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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 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 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 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.
Episode 14 — Eliza, a cello made of U-boats and Igbo flow
Eliza on announcing pregnancy live on stage, Verity Simmons on a U-boat-spiked cello, and a Genre Tombola dive into Igbo rap, rhythm and call-and-response.
Episode 13 — Worldwide Washboard Registry, autistic art, rockets and zydeco
Autistic Joy and accessible sound with Maddi Crease, New Orleans washboard and Zydeco with Alex Macdonald, and Robyn Rocket’s inclusive space-trumpet nights at Cafe OTO.
Episode 12 — Frank Turner, Trumpet Mafiosi and not talking about Jimmy
Ashlin Parker on Trumpet Mafia, blues and New Orleans, Frank Turner on UK hardcore ethics and FTHC, and a shared attempt to answer: what is the point of music?
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.