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Episode 34 — Cyphers, Picks and the Art of the Jam
From WOMEX in Finland, cyphers meet bluegrass picks with Gangstagrass — a live acoustic “Do Better,” an in-studio freestyle, and why the banjo’s a “pitched rhythm” engine. Improvisation as a shared language across genres.
Episode 33 - Malawian Madalitso, Vampire Vamps & Sofa Songs
From sofa farts to Malawian folk, Steve Pretty explores how play, curiosity and imperfection keep music alive.
Episode 32 – Sampling Firepits, Feeling Flamenco, Finding Tonás
From a Dorset firepit to Manchester flamenco, Steve Pretty explores how rhythm and emotion evolve through sound.
Episode 31 - Earwax, Echoes and Entropy
From whale earwax to cosmic echoes, Steve explores how sound shapes life—from the sea bed to the stars.
Episode 30 - Music therapy, Swedish Standards and Clinical Improvisation
Edinburgh conversations on music therapy, Swedish standards and what clinical improvisation really sounds like in the room.
Episode 29 — Access, Ancestry and a Flute Made From A Leg
Bodies, buildings and bone flutes: Steve and artist Jonathan Enser on access, ethics and musical ancestry — from venues to Neanderthal echoes.
Episode 28 - Jeremy Deller, 303s and Knitting
Artist Jeremy Deller joins Steve to talk Acid Brass, TB-303s, knitting, and how art, brass bands and dance music collide — with Manchester threads throughout.
Episode 27 - Eurovision Special with Frances Ruffelle
Frances Ruffelle joins Steve live at Wilton’s Music Hall for a Eurovision special — half interview, half cabaret, and a candid chat about confidence, craft and being a ‘proper musician.’
Episode 26 — World Poetry Day Special! Robin Ince, conch baths and BRIAN BLESSED (kind of)
Robin Ince drops in at a live show from Wilton’s Music Hall for a World Poetry Day special: poems that breathe on stage, conch‑bath sonics, and a playful wander past BRIAN BLESSED (kind of) and Brian Cox.
Episode 25 — Reawake: a Wake, a Sample, a Rebirth
A daughter’s heartbeat becomes music. After the Daily Mail reports him dead, Steve throws his own wake and launches Clip ’n Mix — transforming sound, story and second chances.
Episode 24 — Vocal Coaching, Twanging and Matters of Life and Death
Live with vocal coach Juliet Russell at ALSO Festival: twang, resonance, breath and the warm-ups that actually help. Plus a closing tribute to Nathaniel Dye and the making of his album, Matters of Life and Death.
Episode 23 — Ass-haling, Skateboard Zithers and Golden Audio
Breath jokes, throat sounds, skateboard zithers and a trip to Audio Gold in Crouch End — an episode about how we hear, not just what we play.
Episode 22 — Rock n roll defibrillators, bierhall melodies and tech trance
Rock ’n’ roll fundraisers for defibrillators, Bavarian beer hall brass at the Hofbräuhaus, and a Tech Trance Prosit — a Genre Tombola trip through how music saves lives, oils communities and powers dancefloors.
Episode 21 — Oud, microtones and underwater soundscapes
Live at Wilton’s with Hackney Colliery Band and harpist Valeria Clarke, plus a deep-dive with Syrian musician Nawar Alnaddaf into the oud, the ney and the emotional power of microtones — with a sea-soaked soundscape in between.
Episode 20 — Afro-joik, arctic ukuleles and 'Big Boobies Is A State Of Mind'
From Bitchy Big Boobies Bang Band in Hemnesberget to an Arctic eight‑string ukulele maker and Afro-joik fusions in Vadsø, this Norway special explores pride, place, Sámi identity and genre-bending joik.
Episode 19 - Narco music, Ola Onabulé and turf wars
Studio time with Ola Onabulé, AI-anxious soul grooves and a corrido-fuelled look at narco music, diss tracks and musical turf wars.
Episode 18 — Serpents, shanties and shells
Serpents in Jeff Miller’s brass cave, sea shanties on the Suffolk coast and shells at sunrise — a walk through how old instruments keep reshaping how we hear.
Episode 17 — Sound balancers, Bowie's favourite studio and Debussy
Inside Maida Vale with BBC sound balancer Martin Appleby, plus Debussy's Arabesques and an AI challenge — an episode about how recordings really work and where musical nuance still wins.
Episode 16 — Double bass, planetary resonance and jam
Exoplanet harmonies at Wilton’s and an in-depth session with bassist Charlie Pyne — an episode about resonance, low end and how the bass quietly runs the show.
Episode 15 — Spirited Away, modular expression and mild despair
A bumper episode that moves from the economic reality of being a working musician to bleepy-bloopy modular synths with Jay Chakravorty, then deep into the music and stagecraft of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away with John Caird, Brad Haak and Maoko Imai.