On the Song Exploder podcast, host Hrishikesh Hirway talks to musicians who take apart their songs and, piece by piece, tell the stories of how they were made. Listen below.

Grimes is the nom de pop of musician Claire Boucher. In 2015, she released Art Angels, her fourth album. In this episode, she breaks down her song "Kill V. Maim," and how the experience of writing songs for other artists opened up the way she writes for herself. She also discusses how she achieved the harder-edged, layered guitar sounds, how much time she spends on constructing drums, and the "Harley Quinn kind of vibe" she was going for when she was writing the song.

Buy "Kill V. Maim" on iTunes.

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