Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a musician retreats to a remote area to write songs that are deeply emotive and pierce through the veil of urban modernity? You’d be forgiven for mistaking today’s guest for following that path, but it’s quite startling how much she’s actually carving out her own. RAKEL is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Iceland, whose debut album, A Place To Be, is truly unlike anything you’ve heard before. Throughout the album's 10 songs, RAKEL is reflecting on the remnants of a heartbreak, questioning life as one does in those situations…but the perspective in which she’s doing that is refreshingly unique. With instrumentation that feels lived-in and a voice that’s both intimate and powerful, RAKEL is here to make us rethink what we’ve come to expect from singer-songwriters.

This is without a doubt the most selfish episode of the season. Pillow Queens and Soda Blonde are my two favourite bands from Ireland, and getting an excuse to catch up with them both is a treat too good to pass up. Though they sound massively different, both of these bands have a shared ethos of human connection being paramount, along with the responsibility of facilitating spaces where that can even happen: human connection. On this episode, I’m joined by Pamela, Sarah, and Cathy of Pillow Queens and Faye of Soda Blonde to discuss why community continues to be important to them, along with what it feels like to be creatively evolving in real time.

They both have appeared on the pod before (the Queens back in season 1 and Faye back in season 2), a lot has changed since then, and yeah, say hello to your new favourite bands (you’re welcome, btw).

OK, so the intro to this episode runs the risk of being a soapbox of sorts, but when you have an artist that’s so steeped in intentionality…it’s next to impossible not to reflect on the current state of things. Sharone Halevy is an abstract expressionist painter (based here in New York) that has gone on to deeply inspire me not just from her work, but also from what that work means to her on a personal level. You see, when it comes to painting and creating art for Sharone it’s very much tied to human connection in a way that’s tangible. To hear her talk about this is to be reminded of the fact that art plays an active, and not a passive role in our lives. There’s a deep level of care, curiosity, and vigor that she applies towards her craft, and essentially, we talk about all of that on this next bonus episode of season 11.

I employ you to check on her Instagram give her a follow. I promise you that seeing her work on a daily basis will make you have better days.

Austra is the moniker of Canadian singer-songwriter Katie Stelmanis, a band and project that continuously reflects Stelmanis’s thoughts on….well, pretty much everything. The songs on the latest Austra album, Chin Up Buttercup, traverse the madness left behind after a breakup. You know the one, those breakups that not only shake us up emotionally but leave us wondering “what the hell is this life even about?” If that sounds too conventional, don’t worry, one of the last things you can ever accuse Austra of is being conventional, and this album is no exception. It’s an album that’s danceable as hell, pulsating with fun and a level of coolness you wouldn’t associate with a breakup. Rather than be a drab colour of somberness, Chin Up Buttercup explores the destabilizing madness such a shakeup can cause, and the (eventual) light you can reach on the other side. On this latest episode, I chat with Katie about how she made sense of this music and what it was like to pour this music out of her.

(Thanks for the help on this one, Juliet!) Here we have someone who is most likely the coolest person to ever grace this podcast. Say hello to the badass punk that is Keaton Kustler, an LA-based creator who dabbles in creative direction, event production, brand development, project management, content strategy, and modeling. However, she’s most known for her favourite activity: running, and the ways she’s not afraid to share her thoughts on the growing popularity of running in our culture. Keaton has the kind of wit and timing that makes you think you’re hanging with a movie character, but she also has a graciousness to her that’s infectious and welcoming.

On this episode of the pod, I’m joined by our friend Katie Dadarria (creator and host of In The Long Run), and together the three of us chat about Keaton’s passion for running, fostering communities both IRL and online, and why she hopes you never call her an elite athlete.

Something that I learned a long time ago is that there can be an art to rambling. They’re conversations you can be part of (or overhear) where you find yourself thinking “wait, how did we get here?” and somehow, the flow will tie back to an overall topic. That’s how it feels whenever I chat with my old friend, ALA.NI, a London-born singer-songwriter who’s called Paris home for many years. Across 3 albums, she’s creatively evolved and pivoted in ways that wholly reflect how she carries herself in this life. Her latest offering, Sunshine Music, the shimmering music of the album was born from ALA.NI’s need to get away from European grey skies and into the crystal clear teal waters of the Caribbean. Across our chat, we get into how tangible that feeling was, along with the experiences in her life that went on to inspire these songs.

We also talk in-depth about how James Baldwin continues to inspire her. We talk quite a bit about a book called ‘Baldwin: A Love Story’ by Nicholas Boggs (which you can check out here). Also, be sure to check out the performance that ALA.NI did with my friend Conor (aka Villagers) for La Blogothèque here.

This episode is a bit of a special one, as I’m joined by Natalie and Meegan of JOSEPH for a conversation that feels just as much of a life update as it does an interview. Their new album, Closer to Happy, digs into that strange space of realizing your life doesn’t quite look how you imagined, and learning to be okay with that. We get into how that mindset shaped the songs, and how the band continues to evolve beyond their indie folk roots into something more dynamic and wide-reaching. One of the things that stands out the most is how the music of JOSEPH moves between softer, more inward moments and bigger, almost cathartic releases. That same energy carries into our conversation, where we talk about growth, perspective, and giving yourself a bit more grace along the way.

Be sure to follow JOSEPH on Instagram @thebandjoseph

One of the most beautiful lessons we can learn in this life is how having clarity on what matters to us can set forth a path for us to walk through. I feel lucky that I’ve met people who’ve echoed that with their actions, and today’s guest does that in spades. Jess DiPierro Obert is an investigative photojournalist, filmmaker, producer, and visual artist whose work has focused on people who’ve had their human rights violated, particularly in the areas of physical violence, sexual assault, and mental health struggles.

It might sound gauche to say it this way, but a major aspect that stands out to me about Jess’s work is the dignity she’s always able to capture. Many of her subjects have been people who’ve gone through difficulties in life, but from Jess’s lens, it’s always clear that a person is more than their worst day (or series of worst days). No, they’re a human being first and foremost, and this bonus episode is about exploring Jess’s ethos towards her work, along with the extensive work she’s done in my family’s home county of Haiti.