Introducing a theatrical audio podcast that we can practically guarantee you won’t have heard anything like before – The Divide, a Musical Journey through the 2015-2016 campaign and election of Donald J Trump, is all at once precisely what its title promises, and nothing like you might be expecting.
Think parody news items or The Book of Mormon perhaps, with a global relevance and superb songwriting that’s both hilarious and disheartening to immerse yourself within.
Terry OBrien orchestrated and created this uniquely unexpected twist on the Podcast format. A satirical and captivating take on the 2015 – 2016 presidential election, The Divide not only pokes fun at the candidates and society at large, but does so by way of professionally-crafted original songs.
Easily digestible in emerging complete with an accompanying narrative that keeps you in the loop as you make your way through this timeline, episodes are self-explanatory and brilliantly passionate on the performance front. The opening episode depicts the night of the election, then reverts back to the lobby of Trump Tower in June of 2015. Here we become enthralled by a melancholic, soulful vocal and piano pairing, as a boldly evocative and cleverly topical song takes hold.
Things soon build up with swagger and style, the opening song evolving into an absolute jam – a chorus of voices adding an essential theatrical twist as the lyrics get more comical and the format all the more catchy.
Great music helps really set this podcast apart. The explanations help you get into the process, into the story, reflecting with genuine contemplation on what came to be, but the music and performances add a level of bravado, humour and charm, which relays this inescapable history with excellence and wit.
Whether you followed the election minute by minute back in the day, or merely witnessed the final stages unfolding on mainstream news, The Divide – A Musical Journey through the 2015-2016 campaign and election of Donald J Trump is a must-hear. You can be a fan or self-penned foe of Trump, the show could either satisfy or deeply irk you, but in either case, it will absolutely engage and entertain.
Episode 4 is currently live on all platforms and acts as a kind of chapter four to tune in to and catch up with. The spoken segments, the impressions and interactions, are as well-performed as the musical aspects, and the songwriting is consistently brilliant – Terry OBrien and the team outright refuse to let us down. Expect to have these melodies and hooks running through your mind indefinitely – and just in time for yet another election of eerily similar parameters!
Find The Divide – a Musical Journey through the 2015-2016 campaign and election of Donald J Trump on BuzzSprout & Facebook.
