Photo by Nick Delisi / Design by JP Consuegra
This spring, songwriter and producer Rostam dropped his third solo LP, ‘American Stories.’ We caught up with the Clairo, HAIM, and Remi Wolf collaborator about the music that made him, the link between his work with Vampire Weekend and Coldplay, and Dijon’s influence on pop music.
September 8, 2026
BY Will Schube
Rostam’s third solo LP, American Stories, is an amalgamation of all his interests. There’s the obsession with American folk music—Bob Dylan in particular—which he interpolates with Persian traditions, marking a thorough examination of his ancestry. It’s a combination he’s toyed with as both a solo artist and as a bandmate/producer, but here he uses this style as the structure itself as opposed to a signifier.
Lyrically, Rostam wrestles with the function of art both historically and in our society, taking cues from legends like the aforementioned Bobby D. and close collaborators like Clairo, who also appears on “Hardy.” It’s on this track that he muses: “Maybe the greatest art is never completed/ We only have to leave it knowing we tried.”
We caught up with Rostam over Zoom to discuss how he first discovered Claire Cottrill’s music, in addition to Coldplay’s influence on Vampire Weekend, Dijon’s impact on American Stories, and the importance of Nigel Godrich’s production style on his own work. Check out Rostam’s Taste in Music below.
On “Back of a Truck” you reference Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” What’s your favorite Bob Dylan song and why?
That's definitely something that's changed over the years, but I would say recently it’s “Idiot Wind.” I love Bob Dylan songs that he wrote in Open E tuning. That’s most of Blood on the Tracks. The version of Blood on the Tracks I like was never officially released, but you can find it online. People call it the ‘New York Sessions’ and they’ve made playlists of these versions of the songs, but they’re a little more stripped down. It’s usually just acoustic guitar, vocals, and bass.
There’s this Post Malone song where he covers Hootie and the Blowfish, and on verse two, he just quotes a verse from “Idiot Wind,” I love that he made that connection. What I like about those Dylan songs in Open E is that it got me to learn the chord shapes in that tuning, and it felt like I was learning guitar all over again.
When I bring up your production discography, what's the first album that pops in your head?
Immunity by Clairo.
What's your favorite Clairo song?
The one I heard first and the one that I felt the most pulled to was “Flaming Hot Cheetos.” I’ll always have a sentimental connection to that song. The first time I heard it was after a party, and someone told me to check out Clairo's music. They told me it was bedroom pop and I didn’t know what that meant. I remember coming home and listening to it and feeling like, ‘Oh, this feels familiar and yet also sounds like something I have never heard before.’
On “Hardy,” you sing: “Maybe the greatest art is never completed.” What’s one famously incomplete album you want to hear?
Well, I think all of us would like to hear Jeff Buckley's second album, but I think he had to finish it. They’ve released the demos, but it'd be cool if there was time in his life for him to have finished the album.
Who's an artist that shaped your teenage years?
That’d be ’96, ’97 to 2000. I think in that era, Radiohead. I remember buying Kid A the day that it came out. Because I grew up in a college town, we had this thing called Cosmo where you could get things delivered. I remember ordering Kid A to be delivered to my friend’s house.
What music did you play in your car when you first learned how to drive?
I had my parents' station wagon. There was Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits. I loved Pinkerton and I loved the Green Album back in that era. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Who's an artist you didn’t get at first that you now adore?
Actually, I think with Jeff Buckley, I always loved a handful of songs from Grace, but then pretty recently I started to feel connected to every song on that album. I’m more into Jeff Buckley than I used to be. I always loved the hits, but I think I understand the weirder songs differently now.
Is there an artist you love that none of your friends really like?
Well, when I lived in New York, it wasn’t cool to like Coldplay. Then when I moved to LA, everybody loved Coldplay. I also think Coldplay stuck around long enough that they eventually quieted all their haters.
I remember listening to A Rush of Blood to The Head with my entire family. We loved it.
Yeah, that album came out the month before I started college. I remember it leaked on some music sharing software a little bit early.
It’s interesting to think when they went from being critically acclaimed, working with Brian Eno, to almost a punchline. I don’t think they deserve that.
There’s an interesting thing that happens with so-called alternative music. It happens with every artist. Look at the Foo Fighters. The origins of the Foo Fighters are a reaction to metal. Now if you listen to the Foo Fighters’ music, it sounds more connected to metal than grunge, which is sort of odd because Dave Grohl was part of Nirvana when Nirvana came around and replaced metal guitar tone and style with grunge guitar tone and style. Nirvana kind of put a lot of metal people out of business. Foo Fighters no longer sound like a reaction to metal. It’s been incorporated into the genre. These artists start out as a reaction to something and then they last long enough to incorporate the thing that they were a reaction to.
What's a song that reminds you of your hometown?
“Ants Marching” by Dave Matthews. Dave Matthews came up in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was an hour or two from D.C. D.C. people felt very connected to Dave Matthews. I remember I got into that album early, I think fourth grade. My school bus driver used to work at the 9:30 Club, so I would always hear about things going on through him and he loved music. I feel like the Dave Matthews Band was connected to my upbringing in D.C. I saw Dave Matthews live three times, and always in D.C.
Was there an album or artist that made you think, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do with my life?’
Following the producer Nigel Godrich and tracking down every album he produced, connecting the connecting threads between those, had a big influence on me. I remember wanting to work with different artists and make albums at a pretty young age because of that. In that era, he was working with Radiohead, Beck, Travis, this band called The Divine Comedy. I really loved one of their songs called “Timestretched.” I later found out that the lead singer wrote all of the songs for the Wonka movie that came out recently. He’s still active. It’s a pretty interesting connection going from making an album with Nigel Godrich to eventually writing this Hollywood musical.
