12/1/2020 0 Comments BBC 6 MUSIC INTERVIEW: GRANDADDYIt has been 20 years since the second Grandaddy album The Sophtware Slump.
To mark the LP’s anniversary there is a box set coming out on November 20th with an accompanying alternative take on the album – recorded by Jason Lytle in lockdown with him playing the whole record with just his vocal and the piano. A standalone LP and CD release of ‘The Sophtware Slump… on a wooden piano’ will follow on February 19th 2021. At the time of its original release in 2000 the album was met with critical acclaim. It explored concerns over modern technology in society. The Independent described it as “easily the equal of OK Computer” by Radiohead, which had been a huge hit record three years previously in 1997. I spoke to Jason Lytle of Grandaddy for BBC Radio 6 Music about the process of re-versioning the tracks in a very stripped back way…
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G-ROG + RECORDS + VIBES
Due to pandemic lockdown 2.0 in London I didn't have a guest on this month's Soho Radio show, instead I carried as much vinyl as I could to fill two hours in an attempt to give you a big old hug via the medium of music. Listen to the show here...
My guest on yesterday’s show was particularly dreamy. Thanks to Juanita Stein and her brother Joel (Howling Bells/The Great Ocean Road) for making the trip from Brighton to London and playing live on my Soho Radio Music Discovery show. I can’t believe it’s been four years since the last time she played some songs in the studio on one of my programmes. It was incredible to hear some live music too and especially such personal tracks from her third solo album Snapshot, which came out on Friday. It's such a beauty. It came after a period of loss and grief after losing her dad suddenly and she talks bravely and openly about that and what it was like making the album with the brilliant producer Ben Hillier, as well as plans for a live stream performance on November 1st. Check out the show...
The total goddess and music legend that is Róisín Murphy did an incredible performance of three tracks from her brand new LP Róisín Machine for the Esquire Townhouse (at your house) online series/virtual festival. I was asked to interview her for it and here is the video, alongside a brilliant line-up of video content with so many iconic people over on the Esquire channels.
This performance presents the track from Róisín's new record in a completely different way with just acoustic guitar. I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to her flawless afterwards for the film. In a strange covidy way, things had come full circle as the last live gig I saw before the pandemic kicked off was her Roundhouse headliner at the BBC 6 Music festival where she converted the whole hall into a dance party. What a way to go out! We spoke about that last gig pre-Covid, creating in lockdown, the making of the album and her proudest moment. Big thanks to Will Hersey for asking me to do it and the lovely team at Esquire. Also props to the sponsors Breitling watches for helping me really up my watch game for this shoot!
Had the brilliant producer/DJ Hagan come join me on my latest Foundation FM show >>> Brendan hung out for a whole hour to play tunes off his new Waves EP which just landed alongside some from his catalogue and others from a couple of producers he admires. It sounded ace. It’s a BOP. We talked about this year, creativity, his roots in music from Ghana and how he fuses that with electronic club sounds. He’s working on lots of new bits and shared a collab with Sango.
The rest of the time I got in the mix and played brand new music from the likes of Otik, Bonobo, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Franky Wah, Haai, India Jordan, Prospa, Enduro Disco, Falle Nioke and Ghost Culture and more. Listen to the programme below.
This month I had the pleasure of speaking to drummer Robby Staebler from All Them Witches on my Music Discovery show on Soho Radio. I've been really into the band's music for a number of years and true story - I gave them their first ever radio play in the UK as a DJ on XFM around the release of Lightning At The Door in 2013 after hearing it in the background in a coffee shop in East London on Brick Lane.
They've done a few tours in the UK now and every time the venues get bigger and every time they are sold out quicker. It's been really cool following their journey and seeing the amount of love globally that people feel for their music and electric live shows. It's always felt truly independent and authentic and jeez do they jam together! The trio just dropped their new sixth album Nothing As The Ideal, which was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios in London just before the pandemic lockdowns hit. It's a phenomenal piece of work so I loved catching up with Robby over zoom to talk more about the LP and to pick out some tracks from it and their catalogue on the show. Here's the full chat on video and the radio show with all the music below... I didn't get a moment to post this at the weekend because I was working but I was so sad to hear the news of the death of Toots Hibbert from iconic reggae band Toots and the Maytals. I spoke to him just a couple of months ago for BBC Radio 6 Music about his new album ‘Got To Be Tough’ - the first new Toots album in over a decade. It was quite late in the day because of the time difference I'd stayed until about 7pm and he was on his way to the studio so at one point pulled over, at another he stopped to have breakfast, all while nattering away. He talked to me openly down the line from Jamaica, about being tough in hard times, collaborating with Ziggy Marley on one of the album tracks and Toot’s memories of time spent with his father Bob Marley and about all the music he has been making. He was prolific. And an absolute joy. At the end of the conversation he was very complimentary about our chat and my voice! He told me to call him any time. I've put the sign-off on the end of this piece that went out on 6 Music because it filled me with so much joy I went home beaming.
Rest in peace Toots you wonderful soul. Thanks for the incredible legacy you left with all those tunes Pressure Drop, 54-46 That's My Number, Monkey Man, the list is endless.
My latest guest on Foundation was the brilliant India Jordan.
They got in the mix live for 30 minutes and we discussed the 2020 For You EP, new music in the works and how they got started as a DJ and producer. I also shared some new tunes from the likes of Gerd Jansen, Lauren Garnier, Radio Slave, Mild Minds, Jacques Greene, Logic1000, Max Cooper, Haai, Lau.Ra, Nova, Cousn, TSHA and more. Listen back...
Here's another guest I was beyond hyped to have on my Music Discovery show on Soho Radio this month... Rival Consoles.
Ryan came by the studio to hang out for half of the show to play tracks off his IMMENSE new album Articulation, recently released on Erased Tapes. We delve into his back catalogue as well going right back to his 2011 track I Left The Party. Listen back...
Photo Credit: Paolo-Scalerandi
London-based Aussie producer and DJ Haai is one of my faves of the last few years so I was so glad to have her on my Foundation Fm show this month. Her next EP Head Above The Parakeets, which is quite frankly a genius title given the pun, the hoards of parakeets residing in East London and the sheer gold lockdown meme of Chanel the African Grey. We discuss such matters as well as her next body of work, an album, life off the road during the pandemic and have a good old catch up. Listen back. Haai is on from about 40 minutes in. |
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