Vignettes, the EWF podcast, returns shortly for its third season, Spring. From November, we’ll be sharing brand new audio stories from emerging writers across the continent.

With an all new team behind the scenes for season 3, we wanted to introduce you to the people behind Vignettes for our spring edition!

Today, we chat with Joe and Molly.

Joe Buchan: Audio Producer

Hello! Please introduce yourself – who are you, what do you do, what is your involvement with Vignettes?

G’day. I’m Joe Buchan – I’m an artist and audio engineer. I run a small record label called .jpeg Artefacts. I’m on the Vignettes team as the audio producer.

How did you get into audio engineering?

I discovered it at Uni and went from there. I studied a BFA in Music Composition at the VCA. It was there that I first started experimenting with making music on a computer, and promptly fell deep down the rabbit hole. Soon I was mixing my classmate’s music, and I used that to make a portfolio to find internships at recording studios and venues in Melbourne. After a few years of interning by day and bartending by night, now I am blessed to work full time in audio.

How does audio storytelling differ from other forms of storytelling? What makes it special?

The first memorable experience I had with audio storytelling was discovering the first season of Sarah Koenig’s Serial podcast. Something that grabbed me about the show was how it used so many different auditory textures. It would shift between her studio recorded voice-over, to crackly voicemails she had received, a voice memo of her in the car recording something important at the last minute, then to a field recording of an important site in the story. I thought the diverse sound world was a really effective hook – it was a reminder that the events of the podcast unfolded in the real world.

What else are you working on at the moment?

Staying busy through lockdown! I mix and/or master a few records a week usually. Some recent releases I’ve worked on include this 90s Australian Drum and Bass re-issue from Best Effort, this compilation of ambient/downtempo music from Australia and all over the world from Music Company, and this beautiful bedroom pop/new wave record from Gem-K.

What are you listening to right now, podcast or otherwise?

I’ve been revisiting the Oklou album Galore. My housemate put me onto Duster not too long ago, which has been on heavy rotation. Their compilation album Capsule Losing Contact is four discs long, and really listenable. Also enjoying a good lot of the hip hop full lengths that have come out this year – particularly Pi’erre Bourne’s The Life of Pi’erre 5 and Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue.

Podcast wise – I’m usually listening to Twenty Thousand Hertz, 99% Invisible, and Song Exploder if I’m doing things around the house. Long lockdown bike rides will sometimes be scored by The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, This American Life, or The Moth.

What are some of your favourite audio works right now?

This great episode of The New Yorker Fiction Podcast where Akhil Sharma reads a story by Tobias Wolff, who is one of my favourite writers. The story is beautiful and the discussion afterwards gives it a whole new dimension [].

The news of our international borders opening up reminded me of this episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz, which is all about the sounds associated with airplanes and flying. It’s a great case study for how psychological sound is, and how it effects us in ways we might not realise.

This episode of This American Life has their reporters spend twenty-four hours in a diner in Chicago. From a pretty straightforward brief, they manage to find stories that are really expansive and quite beautiful.

Where can we find you online?

I’m most active on Instagram – @other__joe.

Molly Hunt – Podcast Illustrator

Hello! Please introduce yourself – who are you, what do you do, what is your involvement with Vignettes?

Hello, my name is Molly Hunt. I am a proud Balanggarra/Yolngu woman from Wyndham, Western Australia, currently living in Sydney, NSW and I am an artist. I am currently creating the artworks for Vignettes. With the theme being Spring, I am creating pieces that fit the tone and the mood that will coincides with the episodes.

Can you tell us a little bit about your artistic process? How do you develop and create a work?

It takes me a while to start creating. Depending on what the work is I’ll try find music that fits the theme and listen to a few songs. Songs really open my imagination. I also get inspired by looking at other artist works when I have a creative block, seeing other artists works gives me appreciation but also it will almost every time ignite inspiration to start creating.

Who are some of your favourite illustrators right now?

Right now I’m really appreciating the works of Charlotte Alingham, Dylan Mooney, Campbell Walker, Kam Bin-Salleh and Jeremy Worrall.

What else are you working on at the moment?

I am working on several projects, illustrating a children’s book as well finishing my own personal comics.

What are you listening to right now, podcast or otherwise?

I’m in a bit of a 90s rabbit hole at the moment! I’ve been listening to a lot of slow R’n’B women songs.

Where can we find you online?

Twitter: @MollyDHunt Instagram: @mollyhunt4food

The Season 3 Trailer for Vignettes will be released at the end of October, be sure to subscribe to be the first to listen.