Welcome to episode 6 - The Songwriting Dad. This time we kick off with some essential chat about our shared love of high end crisps, then get into the real stuff - what it’s like trying to be a present, hands-on dad while keeping the creative life and music career going. The highs, the struggles, and how maybe it can even make us better versions of ourselves.

We also collaborated on a new song idea that started with one of Charlie’s riffs. (working title Totally Toto) Jonatan took it and ran with it and honestly, we think it could turn into something pretty special.

Next episode: part one of our interview with Jessica Greenfield from Wonder 45 and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Don’t miss it!

In this episode we talk about Jonatan’s status as a person who is immune to the charms of The Beatles, who are Charlie’s favourite band of all time. We also discuss the craziness of deciphering briefs from record companies and Charlie’s recent experience of running a songwriting camp in Berlin, and what we love about attending camps as a writer. And we bring you a fresh song starter ditty based on a guitar idea of Charlie's. Enjoy!

We’re back! In this episode we take a deep dive into the highs and lows of making and releasing an album as an independent artist. Timely stuff, since Jonatan just dropped his latest collection, ”<3 på svenska.” We talk about how to find joy in self promotion (spoiler alert - it’s a nightmare) and how we can define success on our own terms. Charlie shares a tale from his early days as a pro songwriter, riding the mechanical bull of excitement and disappointment while trying to master the fine art of letting go.

Check out Jonatan's new album "<3 på svenska"

https://open.spotify.com/album/6yz0PQwE2tY21qlHfEFbIV?si=u4SzmqjNS3-w1umQn5BNKg

In this episode Charlie outs himself as a dance music ignoramus and seeks help/advice/forgiveness from Jonatan. We talk about the days where music fandom was way more tribal than it is now, back when our identities and music tastes were intertwined. All this and more plus a snippet of ”Andrahand” - a stone cold banger from Jonatan's forthcoming album.

Welcome to episode two of You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here, But it Helps!

Ever have those moments where the bottom crashes out of your confidence? yup, us too. Charlie and Jonatan do a deep dive into those times where you have a major wobble as a creative, as well as exploring changes in our attitudes to how to approach a songwriting session. We take a look back on former versions of ourselves and how we’ve changed along the way as songwriters and as humans. All this and more plus another spontaneous song starter ditty. Leave a comment and give us a follow!

Here's some songs we've made:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747

Find us on Instagram:

Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/

Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/

Our artist projects:

Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w

Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g

Artwork by Martin Kelly.

All music by Charlie and Jonatan.

Welcome to the first ever episode of "You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here... But It Helps". We’re delving into things that affect us as full time creatives, how to hack creativity and productivity, what a great day in the studio feels like, and how to be OK with the very real possibility that most of our songs will end up gathering dust in a dropbox folder.

We talk about different ways of approaching songwriting that have worked for us and helped to bust our brains out of bad habits, and as mental health is a big topic for the podcast we do a round of: What brings you joy and drives you mad - real talk about the roller coaster ride that is a life in music!

Here's some songs we've made:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747

Find us on Instagram:

Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/

Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/

Our artist projects:

Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w

Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g

Artwork by Martin Kelly.

All music by Charlie and Jonatan.