SONG EXPLODER CELEBRATES
10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION INCLUDES DELUXE EDITION
OF FIRST EPISODE AND LIVE APPEARANCES AT SOLID SOUND, THE THING IN SPRING, AND THE TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Critical acclaim for Song Exploder…
“… warm, deep, and illuminating. The show is rooted in Hirway’s expansive curiosity about how, exactly, art is made. After a while, his central question—'How did you get from nothing to this?’—begins to feel applicable to nearly every endeavor we undertake.”—The New Yorker
“Song Exploder is probably the best use of the podcast format ever.”—New York Magazine / Vulture
“Hirway […] is a devoted connoisseur of the creative process.”—The New York Times
“Song Exploder is rich with incisive conversations on the creative process.”—Los Angeles Times
“Hrishikesh Hirway understands the amount of finesse and perfectionism that goes into crafting fantastic songs. He takes that understanding to interviews with other music makers — some of whom are of the household-name variety — and draws out the best parts and thoughts.”—LA Weekly
“Song Exploder has become one of podcasts’ most intriguing and
compelling looks at the music industry.”—AV Club
January 18, 2024—Song Exploder, the award-winning podcast from host/creator Hrishikesh Hirway, celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a slew of new material and experiences including a deluxe, expanded edition of the pilot episode out January 24. The debut episode, which initially aired January 1, 2014 and featured The Postal Service’s single “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” is amended to include new interviews and audio.
Upcoming appearances by Hirway include keynote speaker at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles in March, a live exploration of Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring" with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra titled “Symphony Exploder” in April, a solo music performance at The Thing in Spring Festival in New Hampshire in May, and an intimate conversation with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco about songwriting at Solid Sound, Wilco’s festival in Massachusetts in June. Full list of appearances can be found below.
In 2013, after making several albums as The One AM Radio, Hirway went through a years-long period of writer’s block. During that time, he created Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and tell the stories behind their inspiration and creative process. The podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times in the U.S. and around the world, and has featured Fleetwood Mac, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Solange, U2, Mitski, Madonna, Haim, Metallica, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Yo-Yo Ma, Steve Reich, Sheryl Crow, The Roots, an innovative and award-winning posthumous John Lennon episode, and many more across more than 265 episodes. Song Exploder was also adapted into a Netflix documentary series in 2020.
Highlights of 2023 included Seal telling the story of making “Kiss from a Rose,” jazz breakout star Laufey, folk sensation Noah Kahan and a special episode with New Order on “Blue Monday.” Song Exploder ended the year with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, who spoke about writing “The Teacher,” a track inspired by his mother who passed away in 2022. It was the first time he spoke about it publicly; the episode was picked up by Rolling Stone, People and more.
In addition to Song Exploder—part of the Radiotopia podcast network—Hirway produced and co-hosted the award-winning podcasts Home Cooking with Samin Nosrat, The West Wing Weekly with Joshua Malina, and created the Partners podcast. Hirway also voiced a character in the television show Bob’s Burgers, and in the DC Comics / Spotify original podcast Harley Quinn & the Joker. Fast Company named Hirway one of 2021’s Most Creative People in Business, and Adweek named him one of 2022’s Creative 100, as an “innovator reshaping the media landscape.” His TED Talk, “What You Discover When You Really Listen,” has been viewed over three million times.
Hrishikesh Hirway has been producing music for over two decades; his most recent EP, Rooms I Used to Call My Own was released in March 2022. His music career first began in the early 2000s with his solo project The One AM Radio, and later with MOORS, a collaboration with Oscar-nominated rapper/actor Lakeith Stanfield. As a composer, his credits include the Netflix original series Everything Sucks!, the theme for ESPN’s 30 for 30 podcast and the theme for the Song Exploder series on Netflix.
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UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS
March 26-29 /// Los Angeles, CA /// Podcast Movement Evolutions
April 5 /// Toronto, ON /// Roy Thompson Hall
June 28-30 /// North Adams, MA /// Solid Sound Festival
May 19 /// Keene, NH /// The Thing in Spring Festival
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