Songwriters on Process
In-depth interviews with songwriters about their songwriting process. Nothing else. No talk of band drama, band names, or tour stories. Treating songwriters as writers, plain and simple. By Ben Opipari, English Lit Ph.D.
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 157
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) and Lilly Hiatt
"The good songs happen like someone is playing a record in space, and I have an antennae to pick it up. I actually hear it, and write it down as quickly as I can.”—Patterson Hood.
"You don’t just get…
Martin Sexton
When singer/songwriter Martin Sexton gets in a rut, he turns to chaos.
Some songwriters take a break, some take a walk, others plow through until they get a breakthrough. But Sexton needs disruption. …
Kerry McCoy & George Clarke of Deafheaven
For George Clarke and Kerry McCoy of Deafheaven, it’s not the ritual of the process itself that’s important as much as the preparation before the process. Both use a meditative and repetitive activit…
Walter Martin
Walter Martin’s most efficient writing process involves not sitting down with the intent to create. Also: being hungover helps.
Like most songwriters tell me—Britt Daniel of Spoon was the last one—Ma…
Morgan Wade
Morgan Wade gets more done by 8am than you do. "The more active I am, the more energetic I feel. And that's when I get my best ideas," she told me.
If you want to schedule a meeting with Wade, do it …
Debbie Gibson
For the uninitiated: Debbie Gibson is still the youngest female to write, produce, and perform a #1 single, with "Foolish Beat" at age 17. I think I was just learning how to make toast at that age.
S…
Julien Baker and Matt Nathanson
Some artists create because they like the process and the product. They like what they do and they’re good at it, whether they’re amateurs or professionals.
But other artists create because they need …
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast
No matter if she's writing great music or great books, Michelle Zauner goes by one credo: first thought, best thought. It's always garbage before the good stuff. "Raw source material is supposed to b…
Britt Daniel of Spoon
Spoon's Britt Daniel finds that success as a songwriter comes when he's not trying to write songs. The less organization, the better.
"When I try to write with intention, I come up empty," Daniel say…
Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES
Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches has an impressively organized songwriting process that involves spreadsheets, Pinterest boards, and a jar full of paper.
For Mayberry, that organization involves writing e…
Mia Berrin of Pom Pom Squad
For Mia Berrin of Pom Pom Squad, how a song looks is as important as how it sounds. And her latest album Death of a Cheerleader looks and sounds red.
Pom Pom Squad’s video for “Head Cheerleader” is…
Yola
For Yola, songwriting is all about the colliculus. And sometimes a good vacuum.
There’s a common motion many songwriters make when telling me where their songs come from: they start grasping in the ai…
Anais Mitchell and Charlotte Cornfield
Artists are always searching for the ideal creative state, that perfect time when the songs effortlessly flow. With both Anaïs Mitchell and Charlotte Cornfield, that involves, well, not really being …
Keb' Mo'
“As a songwriter, my job is to figure out how to draw some optimism out of any situation.”
Five-time GRAMMY winner Keb’ Mo’ draws that optimism from the “big bubbling river” of creativity.
We can all…
Allison Russell and Aoife O'Donovan
Allison Russell & Aoife O'Donovan talk about the songwriting process as full-time moms. Hint: there's not a process.
“We’re working moms, so the best undisturbed time is between midnight and 4am.”—All…
Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses
Ben talks to Ben: Songwriters on Process interviews Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses.
Fun fact: this is not the first time I've interviewed Bridwell. The first was in 2015, when the amazing Sera Cahoo…
Intro to Songwriters on Process
An introduction to the Songwriters on Process podcast