In Song Exploder musicians disassemble their own hit songs. Piece by piece, from the moment of inspiration to tinkering with the perfect riff. First a short introduction by host Hrishikesh Hirway, then the musician tells about the creation of the song, for example about finding the right tone, or the emotional state (read: breakup) that served as inspiration. Just when the musician begins to describe how we can hear these frustrations in the song, the drum part comes up, or just the vocals. As if you were in the process of composing yourself. Hirway speaks with contemporary artists such as Billie Eilish (Everything I Wanted), but also with film composers such as Hans Zimmer (dune) and veterans like Cheap Trick (Surrender).
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on 5 February 2022
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of February 5, 2022
