Newsletter No. 18 - From Facebook Pest to Pitchfork BNM: a decade with Hayden Pedigo

Ten years ago, an 18-year-old homeschooled kid from Amarillo messaged me about putting out his debut album. That kid was Hayden Pedigo, and along the way he somehow convinced members of This Heat, Faust, and a dozen other experimental legends to collaborate via Facebook DMs.

This week I sat down with Hayden to reflect on "Five Steps", that wild debut that still is hard to believe actually happened. We dive deep into his fearless approach to getting press (sending 300-400 emails per release!), how the music landscape shifted around 2016, and why Rate Your Music is secretly moving more vinyl than Instagram.

The conversation gets into some real stuff about conceptualizing yourself as an artist, the grind of self-promotion, and how Hayden went from sitting in a bank cubicle in 2020 to having a Pitchfork Best New Music album with his newest album on Mexican Summer. Plus, wait until you hear about his upcoming collaborative album with Chat Pile!

Sometimes the most interesting stories happen when someone's just dumb enough (his words!) to not know what's impossible. This one's a good reminder that taking wild swings can actually connect.

-S-