Fred Armisen on “100 Sound Effects”

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fred Armisen on “100 Sound Effects”

The New Yorker Radio Hour
Date: September 2, 2025
Host: David Remnick
Episode Guests: Fred Armisen, Michael Shulman

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Overview

This episode delves into Fred Armisen’s fascination with sound, exploring the creation of his unique new album, “100 Sound Effects.” The conversation with New Yorker writer Michael Shulman moves between Armisen’s comedic roots, musical background, and hands-on demonstrations of field recording — all woven together with anecdotes about how sound shapes his artistry and everyday experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fred Armisen’s Relationship With Sound

• Comedic Voice Work: Armisen, known for his sound and accent impressions, gives quick tour of accents (“Pittsburgh…Baltimore…Virginia”) (00:20–00:34).
• SNL’s L.A. Sketch: Reference to the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch about the way people in LA give directions, showcasing how local sound shapes comedy (00:34–00:49).

2. The Genesis of “100 Sound Effects”

• Motivation: Armisen laments the decline of classic sound effects albums, remembering Halloween records from his youth; wanted to create a modern, artistically-driven version (01:41–01:49).

  “I feel like they just used to exist more…There’d be a Halloween one…You just see them everywhere. …What would a new version of it be like?” — Fred Armisen (01:49)

• Method: Chose to record in a professional studio, emphasizing deliberate recreation and composition over simple field recording (01:49–02:53).

  “…Instead of just, you know, taking out my phone…let me go to a recording studio and really do it.” — Fred Armisen (02:05)

3. Listening Intentions and Album Purpose

• How It’s Meant to Be Heard: Armisen envisions people sharing snippets with friends for novelty and joy, rather than focused, start-to-finish listening (03:01–03:21).

  “I picture someone playing it for their friend. …Not going through the whole thing, but just playing little parts of it.” — Fred Armisen (03:05)

• Nostalgia and Practicality: References the tactile fun of owning quirky, non-musical records — a collector’s item as much as practical tool (03:21–03:28).

4. Childhood Influences and Early Sound Memories

• Haunted Halloween Records and Toys: Owned Halloween records and G.I. Joe “singles” heavy on adventure sounds (03:28–04:12).

  “I remember ghoul sounds…and I guess they’d be used for haunted mansion amusement…” — Fred Armisen (03:36)

• Lost Art of Sound Effect Albums: Affirms that sound effects records are “a lost art form” (04:21).

5. Structure of the Album & Recording Techniques

• Scenario-Based Tracks: Many sounds are vignettes — guitar tuning mishaps, musical in-jokes, daily life scenarios (04:37–05:19).

  “I wanted to do someone tuning a guitar, and it’s in tune, except for when they strum it, it’s out of tune.” — Fred Armisen (04:45)

• Musical Experience: Career as a drummer (Trench Mouth) means he’s always tuned into “sound checks” and the background noise of bands (05:30–05:48).

6. International and “Field” Recording Adventures

• European Domestic Sounds: Unique sounds captured while working in Ireland, such as European appliances (kitchen machines, doors), highlighting how every region has its own acoustic signature (06:13–07:00).

  “Their dryers are just very different to ours…There’s usually one unit that does the same thing. It’s way at the end.” — Fred Armisen (06:28)

• Uncanny Beeps and Machine Noises: Recounts an unresolved mystery involving a cryptic dryer beep in Ireland (07:04–07:51).

  “That was like an alien landing. That was really unsettling.” — Michael Shulman (07:51)

7. Cultural and Personal Associations With Sound

• Long Island Upbringing: Remembers the jingle of deli and pizza shop doors as quintessential Long Island (08:09–08:33).
• Family and Accent Sensitivity: As a child of German and Venezuelan parents (with time spent in Brazil), noticed how New Yorkers had a distinctive way of speaking, making him extra attuned to accent and speech (09:19–09:55).

  “There was a lot of sort of relearning of how people talk…because of my life, it was easier to notice that people sounded different.” — Fred Armisen (09:25)

8. Sounds of Childhood Abroad (Brazil)

• Street Music & Brazilian Drums: Recounts the soundscape of samba schools in Copacabana, the difference in television audio, and kids mimicking American English (09:55–11:02).

