“Anyone who had someone close to them die as a child, you think a lot about death and… what the purpose of life is. And if there isn’t one, that’s just as fine and valid, but what do you do with your time here?”

Dan Deacon’s music is visceral. It inspires his rabid fans, crowded around as he performs on venue floors, to dance, laugh and lose themselves in communal euphoria. Were he to switch his bleeping synthesizers and zany vocal effects for drums and flutes, his performances would feel much more like 1968 than 2016. Deacon distorts and manipulates his voice to the point of being barely comprehensible — it’s not his lyrics that resonate; it’s the giddy rush.

Yet “When I was Done Dying,” from last year’s Gliss Riffer, offers something markedly different. Sung in a clear voice that touches on profound themes of existence, birth and rebirth, it marks a distinct shift in Deacon’s approach to songwriting. Listen in as Deacon explains the life experiences and philosophies that inspired the song on this episode of the podcast, recorded at Zeitgeist Management in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Additional songs heard in this episode:

Dan Deacon, “The Crystal Cat”

Subscribe to ‘Listen In’ on iTunes here.

Follow KQED Arts on Soundcloud here.