In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Ava Joe to break down the making of “Am I a Dreamer”, a song inspired by one of the most complicated emotions she experiences: nostalgia.

Unlike most of her songwriting, which begins with a specific experience and the feelings that follow, this song started with an emotion. Ava set out to write about nostalgia itself, drawing together memories, places, films, relationships, and moments that all carried the same emotional weight.

This episode explores why nostalgia can feel more painful than comforting, the strange experience of feeling nostalgic while living through a moment, and the fear of time passing too quickly. From watching the sea in Greece to reflecting on her teenage years, Ava explains how “Am I a Dreamer? became a meditation on memory, growing up, and the moments we know we’ll miss before they’ve even ended.

Kieron and Ava also talk about songwriting, collaboration, creative blocks, and why some of the best artistic breakthroughs happen when you stop forcing them.

Guest: Ava Joe
Host: Kieron Banerji

Mix Engineer: Max Walker
Recording Engineer: Giovani Alimonte
Creative: Callum Baker

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00:00 Intro
00:55 Why nostalgia is so difficult to write about
02:00 Starting with a feeling, not a memory
02:45 Why nostalgia feels painful
03:40 Feeling nostalgic in the present moment
05:25 The memories behind the song
07:10 Why time is her biggest fear
08:40 Building a song from emotion
10:15 Writing with producer Eddie George
11:00 Finding the right collaborators
12:30 The writers who ask the right questions
14:00 Why she chose the nylon-string guitar
15:00 Creative blocks and losing her voice
16:20 Learning to stop forcing creativity
18:20 How listeners hear the song differently
19:50 Full session

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In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Metric to break down the making of “Victim of Luck”, the opening track from their latest album and the song that took longer to finish than any other. The challenge wasn’t writing it. The challenge was knowing when it was right.

Emily and Jimmy Shaw tell Kieron how the song was intended to introduce the entire record, setting the tone for everything that followed. But as the album evolved, so did the song. Lyrics changed, arrangements changed, production choices came and went, and even the title itself didn’t arrive until the rest of the album was complete.

At the center of the track is a deeply personal realization. What began as a fictional story about a band’s rise gradually became something much more direct: a reflection on success, anxiety, self-criticism, and the strange feeling of becoming a “victim of luck.”

This episode also features an exclusive stripped back acoustic version of the track recorded for the show.

Guests: Metric

Song: Victim of Luck

Host: Kieron Banerji

Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte

Produced by: Palm Tree Island

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In this episode of The Hardest Part, Kieron Banerji sits down with Will White to break down the making of “6:30 AM”, a song that became the catalyst for everything that followed.

Unlike most of his work, the song stayed with him for years. That alone was unusual. Will describes a songwriting process where songs either arrive fully formed or disappear entirely. He rarely revisits unfinished ideas, yet somehow “6:30 AM” refused to go away.

Kieron and Will explore discomfort as a creative tool, the mystery of songwriting, and why some songs seem to know more about your future than you do. Will also talks about how the meaning of “6:30 AM” has evolved over time, from imagining someone still awake after a long night to experiencing the same hour as a parent waking up to a completely different life.

Guests: Will White

Song: 6:30 AM

Host: Kieron Banerji

Creative: Callum Baker and Giovanni Alimonte

Produced by: Palm Tree Island

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