Psymon Spine: “Wizard Acid” — Turning Five Demos into One Song

What do you do when you have five separate demos and no idea how they fit together? In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with NYC psych-pop collective Psymon Spine to unpack the twisting, turbulent process behind their song Wizard Acid. Written remotely during the pan…

Elles Bailey: “Ballad of a Broken Dream” — When a Song Feels Too Personal to Record

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with Elles Bailey to unpack the long, personal, and painful process behind “Ballad of a Broken Dream,” a track that sat in her voice notes for over five years before she could face recording it. Originally written after an emotiona…

Adult Jazz: “Earth of Worms” — When Perfection Gets in the Way of Songwriting

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by Adult Jazz to unpack the long and winding process behind “Earth of Worms,” one of the most technically complex and emotionally unruly songs on their album So Sorry So Slow. The song had been in progress for nearly seven years, a…

Deep Sea Diver: “Shovel” — How to Rebuild a Song That’s Falling Apart

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with Deep Sea Diver at Third Man Records in Soho to unpack the complicated road behind their track “Shovel.” It started out as the easiest song they’d ever written—and nearly became the one that didn’t make the record at all. The …

Sophie Jamieson: “How Do You Want to Be Loved?” — Songwriting and Honesty

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with Sophie Jamieson to explore the writing of “How Do You Want to Be Loved?”, a delicate and emotionally loaded song from her album I Still Want To Share. Unlike many of her songs, this one had a clear emotional target from the st…

Anna B Savage: “Donegal” — Writing Through Creative Block and Emotional Uncertainty

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by Anna B Savage to unpack the long and winding process behind “Donegal,” a standout from her album You and i are Earth. Anna reflects on her changing relationship to songwriting—from the painstaking process behind her early work t…

Famous: “Leaving Tottenham” — The Technical Challenge of Confessional Writing and the Fear It Might Not Matter

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by London band Famous to unpack the writing of “Leaving Tottenham,” a climactic and emotionally charged track from their debut album Party Album. The band’s frontman opens up about the long and often painful process behind the song…

Masma Dream World: “Please Come to Me” — Sound as Ritual, Trusting the Process, and Surviving the Threshold

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with Devi Mambouka, the artist and music producer who performs as Masma Dream World, to explore the deeply spiritual and emotionally raw process behind the making of her art. Unlike traditional songwriting, Devi's process is entire…

Folk Bitch Trio: “Sarah” — How to Bring a Song Back from the Brink — and the Importance of Brutal Honesty in Songwriting

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by Australian group Folk Bitch Trio to reflect on the long, messy road to finishing “Sarah,” a song that was nearly cut from their debut album Now Would Be a Good Time. What began as a heartbreak-fueled acoustic track quickly becam…

Bria Salmena: “Closer to You” — Creative Blocks, Remote Recordings, and a Chorus That Wouldn’t Land

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by Bria Salmena to unpack the winding creative journey behind “Closer to You,” a standout track from her debut solo album Big Dog. Written across two cities—Bria in Los Angeles, Duncan Hay Jennings in Toronto—the song came to life …