Do you want to do more film scoring?
I’ve scored a couple films. I had an interesting connection with film scoring. When I graduated college, my first job was working for Craig Wedren, who was the lead singer of the band Shudder to Think. He’s, to this day, a celebrated film composer. My first job was working for him, so I got to see what it was like, and I learned so much. I learned so much about record production in addition to film scoring. I was producing the first Vampire Weekend album while I was working for Craig, and the sounds that he gave me certainly had a big impact.
I haven’t talked about this very much, but I was in the process of scoring a movie in the early stages of us making Modern Vampires of the City, the third Vampire Weekend album. I was collecting all these sounds thinking that they would go in the film score. The film project didn’t work out, but all the sounds went into Modern Vampires of the City. All these majestic choir sounds that define that record, there was an intentionality that those would be for film music and not for pop songs. I think one of the reasons that record sounds unique is because it has these sounds that you don't often hear in pop music.
It’s two in the morning and you can’t sleep. Are you putting on music?
Actually, I was recently in this situation and I put on Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher, because what’s really cool about that album is that all the edges are very soft. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way at all. I love that, and I think that makes it a good album to listen to at two in the morning.
Have you listened to Lost Weekend yet?
I would say all the edges are not soft on that.
An alien lands on Earth and you need to pick one song that encapsulates your POV of music. What song do you choose?
“Obvious Child” by Paul Simon. It’s probably my favorite Paul Simon song. If I ever go running in my neighborhood, I usually kick off that album, Rhythm of the Saints, and that’s track one. It’s actually the perfect pace for running. I love that song.
Who’s an artist that you think needs to be more well-known than they are?
I recently got into this song called “Go Easy, Kid” by Monica Martin. I love that song, and I love her voice. She has an incredible vocal tone, and I think a lot of people haven't been exposed to her yet. I think I heard about her through Instagram.
If you're put on the spot and have to recite a song word for word, what are you choosing?
I recently saw The Strokes play, and Julian forgot the words to “Someday.” Afterwards, he said, ‘That's never happened before,’ and I believe it. It’s funny with song lyrics. You could sing one of your own songs thousands of times, and whenever you think you're safe, you just never know when you might forget it. As I get older, I don't know where I would land with that. I should probably lie and just pick a random song. Maybe “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2.
Is there a Vampire Weekend song for which you still remember all the lyrics?
Well, I play “Young Lion” with my solo project, but it has very few lyrics. Just one line that repeats. So yes, I never forget that one.
If there’s a movie being made about your life, who do you want doing the soundtrack?
I hope it's an epic movie, so let's say Hans Zimmer.
Who’s an artist you love that people might be surprised by?
I don’t try to hide my true taste. I think some people might say Dave Matthews Band, but I did grow up listening to so much of that music. If you grew up in the D.C. area in the mid-to-late ’90s, that music was part of everybody’s lives. I feel like I’ve been too open already to shock anyone.
I think people might be surprised that you like Coldplay.
Coldplay was music that I studied a lot in the early days of Vampire Weekend. There are things about the way that Coldplay organizes their arrangements where the elements stay out of each other’s way. Studying Coldplay’s music gave me that insight, and I think it’s definitely connected to the reason Vampire Weekend’s music has so much appeal. I studied those Coldplay arrangements, and I studied alternative music that was on the radio. I went to college for classical music, but I was also studying all kinds of music. I was studying music that I grew up listening to, and I’ll continue to go back to that.
To answer something that people might not think I like, I recently saw Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” for the first time. It was at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s the only symphony Beethoven wrote that requires a choir to be performed. I think it was the first symphony in history to have that requirement. It was kind of groundbreaking in that way, and I’d never seen it performed live.
Who's the artist that you’ve seen the most times in concert?
It’s tricky because there are bands that I’ve toured with. Back in 2010, we did a huge tour with Beach House, so I watched them play so many times because I'm a huge Beach House fan. Then this band Joy Again—they sort of retired—but they opened for me in 2018 on my Half-Light tour. I’ve seen them so many times. If I exclude the artists that I have toured with, maybe Radiohead. I’ve been lucky enough that they played “Creep” three times that I’ve seen them.
Let's say we unearth a family tree for American Stories. Who are some family members we find out are related to the album?
You got to give it up to Dijon for being early in incorporating pedal steel in styles of music that don’t always have pedal steel. Dijon was early on that, so he's definitely in the mix. Greg Leisz is a pedal steel player that I worked with back in 2015. He didn't play on American Stories, but I think his influence as a player impacts a lot of pedal steel playing generally. He did play on the acoustic version of my song “In a River” that came out in 2018. I think Bob Dylan for the chord shapes, too. I also love the way that Dean Blunt uses acoustic guitars.
I love that Mac DeMarco went back to acoustic guitar, or he made a choice to make an album that was about the acoustic guitar. I think we’re going to see more albums coming that incorporate the acoustic guitar as the through line.
Is that the antidote to the noise of our world, do you think?
I think in some ways the acoustic guitar is the opposite of AI. On one level, I want to say people are interested in acoustic music because it’s the antithesis of AI music, but that doesn’t mean there isn't some sort of blending that’s possible.
That’s the fucked up thing about AI: it can be whatever it wants to be.
Yeah, but I don’t think AI can create recording real instruments in a room. It can maybe give you one part, but I don’t think it can create that thing that happens when you record instruments in a room.