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Arranger Alex Lacamoire Breaks Down His Process for Hamilton

He and Lin-Manuel Miranda mixed orchestral elements with pop and hip-hop rhythms and loaded the songs with references to hits of the past.

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Episode Notes

This week, host Isaac Butler talks shop with Alex Lacamoire, who was the arranger, music director, conductor, and orchestrator for Hamilton. In the interview, Alex explains what an arranger does and details some of the specific creative decisions that went into songs like “You’ll Be Back,” “Ten Duel Commandments,” “That Would Be Enough,” and “Burn.”

After the interview, Isaac and co-host June Thomas answer a listener question about how to set aside time and energy for creative work when you have a full-time job.

In Slate Plus, Alex talks about a song from Hamilton that was particularly hard to get right.

Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-WORK. That’s (304) 933-9675.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

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