  “The sound of drums. TV sounded really different. And the Brazilian kids…would mimic us.” — Fred Armisen (09:58)

9. The Unique Soundscape of SNL

• Signature Ambient Noises: Armisen fixates on a specific hiss that precedes the SNL cold open—an audio cue that’s impossible to replicate elsewhere (11:07–11:49).

  “There’s like this hiss right at the cold open…and it’s only SNL where you’re like, they’re about to start…” — Fred Armisen (11:15)

10. Field Recording Demonstration: New York Outings

• Capturing Daily City Sounds: Shulman and Armisen try collecting ATM beeps, the shuffle through a deli cooler, and spontaneous crowd audio (14:36–15:28).
• Horse and Carriage Audio Quest:
  • Attempt to record an elusive “clop” sound from a Central Park horse and carriage; politely rebuffed by the driver (16:10–17:13).
  • Creativity in the field: Use sunglasses cases and gear to “fake” horse hoof sounds on a wooden railing, improvising when “real” sound won’t do (17:19–18:30).

    “Let’s say we had like, a directive that we had to get clopping noises—that we’re not allowed back unless we get something. So let’s fool our boss.” — Fred Armisen (17:29)

  • At one point, Armisen perfectly matches the rhythm of a passing real horse (18:30–18:41).

    “That was amazing because right as you were doing that…an actual horse and carriage went by and you just mimicked the exact rhythm.” — Michael Shulman (18:30)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Fred Armisen on Inspiration:

  “What would a new version of [a sound effects record] be like?” (01:49)

• Fred Armisen Reflects on Novelty and Functionality:

  “It looks good in the record collection…here’s a sound effects record that actually came out more recently.” (03:08)

• On Sensitivity to Sound:

  “It’s like a major part of my life and maybe my career…what got me there is, like, more about sound.” (08:51)

• Armisen on SNL’s ‘Cold Open’ Hiss:

  “There’s this, like—psshh—and it’s only SNL where you’re like, they’re about to start the cold open…” (11:15)

• Improvised Horse “Clopping”:

  “Let’s say we had a directive that we had to get clopping noises…So let’s fool our boss, so to speak.” (17:29)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:20–00:34: Fred Armisen’s American accents demonstration
• 01:49–02:53: Genesis and studio methodology for “100 Sound Effects”
• 03:05–03:21: How he pictures listeners interacting with the album
• 06:13–07:51: Field recording in Ireland; mysterious dryer beeps
• 09:19–09:55: Family background and developing sensitivity to speech sounds
• 11:07–11:49: The unique sound of SNL’s cold open
• 14:36–18:41: Field recording adventure in New York; horse “clop” improvisation

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Tone & Style

Fred Armisen’s approach is playful, improvisational, and tinged with dry humor. Michael Shulman provides the straight-man counterpoint, gently steering the conversation and sharing in the fun. The fieldwork segments capture the joy of process and spontaneity, echoing the album’s spirit.

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Conclusion

A vivid exploration of how sound shapes memory, performance, and everyday life, this episode genuinely showcases Fred Armisen’s creative vision for “100 Sound Effects.” The playful interplay between sound artistry, nostalgia, and improvisational comedy makes for an engaging listen — and offers curious insights for anyone fascinated by the sounds that define our worlds.

Transcript

[Narrator/Producer]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co production of WNYC studios and the New Yorker.

[David Remnick]

This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Fred Armisen, well he's got a thing about sound. He does a bit where he claims to be able to imitate every single accent in American speech.

[Fred Armisen]

Pittsburgh. Yin's go there. Yin's go there to Pittsburgh. And then down in Baltimore. Motor oil. I always think motor oil. Baltimore, Mater oil. Then, then down Virginia. Virginia.

[David Remnick]

And on Saturday Night Live he co wrote the recurring sketch about how people talk in LA.

[Fred Armisen]

Get back on San Vicente, take it to the 10, then switch over to the 405 north and let it dump you out into Mulholland where you blind.

[David Remnick]

Recently Armisen announced an album called 100 Sound Effects. And the track titles are a little like punchlines themselves. First time homeowners switching circuit breakers. Romanian crowd at rock club shouting for an encore. I confess I wasn't sure if this was an album album or concept art. But it's a real album and it's even coming out soon on vinyl if you're so inclined.

[Michael Shulman]

Well, hi.

[Fred Armisen]

Hi.

[Michael Shulman]

So I played this album for myself and my cat last night. She was confused.

[Fred Armisen]

Uh huh.

