Secretly Group Launches Secretly Society, New Podcast Exploring the Untold Stories that Define 25 Years of Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records & Secretly Canadian

When a team of record labels spends 25 years releasing albums by ANOHNI, Bon Iver, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, The War on Drugs and so many more, the result is not only one of the most beloved, influential catalogs in the world of independent music, but an abundance of unheard stories waiting to be told. Today, Secretly Group launches the first season of its brand new podcast, Secretly Society. From multipart documentaries to quiz shows and beyond, the series provides a new platform to the voices that define the history of Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records and Secretly Canadian. Through the first-person perspectives of artists, staff and collaborators, unearthed anecdotes and goldmines of music, Secretly Society expands the context and themes surrounding listeners' favorite records – and a few they might have missed. 

Out now across all podcast channels, Secretly Society's debut episode marks the first of three installments devoted to one of Secretly Canadian's most formative artists, the late Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. visionary, Jason Molina. Focused on the posthumously released solo album, Eight Gates, each part peels back the layers of emotion, stories and songs that made up the most pivotal time of Molina's life, with special accounts from those who were there with him: Riding with the Ghost author Justin Taylor, Secretly Canadian Co-Founders Ben and Chris Swanson, former Secretly Group UK Publicist Manish Agarwal, Eight Gates engineer Greg Norman and keyboardist Chris Cacavas. 

Throughout part one of the Eight Gates series, listeners will also hear from Jason Molina himself, in the form of a recently uncovered interview from the time period. Conducted by Justin Taylor, while Molina was living in London in 2010, the previously unreleased audio offers both a rare glimpse of the artist's gregarious, often talebearing personality, and a contrast to the darker persona present in his music. Acts two and three of the podcast will be released weekly, and will explore Molina's creative and charming penchant for employing "truthlets," as well as his struggle with alcoholism, and the turning point that led to his final studio recordings. 

Listen to Secretly Society's Episode 001 - Eight Gates - "You've Been Molina'd," hosted by Dead Oceans artist Fenne Lily, and written/produced/edited by RJ Bentler:

https://secretlysociety.ffm.to/podcast 

Similar to its profile of Eight Gates, each season of Secretly Society will feature several sets of mini docuseries that dive deep into the remarkable artists, albums and stories of Secretly Group. Coming next in season one, listeners will discover Jens Lekman's quest to reimagine two of his most cherished albums, Oh You're So Silent Jens and Night Falls Over Kortedala, in addition to exploring the amorphous, communal collaboration of Big Red Machine, with conversations from its two founding members, The National's Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. 

Learn more in the trailer for Season One of Secretly Society

In between its array of longform, impeccably-produced programming, Secretly Society will also host a recurring number of experimental and informal, interview-based shows. The forthcoming premiere of "Secretly Frequencies," for example, will find Ben and Chris Swanson reflecting on Secretly's past 25 years through a blind playlist of songs, while future installments will highlight the work, tastes and tales of various other staffers, artists and extended Secretly family members.

Secretly Society is an original production of Secretly Group, led by Executive Producer Ben Swanson, Creative Director Robby Morris, Project Manager Kristyn Cheek and a rotating cast of hosts, writers, producers and engineers who bring these stories to life. 

"While it's the music that draws us into our favorite albums, it's the stories behind them that keep us coming back," says Robby Morris, Secretly Group's Creative Director. "With a song, it might be a chorus or guitar riff that hooks you, but you listen to a full album to hear its emotional and thematic arc. With your favorite ones you'll do that on repeat. The aim for the Secretly Society Podcast is to similarly build a shelter from the promotional cycle. Instead of focusing on quick hits, we're taking a deep dive on both content and context: the characters, the jokes, the truths (and the lies) that we love to talk about and believe are worth listening to over and over."

Subscribe to Secretly Society Here