It comes up pretty early on in this podcast: but Jesse Boykins III is the kind of person that people smile about when they hear his name. I’ve seen it happen numerous times throughout the years, both across the US and abroad. Sure, much of that has to do with how celebrated Jesse is as an artist, but so much of that love also has to do with how Jes…

Our first bonus episode of season 7 is another chat I’ve been dying to have for a long time and I love that it happened under these circumstances. You see, Denai Moore is a British-Jamaican artist I’ve gotten to know over the years through her music (which is fucking excellent by the way). We do chat about her music career across this podcast, but …

Say hello to Cristal, Alisa, Katie, and McKenna. There are a few episodes this season that I’ve been wanting to make since way back in season 1 and this is one of them. The Aces are a rock band from Utah that I’ve been privileged to have gotten to know over the years. They made their first album here in New York, and I fondly remember witnessing th…

One of the most perplexing things on earth is how immigrants perpetually deal with unfair treatment throughout many corners of the world. The hard work, expressions of passion, and technicolor of culture are often ignored for fear-drenched sensationalism in the news. It’s in understanding that, where the vitality of a band like Gogol Bordello conti…

Welcome back to The New Exchange podcast and to very the beginning of season 7. I am beyond excited to share these talks with you, starting with a guest I’ve been dying to have on here for a long time. Seye Adelekan is a Nigerian-British artist who’s toured with Lana Del Rey, Emeli Sandé, KT Tunstall, and Paloma Faith; though he is best known as a …

A short explainer of what to expect between now and the launch of season 7 (March 2024).

Let’s be honest, if we had to make a list of the acts we’ve taken with us from our high school years into adulthood….the list would be pretty short. So imagine how trippy it feels for me to have not only done that with Ash (my favourite band) but that I’ve also found myself in a position to say they’re still making their most vital works. Their lat…

Honestly, when it came to planning this season, I knew the finale had to be about my home, Ireland. But the end result has turned out to go well beyond what I expected. Ireland is a country that’s embraced me for over a decade now and I’m constantly gobsmacked by the amount of love and generosity I feel when I’m there. It’s a place that’s been cruc…

In just a few short decades, Germany has transformed into an epicenter of the arts. Whether it’s painting, writing, or music, artists from all over the world know that Germany is a place where your creativity can flourish. That reputation has led many to this European country, not just to create art, but also to appreciate it in a more tangible way…

Sulene is an accomplished songwriter, producer, performer, and composer from Cape Town who’s one of the most creative New Yorkers that I know. When I decided on featuring South Africa in this season, I knew it’d be important to explore the country considerably; especially since I’ve never been there before. One of the earliest talks I had for this …

It’s pretty crazy, this episode marks the first episode of the season to feature a country I’ve yet to experience. South Africa is a nation full of history, home to over 60 million people, and is one of the most culturally diverse places on earth (12 languages are spoken regionally throughout South Africa). Along with these attributes, the music an…

The next episode of this season is about a country that reinvigorated me just a few months ago. Brazil is a part of the world that’s famous for its warmth, it’s vibrancy, and enthusiasm across its people, but I have to say; getting to experience that firsthand is really something else. Getting to go there, I got to experience some of the most overt…

Michaël Brun is a ridiculously talented DJ, producer, and songwriter from Haiti that’s perpetually manifesting his dreams. In a few short years he’s already collaborated with acts like Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, Maesgo, and honestly, the list is practically endless. Haiti is also the home country of my family, and getting to make this episode was a beau…

To call today’s episode personal would be a massive understatement. France is a country that’s become quite a second home to me, a sentiment I’m fortunate to feel about several places but it’s a very different beast when it comes to France. My family are Haitian and French, with our roots extending between the two countries for actual centuries. I,…

Welcome to Season 6 of The New Exchange Podcast: The Passport Season. This is an idea that’s been kicking in my head for quite a while now and getting to have it materialize for you feels unreal. Traveling has been a major part of my whole life and the thing that I value the most about traveling is how I’ve perpetually gotten to meet people who’re …

It’s finally time to announce season 6 of the podcast: The Passport Season. Six episodes, six different countries, and six additional radio broadcasts sharing music from each country. To further explain how this season will work, I welcomed back my buddy Toby Tenenbaum to ask me about the who, what, when, why, and how of this different kind of seas…

Welcome to the last off-season episode before the launch of season 6 (which will be announced very very soon!). Getting to finish off this series of talks with Nottingham-based singer-songwriter Yazmin Lacey feels like the perfect situation, and I’m proper excited about you falling in love with Yazmin’s music the way I have. Her debut album, Voice …

