Tenderness didn't find "Playing Country Roads" hard to write, she found it almost impossible to hold. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up the closing song from her album: written on her late father Ivor's guitar, built on a voice memo she couldn't bring herself to re-record, and carrying two griefs at once.

It's a conversation about turning loss into art without letting the performance swallow the feeling — the "healthy middle place" every songwriter has to find. Along the way: the hidden thread of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (via the Mountain Man version), the ELO "Mr Blue Sky" memory from just before her dad's funeral, and why she refuses to change the line "it's been three months since the funeral," even six years on.

Tenderness performs "Playing Country Roads" live and stripped back in full at the end of the episode.

Tenderness didn't find "Playing Country Roads" hard to write, she found it almost impossible to hold. On this episode of The Hardest Part with Kieron Banerji, she opens up the closing song from her album: written on her late father Ivor's guitar, built on a voice memo she couldn't bring herself to re-record, and carrying two griefs at once.
It's a conversation about turning loss into art without letting the performance swallow the feeling &mdash; the "healthy middle place" every songwriter has to find. Along the way: the hidden thread of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (via the Mountain Man version), the ELO "Mr Blue Sky" memory from just before her dad's funeral, and why she refuses to change the line "it's been three months since the funeral," even six years on.
Tenderness performs "Playing Country Roads" live and stripped back in full at the end of the episode.

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.

HP #48: Tenderness: "Playing Country Roads"

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming to discuss “Please Let Me Remember This,” one of the most personal songs from her debut solo album Julia. 

What began as an attempt to write about the smallest possible moment gradually became something much bigger. Julia describes songwriting as visiting her subconscious, placing a cup into a flowing river, and seeing what comes back. But while writing this song, she found herself confronting thoughts she wasn’t ready to face. 

As the writing process intensified, so did the pressure. Weeks of obsessive thinking, creative paralysis, and mounting anxiety eventually culminated in a moment that changed everything. The experience led Julia to seek help, receive an OCD diagnosis, and better understand what had been happening beneath the surface for years. 

Rather than abandoning the song, she returned to it months later with a new perspective. The result became not only one of the defining songs on the record, but a reminder that sometimes the hardest songs reveal something we weren’t ready to know about ourselves. 

Guest: Julia Cumming

Host: Kieron Banerji

Creative Team: Callum Baker

With thanks to Emily Connick at Toast Press and Crista Simiriglia

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming to discuss &ldquo;Please Let Me Remember This,&rdquo; one of the most personal songs from her debut solo album Julia.&nbsp;
What began as an attempt to write about the smallest possible moment gradually became something much bigger. Julia describes songwriting as visiting her subconscious, placing a cup into a flowing river, and seeing what comes back. But while writing this song, she found herself confronting thoughts she wasn&rsquo;t ready to face.&nbsp;
As the writing process intensified, so did the pressure. Weeks of obsessive thinking, creative paralysis, and mounting anxiety eventually culminated in a moment that changed everything. The experience led Julia to seek help, receive an OCD diagnosis, and better understand what had been happening beneath the surface for years.&nbsp;
Rather than abandoning the song, she returned to it months later with a new perspective. The result became not only one of the defining songs on the record, but a reminder that sometimes the hardest songs reveal something we weren&rsquo;t ready to know about ourselves.&nbsp;
Guest: Julia Cumming
Host: Kieron Banerji
Creative Team: Callum Baker
With thanks to Emily Connick at Toast Press and Crista Simiriglia

HP #47: Julia Cumming on the Song That Scared Her to Write

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of “Am I a Dreamer”, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia.  

Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight.  

This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how “Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we’ll miss before they’ve even ended.  

Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them.

Guest: Ava Joe
Host: Kieron Banerji

Mix Engineer: Max Walker
Recording Engineer: Giovani Alimonte
Creative: Callum Baker

-

00:00 Intro
00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about
02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory
02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful
03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment
05:25 The memories behind the song
07:10 Why time is her biggest fear
08:40 Building a song from emotion
10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George
11:00 Finding the right collaborators
12:30 The writers who ask the right questions
14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar
15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice
16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity
18:20 How listeners hear the song differently
19:50 Full session

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of &ldquo;Am I a Dreamer&rdquo;, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia. &nbsp;
Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight. &nbsp;
This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how &ldquo;Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we&rsquo;ll miss before they&rsquo;ve even ended. &nbsp;
Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them.
Guest: Ava Joe Host: Kieron Banerji
Mix Engineer: Max Walker Recording Engineer: Giovani Alimonte Creative: Callum Baker
-
00:00 Intro 00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about 02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory 02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful 03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment 05:25 The memories behind the song 07:10 Why time is her biggest fear 08:40 Building a song from emotion 10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George 11:00 Finding the right collaborators 12:30 The writers who ask the right questions 14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar 15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice 16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity 18:20 How listeners hear the song differently 19:50 Full session

HP #46: Ava Joe on Songwriting and Nostalgia.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of “Victim of Luck”, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn’t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right.

Emily and Jimmy Shaw tell Kieron how the song was intended to introduce the entire record, setting the tone for everything that followed. But as the album evolved, so did the song. Lyrics changed, arrangements changed, production choices came and went, and even the title itself didn’t arrive until the rest of the album was complete.

At the center of the track is a deeply personal realization. What began as a fictional story about a band’s rise gradually became something much more direct: a reflection on success, anxiety, self-criticism, and the strange feeling of becoming a “victim of luck.” 

This episode also features an exclusive stripped back acoustic version of the track recorded for the show. 

Guests: Metric

Song: Victim of Luck

Host: Kieron Banerji

Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte

Produced by: Palm Tree Island

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of &ldquo;Victim of Luck&rdquo;, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn&rsquo;t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right.
Emily and Jimmy Shaw tell Kieron how the song was intended to introduce the entire record, setting the tone for everything that followed. But as the album evolved, so did the song. Lyrics changed, arrangements changed, production choices came and went, and even the title itself didn&rsquo;t arrive until the rest of the album was complete.
At the center of the track is a deeply personal realization. What began as a fictional story about a band&rsquo;s rise gradually became something much more direct: a reflection on success, anxiety, self-criticism, and the strange feeling of becoming a &ldquo;victim of luck.&rdquo;&nbsp;
This episode also features an exclusive stripped back acoustic version of the track recorded for the show.&nbsp;
Guests: Metric
Song: Victim of Luck
Host: Kieron Banerji
Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte
Produced by: Palm Tree Island

HP #48: Tenderness: "Playing Country Roads"

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