Music Life

Enny, Priya Ragu, Hatchie and Miso Extra discuss writing gibberish, why music is a form of catharsis and mindfulness, repurposing melodies, holding on to demos, and dealing with the haters.Enitan Adepitan, better known as Enny, is a London-based rapper, singer and songwriter who started on the mic at primary school. Her music blends sharp, honest lyrics with beats rooted in the gospel, jazz, hip-hop and garage she grew up listening to.Australian singer-songwriter Hatchie has been dubbed the “dream-pop idol of tomorrow”. Tamil-Swiss artist Priya Ragu’s forward thinking R&B has been supported by some of the biggest tastemakers around the world. Born to refugees of the Sri Lankan civil war, she was raised in the Swiss city of St Gallen before settling in East London. British-Japanese rapper, singer and producer Miso Extra grew up surrounded by a melting pot of sonic and cultural influences, which has resulted in a sound that blends old school hip-hop beats, progressive grooves and Japanese rapping.

Noon Garden, Go Kurosawa, Yukimi Nagano and Serra Petale discuss why they’re happiest when they’re hitting things, seeing every song you make as if it’s your first, the importance of renewal to stay fresh, why you can’t be emotionally detached from your music, and the evolution of the demo to release day.Charles Prest, a.k.a. Noon Garden, is a British-Nigerian-Jamaican musician and founding member of the international psych band Flamingods, who have been creating funky psychedelic music inspired largely by the disco, funk and psychedelia that came out of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia in the ‘70s.Go Kurosawa is a Japanese drummer and vocalist from psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo. Their sound is full of influences from Krautrock to classical Indian music, and they enjoy singing in an imaginary language.Swedish singer and songwriter Yukimi Nagano is the voice of electronic band Little Dragon. Serra Petale is a drummer and guitarist from international instrumental quartet Los Bitchos, whose love of both garage rock and Colombian cumbia is weaved through their fun and groovy sound.They’ll be discussing why they’re happiest when they’re hitting things, seeing every song you make as if it’s your first, the importance of renewal to stay fresh, why you can’t be emotionally detached from your music, and the evolution of the demo to release day.

Planningtorock, Peaches, Hard Feelings and Colin Self discuss bullying themselves into releasing music, audio as a weapon against apathy, why there's no shelf life on great music, using music-making process as a tool for self-discovery, and making sounds with their bodies.Jam Rahuoja Rostron, also known as Planningtorock, is a singer-songwriter, producer, composer and director from Bolton, England now based in Tallin, Estonia. They experiment with electronic sounds, digital instruments, and manipulated vocals and sounds.Musician, producer and performance artist Peaches has spent the past two decades breaking barriers with her work. From Toronto, Canada, she plays with gender role representation, mixed with hard electronic sounds, and shocking live shows.American artist, composer and choreographer Colin Self, who’s based in New York and Berlin, works across multiple disciplines and practices, using voices, bodies and computers as musical tools interfaced into software.Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and singer Amy Douglas, better known as Hard Feelings, create an immersive experience that weaves together new wave, synthpop, and dance. Their debut album has been described as ‘an opera of sad bangers’.

Allysha Joy, Latanya Alberto, Joya Mooi and TEEKS discuss why they like disagreeing, the balance between the sweet and the dark, feeling confident enough to share your story and feel vulnerable, and feeling the pain and joy in articulating your emotion perfectly in song form.Allysha Joy is a Melbourne-based soul and jazz singer, poet and performer, and is also the lead vocalist for the collective 30/70.Amsterdam-based neo-soul singer and songwriter Latanya Alberto started writing poetry as a teenager which has translated into her songwriting. Although she was born and raised in Amsterdam, she has strong connections to her Caribbean roots. TEEKS is a Māori soul singer from New Zealand. He says his culture continues to shape his sound and provides a throughline to his work. Singer, writer, and musician Joya Mooi is based in Amsterdam, with roots in Soweto, South Africa. She blends soul, alternative R&B, jazz, and electronic sounds.

JyellowL, shiv, Kojaque and Gemma Dunleavy, four key voices on the Dublin music scene, discuss the art of storytelling, the importance of showing up, and how being an artist is a walking contradiction.JyellowL is a Nigerian-born rapper based in Dublin, Ireland. Influenced by the city’s thriving underground hip-hop scene, his music is packed with socially conscious lyrics that deal with everything from racism to the climate crisis. His debut album 2020 Division was nominated for Irish Album of the Year at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Awards, and his track Ozone featured on the FIFA 20 soundtrack.DJ-turned-singer-songwriter shiv was born in Zimbabwe and raised in Ireland’s County Kildare. Her music blends lo-fi hip-hop beats with elements of R&B and neo-soul to create a sound which she calls “emotional escapism”. Her latest EP, The Love Interlude, was released in 2021.Rapper, producer and visual artist Kojaque was born and raised in Dublin. His sound blends elements of hip-hop and jazz with poetic lyricism. He co-founded Soft Boy Records in 2015, and has toured with the likes of Slowthai and Lana Del Rey, collaborated with Swedish-born rapper Luka Palm, and performed at festivals including SXSW and Glastonbury.Gemma Dunleavy is a songwriter, producer and north inner-city Dubliner known for experimenting with instruments like the harp and flute. She blends her love of pop and club music with traditional storytelling, and has collaborated with the likes of Murlo, DJ Sharda and Swing Ting. In her own words, her songs “each represent something I’ve experienced, someone I’ve been, someone I am or someone I’ve lost.”

