Transmissions :: Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords)

Welcome to the kick off of Transmissions' new season with your host, Jason P. Woodbury, after a wonderful summer mini-series from Tyler Wilcox, All One Song: A Neil Young Podcast.

We first encountered this week’s guest, New Zealand songwriter, actor, and composer Bret McKenzie, as one half of the indie pop/comedy duo Flight of the Conchords in the mid-2000s. But did you know that before that, he was a member of one of New Zealand’s most popular reggae party bands?

"Just for context, reggae music in New Zealand is kind of rock music in America or maybe even country," McKenzie says. "Outside Jamaica, New Zealand has the highest sales of Bob Marley records in the world. And it's the music you hear playing in the background when you're out."

Since then, he’s gone onto composer for film and TV projects like The Simpsons, The Muppets, Spongebob Squarepants, and more, and in 2022, he released Songs Without Jokes via Sub Pop Records. Inspired by vintage Los Angeles pop, the record showcased McKenzie sans obvious jokes, but not without levity and good humor. His new album, Freak Out City came out on August 15.

Bolstered by vintage electric piano and groovy and psychedelic touches, it finds McKenzie expanding his Nilsson-esque palette with touches of Steely Dan, JJ Cale, and Todd Rundgren. McKenzie joins us on Transmissions to discuss the rabbit holes of modern life, cutting the record with studio legends like Leland Sklar, the Conchords specific brand of comedy, and shares details about his proposed Emmet Otter reboot with Ed Helms.

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