Alex Gow explores the songwriting process of Australian artists on new podcast One Guitar

A new podcast exploring the songwriting process of a number of prominent Australian artists is set to premiere exclusively on Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) LiSTNR app.

The podcast is created and hosted by ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter Alex Gow (Oh Mercy, Perfect Moment), One Guitar and it the latest title to come from the Mushroom Group.

Episodes are available exclusively on the LiSTNR app until September 6, when they will then be distributed across other platforms.

The podcast explores the journey of a single Gibson J45 acoustic guitar, which was shipped to the likes of Paul Kelly, Alice Skye, Bernard Fanning, Sarah Blasko and Johnny Took (DMA’s). Each artist had four weeks with the guitar to write a new song.

After their experience, each artist joins Gow on the podcast to perform their song and discuss their own songwriting process.

Gow said One Guitar “runs an x-ray over the alchemy of songwriting to reveal the poetry of the process”.

“I wanted to dissolve an unhealthy barrier built between the novice songwriter and that same writer granting themselves permission to be a songwriter. That barrier is the mystification of the process, the alchemising of songwriting,” Gow said.

“The best way I could think to achieve it would be to say, sure, there’s only one guitar, but there are six strings and an infinite number of ways you can use them to express yourself. And it isn’t divine providence that makes the writer, it’s trial and error, attention to details, and practice.”

LiSTNR’s music content director, Adam Williscroft, heralded the podcast’s unique concept, saying that SCA was “proud to spotlight Australian artistry on all levels with this exciting new podcast”.

“The concept of One Guitar that fascinated artists the calibre of Bernard Fanning and Paul Kelly also resonated with us,” Williscroft said.

“To hear brand new songs by these artists, and the stories they each share as they pass the guitar on, is compelling.”

Listen to the One Guitar podcast via LiSTNR here.