The Art of Longevity Season 12, Episode 2: Estelle

The Art of Longevity Season 12, Episode 2: Estelle

Author: The Song Sommelier July 2, 2025 Duration: 1:02:40
Estelle is old school. With a modern twist yes, but nonetheless, if this most eclectic of artists leans in any particular direction it is towards ‘classic’. She even says it in one her own songs; "I'm not of-the-moment. I am a classic, yeah, I live at the MoMA” (The Life, opening track of her 2012 album All of Me). She is quite the proverbial eclectic artist - edgy but not (un)necessarily shocking, traditional but modern enough to make her point in the era of precision-tool song production, a...

The Art of Longevity, hosted by The Song Sommelier, sits at the crossroads of music, history, and the often-unseen business behind it. This isn't a typical interview podcast; it's a series of candid, in-depth dialogues with artists who have built careers spanning decades. Each conversation explores the real journey-how these musicians have weathered the industry's constant shifts, creative droughts, and commercial pressures to not just survive, but to continue evolving and connecting with audiences. We get into the specifics: the collaboration that saved a career, the business decision that changed everything, the fanbase that grew quietly over years. The discussions move fluidly between past triumphs, current projects, and future ambitions, always grounded in the artist's personal definition of success. It's about the resilience required to make art for a lifetime. Tune in for these uniquely honest reflections on what it truly means to last.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 93

The Art of Longevity
Podcast Episodes
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 7: The Walkmen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:34
Following the highly accomplished 2012 album Heaven, cult American indie band The Walkmen went on hiatus. But now they have reformed. In a recent interview with the band’s frontman Hamilton Leithauser, Vulture magazine r…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 6: Ron Sexsmith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:36
After he “couldn’t get arrested” in the 80s, post-grunge opened a window through which a then 30-year old Ron Sexsmith could climb. With his sincere, low-key ballads and simple songs straight from the heart, as was his 1…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 5: Ben Folds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:34
For Ben Folds, coming back on the scene with a new studio album feels like a breeze, literally: “I Feel like the expectations are lowered but I have the wind on my back”. In June 2023 Ben releases What Matters Most, his…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 4: John Grant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:59
Asking John Grant to describe the essence of the record he is working on now, elicits a response that fascinates from the get go. “I’m trying to marry the vibe of Blade Runner with - wait a minute - let me go and get thi…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 3: Joseph [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:46
What’s more important in securing a band’s longevity - hit songs or a classic album? I put this question to Meegan and Allison Closner (the twin sisters that make up two-thirds of Joseph along with their sister Natalie C…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 2: Mogwai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:08
In this episode of the Art of Longevity, we have the pleasure of chatting with Stuart Braithwaite, a member of the internationally renowned post-rock band Mogwai. Known for their masterful use of crescendos, Mogwai have…
The Art of Longevity Season 7, Episode 1: Rickie Lee Jones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:38
Being a longevous, ‘real deal’ music artist requires many things, but being pure in heart is certainly one. And there are few people on this earth as pure in heart as Rickie Lee Jones. With the completion of Last Chance…
Season 7 preview, with Dave Rowntree [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:15
It has taken Dave Rowntree ages to make his first non-soundtrack body of work outside of Blur, especially when you consider their last album Magic Whip, is almost a decade old. Then again, perhaps it explains why Radio S…
The Art of Longevity Season 6, Episode 7: Bush, with Gavin Rossdale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:39
Gavin Rossdale doesn’t think that Bush's longevity story in the music business as high drama - even though they have had their share of industry shenanigans, let-downs and, for nearly eight years, a split, until the band…
The Art of Longevity Season 6, Episode 6: Editors [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:58
The egoless band can go a lot further than most bands. A strong element of that is embracing creative changes of direction - agreeing on it and being brave about it. Let’s face it, something we know about longevity is th…