Corniness be damned: you just gotta love when good things happen to good people. My brother (and returning pod guest) Abraham Alexander is having a stellar year, all off the back of hard work and authenticity. His debut album, SEA/SONS is a contemplation on loss, redemption, and anguish, but also light, joy, and most importantly; hope. In a time of…

Naaz is a Dutch-Kurdish alternative pop singer that brilliantly exemplifies what this podcast is all about. I’d forgive you for mistaking this series as a podcast about music, after all, I do talk to a lot of musicians. But no, this series is really about humanity and you have to admit, behind every great song and every great album is some form of …

This is an episode I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards. SAIAH is a west-coast based musician that intrigued me with their authenticity and unapologetic approach to writing. I don’t think it’s breaking new ground by stating how in 2023 we live in a society that constantly asks us to be “perfect.” Honestly, in my opinion, the best artists ar…

I’ll be real with you: I’m incredibly biased when it comes to today’s guests. But hand-on-heart, I do feel like they’re one of the best rock bands in the world and their latest album has only further solidified that thought. They’re called July Talk, they hail from Toronto and they deeply care about the human condition. Specifically, how can the mu…

Since childhood, it was obvious that twin sisters Naomi Diaz and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz would have music as the dominant fixture of their lives. When you have a father like the legendary Anga Diaz, how could that not be the case? That said, nobody could’ve expected the ways in which Naomi and Lisa have challenged the music world with their project; Ibeyi…

Welcome to the off-season, a series of talks I’ll be releasing on the road to season 6. Today’s episode is about an act I deeply respect and admire, largely due to their tenacity as both an artist and human being. Across four albums, Kimbra has perpetually challenged audiences across the world, with a clear love for experimenting with sonics and ch…

I’m ecstatic to announce The New Exchange Radio, an extension of The New Exchange Podcast. Starting February 7th, I’ll be releasing new episodes in a radio format that’ll be showcasing a wide range of artists from all over the world. The aim will be to share songs/artists that you’re both familiar and unfamiliar with, along with why those artists m…

It feels so fitting to me that we get to kiss season 5 goodbye with a friend of mine from Ireland, the incredibly talented Eoin French (aka Talos). A supremely talented individual, Talos has achieved international acclaim by creating these soundscapes that transport you elsewhere. Brilliant at experimenting with various electronic textures, beats a…

It’s such a joy that the last bonus episode of the season is with an old friend of mine, the incomparable Ella Vos. Ella is a pop singer-songwriter who’s one of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. From intense heartbreaks to battling a cancer diagnosis while building her career….Ella’s been through a lot, and yet the way she’s able to be a shi…

Nova Twins are two best friends, Georgia South and Amy Love, who’ve just had a life-changing year. Based in London, Nova Twins have taken elements of punk, grime, punk, hard rock, and even dance, to craft a sound that’s distinctly them; a sound that’s caused them to be impossible to place within a box. However, the most alluring thing about them is…

Charlie Gunn is an entertainment journalist/editor from London who’s founded an incredible new outlet called The Forty-Five. It’s an online music magazine that focuses on the creative exploits of women, women-identifying and non-binary people; specifically through the lens of writers and photographers who’re also part of those communities. Kicking …

It’s the third time it’s happened but it has to be said: it is wild that we’re at the point where we have return guests to the pod. Honestly, what a privilege to welcome back Charlene Kaye (aka KAYE), a friend I deeply admire and an artist I’m a proper fan of. We first met when she was part of the Brooklyn-based outfit, San Fermin, and since leavin…

Today’s guests are a group of people I’ve been dying to have on since season 1! Dream Wife are a punk band based in London that I’ve gotten to know over the years and the list of what makes them special is endless. But if I had to condense it, I’d say this: they’re a stellar band who’ve hit the sweet spot between having killer tunes and constantly …

This is one of those bonus episodes that’s a perfect example of how nuanced we are as human beings. Christina Xing is an Asian-American director who’s honestly one of the funniest, most thoughtful, and incredibly talented individuals I’ve ever met. She’s been making a fierce name for herself by directing a constant stream of amazing music videos (f…

I feel a lot of gratitude towards this episode that you’re about to hear. Largely because, they’re artists you come across that you just know are going to leave a lasting impact, and that’s absolutely the case with my guest, Ruel. He’s a pop singer-songwriter from Australia who’s already achieved so much in his short career. With multiple top-chart…

In a lot of ways, today’s guest is an anomaly in the music world. During a time when social media dominates the lives of many, causing attention spans to grow shorter each year….this artist dares to ask: what if you spend some time with my art? Tamino is a Belgian-Egyptian singer-songwriter who’s achieved astronomical success by making contemplativ…

Truth be told, I generally don’t care about numbers. You see, the music industry has this constant conversation around numbers, in the context of how many views and streams someone’s gotten and utilizing those numbers as a metric of a person's worth. No, this isn’t a veiled attempt to highlight what a hipster I am, no, it’s more to highlight that w…

