The Chainsmokers: Stories Behind the Songs, AI’s Impact on Music, and Venture Investing | Ep. 30

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

October 29, 2025

Duration

1h 5m

Channel

Uncapped with Jack Altman

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Alex Pall is half of the Grammy Award-winning duo The Chainsmokers. Beyond music, Alex is entrepreneur and co-founder of Mantis VC, a venture firm that invests opportunistically in early stage tech-enabled startups. Some of their investments include Alchemy, Chainguard, Kalshi, Roblox, and Rogo. We had a wide ranging conversation that broke down the creative stories behind a few of their top hits including “Closer,” “Something Just Like This,” and “Don’t Let Me Down.” We also explored the creative process at the highest level and how Alex’s experience in music influences the way he approaches venture investing. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (1:04) Stories behind the songs (4:58) Coldplay collaboration (9:57) Creating Closer (13:25) Dependencies vs creative fuel (18:09) Letting songs be promiscuous (19:45) How “Don’t Let Me Down” happened (22:57) Art vs playing the favorites (26:18) Balancing music and business (29:49) Albums telling stories (35:42) Tension behind growth as an artist (39:28) Inspiration drives creativity (41:20) AIs impact on music (44:34) Outlier talent (47:22) Building a venture firm (54:46) Experiencing elite circles (1:01:17) Importance of momentum More on Alex: https://www.mantisvc.com/ https://x.com/AlexPallNY More on Jack: https://www.altcap.com/ https://x.com/jaltma https://linktr.ee/uncappedpod Email: friends@uncappedpod.com

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Alex Pall

  guest

• Jack Altman

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Uncapped with Jack Altman, featuring Alex Pall and Jack Altman, The Chainsmokers: Stories Behind the Songs, AI’s Impact on Music, and Venture Investing | Ep. 30 explores the Chainsmokers on songwriting magic, AI tools, and venture mindset parallels Alex Pall (The Chainsmokers) breaks down the behind-the-scenes creation of major tracks like “Something Just Like This,” “Closer,” and “Don’t Let Me Down,” emphasizing non-linear processes, flow state, and the importance of protecting early-stage ideas from too many opinions.

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