[Michael Shulman]

There are no birds on it. I don't think so. She was not that interested.

[Fred Armisen]

That'd have to be a separate album for animals cause they're a different audience.

[David Remnick]

The New Yorker's Michael Shulman met up with Fred Armisen and they recently went out to do some sound recording of their own.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay, let's start with the basics. Like what is this thing and how did you come to do it? 100 sound effects.

[Fred Armisen]

It was kind of like I was lamenting that there aren't sound effects albums in our lives as much or in my life. I feel like they just used to exist more or they were more present. Like there'd be like a Halloween one. They would just. You just see them everywhere. It was like the thought I was like, oh, I should make one. Just like the titles of the ones that used to exist were always like, you know, door closing. You know, there'd be like some street sounds, sirens, like airplane sounds and stuff. So it was just from that I was like, well, what would a new version of it be like? And instead of just, you know, taking out my phone and just recording stuff, I wanted to treat it properly. Like let me go to a recording studio and really do it. Let me try to mimic some things that I've heard before. And it really kind of took about a year of booking More time at a studio and then a few things out on the street. But it was mostly studio stuff.

[Michael Shulman]

Well, when you picture people listening to this album, what do you picture? Are people, like, sitting and listening very intently, or is it background noise? Or is it.

[Fred Armisen]

I picture someone in reality. I picture someone playing it for their friend.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, that's fine.

[Fred Armisen]

It's more like, hey, look what just came out. And so not going through the whole thing, but just playing little parts of it, you know, and then it looks good in the record collection. So it's like, not in the music section. It's like, oh, here's a sound effects record that actually came out more recently.

[Michael Shulman]

Right. Well, I mean, it's like a novelty item kind of. But also maybe practical.

[Fred Armisen]

That would be a dream.

[Michael Shulman]

I mean, you mentioned the sort of classic sound effects albums that you used to see. Did you, like, own them growing up? Did you own these at Oji?

[Fred Armisen]

Only Halloween ones. I remember ghoul sounds, you know, and I guess they'd be used for, you know, haunted mansion amusement, you know, like, during Halloween. Oh, actually, I had a GI Joe single, the Toy GI Joes. And I think those were heavy on sound effects. They weren't advertised that way. But there was a lot of crawling through the dirt kind of stuff.

[Michael Shulman]

War sounds or adventure sounds. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Fred Armisen]

Gotta grab this rock. Almost got it. And that kind of thing.

[Michael Shulman]

Wow. It is a lost art form, truly. So the sounds are subdivided. Was that where you started? Kind of like thinking about different scenarios in life, like a plane or a music store? Stuff like that?

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah, like, I started with all the music stuff. I was like, that's easy. I wanted to do someone tuning a guitar, and it's in tune, except for when they strum it, it's out of tune. That happens sometimes to guitar players. We're like, I just tuned it. Why is it still out of tune?

[Michael Shulman]

Okay, well, let's. Let's play. Let's hear that.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah. It's just something that happened. So it started there. Because those are easy to record. Just, you know, set up an amp and everything. So the music ones were just. It was a good starting point.

[Michael Shulman]

Well, yeah. And you. I think before you were in comedy, you were in a punk band.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah.

[Michael Shulman]

And people know you're a drummer. You were in Trench Mouth, a punk band starting in the 80s. So I imagine that you just lived a lot of your life around the sounds of bands doing their work.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah. And there's so much sound checking. So much of your life is just sound checks.

[Michael Shulman]

Sorry. This is the Sound of a New Yorker writer writing down what you're wearing. Flannel shirt.

[Fred Armisen]

And this sound is my reaction as I look down to my shirt.

[Michael Shulman]

Black pants. Okay, I got it. So you also did things out in the field. Can you tell me about sort of where you went out to record more organically?

[Fred Armisen]

There were. I spent some time in Ireland working, and there were sounds of parts of the kitchen. You know, the washing machine, the dryer. That, to me, sounded very European.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, really?

[Fred Armisen]

Like opening doors. Like, there's this different sound to even a front door. There's like a. It's like a lever, and it's like hardwood. So there's no way to recreate that. So with that, I used a portable recorder and just did, you know, front door opening fob. Opening the building door. And then I recorded the washing machine and the dryer. Because I think their dryers are just very different to ours. Like, there's usually one unit that does the same thing. It's way at the end.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, yeah. European small dryer with some confusion.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay, let's listen to that, because now I'm really curious what this dryer sounds like. Oh, that's an interesting little beep thing. Yeah.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah. What does that mean? What is triangle?

