[Podcast] Ben Gibbard on Zooey Deschanel and the “Divorce Record”

Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians deconstruct their songs and tell the stories behind how they were made. In the past, it’s explored tracks from Game of Thrones to tUnE-yArDs and more. In the newest episode, musician, creator, and host Hrishikesh Hirway and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie breakdown “El Dorado” from their latest album, Kintsugi.

Death Cab for Cutie released Kintsugi, their 8th album, on March 31, 2015. The song “El Dorado”, like other songs on the record, was written in the wake of the divorce between the band’s lead singer Ben Gibbard and actress Zooey Deschanel. In this episode, Ben talks about the metaphor of the city of El Dorado and how it fit the story he wanted to tell, about separation, unrealized dreams, and Culver City. “You deal with the complex emotions that come with something like that and you find ways to unpack all these really complicated emotions in writing—and in my case, in songwriting,” Gibbard recounts in the podcast

Plus, he explains how a few pieces of equipment—a Fender Mustang, a Rhythm Master drum machine, and the VoiceLive unit—ended up shaping the creative process. 

[Download this episode] and Buy “El Dorado” on iTunes.

The clip of Kimbra using the VoiceLive effects unit is from a live performance of “Settle Down.” Watch the video here.

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