Sylvan Esso: The NPR Music Interview
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This week on Up First we talk about the economy. Trucks, trains, and tractors run on diesel, which is now priced at record highs, with less than 50 days until the midterm elections. So the next six weeks are gonna be intense. Let Up First get you through it one morning at a time with three stories you need to know each day. Listen to Up First on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey everybody, it's Robin Hilton from NPR Music and today we are sharing
Why did Sylvan Esso originally pull their catalog from Spotify?
A special one-off conversation with the band Sylvan Esso, the electronic pop duo from North Carolina. And it's about a topic that affects just about every music fan out there. So you may remember last year there was a bunch of indie bands that removed their music from Spotify, which of course is the dominant music streaming service. And they took their music down because it came out that Daniel Eck, the head of Spotify at the time, had deep business ties to an AI weapons company. So Sylvanessa was perhaps the most visible artist to take their music down in protest. They've been an established act for Over a decade they've been nominated for a Grammy. their music has shown, you know, really broad appeal.
But one year after that decision to take their music down. Силвин Есо газ ретрні тупіцо Ньюс. The first one is that their fifth album, Ow Infinity, is out now on the band's own record label, Psyche Cotline. And As of september eighteenth, all of the band's music is available to stream again on Spotify.
No Mm-hmm. Oh no no Vamos.
If you don't know Sylvanasso, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn are the two musicians behind the project. They're also a couple.
How did the band create the low‑tech videos for the new album?
And both of them say that this was a really frustrating set of decisions. That at every turn. It felt like they had to choose between independence and sustainability. But they also say they learned a lot and Still considered the experiment uh the decision to take down their music, it was a success, they think, in some ways. So to find out more, we asked Brian Burns, a reporter at NPR Member Station WUNC in North Carolina, to sit down with Nick and Amelia and talk about what independence means to them. For music in the streaming era. Here's Brian.
With the rollout of this album, it looks like you've been having a lot of fun. I just recently watched the video for Sledge, which is essentially just Amelia flying through the woods, and I think there might be a camcorder or something glued to a a car.
Yeah, we duct taped our two camcorders to the roof of our car. And so Nick was driving and I was hanging outside of the backseat passenger window.
We've been having a lot of fun with the lowest tech
Yeah, it's so nice. It's been so fun. Yeah, this time around we just decided we only make them ourselves. Yeah. And I think it's led to some of the most exciting visuals that we've made for a record. Well also it's
like regardless of what anyone else thinks, I'm having the most fun with it I think I've ever had. You know? I hope other people like it, but that's secondary to like we are having a blast.
Living be like a sweat angels destroy destroy destroy Rip it up back. Destroy, destroy, destroy.
The first song we heard from this record was Hot Slob and that I think that song caught a lot of people off guard because it is such a abrasive loud rock song by Sylvanesto, but also the video you shot at a beloved roadhouse outside of Temple Hill called the Kraken. Tell me whose idea that was.
I think it was mine.
Yeah.
We needed a bar to play in.
What role do music videos play for independent artists in 2026?
Yeah, and the Kraken's I mean, I don't wanna dox ourselves, but it's pretty close to the studio. Yeah, it's pretty close to the studio.
Yeah, and we shot the coffee video at the Pinhook, so it was our it was our choice.
Yeah. Shouting out the local venues in a good way. Yeah.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what the role of of music video is in 2026. Talk to me about you know, as an independent artist in a post-MTV world, what role does the music video serve? Like why are you making these?
The role of the music video is really um a way to have people be able to find it on YouTube and also a way to talk about your song over and over again on Instagram.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:32
2
Why did Sylvan Esso originally pull their catalog from Spotify?
0:32–2:13
3
How did the band create the low‑tech videos for the new album?
2:13–4:30
4
What role do music videos play for independent artists in 2026?
4:30–8:22
5
What motivated Sylvan Esso to bring their music back to Spotify?
8:22–13:12
6
Can a protest be successful if it’s small or imperfect?
13:12–20:42
7
How does the Psychic Hotline label support its artists?
20:42–27:41
8
What makes Betty’s studio feel welcoming to musicians?
27:41–44:04