Sara Quin (Tegan & Sara) Talks with Ryan Hemsworth

On this week’s Talkhouse episode, we’ve got some notable Canadians with tons of great music under their belts, including a recent collaboration—their first. It’s Ryan Hemsworth and Sara Quin.

Hemsworth—no relation to those Australian actor guys—is a musician and producer who’s made records with a really interesting array of folks over the past 15 years, creating beats and beds for everybody from E-40 to Mitski. Hemsworth just released his first solo album in nearly a decade, and ⁠Numbskull⁠ sounds like a guy who’s been bursting with pent-up creativity. It’s all over the map in the best way, with rock and even emo influences pushing up against his electronic tendencies. Unsurprisingly for a guy who gets around—musicially, I mean—it features lots of guest artists on various tracks, including the unmistakable voices of his fellow Canadians Tegan and Sara on one song. Check out that song, “Never Learned,” ⁠right here⁠.

One of those voices of course was Sara Quin, half of the twin-sister duo that’s been surprising and delighting its fans for the past 30 or so years. Beyond their extensive musical catalog, Tegan and Sara have done graphic novels, a documentary, and a TV show. As you’ll hear in this chat, Sara recently became a mom for the second time, and she learned some lessons about diving back into work too quickly.

That’s just one of the many topics these two chat about: In addition to the joys and difficulties of parenting as a touring musician, they talk about the horrors of social media—Sara is not a fan—plus Ryan’s early Tegan and Sara fandom. Enjoy.

00:00 Intro

02:06 Start of conversation, setting up Sara’s studio, and Ryan’s room

04:03 On the most expensive thing they’ve bough for music, and recording in strange spaces

07:24 On getting to know each other, Ryan’s Tegan & Sara t-shirt, discovering music in high school, and starting to collab

10:36 On listening to and collaborating with very different artists

12:48 On Sara writing a book, and trying different things artistically

16:29 On promoting creative projects, hustling, and passion

19:00 On how having kids changes creative work and touring

24:14 On touring with Neil Young, Sara’s first tour, and how it compares to touring with her kids

27:40 On how artistic identity, promoting work, and using social media have changed, and on hating algorithms

33:49 On “going viral” horror stories, and how book promo compares to music promo

36:07 On pressure to stay present in the media and “prove you’re still alive”

38:17 On how their partners react to their downtime, when they find time to work, and pressure to work again immediately after having babies

42:18 On what they’re doing next

45:32 On big production tours and branding vs. more stripped back performances and artistic identities

48:09 On Sara’s ideas for her next tour, and creating good experiences for audiences

51:28 On eating in movie theaters, working together, and quiet gigs

Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Ryan Hemsworth and Sara Quin for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at ⁠Talkhouse.com⁠. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme was composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!

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