[Michael Shulman]

That's you giving up. Like, what. What's going on?

[Fred Armisen]

No, I. This really happened where. I mean, I was recreating it, but couldn't figure out how to unlock it. I was like, it says, it's done. Why won't it open?

[Michael Shulman]

Huh? Whoa. What was that?

[Fred Armisen]

No idea.

[Michael Shulman]

The dryer just making a.

[Fred Armisen]

No idea. And these things. These are new machines.

[Michael Shulman]

That is mysterious. Oh, my God. That was like an alien landing. That was really unsettling.

[Fred Armisen]

That's something I wouldn't be able to do in a studio. It's just so specific to being there. Things like that I had to do there.

[Michael Shulman]

So you grew up on Long Island. Are there particular sounds that you associate with where you grew up?

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah, definitely. There were a lot of delis and pizza places, and opening those doors, there was a jingle. Usually sound?

[Michael Shulman]

No, it's like how the Sopranos ends.

[Fred Armisen]

Oh, that's right.

[Michael Shulman]

Spoiler alert. But, like, the last thing you see is Tony looking up and the door jingles. Right. Are you, in general, like, someone who is sensitive to sound more than other people, do you think? I mean, are you always that aware of it?

[Fred Armisen]

I can't compare myself to other people, but I would say that it's like a major part of my life and maybe my career in a way that, like, what, you know, got me there is, like, more about sound. The sound of an accent.

[Michael Shulman]

Mm. Like, which chicken and egg is it? Is it. Do you think that you were sensitive to noises and that got you interested in listening to how accents sound, or was it.

[Fred Armisen]

Yes, definitely.

[Michael Shulman]

Being a actor who had to do accents got you more sensitive.

[Fred Armisen]

No, no, no. It's the first version. My parents weren't American. They became American, but my dad's from Germany and my mom's from Venezuela, and we lived in Brazil for a little while. So there was a lot of sort of relearning of how people talk, especially moving to New York. Like, New York has a very specific way that the people sound. So it was like, it was easier to notice because of my life, it was easier to notice that people sounded different.

[Michael Shulman]

What were the sounds of Brazil?

[Fred Armisen]

God, it was so different. First of all, as cliche as it might sound, the sound of the music in the streets. Because they had samba schools, not educational schools. Samba being like a school, meaning a group of percussionists. And we lived right near Copacabana beach, and somewhere around December or so, they'd start rehearsing. So that's one sound you would hear is like the sound of drums. TV sounded really different. And the Brazilian kids. So we spoke English and we went to an American school.

[Michael Shulman]

How old were you when you lived in Brazil?

[Fred Armisen]

I was like, 7 and 8 or something. But the kids, not in a mean way, would make fun of kids who spoke English, the Brazilian kids. And they would mimic us. And so we'd be talking, they'd be like. They would say, like, that was their version of what we sounded like.

[Michael Shulman]

Huh? Right.

[Fred Armisen]

And, yeah, it just. Everything sounded different there.

[Michael Shulman]

What about snl? Does SNL have particular sounds, like sets moving and stuff? Oh, my God. Like that stuck with you.

[Fred Armisen]

SNL has such a specific sound that it's what I picture most with the. Cause I love SNL with the cold open. There's like this hiss right at the cold open.

[Michael Shulman]

It's.

[Fred Armisen]

I don't know. It's the sound. I don't know what it comes from the mics being on or something. So you hear the audience giggle a little, but then there's this, like. And it's only snl where you're like, they're about to start the cold open. It's a must be half a second. But there's a sound that's like. It begins this way.

[Michael Shulman]

Right, Right.

[David Remnick]

Fred Armisen talking with the New Yorker's Michael Shulman. More in a moment.

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[Michael Shulman]

On this week's.

[Fred Armisen]

On the Media, I asked a journalist who'd spent time in Hungary to describe what the media looks like in a backsliding democracy.

[Michael Shulman]

The way it was kind of described to me was like if Fox News was basically every TV channel and the New York Post was like every newspaper.

[Fred Armisen]

Are there lessons for us in Hungary's evolution on this week's on the Media from wnyc?

[Michael Shulman]

Well, Fred, I'm hoping that we can head out and do some field work right now. If you're up for that. You up for that?