Ahead of World Piano Day next week, Poppy Ackroyd, Büşra Kayıkçı, Sven Helbig and Hania Rani discuss not putting your thoughts on paper, why composing is a game, the frustration around discovering a melody that already exists, why humming is a good way of getting your ideas down, and thinking about songs for a couple of years before recording them.Poppy Ackroyd is a British composer, pianist and violinist who creates atmospheric music blending classical instruments with electronic music. Last year she released Pause, a collection of ten solo piano works composed shortly after the birth of her first child.Büşra Kayıkçı is a composer and pianist from Istanbul, Turkey, who brings inspiration from her background in architecture into her minimalist piano compositions. She also releases music on composer Nils Frahm’s record label Leiter Verlag.German composer, director, and music producer Sven Helbig is known for combining lush orchestral and choral music with electronic sounds. He’s worked with everyone from metal band Rammstein to synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani's Esja was nominated for five Fryderyk awards in Poland. As well as composing for solo piano, she combines her voice, strings, and electronics to create incredibly dramatic works.

Olivier Deriviere, Lena Raine, Joris de Man and Chipzel answer listeners' questions about making music for video games, in a special of edition of Music Life for the World Service Festival. The group will be discussing everything from composing vertically and horizontally, how to write music that reacts to your game playing, and easy ways of building energy, to using artificial intelligence in composition, balancing the music with sound effects, and arguing with yourself. Olivier Deriviere is a French video game music composer best known for his work on Alone in the Dark, the Streets Of Rage series, and Assassin’s Creed 4: Freedom Cry. His style blends traditional musical elements with unorthodox sound techniques. Lena Raine, is an award-winning American composer and producer best known for soundtracking acclaimed indie video games Celeste and Guild Wars 2, as well as composing for Minecraft.Dutch composer Joris de Man's eclectic style has earned him an Ivor Novello Award and BAFTA nomination, and he blends everything from glitchy electronica to orchestral sounds. His compositions include the Killzone franchise, Vainglory, and the blockbuster Horizon Zero Dawn.Niamh Houston, AKA Chipzel, is a Northern Irish composer who specialises in “chiptune” music. It’s a vintage, 8-bit computer sound and she still composes on a Nintendo Game Boy to write and perform her retro sounds. She has composed soundtracks for Super Hexagon, Interstellaria and Dicey Dungeons.

L'Rain, Keyon Harrold, Hinako Omori and Sinkane discuss not getting stuck on the details, the visceral versus the cerebral, why there's nothing like those vibrations in the room where you play, and why writing music is like walking to the shops.L’Rain is an experimental multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and vocalist from New York, who makes music that is an intoxicating blend of R&B, free jazz, noise music, and orchestral pop. She was also once in an Iron Maiden covers band. Jazz trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Keyon Harrold was born into a musical family of 17 children. He’s provided instrumentation for Beyonce, 50 Cent, Jay Z, former Music Life guest Gregory Porter and Mary J Blige, as well as being a trumpet stunt double in the film Miles Ahead. Hinako Omori is a musician and producer with a love for synthesisers who was born in Yokohoma, Japan, and is now based in London. She’s worked with artists including Kae Tempest, EOB, and Georgia. You may recognise our host Sinkane’s voice, as the Sudanese-American multi-instrumentalist and singer has previously hosted the Music Life show, chatting to the likes of David Byrne, St Vincent, Cautious Clay, Emel Mathlouthi and Vagabon.

Kiefer, Malaya, Mia Gladstone and DJ Harrison discuss music as an aural journal, forcing yourself to write, why making music is a good excuse to research what has gone before, and why half the battle when making music is consumed by complaining.Kiefer is a jazz pianist and producer based in Los Angeles, who expertly blends live jazz piano improvisation with electronic beats. He started producing beats at around the age of 12 before moving from San Diego to LA to study jazz piano under Kenny Burrell. He also co-produced Anderson .Paak’s Grammy-winning album Ventura.Singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Malaya started her professional career at the age of 16 on American Idol, and has since developed her own distinctive sound, blending jazz, hip-hop and soul. Singer-songwriter and producer Mia Gladstone blends jazz, pop and R&B influences and promotes a message of self-acceptance, compassion, and creative freedom. Producer, sampler, and multi-instrumentalist Devonne Harris, better known as DJ Harrison, learned to play the violin and percussion from a young age, before studying jazz and getting absorbed by his vast record collection.

Thiago França, Beto, Maíra Freitas and Flaira Ferro discuss what it’s like to be a musician during Brazil's carnival season, how the festivities vary across the country, why it’s so closely linked to cultural identity, its magical rhythms, and why the festival also has a serious side.Thiago França, a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist living in São Paulo, plays saxophone for the Afro-samba-punk trio Metá Metá and has contributed to albums by artists such as Criolo, Elza Soares and former Music Life guest Céu. He also runs A Espetacular Charanga do França, one of the biggest blocos (or street parades) in the Sao Paulo carnival.Roberto Barreto – also known as Beto – is a guitarist and composer who runs the independent DIY musical collective BaianaSystem, based in the Brazilian state of Bahia. BaianaSystem combine classic Brazilian Carnaval sounds with dub-heavy beats from Africa and the Caribbean. Maíra Freitas is a singer and pianist from Rio de Janeiro who initially trained to be a classical musician, but then developed a taste for Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian popular music), also known as ‘MPB’. She is also the daughter of samba master Martinho da Vila. Flaira Ferro is a singer-songwriter and dancer of the Frevo style, a high-energy artform which originated in the Recife and Olinda carnivals. Her music is inspired by MPB, Gilberto Gil, and Antonio Nóbrega.