Listening Podcast Debuts: Musicians Turn Their Surroundings Into Songs

 Like a riptide that usually cannot be seen from the surface of the water but is powerful nonetheless, original music for podcasts is a phenomenon with strong currents powering the trend. If you're one of the millions who have listened to the hit true-crime podcast Serial then you'll recognize the delicate piano sounds of its theme song, written by Canadian indie rocker Nick Thorburn.

The fiction podcast, Run, Rose, Run was co-written by country music legend Dolly Parton and high-selling fiction author James Patterson. For that podcast, Parton produced an album with original music.

Now, a podcast of original music called Listening, a brand-new podcast from Talkhouse and Mailchimp Presents invites some of the world's most beloved, inventive musicians to create new compositions. 

The first four episodes were released August 10th, featuring 1) Jeff, Spencer and Sammy Tweedy, 2) Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, 3) Mdou Moctar and 4) Neko Case. Each of them will discuss and debut their exclusive piece of music, in addition to talking about the ways in which deeper listening informs their process, and how that practice can enrich all of our lives.

Upcoming installments will be released in pairs on a weekly basis through the end of August, including new works and conversation from Laraaji, JLIN, Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, Vagabon, MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, and Björk. It's equal parts podcast and concept album, and I don't think you've ever heard a show like it.

"I think this very well might be the most ambitious music podcast series ever made," says Ian Wheeler, Founder of Talkhouse Creative Studio and Executive Producer of Listening. "We're so incredibly grateful to the artists and our partners at Mailchimp for working with us to create something so wonderful and meaningful."

"The last couple of years have blurred the lines of how we live, what's important and how we express ourselves," adds Julie Douglas, Senior Podcast Manager and Executive Producer of Mailchimp Studios. "And this podcast is a reflection of that, with amazing artists-musicians creating a kind of call and response to the world in the form of original compositions with companion commentary, and our friends and collaborators at Talkhouse acting as thoughtful translators and bringing these stories to life."

Check out Listening from Talkhouse here.