[Fred Armisen]

I'm up for it.

[Michael Shulman]

All right.

[Fred Armisen]

And sometimes elevator conversations sounds like this New York is like almost too easy in that there's so many sounds going on at the same time. But I think maybe we could do a good job of, like, maybe finding some specifics. So we're in a deli, and this is the sound of a busy deli. So we're at an atm, we're getting the hitting of buttons and numbers. This is getting out cash. This is looking through a cooler for a soda that isn't there. Like, a drink that you can't find. You're going through. You're like, oh, they're out of whatever. So this is someone looking through it. Good. We could do. I found what I was looking for.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, yeah.

[Fred Armisen]

Let's do that.

[Michael Shulman]

Let's do that. Okay.

[Fred Armisen]

So that'll add a vocal quality to it.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay.

[Fred Armisen]

There we go. This is someone from Philadelphia, and they're ordering crepes. Hi, can I just get the lemon crepe, please? So we're going into a tunnel, one of those, like, sort of overpass things in Central Park. So what you hear is violin or fiddle player in the distance coming closer. So we're passing a fiddle player.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay, so we're coming up on something very particular to Central Park South.

[Fred Armisen]

Right.

[Michael Shulman]

What do we have here?

[Fred Armisen]

We've got a horse and carriage. Now, I don't want to do anything to alarm the horse, but the horse is just being really quiet.

[Michael Shulman]

Yeah.

[Fred Armisen]

So there's.

[Michael Shulman]

Should we ask this guy?

[Fred Armisen]

Ask him. We wanted to get a sound of a clop, but I don't want to affect the horse. Okay. Okay, great. It's okay. It's okay.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay, horse, do you have anything to say? Okay, okay, we'll leave him alone. Very quiet, horse. We have nothing from this horse.

[Fred Armisen]

Let's see. Let's maybe wait here a moment in case some horses do go by, because now I'm dead set on it.

[Michael Shulman]

Can we. We're just getting some sound effects around New York. What about clopping his hoof? Is that okay? Okay.

[Fred Armisen]

I think it's a no.

[Michael Shulman]

That's a no. Yeah. What's that? No. That's all right. We don't want to bother you. It's fine.

[Fred Armisen]

I wonder if we could fake clopping.

[Michael Shulman]

Sounds.

[Fred Armisen]

Just as a sense of it might fail.

[Michael Shulman]

Right.

[Fred Armisen]

Like, maybe we won't get it.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, I have something.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah. Let's say that we had Sunglasses case. This is great. So let's say I'm gonna go on that wood over there. Let's say we had, like, a directive that we had to get copying noises that we're not allowed back unless we get something. So let's fool our boss, so to speak. Okay. Maybe I'll go Slower. That's pretty good. That's not bad. Right? Layer it with a little like. Yeah. Or maybe I have another class four. Ah, that'll hurt. Yes. Yeah. Is it? But okay, so let's start at the top. So this is horses clopping in Central Park. And I'll try to mimic that one.

[Michael Shulman]

That was amazing because right as you were doing that, we should note an actual horse and carriage went by and you just mimicked the exact rhythm of what you were hearing.

[Fred Armisen]

Yeah.

[Michael Shulman]

With a couple of glasses cases and equipment cases on this piece of wooden banister thing.

[Fred Armisen]

You never know.

[Michael Shulman]

Okay.

[Fred Armisen]

Could be used.

[Michael Shulman]

The horse looked over. Yeah, the horse was like, is that.

[Fred Armisen]

My wife or are you making fun of me? You think I'm a joke?

[David Remnick]

Comedian Fred Armisen. His new album, 100 Sound Effects, comes out on Drag City Records. Michael Schulman is a staff writer for the New Yorker. And I'm David Remnick. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. Thanks for listening. See you next time.

[Michael Shulman]

Oh, should we maybe just get this?

[Fred Armisen]

Sure.

[Michael Shulman]

Is this horse going by? Excellent.

[Fred Armisen]

Now we can compare.

[Michael Shulman]

Yeah, we can compare how we did with the glasses case.

[Narrator/Producer]

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co production of WNYC Studios and the New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell and Jared Paul. This episode was produced by Max Falten, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul and Ursula Sommer.

[Michael Shulman]

And we had special assistance this week.

[Narrator/Producer]

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