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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 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 11 — Lofi hip hop, Zigaboo grooves and New Orleans explorations
Hannah Davis on New Orleans community music, a lofi hip hop mix deconstruction, and a deep funk homage to The Meters and Zigaboo grooves.
Episode 10 — East Anglian cowpunk, trombone marathons, the 'i' word and reverb
Trombonist and ultrarunner Nathanial Dye on living loudly with stage four cancer, Steve's deep dive into reverb from Wilton's to the Natural History Museum, and an AI-boosted East Anglian cowpunk experiment.
Episode 8 — Samplers, orchestras and fancy dress harpists
A dog-costumed harp cadenza with the LSO leads into a shed-deep dive on samplers, Amen breaks, synths and a UK hardcore rework of the Origin of the Pieces theme.
Episode 7 — End of year space and slides special, with Chris Hadfield, Rosie Turton and 1201 Alarm
Moon-bound albums with 1201_Alarm, binaural trombone wizardry with Rosie Turton and Chris Hadfield on flutes, space guitars and why music always travels with us.
Episode 6 — Festive phasing, guitar percussion and Nitin Sawhney
Festive Reich-inspired phasing, sleepless sleigh bells and a deep studio conversation with Nitin Sawhney on flamenco, Indian classical music, rhythm cycles, modes, identity and what music is actually for.
Episode 5 — Nordic creativity, grand pianos and AI emo
Northern Norway workshops, young players taking charge of their own music, a Fazioli grand piano up close with Birk, and a Genre Tombola deep dive into emo pop with LK Francis and AI-assisted angst.
Episode 4 — Harmonic remembrance, blues shouting and deathgrind taxonomy
Bugles in Abney Park, brass harmonics and Remembrance Sunday, binaural blues shouting with Nicole Cassandra Smit, and a gloriously over-detailed tour through deathgrind with Andrew O’Neill — plus Philip Larkin over blast beats.
Episode 3 — Pubs, flutes, township rhythms and tape delay
A hymn to pub gigs and grassroots venues, binaural baritone sax and flute experiments with Tamar Osborn, and Claude Deppa guiding a joyful, political dive into South African mbaqanga and township rhythms.
Episode 2 — Tiny trumpets, harps, jazz and Robbie Williams
Pocket trumpets by the pool, a close-up tour of orchestral harp sorcery with Valeria Clarke, a no-nonsense jazz 101, and a Genre Tombola detour into pop rock and Robbie Williams with Alexander Bennett.
Episode 1 — Hearing music in new ways
Shells, bone flutes, Darwin mugs, a chaotic shed tour and a rant about what music theory really is — Episode 1 lays out the Origin of the Pieces mission to help you hear music in strange, deeper, more joyful ways.