It seriously brings me so much joy getting to welcome another artist from Ireland onto the podcast. David Keenan is a singer-songwriter who in many ways is an unabashed maverick. His arrangements and singing styles tend to go against the conventional structures of western pop music, and yet his music still has an accessibility factor that allows hi…

It’s always wild when we get to have a guest who directly inspired this series. Jarlath Regan is a standup comedian from Ireland who has also created one of the most unique podcasts in all of Europe. That series is An Irishman Abroad, a podcast that highlights people of Irish descent, with a strong emphasis on the successes and failures that make u…

So this is a very different kind of episode than our usual interviews (even for Real Exchanges). It’s majorly important to me that this podcast is never about promotion or glorifying one act in particular, but this felt like the right kind of circumstance. Arctic Monkeys are a band I’ve loved for well over a decade now, and today they’re releasing …

(Phillip interview starts at 2:06 and Mobley interview starts at 52:55). It’s lovely getting to share with you this special episode where you’re getting two podcasts for the price of one. One of the things I love about my job is how it forces me to meet people who leave me feeling deeply inspired. That was the case when I met both of today’s guests…

It’s been a while since I’ve had a fellow New Yorker on the podcast and it’s beautifully fitting that this is also our first bonus episode of season 5. Ariana Di Lorenzo (aka Ariana and the Rose) is a pop music singer-songwriter who fiercely believes that just because a song is a banger doesn’t mean it’s not capable of being emotional. Her debut al…

Jared Lee (aka Duckwrth) is a rapper, singer-songwriter, and visual artist who’s carving out his own path in fiercely unique ways. His upcoming project, Chrome Bull, is a wide-ranging spectacle that features Duckwrth collaborating with numerous artists of the LGBTQ community. In many ways, this new music poignantly represents the ways that Duckwrth…

My guest today is easily one of the bravest people that I know and it’s mystifying how that’s solely due to the honesty in which she lives her life. AJ Haynes of Seratones is a frontwoman and activist from Shreveport, Louisiana that is challenging what you’ve come to expect of rock music. Seratones third album, Love & Algorhythms, is unabashedly ce…

This is an episode I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you for quite some time now and it still shatters my mind that it’s happened. Giles Duley is a photographer, writer, CEO, presenter, and cook; who for over a decade has traveled the world photographing people within conflict zones. In 2011, he suffered a grave injury by an IED, causing Gi…

Let’s be honest, there aren’t many artists who can say they’re making their most compelling work 17 years into their careers. And yet, this is exactly the case with British band Editors. Across their 6 albums, they’ve continuously challenged themselves & listeners by breaking the conventions of rock music and electronic production; defying all expe…

It took only over 100 episodes for me to finally release an introduction episode! But all jokes aside, it hit me a few months back that some of you who’ve gotten into the podcast might at some point have asked; who the f%$k is Ken Grand-Pierre, anyway? The short of it is I’m a photographer that’s traveled with musicians and a person who feels the m…

Let’s be honest, we’re all keenly aware that the world is a dumpster fire. Arguably, we’re overly aware of that, which is why when a band like Los Bitchos comes around; there’s an intense need for celebration. They’re an all-girl band based in London that has one goal: to make you have a great time. That attitude is expressed strikingly so across t…

What’s it like to not only grow up in a place that’s confused by your very existence but also resistant towards you sharing your heart? Most of us can’t imagine what it’d be like to deal with such hardships and yet, that’s exactly what today’s guest had to deal with; both as a child and as an adult. Say hello to morgxn, an independent singer-songwr…

We all know that classic R&B sound of the ’70s is timeless, right? Artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Charlie Wilson have all released songs that sound like they could’ve been released yesterday. But, what if I told you that there’s a new guy who’s not only continuing that legacy but also truly building upon it? Joel Culpepper is a deeply…

What if I told you that one of the best movies of 2022 involved parallel universes, a genocidal coconut, the power of friendship, and a treasure cove of internet culture references? Yeah, it’s true, that movie does in fact exist and it’s called Night of the Coconut, the directorial debut of Patrick Willems. Throughout the years, Patrick has made a …

They’re not many bands out there who can say that they excel at challenging listeners, let alone themselves. But legendary Canadian indie band Metric have done just that and the proof is all over their latest offering, Formentera; the band's 8th album. Named after an idyllic island off the coast of Spain, the album explores that universal desire to…

Before we start, I want to give a major thanks to everyone who’s been on the podcast this season, along with a massive thanks to you, the listener. I say it every season but the fact that you’re proactively taking the time to listen to this is huge and it truly means the world to me. Season 4 was such a wild journey, a true blast of technicolor of …