The Hardest Part

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of “Victim of Luck”, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn’t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right.

Emily and Jimmy Shaw tell Kieron how the song was intended to introduce the entire record, setting the tone for everythin...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Will White to break down the making of “6:30 AM”, a song that became the catalyst for everything that followed.

Unlike most of his work, the song stayed with him for years. That alone was unusual. Will describes a songwriting process where songs either arrive fully formed or disappear entirely. He rarely revisits unfinished ideas, yet somehow “6:30...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Witch Fever break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “The Garden,” a song shaped by religious trauma, feminist rebellion, and the emotional tension of leaving the church behind. We talk about how the band nearly abandoned the song after feeling the chorus sounded “too Jesus-y,” triggering memories of Christian worship music and charismatic ch...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Lily Moore to break down the making of “Grown Up Girl Regrets” and why it became one of the most important songs she has ever written. Written during her first studio session after lockdown, the song emerged from a period of uncertainty, isolation, and emotional exhaustion. Walking back into a writing room for the first time in months, Lily found he...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Young the Giant break down the songwriting process and music production process behind “Different Kind of Love,” exploring how the band tried to return to the spirit of their first record.

After years of touring, remote writing, adult responsibilities, and fragmented workflows, Young the Giant wanted to reconnect creatively by getting back into a room together and writing instinctive...

What happens when you can’t move, can’t escape, and a song is the only thing you can build.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Westerman to break down the making of “Mosquito” from his 2025 album A Jackal’s Wedding. 

The song was written during a period of physical and emotional isolation, after Westerman tore his meniscus while travelling in northern Greece. Unable...

Sometimes the hardest part is not writing the song, it is making it feel right.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Winter to break down the making of “Misery” and how the song transformed completely in the studio. 

What started as a faster demo in a different key with only one verse became the longest and most complex process on the record. Through experimentation with tempo, pitch, ...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Athens-based band The Overjoyed to go behind the scenes of their track “Party Eyes,” exploring the songwriting process, music production, and the emotional realities that shaped it. 

The song begins with a deeply personal place: sleepless nights, hangovers, and the emotional comedown that can follow moments of excess or difficult periods in life. Wh...

In this episode of The Hardest Part podcast, Tigercub break down the songwriting and creative process behind their track, "Fall In Fall Out".

The track sits at the centre of their new album’s core tension, exploring contradiction, cycles, and the difficulty of articulating feelings that don’t fully make sense yet. Jamie explains how the song began with melody on acoustic guitar, before any clear meaning was attached. Fr...

Sometimes the hardest part of songwriting is figuring out what you are actually feeling.

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Madi Diaz to break down the making of her track “Heavy Metal” and the songwriting process behind it. The song began as a feeling she could not fully access while finishing her record, something unresolved that she knew was there but could not yet put into words....

What happens when you enter the studio with a song that is not finished and no time to figure it out?

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Julia Cumming and Nick Kivlen of Sunflower Bean to break down the making of their track “I Knew Love” from the album Mortal Primetime.

The song was one of the only tracks that was still being developed once the band entered the studio. With time, budget,...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Foy Vance to explore the realities of songwriting and the role ego plays in the creative process. The conversation focuses on how ego can shape, and sometimes block, the way songs are written.

Foy reflects on the importance of stepping back, letting go of control, and allowing the song to take the lead rather than forcing it into a preconceived idea. They discuss th...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Sam Fischer for a behind the scenes look at the songwriting and music production behind his track “Sweet Contradiction.” The conversation dives deep into the songwriting process, the emotional reality of creating music, and how a studio writing session meant for another artist turned into one of Sam’s most personal songs.

From the first lyrical ide...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Matt from Mariachi El Bronx for a behind the scenes look at the songwriting and music production process behind their track “Songbird.”

 The conversation dives into studio life during the making of the band’s fourth Mariachi El Bronx record and how the song came together in a completely unexpected way. Unlike the rest of the album, “Song...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Dream Nails to unpack the making of their track “The Information,” a song that went through multiple versions and nearly did not make the album.

The band explain how the track began as free writing for a completely different idea before evolving through co-writing, shifting styles, and eventually returning to their post-punk sound with new hooks in place...

What happens when two ideas don't fit — until they finally do? What does that process actually look like?

In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji is joined by Ulrika Spacek to break down the making of their track “Weights and Measures.”

The song began as two completely separate pieces. One was built around a heavy fuzz section. The other drew on early 2010s London electronic textures. For a long time, ...

How do you turn fear and anxiety into something creative? In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with UK band Chartreuse to unpack the story behind their song “I’m Losing It” — a deeply personal track written by vocalist Hattie following the news that she’d need major surgery at just 29, forcing her to relearn how to walk. Hattie shares how months of anxiety and fear about becomi...

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji is joined by Hrishikesh Hirway — musician, composer, and creator of the iconic podcast Song Exploder.

Known for helping artists dissect their songs an...

What do you do when you have five separate demos and no idea how they fit together?

In this episode of The Hardest Part, host Kieron Banerji sits down with NYC psych-pop collective Psymon Spine to unpack the twisting, turbulent process behind their ...