What is the sound of where you come from? Is it a particular song you remember from your childhood? Maybe it’s a collection of remembered sounds from your first home—a train that passed nearby, or the wildlife that would sing at night. Maybe it’s the first song that you ever really connected to, the one that first made you feel like you belonged. In this special episode, we’re exploring this question from many perspectives. Hanif speaks to composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón,...

Imagine walking inside a room that was made for fans of this show. We've teamed up with the first-ever immersive podcast experience happening Feb 23-26 at Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg Brooklyn to make it happen. Flip through original vinyl and artifacts from the show, add your selects to a living playlist, and if you're lucky, run into Hanif in the room! All the details are available at bit.ly/oos-experience

Welcome to our first ever year end special, ‘This Year In Music with Hanif Abdurraqib.’ December is the perfect time to look back on all the incredible music that has been released over the past year: the songs that moved us to dance, and the songs that helped us endure. In this hour-long deep dive, we'll review the musical highlights of 2022 and make predictions about the future of music in 2023 together with special guests Kelela, Sam Sanders, and Santigold.

In Mali, where Fatoumata Diawara was raised, it is common for women to sing, but much rarer for women to play an instrument. As a result, Fatoumata—who is one of the first, if not the first woman guitarist in all of Mali—has developed a self-taught, intuitive guitar playing style that is entirely her own. “This way of playing, it's me,” says Fatoumata. “It represents my fight as a musician, as an African, and as a lady on stage.” In this episode of Object of Sound, Fatoumata talks to Hanif...

The night before Thanksgiving, Hanif has a special invented tradition: every year, he makes a batch of cupcakes and watches The Last Waltz—and every year, he finds new things to love about the film. Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Last Waltz is a 1978 concert film documenting the final performance of The Band. To Hanif, the movie is not just a collection of great performances, but a study in exquisite tenderness, and how to say goodbye. Hrishikesh Hirway joins Hanif to discuss the film in...

“Music is a time machine,” says Ben Gibbard, singer and guitarist of Death Cab for Cutie. Just a few bars of a beloved song can be transportative, an instant reminder of another time and place. “And if you've been that in someone's life, you have a responsibility to keep that material alive.” For Ben, that means continuing to honor and perform work from Death Cab for Cutie’s back catalog—some of which he wrote when he was only twenty years old—while constantly pushing the band to new creative...

“While I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to Earth.” Written by Scott Hutchison, the late frontman of the band Frightened Rabbit, this line has provided comfort, consolation, and inspiration to those who loved Scott’s music. A talented and witty lyricist, Scott’s songs could be devastatingly crushing or funny, visceral or resonant—sometimes all in the same track. But an artist is more than the work they produce, and so, on this episode of Object of Sound, we’re celebrating not only Scott’s...

Before Tegan and Sara sat down to make Crybaby, they had to navigate a series of breakups—with their label, their management, and (almost) with each other. “This is our breakup record,” says Sara Quin, “but we're not going to break up. We’re siblings. We can’t.” In the turmoil that followed, Tegan and Sara rebuilt their professional team, repaired their relationship, and completely reinvented their collaborative songwriting process for Crybaby, one of their most exciting releases yet. In this...

Carly Rae Jepsen is a writer’s writer. “I am very excited about the idea of writing it in all directions,” Carly says — and for the making of her latest album, The Loneliest Time, that meant writing literally hundreds of songs. On this episode of Object of Sound, Hanif and Carly Rae Jepsen talk about the unique collaborative process that went into narrowing that collection of songs down to the thirteen tracks on the album. Carly opens up about the challenges and opportunities of songwriting...

“One of the most meditative things about writing is that you kind of forget where you are,” says Nick Hakim. “If you're tapped into it, you're not really thinking about anything else.” On this episode of Object of Sound, Nick recalls the spontaneous 5:00am recordings and free writing that went into the making of his new album COMETA, out October 21. Plus, Nick treats us to a special sneak peek of Perfume—one of Hanif’s favorite tracks off COMETA—and shares with us the inspiration behind the...

“I came into my own and I was able to find my voice through my writing,” says artist Ravyn Lenae. The making of her album, HYPNOS, was a four-year-long journey of blood, sweat and tears—but the result is a meticulously crafted debut, a collection of songs on which Ravyn herself has curated every element, right down to individual snares and bass lines. In this episode, the first in our three part mini-series, “The Wonders of Songwriting,” Hanif and Ravyn dig into the editing process that...

“It’s like digging a hole and moving into it, and listening to a lot of bass, and loving it.” So says Björk of the meaning behind the word ‘Fossora’—the title of her tenth studio album, just released today. On this episode, Hanif and Björk break Fossora down concept-by-concept, from the sextet of bass clarinets that shape the album’s grounded, sonic world, to the album’s themes of digging deeply into our ancestral roots, and the pleasures of setting down new ones. To close the show, Hanif...

