Introducing Listening: A New Podcast From Mailchimp Presents, in Collaboration with Talkhouse, Where The Most Beloved, Inventive Musicians Create Sonic Portraits of Their Lives | Shore Fire Media

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10 August, 2022Print

Introducing Listening: A New Podcast From Mailchimp Presents, in Collaboration with Talkhouse, Where The Most Beloved, Inventive Musicians Create Sonic Portraits of Their Lives

Introducing Listening: A New Podcast From Mailchimp Presents, in Collaboration with Talkhouse, Where The Most Beloved, Inventive Musicians Create Sonic Portraits of Their Lives

Ten Episodes Feature Exclusive New Compositions and Conversation From Jeff, Spencer and Sammy Tweedy, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, Mdou Moctar, Neko Case, Laraaji, JLIN, Stephin Merritt, Vagabon, MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger and Björk

First Four Installments Out Now, More Coming Weekly: LISTEN

"I think this very well might be the most ambitious music podcast series ever made" - Ian Wheeler, Founder of Talkhouse Creative Studio & Executive Producer of Listening

 

Today, Mailchimp Presents and Talkhouse launch Listening, a brand new podcast that explores how some of the most acclaimed, inventive and beloved musicians hear and process the world around them. Featuring JeffSpencer and Sammy TweedyKatie Crutchfield of WaxahatcheeMdou MoctarNeko CaseLaraajiJLIN, Magnetic Fields' Stephin MerrittVagabonMC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, and Björk, each of the series' 10 episodes invites the artist to create a composition that allows others to intimately experience a particular time and place in their lives. Alongside host and producer Elia Einhorn, the subjects open up their sonic diaries to not only discuss the creation of their piece and the transformation of various sounds into a unique, musical portrait, but the enriching art of deeper listening at large. 

Structured into three acts, every installment of Listening invites the listener to try on the ears of its featured artist and experience what their world sounds like, before hearing the composition that was produced specifically for the program, and then taking a step behind the curtain to learn the processes and motivations that animate the artist and their work.

In the first of four episodes out now, JeffSpencer and Sammy Tweedy discuss their experience of listening, creating and playing music together. The Grammy Award-winning Wilco founder and his sons also debut their Listening piece, and reveal how weekly, live-streamed jam sessions became a bright spot amidst the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second installment, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatcheepremieres her composition and talks about her decision to get sober, living in the middle of the country, listening to oneself and hearing new things in old material. Mdou Moctar, a torchbearer for modern Tuareg blues, takes the third episode on a sonic journey across his native Niger, all the way to his remote, religiously-rooted hometown of Agadez. For the fourth episode, Neko Case offers a recording from her rural farm in Vermont, while delving into the sounds that surround her environment, the trust she has developed for her own ears, and more. 

Subscribe to Listening and hear episodes 1-4 now, including new work from Jeff, Spencer and Sammy Tweedy, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, Mdou Moctar and Neko Case: https://pod.link/listening 

Talkhouse and Mailchimp Presents will continue to unveil two new episodes of Listeningon a weekly basis for the next three Wednesdays, accompanied by the unprecedented, exclusive release of each individual artist composition as a standalone piece within the series' feed. Equal parts podcast and concept album, listeners will enter the sounds of Laraaji's Harlem home and experience the intuition and patience of JLIN's avant-garde electronic music. Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt will open up about his mystifying battle with long COVID, while MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger will navigate the themes of parenthood, joy, hope and loneliness. Vagabon will showcase the sounds she cherishes from growing up in Cameroon, and the series will culminate with Björk, who teleports Listening to a recent, magical performance with Iceland's Hamrahlíð Choir, recontextualized in collaboration with legendary field recordist Chris Watson. 

"I think this very well might be the most ambitious music podcast series ever made,"says Ian Wheeler, Founder of Talkhouse Creative Studio and Executive Producer of Listening"We're so incredibly grateful to the artists and our partners at Mailchimp for working with us to create something so wonderful and meaningful." 

"The last couple of years have blurred the lines of how we live, what's important and how we express ourselves," adds Julie Douglas, Senior Podcast Manager and Executive Producer of Mailchimp Studios. "And this podcast is a reflection of that, with amazing artists-musicians creating a kind of call and response to the world in the form of original compositions with companion commentary, and our friends and collaborators at Talkhouse acting as thoughtful translators and bringing these stories to life."

Listening was also produced by Jenner Pascua and Samiah Adams at Talkhouse, with additional contributions from host/producer Elia Einhorn, producer, engineer and sound designer Mark Yoshizumi, and producers Katie Lau, Madeleine Campbell and Reese Higgins at 3dB. The series marks the first of multiple, marquee partnerships between Talkhouse and Mailchimp Presents, embodying the first-person, creator-centric storytelling that is synonymous across all of Talkhouse's award-winning podcast network, from the flagship Talkhouse Podcast to the newly-added SHEROES and Jokermen, plus That's How I Remember It With Craig Finn, Feist's Pleasure Studies, Emil Amos' Drifter's Sympathy, Sing For Science365 days with mxmtoon, Aquarium Drunkard's Transmissions, The New Republic's The Politics Of Everything, Open Mike Eagle's Stony Island Audio and more. 

In Listening, a new series from Talkhouse and Mailchimp Presents, we invite some of the world's most beloved and inventive musicians to create new compositions that allow us to intimately experience a time and a place in their lives. We'll join each artist to hear about the creation of their piece, how deeper listening informs their process and how that practice can enrich all of our lives.

 

About Talkhouse

Talkhouse is a Webby-Award-winning first-person media company and outlet for musicians, actors, filmmakers, and others in their respective fields. Artists write essays and criticism from firsthand perspectives, speak one-on-one with their peers via the Talkhouse Podcast and Talkhouse Live events, and offer readers and listeners unique insight into creative work of all genres and generations. Talkhouse is writing and conversations about music and film, from the people who make them.

Our audience has come to understand and cherish the fact that we serve as a platform for getting them inside the minds of their favorite artists and filmmakers. As one of the only "first-person" media outlets, Talkhouse allows musicians, actors and filmmakers to reach fans directly, in their own words. By working directly with creators from the worlds of music and film, Talkhouse has built a media brand that is firmly rooted in authenticity, credibility, and creativity - and, through branded content initiatives and special projects, we aim to bring those values to life together with like-minded partners. 

 

About Mailchimp Presents

Mailchimp Presents is a collection of podcasts, films, and video series that follow everyday visionaries' fearless journeys from inspiration to action. The Mailchimp Presents slate is dedicated to enhancing the entrepreneurial journey—and making it more enjoyable along the way—with content that touches on the real feelings that come with the territory. Where the Mailchimp marketing platform helps small businesses grow without compromising who they are, Mailchimp Presents helps them feel inspired, celebrated, and confident. Anyone can access Mailchimp Presents free of charge, without ads, and without a login or subscription via mobile or desktop at mailchimp.com/presents.

 

 

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For more information, contact Matt Hanks or Greg Jakubik at Shore Fire Media,

(718) 522-7171