiction, cycles, and the difficulty of articulating feelings that don’t fully make sense yet. Jamie explains how the song began with melody on acoustic guitar, before any clear meaning was attached. From there, the process became one of discovery, using stream of consciousness ...
Apr 10, 2026•41 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Sometimes the hardest part of songwriting is figuring out what you are actually feeling. In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Madi Diaz to break down the making of her track “Heavy Metal” and the songwriting process behind it. The song began as a feeling she could not fully access while finishing her record, something unresolved that she knew was there but could not yet put into words. Madi reflects on the challenge of writing when you feel emotionally heavy, and th...
Apr 01, 2026•23 min•Season 3Ep. 9
What happens when you enter the studio with a song that is not finished and no time to figure it out? In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming and Nick Kivlen of Sunflower Bean to break down the making of their track “I Knew Love” from the album Mortal Primetime. The song was one of the only tracks that was still being developed once the band entered the studio. With time, budget, and pressure all in play, they found themselves building the structure in re...
Mar 25, 2026•45 min•Season 3Ep. 8
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Foy Vance to explore the realities of songwriting and the role ego plays in the creative process. The conversation focuses on how ego can shape, and sometimes block, the way songs are written. Foy reflects on the importance of stepping back, letting go of control, and allowing the song to take the lead rather than forcing it into a preconceived idea. They discuss the balance between confidence and humility in songwriting, and why...
Mar 18, 2026•25 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this episode of The Hardest Part , Kieron Banerji sits down with Sam Fischer for a behind the scenes look at the songwriting and music production behind his track “Sweet Contradiction.” The conversation dives deep into the songwriting process , the emotional reality of creating music, and how a studio writing session meant for another artist turned into one of Sam’s most personal songs. From the first lyrical idea to the final acoustic performance , Sam breaks down how the song came together ...
Mar 12, 2026•22 min•Season 3Ep. 6
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Matt from Mariachi El Bronx for a behind the scenes look at the songwriting and music production process behind their track “Songbird.” The conversation dives into studio life during the making of the band’s fourth Mariachi El Bronx record and how the song came together in a completely unexpected way. Unlike the rest of the album, “Songbird” did not exist as a demo. It emerged in the studio after bandmate Vincent Hidalgo shared a...
Mar 05, 2026•31 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Dream Nails to unpack the making of their track “The Information,” a song that went through multiple versions and nearly did not make the album. The band explain how the track began as free writing for a completely different idea before evolving through co-writing, shifting styles, and eventually returning to their post-punk sound with new hooks in place. The line “I’m gonna download all the information” became the one constant, ...
Feb 25, 2026•21 min•Season 3Ep. 4
What happens when two ideas don't fit — until they finally do? What does that process actually look like? In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji is joined by Ulrika Spacek to break down the making of their track “Weights and Measures.” The song began as two completely separate pieces. One was built around a heavy fuzz section. The other drew on early 2010s London electronic textures. For a long time, they simply would not work together. Bringing them into one track meant shifting te...
Feb 23, 2026•27 min•Season 3Ep. 3
How do you turn fear and anxiety into something creative? In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with UK band Chartreuse to unpack the story behind their song “I’m Losing It” — a deeply personal track written by vocalist Hattie following the news that she’d need major surgery at just 29, forcing her to relearn how to walk. Hattie shares how months of anxiety and fear about becoming a burden turned into a creative outpouring. The band speaks candidly about the power of song...
Feb 11, 2026•15 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Hrishikesh Hirway — musician, composer, and creator of the iconic podcast Song Exploder . Known for helping artists dissect their songs and uncover the stories behind them, Hrishikesh does something rare in this conversation: he breaks down his own song — a track called “Between There and Here,” written in the wake of his mother’s death. It’s a deeply personal piece, one that reflects the quiet complexities of grief, love, an...
Feb 04, 2026•43 min•Season 3Ep. 1
What do you do when you have five separate demos and no idea how they fit together? In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down with NYC psych-pop collective Psymon Spine to unpack the twisting, turbulent process behind their song Wizard Acid . Written remotely during the pandemic and born from five conflicting demos, the track became one of their most ambitious—and hardest to finish. They break down how Wizard Acid evolved piece by piece: from early voice memos and lost ...
Dec 11, 2025•24 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down with Elles Bailey to unpack the long, personal, and painful process behind “Ballad of a Broken Dream,” a track that sat in her voice notes for over five years before she could face recording it. Originally written after an emotional phone call, the song felt too raw, too unresolved, to finish. Elles shares how she rewrote it again and again—changing verses, adjusting melodies, pulling back—trying to make it more manageable. But ...