“When I'm onstage, it's the happiest I feel. It's the most in love with myself I feel,” says Danielle Ponder. “I know that’s my purpose.” On this episode of Object of Sound, Danielle and Hanif talk about how Danielle left her successful career as a public defender to follow her purpose and become a musician full time—and how Danielle sees storytelling as a vital skill for both professions. Hanif and Danielle dig into the making of her debut album ‘Some Of Us Are Brave,’ and Danielle reveals...

Welcome to Season Four of Object of Sound! To kick us off, Hanif sits down with Madison Cunningham, who just released her latest album, Revealer. Hanif and Madison dig deep into the songwriting process: the vulnerability and ultimately, the surrender that is required to put a piece of yourself out into the world. Throughout the conversation, Hanif and Madison investigate what it is like to confront our own reflections, and find the balance between who we think we are, and who exists behind...

“I have lived half my life in fear of judgment,” says Margo Price. “I'm so done with it.” In the final episode of this season, recorded from the back lounge of Margo’s tour bus, Margo reveals how the experience of writing her autobiography, Maybe We’ll Make It, empowered her to let go of her fear and tell her personal story. Plus, Margo talks to Hanif about her on-the-road reading list, her upcoming Sonos show Runaway Horses, and what she thinks of the evolving Nashville music scene. Hanif...

So many coming-of-age stories focus on leaving where you’re from—but what compels someone to come back? Musician PJ Morton returned to his hometown of New Orleans in 2016, and since then, he’s established an independent record label, founded a non-profit organization, and worked to restore the home of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden. In this episode, Hanif and PJ talk about embracing the strength in your roots, and the making of his just-released album, Watch the Sun, which features appearances...

“I still have every bit of my voice,” says singer and civil rights icon Mavis Staples. “It’s still here, and I’m still here.” Throughout her career, Mavis has used her voice to uplift the truth through song, and after seventy years, she has no interest in slowing down. This year Mavis is on tour throughout the US and Europe, and on May 20th, she will release a new album, Carry Me Home, recorded with The Band’s Levon Helm. On this episode, Hanif speaks to Mavis about the album, why she won’t...

“Anyone who loves music can karaoke.” So declares Raina Lee, Karaoke Queen and author of Hit Me With Your Best Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Karaoke Domination. In celebration of National Karaoke Week, our new favorite niche holiday, we’re devoting a whole episode to karaoke. We’ll hear tips for picking the perfect song and what it takes to rule the karaoke stage from Raina and 2020 World Karaoke Champion Garvaundo Hamilton. Plus, listeners from across the country call in to perform some of...

What does anger look like? In Yaeji’s case, the answer is simple: a fearsome, bedazzled hammer. At least, that’s the idea behind her forthcoming debut album. “It's a story about me and my anger,” says Yaeji. “My anger is materialized into this hammer that I befriend.” In this episode, Hanif sits down with Yaeji to talk about her songwriting process, her debut album, and the usefulness, the beauty, and the complicated nature of anger. Hanif closes the episode with a final thought: when we stop...

Jack White has won twelve Grammys, founded his own label, and is regularly ranked as one of the top guitarists of all time—but, “I’ve never felt like I’ve arrived or felt satisfied,” he tells Hanif. It’s that restlessness and discomfort with success that keeps pushing Jack into new creative territory. In this episode, we talk to Jack about his two forthcoming albums, Fear Of The Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive, and what it means to consistently return to the challenge of making something new—a...

Just in time for the final weeks of March Madness, we’re bringing two of our favorite things together – music and basketball. Hanif heads to a Cleveland Cavaliers v. Detroit Pistons game to take in the sounds courtside. Then, together with sports journalist Haley O’Shaughnessy and former Tommy Boy Records President Monica Lynch, we’ll uncover the stories that explain why you hear what you hear at a game, and dig into 90s nostalgia. Plus, Hanif makes a playlist of his favorite arena hits. For...

“I'm just so fascinated by the voice,” says Taja Cheek, the experimentalist and multi-instrumentalist behind L’Rain. “It feels so scary to me, but that's also what kind of draws me closer to it to try to figure it out.” It’s this fascination Taja credits with inspiring the dreamy and ethereal vocal manipulations on Fatigue, L’Rain’s second album. On this episode, Hanif and Taja sit down ahead of L’Rain’s upcoming tour to talk in detail about her process, the power of repetition, and...

“Soundtracks are the unsung heroes of film.” That’s the premise of this special episode of Object of Sound, recorded live at On Air Fest 2022. Hanif and New York Times critic at large Wesley Morris took to the stage in Brooklyn to talk about four of their all-time favorite Black movie soundtracks, from Do the Right Thing (1989) to Love and Basketball (2000), from Boomerang (1992) to Belly (1998). Plus, a playlist of standout hits from soundtracks of the 1990s. For the playlist of songs...

“The journey to self-love is not quick, or easy, or ever over,” says musician Allison Russell, whose solo album Outside Child was released to widespread acclaim last year. In this episode, Allison and Hanif sit down to talk about healing and moving towards self-love through trauma—and the rollercoaster of emotions that often comes along with that work. How can we embrace the totality of our past, comfortably inhabit our contradictions, and love who we are in this moment—whether we feel...