Singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti sits down in Liverpool with Simon and Brian to talk about songs from his career to date and his most recent album, Sleep No More, including ‘Catapult’, ‘Not Worthy’, ‘When We Were Lovers’ and ‘Deep Waters’. Jack reflects on the collaborative process, why ‘demo’ is a dirty word, and how his cultural heritage has influenced his songwriting.
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For Christmas 1989, when I was 10 and a half, I got my first Sony Walkman (still one of the best presents I’ve ever received) and a cassette to play on it – Prince’s soundtrack for Tim Burton’s Batman movie, released earlier that year, with which I was obsessed at the time. It was the first album I ever owned, and the only one for a while, so I would play it on a near-constant loop until the tempos slowed and vocals deepened as the Walkman’s batteries ran out of juice. Admittedly, this listening frenzy was as much to do with my childhood Batman obsession as the soundtrack, but now I realise my future musical tastes were being subtly shaped too.
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With the publication of his memoir Testimony, Robbie Robertson joins Simon and Brian to talk about his songwriting process from his early work with Ronnie Hawkins to classic songs for The Band like ‘The Weight’, ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ and ‘Ophelia’. Robbie also describes creative collaborations with Martin Scorsese and Eric Clapton (‘It’s In The Way That You Use It’) and details the writing of solo tracks like ‘Somewhere Down the Crazy River’ and ‘This is Where I Get Off’.
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Our shared love of Al Jarreau goes back almost two decades. We were introduced to his music via the track ‘Roof Garden’ while studying at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts in late 1997 and were immediately drawn to his remarkable, elastic voice and the sheer joie de vivre it exuded (not to mention the quite irresistible funkiness of the song in question).
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Singer-songwriter Tom Odell joins us to discuss the writing of songs like ‘Another Love’, ‘Hold Me’, ‘Wrong Crowd’, ‘Silhouette’ and ‘Somehow’. Tom talks about a range of strategies including writing on planes, co-writing with hitmakers like Rick Nowels and Eg White, and using pop’s conventional limitations to your advantage.
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In this episode, Robyn Hitchcock shares insights into his decades-old relationship with songwriting. Reflecting on the creative process behind such titles as ‘Do Policemen Sing?’, ‘I Often Dream of Trains’, ‘My Wife and My Dead Wife’, ‘Balloon Man’, ‘Strawberries Dress’ and ‘Trouble in Your Blood’, Robyn unpicks an array of Hitchcockian classics in his own inimitable style.
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We are very happy to have contributed some thoughts on podcasting to this NewStatesman article.
The piece, which includes some kind words about us from Caroline Crampton, looks at how podcasts are reinventing music journalism by examining two of the most popular music shows, Sodajerker On Songwriting and Song Exploder.
Hope you’ll check it out!
On the occasion of our 5th podcasting anniversary, songwriter, drummer, music video director and artist Kevin Godley joins us to talk about songs from the 10cc and Godley & Creme catalogues. During this in-depth chat, Kevin reflects on the creative process behind classics like ‘Iceberg’, ‘Donna’, ‘Rubber Bullets’, ‘The Dean and I’, ‘Somewhere in Hollywood’, ‘An Englishman in New York’, ‘Snack Attack’, ‘Under Your Thumb’, ‘Cry’ and more.
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Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones talk about the writing of their excellent album Little Windows as well as tracks from their solo catalogues like ‘Love Her for That’, ‘I Should Get Up’, ‘In My Arms’, ‘The One I Can’t Have’ and ‘There Goes My Baby’. The pair also speak about collaborating with their co-writing partner Bill DeMain, and producer (and former Sodajerker guest) Mike Viola.
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Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy sits down in London with Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of his fantastic new album Foreverland and older classics from his catalogue like ‘At The Indie Disco’, ‘Our Mutual Friend’, ‘A Lady of a Certain Age’ and ‘National Express’. Neil also reflects on his love for vintage synthesisers and his work on projects such as The Duckworth Lewis Method and TV’s Father Ted.
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Peter and David Brewis of Field Music chat with Sodajerker about the creative process behind their critically acclaimed album Commontime and songs from their back catalogue. In addition to describing the writing of ‘Disappointed’, ‘The Noisy Days Are Over’, ‘Luck Is A Fine Thing’ and ‘Let’s Write a Book’, the brothers also discuss the time that the late Prince Rogers Nelson acknowledged their music on Twitter.
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Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers discuss the writing of their stunning album Cleopatra, including songs like ‘Ophelia’, ‘In the Light’, ‘Angela’ and ‘Gun Song’. The guys also detail their approach to penning the worldwide smash ‘Ho Hey’ and their work on ‘The Hanging Tree’ for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, as performed by Jennifer Lawrence.
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Episode 300 – Self EsteemOctober 20, 2025
Episode 299 – Labi SiffreOctober 12, 2025
Episode 298 – Mike ViolaOctober 4, 2025
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