About You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here ... But It Helps
Two professional songwriters, trying to stay sane in the sometimes crazy world of the music business. The show touches on how to take care of your mental health, navigating being a creative with being a parent, tips and tricks about how to keep writing good songs, have co-writing works (and why it sometimes breaks down) and much more.
We're back with a brand new episode where we talk about how we approach the idea of work ethic as creatives - does the hustle culture idea of grinding it out work in the context of making art? We also touch on the joys of helping people get their creative vision over the line. Especially when they are dealing with the struggles that come with being part of a minority, and how we deal with letting our "song babies" go when they are part of someone else' s project.
AND we share a bit of background on our new joint artist release DOMINO -
https://open.spotify.com/track/381e0PzSaN3u06khKfrIV1?si=7659c1a30bae4a7a
9 Mar 2026
My Little Gay Heart – Zahra Deljoui interview (Part 2)
Welcome to part 2 of Jonatan's conversation with Zahra Deljoui. They touch on learning to be authentic as an artist - focusing on storytelling and writing about what's really going on for us rather than what we think people want to hear. Also the power art can have to fundamentally shift our perception on big things...and how to not fuck up a co-writing session!
Check out Zahra's latest release "Medical Misogyny" here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3kYBPGVfnwNOzWT9sSTsEv?si=1d69f609b15d4999
23 Feb 2026
Damn the Tune Bullies - Zahra Deljoui interview, Part One
We're back after a break and are excited to be diving back in. Kicking off our 2026 with Jonatan's conversation with British-Iranian alt-pop artist Zahra Deljoui, a brilliant songwriter and artist in the queer community. Together they cover topics such as what makes people gel when co-writing, identifying strengths and weaknesses as songwriters, imposter syndrome, and tune bullies.
20 Oct 2025
The Good, the Bad and the Publishing.
Welcome to episode 9!
This time, we’re taking a look at our experiences of being signed to music publishers - and the mix of joys and frustrations that come with it. We talk about the opportunities we’d never have had without a publishing deal, as well as the experience of getting lost in the system when you’re signed to a huge global publisher. It was a really fun conversation, as always - and we even found time to write and record another little song-starter ditty for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
8 Sept 2025
The Songwriting Mum - Jessica Greenfield interview (Part Two)
Welcome to episode 8 – featuring part two of Charlie's chat with Jessica Greenfield of Wonder 45, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and The Kondoors. Lots of interesting stuff came up: identity crises, the blessing/curse factor of having a creative brain, and the ways women in the music industry have to deal with crazy amounts of BS... all this and much more.
Jonatan and Charlie also circle back to how Jonatan is feeling about his new album "<3 på svenska" now that it’s out in the world.
We also put together another ditty for you, called Hot Mess. As always, we’re pretty excited about it!
7 Jul 2025
The Amazing, Horrible Roller Coaster That Never Ends - Jessica Greenfield Interview (Part One)
Welcome back! We have a treat for you this time. Charlie recorded an interview for the podcast with a singer, songwriter, and artist he’s known and admired for a long time - the vocal force of nature that is Jessica Greenfield of The Kondoors, Wonder 45, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. It’s a deep chat covering the highs and lows of a life in music, the additional layers of bullshit that women have to deal with, and the challenges of being a creative parent whose work involves touring the world. (We covered so much ground that we decided to make it a two-parter.)
Jonathan and I have also created another song starter that we’re really excited about. It’s called “Domino,” and it’s definitely a vibe. Enjoy!
4 Jun 2025
The Songwriting Dad
Welcome to episode 6 - The Songwriting Dad. This time we kick off with some essential chat about our shared love of high end crisps, then get into the real stuff - what it’s like trying to be a present, hands-on dad while keeping the creative life and music career going. The highs, the struggles, and how maybe it can even make us better versions of ourselves.
We also collaborated on a new song idea that started with one of Charlie’s riffs. (working title Totally Toto) Jonatan took it and ran with it and honestly, we think it could turn into something pretty special.
Next episode: part one of our interview with Jessica Greenfield from Wonder 45 and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Don’t miss it!
19 May 2025
I Don’t Get the Beatles — Please Explain?!
In this episode we talk about Jonatan’s status as a person who is immune to the charms of The Beatles, who are Charlie’s favourite band of all time. We also discuss the craziness of deciphering briefs from record companies and Charlie’s recent experience of running a songwriting camp in Berlin, and what we love about attending camps as a writer. And we bring you a fresh song starter ditty based on a guitar idea of Charlie's. Enjoy!
5 May 2025
Albums and Anxieties.
We’re back! In this episode we take a deep dive into the highs and lows of making and releasing an album as an independent artist. Timely stuff, since Jonatan just dropped his latest collection, ”<3 på svenska.” We talk about how to find joy in self promotion (spoiler alert - it’s a nightmare) and how we can define success on our own terms. Charlie shares a tale from his early days as a pro songwriter, riding the mechanical bull of excitement and disappointment while trying to master the fine art of letting go.
Check out Jonatan's new album "<3 på svenska"
https://open.spotify.com/album/6yz0PQwE2tY21qlHfEFbIV?si=u4SzmqjNS3-w1umQn5BNKg
17 Mar 2025
I Don't Get Dance Music...Please Explain!?
In this episode Charlie outs himself as a dance music ignoramus and seeks help/advice/forgiveness from Jonatan. We talk about the days where music fandom was way more tribal than it is now, back when our identities and music tastes were intertwined. All this and more plus a snippet of ”Andrahand” - a stone cold banger from Jonatan's forthcoming album.
24 Feb 2025
The Slump
Welcome to episode two of You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here, But it Helps!
Ever have those moments where the bottom crashes out of your confidence? yup, us too. Charlie and Jonatan do a deep dive into those times where you have a major wobble as a creative, as well as exploring changes in our attitudes to how to approach a songwriting session. We take a look back on former versions of ourselves and how we’ve changed along the way as songwriters and as humans. All this and more plus another spontaneous song starter ditty. Leave a comment and give us a follow!
Here's some songs we've made:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747
Find us on Instagram:
Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/
Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/
Our artist projects:
Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w
Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g
Artwork by Martin Kelly.
All music by Charlie and Jonatan.
17 Feb 2025
You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here... But It Helps.
Welcome to the first ever episode of "You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here... But It Helps". We’re delving into things that affect us as full time creatives, how to hack creativity and productivity, what a great day in the studio feels like, and how to be OK with the very real possibility that most of our songs will end up gathering dust in a dropbox folder.
We talk about different ways of approaching songwriting that have worked for us and helped to bust our brains out of bad habits, and as mental health is a big topic for the podcast we do a round of: What brings you joy and drives you mad - real talk about the roller coaster ride that is a life in music!
Here's some songs we've made:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1da7L0gXDY4cfi3Q6QdNLJ?si=5f6b00f6a3ca4813&pt=d23591e2482fb387ac10dabc17637747
Find us on Instagram:
Jonatan: https://www.instagram.com/jonatanbackelie/
Charlie: https://www.instagram.com/charlieltgrantmusic/
Our artist projects:
Jonatan: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMXfEoZ4JiURTg8XNsfaz?si=DBcv9yBXQSiiivajv81e8w
Charlie: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1A6CZx7bZ5M0E1y65KsKc7?si=ctRwAhu0TP61zq25U0d50g
Artwork by Martin Kelly.
All music by Charlie and Jonatan.
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