Nov 26, 2025•19 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Adult Jazz to unpack the long and winding process behind “Earth of Worms,” one of the most technically complex and emotionally unruly songs on their album So Sorry So Slow . The song had been in progress for nearly seven years, and at one point, it was too clean—too correct. The band talks openly about how chasing technical polish nearly stripped the track of its emotional weight, and how they had to unlearn their habits in o...
Nov 12, 2025•31 min•Season 2Ep. 12
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down with Deep Sea Diver at Third Man Records in Soho to unpack the complicated road behind their track “Shovel.” It started out as the easiest song they’d ever written—and nearly became the one that didn’t make the record at all. The band explains how the song went through multiple versions, two cities, and nearly three scrapped attempts. They talk about trying to hold together wildly different ideas—from Nick Cave-inspired spoken w...
Oct 29, 2025•18 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down with Sophie Jamieson to explore the writing of “How Do You Want to Be Loved?”, a delicate and emotionally loaded song from her album I Still Want To Share . Unlike many of her songs, this one had a clear emotional target from the start — written for someone close to her, while navigating a mix of love, frustration, and grief. It wasn’t just a songwriting challenge. It was a personal risk: how do you tell the truth when the perso...
Oct 15, 2025•24 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Anna B Savage to unpack the long and winding process behind “Donegal,” a standout from her album You and i are Earth . Anna reflects on her changing relationship to songwriting—from the painstaking process behind her early work to a more forgiving, open approach that still carries its own challenges. “Donegal” took over two years to finish, shaped by periods of creative block, ongoing emotional reckoning, and the pressure of ...
Oct 01, 2025•18 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by London band Famous to unpack the writing of “Leaving Tottenham,” a climactic and emotionally charged track from their debut album Party Album . The band’s frontman opens up about the long and often painful process behind the song—one that wrestled with personal embarrassment, grand ambition, and the frustration of trying to make private feelings mean something beyond the self. “Leaving Tottenham” started as a raw reaction to ...
Sep 17, 2025•18 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down with Devi Mambouka , the artist and music producer who performs as Masma Dream World, to explore the deeply spiritual and emotionally raw process behind the making of her art. Unlike traditional songwriting, Devi's process is entirely intuitive—a sonic ritual guided by the goddess Kali, whose presence she channels through daily meditation, field recordings, and unplanned studio improvisation. She describes the act not as writing...
Sep 03, 2025•22 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Australian group Folk Bitch Trio to reflect on the long, messy road to finishing “Sarah,” a song that was nearly cut from their debut album Now Would Be a Good Time . What began as a heartbreak-fueled acoustic track quickly became the most difficult song to finish—emotionally, technically, and collaboratively. Written in isolation, reworked through voice memos, and road-tested live, “Sarah” was put to bed more than once, only...
Aug 20, 2025•19 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Bria Salmena to unpack the winding creative journey behind “Closer to You,” a standout track from her debut solo album Big Dog . Written across two cities—Bria in Los Angeles, Duncan Hay Jennings in Toronto—the song came to life through long-distance collaboration and relentless back-and-forth. What started as an acoustic skeleton became a hybrid of organic and electronic textures, reshaped again and again as Bria searched fo...
Aug 06, 2025•15 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by singer, songwriter, and producer Jack Garratt for a deeply introspective conversation about his track “Mara” from the album Love, Death & Dancing . Jack opens up about the emotional and psychological weight that followed his debut album, and how “Mara” became a turning point—a song that helped unlock not just the record, but a new understanding of himself. Written during a time of quiet struggle and self-doubt, “Mara” beg...
Jul 23, 2025•27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji sits down backstage at The Barbican with Casper Clausen of Danish band Efterklang to dive into the quiet evolution of their track “Getting Reminders,” from the album Things We Have In Common . Unlike their typical in-the-box production style, “Getting Reminders” grew slowly and organically — first as a sketch on Casper’s mother’s old guitar in his Lisbon studio, then as a living, breathing piece shaped by years of live performance. The so...
Jul 09, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined by Ashaine White to explore the emotional and creative depths of her song “Hotel.” Ashaine opens up about how the track was sparked by a phrase she often heard growing up: “You treat this house like a hotel.” At the time, it felt like a criticism — one that stirred up rebellion, anxiety, and a desire for independence. But as she matured and moved into her own space, the phrase took on new meaning, revealing the unspoken fears an...
Jun 25, 2025•20 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode of The Hardest Part , host Kieron Banerji is joined in the studio by Matt Thomson of The Amazons to unpack the creative journey behind two defining songs: “Black Magic” and “Joe Bought a Gun.” Matt reflects on the early days of writing “Black Magic,” a track that first came together when the band were teenagers. Born from heartbreak and shaped by years of experimenting, the song laid the foundation for the band’s layered and instinct-driven approach to songwriting. He shares how ...
Jun 11, 2025•20 min•Season 2Ep. 1
