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 the patience required to keep peeling back layers until the meaning reveals itself. The conversation explores how melody can arrive before clarity, how repetition can carry emotional weight, and how songwriting can become a way of understanding yourself in real time.

Guest: Madi Diaz

Song: Heavy Metal

Host: Kieron Banerji

Produced and Distributed by Palm Tree Island

Creative: Callum Baker and Dylan Roberts

Engineers: Giovanni Alimonte and Max Walker

Recorded at The Thin White Duke Studios, London

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 &ldquo;Heavy Metal&rdquo; and the songwriting process behind it.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;
Madi reflects on the challenge of writing when you feel emotionally heavy, and the patience required to keep peeling back layers until the meaning reveals itself. The conversation explores how melody can arrive before clarity, how repetition can carry emotional weight, and how songwriting can become a way of understanding yourself in real time.
Guest: Madi Diaz
Song: Heavy Metal
Host: Kieron Banerji
Produced and Distributed by Palm Tree Island
Creative: Callum Baker and Dylan Roberts
Engineers: Giovanni Alimonte and Max Walker
Recorded at The Thin White Duke Studios, London

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.

Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.

Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

Hosted by Kieron Banerji,&nbsp;The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every two weeks, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.
Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song&mdash;raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.
Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

The Hardest Part

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every week, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.

Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.

Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.

Hosted by Kieron Banerji, The Hardest Part dives deep into the most challenging songs ever written. Every week, an artist joins Kieron in the studio to break down the struggles, breakthroughs, and raw emotions behind their toughest songwriting experiences. From overcoming creative blocks to tapping into painful memories, these conversations reveal the delicate balance between self-expression and self-protection.
Each episode wraps with an exclusive live performance of the song—raw, real, and sometimes heard this way for the first time.
Follow the Hardest Part wherever you get your podcasts, and watch footage from the show on our YouTube and socials.