Podcasts You Need (To Hear)

We are going to take a little break from talking about Package Manager releases to talk about something else - something that’s a bit of a passion of mine. Podcasts. I love ‘em, I love making them, and I love sharing them. In this article, I’d like to introduce you to three podcasts that have proven to be quite interesting and influential to us.

Art + Music + Technology

The first one is my personal podcast: the http://artmusictech.libsyn.com/ (also available on iTunes and iHeartRadio). This is an interview podcast that features performers, makers, inventors, artists and producers that use technology as part of their practice. I’ve released nearly 200 episodes, and have featured many people from the Cycling '74 family as well as many of Max’s most prominent users. But it isn’t about Max, and it isn’t even about software. In most cases, my focus is on how the interviewee learned the skills that it took to become an artist, and how they go about doing their work. Every person has a different ‘beginning story’, and every person has their own process. It’s a wonderful area to explore, and I feel very honored to talk to so many other creative people.

Song Exploder

Another podcast that has caught the attention of several of us and is a favorite of David Zicarelli’s is the Song Exploder podcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher and iHeartRadio). This is an exploration of a song, where the artist reveals the creative flow that existed for a song’s creation, and how it developed over time. The songs range from pop tunes to underground dance pieces, but each episode is a revelation. And, as David says: “Once you hear the story of how the song is made, you will always hear it in a new light.”

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Our next suggestion is the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher and iHeartRadio) produced by Dallas Taylor, founder of Defacto Sound. This podcast takes a different approach: it will focus on an area in the sound domain and find an expert to discuss it in depth. These selections have ranged from Noise Pollution to the Nixon Tapes, from the origin of the NBC ‘chime’ sonic logo to the origin of the Wilhelm Scream. Every episode is a fascinating - well-made - masterpiece.

Sound + Process

Finally, coming out of the lines community (llllllll.co), host Dan Derks has put together the Sound + Process podcast, which dives into the people, processes and perspectives that people use to create their work, and attempts to embrace a ‘scene-like’ view of the Monome-focused world. Since our worlds often interact and exchange ideas, it’s a homespun little podcast that will immediately seem comfortable and cozy.

This is just a starting point; if you have a favorite podcast, make sure to share it with us on our forum. And this is especially true if you know of podcasts that cover visual/media art, creative coding or anything else in our wheelhouse - I need more podcasts in my life!