Spotify’s new phone-call based original podcast ‘Butt Dial’ shares candid talks between artists.
Music industry-focused podcasts have been booming, fans undoubtedly love getting to know the hidden stories behind artists directly. While the likes of ‘And The Writer Is’ focus on the music side of their stories, a new show called ‘Butt Dial’ has landed which takes a less serious approach.
Produced by Spotify Studios, the comedic flavoured series can be best described as listening in on private casual phone call between some of today’s most interesting artists. It’s the perfect way to break up your quarantine boredom.
The short bite-sized episodes are a perfect way for artists to connect with their fans during the quarantine. In each show, we get to know more about their life outside the public eye through candid conversations, from hearing them talk about conspiracy theories, thoughts on current events, personal goals and biggest career moments. While we get curated snippets of what people are thinking on social media, the conversation between friends reveals a bit more vulnerability.
The phone-call based series “Butt Dial” kicked off last month with a new episode arriving every Tuesday. Unlike most Podcasts it doesn’t follow a traditional interview format or have a continuous host, instead, the Artists jump on with someone they already know. The conversations are comfortable and relaxed, without a script. Each show kicks off with one of the artists leaving the other voice message to give us a little bit of a low down on what they want to talk about.
The first episode brought on Dance Music’s number one comedian Dillon Francis phone to talk with humourous Hip-Hop/Pop artist BabyJake, the second episode sees sister pop-rock group HAIM jump on a group call and the latest episode currently sees 1 half of funk-inducing Chromeo chat with Ezra Koenig of the Vampire Weekend.
Butt Dial Episode 1: Dillon Francis & BabyJake
Dillon Francis catches up with BabyJake to talk random topics including pondering the amount of spit one consumes from tainted foods, making out and sharing drinks. Francis tells us about his recurring nightmare of being tickled by an Alien, meanwhile they also talk about hoping to lead a healthier life.
BabyJake then floats the idea of a dance-based economy where the money is irrelevant, and ponder how TikTok’s led to a boom in professional dancers. The word “Yummy” gets an in-depth analysis with both artists sharing their different views and giving Justin Bieber’s song of the same name. On the topic of their favourite dial-up era downloads, Francis sharing his was either “Heather I Deep Throat” or Bill Clintons controversial statement regarding his affair.
Butt Dial Episode 2: HAIM
Pop-Rock sister super group HAIM made up of Alana, Danielle and Este jump on a call to give us an insight into what they’re like when they aren’t in the studio or on the stage and share some of their stories from their childhood. Over the episode, they discuss their individual experiences in quarantine, talk about flaky guys ghosting them, and discuss some of their annoyances whilst stuck in the home during the quarantine. Moving on they get personal sharing some of their irrational fears, that time one of them sneaked into a Daft Punk concert, fantasise over Brad Pitt and talk about a house they lived in which might have had some paranormal activity.
Butt Dial Episode 3: Dave1 Of Chromeo & Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend)
In the third instalment of Butt Dial, we get a fun and insightful conversation between Dave1 of Chromeo and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend which covers what they have been up to over the past couple of months, conversations about their beverages of choice and their favourite conspiracy theories. Among the controversies, they talk about the fear of being watched via technology, American political narratives and the recent UFO footage. When it comes to surviving quarantine they also dish on their guilty pleasures, Koenig has opted for a mixture of coffee and wine while Dave1’s jumped into an Italian lifestyle.
They also jump into the music they worked together, namely the 1st birthday of Vampire Weekend’s album ‘Father Of The Bride’ which Dave1 executive produced and Danielle of Haim (from episode 2) featured on, as well as their eagerness to get back on the road and Chromeo’s new label Juliet Records.
