Music Life

Manika Kaur, Ali Riaz Baqar, Gurujas Khalsa and Abi Sampa discuss individual definitions of success, why you're going to offend somebody no matter what music you make, the rollercoaster effect, and what their studio spaces look like.Manika Kaur is a singer and contemporary performer of Sikh kirtan music. Predominately performed by men in gurdwara temples, kirtans are devotional singing or sacred chants. Manika is changing the landscape of the music by reinterpreting, recording, and performing outside of the temples, and being one of the few women to sing them.Ali Riaz Baqar is a guitarist, bandleader, and chief composer of the group Jaubi. Based in Lahore, Pakistan, their debut album Nafs at Peace draws on elements of north Indian classical music, hip-hop and jazz. Gurujas Khalsa is a singer and songwriter from the Grammy-winning band White Sun, based in Los Angeles. Their music is a "sweeping exploration of New Age, through the lens of the Kundalini Yogic tradition", and their songs are also on the syllabus at the University of Southern California, where they are used to study stress management. And Abi Sampa is a multi-instrumentalist, veena virtuoso, and the UK’s first female Qawwal. She first rose to prominence when she sang on TV show The Voice UK in 2013. Born in London to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, she’s now inspiring a new generation of British Asians with her music.

Producer Ian Brennan, Alex Magaga of the Tanzania Albinism Collective, Hanoi Masters musical director Van-Anh Vo and Rwandan folk musician Gilbert Uwitonze discuss how members of a community can intuitively start singing despite never having heard music before, accidents in the recording process (including a very loud cow), and music being a release from persecution.Ian Brennan is a Grammy-winning producer, author, musician, and field recordist who’s been described as a “modern heir to the legendary ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax”, giving voices to the voiceless. His latest release, I've Forgotten Now Who I Used To Be, is a compilation of songs recorded in Ghana’s witch camps, settlements in which women persecuted as witches can find sanctuary.Alex Magaga is a musician, activist, documentary producer, and member of the Tanzania Albinism Collective, which helps those who’ve been cast out from their communities, facing discrimination and violence. Van-Anh Vo is a musical director, zither player, and chief percussionist for Vietnamese project Hanoi Masters. The aim of the project is to “protect the heritage of traditional instruments” of Vietnam. Her father became a musician during the Vietnam-American war so that he didn’t have to fight. And Gilbert Uwitonze is part of the Rwandan band The Good Ones, who sing folk songs from their farming town of Kigali. All three members are survivors of the Rwandan genocide who turned to music to help with the healing process.

Tshepang Ramoba of BLK JKS is joined by Chelsea Wolfe, Anna von Hausswolff and Radiohead's Colin Greenwood to discuss simplifying complex music, why Africa is in all music, making sounds that can't ever be created again, and the inspiration behind the artwork to Radiohead’s In Rainbows.Tshepang Ramoba is the drummer and band leader of BLK JKS, a South African Art-Rock based in Johannesburg. He's joined by Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, a former Music Life host himself, who he met a few years ago when Colin was touring the country. Anna von Hausswolff is a Swedish singer, musician, theatre composer, sound artist, and organist who blends jazz, metal, doom, and everything in between, and has been described as making ‘funeral pop’. Finally, Chelsea Wolfe is a Californian metal, goth, and folk guitarist and singer. She’s been described as a “musical witch and keeper of lost souls,” and has collaborated with Deftones.

Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, Slowdive's Rachel Goswell, Slint's David Pajo, and Beth Jeans Houghton - aka Du Blonde - discuss how much they care about their live shows sounding like the record, and that awkward moment when you forget the words to your own song live on stage.Stuart Braithwaite is a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist in Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, who have released 10 studio albums since forming in 1995. Their most recent record, As the Love Continues, went to number one in the UK earlier this year, and marks 25 years since their debut single.Stuart’s guests include friend and collaborator Rachel Goswell, best known as the vocalist and guitarist in shoegaze band Slowdive. She’s also a member of the Soft Cavalry and supergroup the Minor Victories, alongside Stuart.Also joining them is David Pajo, famed for his guitar shredding in US post-rock band Slint. He’s also collaborated with the likes of Interpol, Stereolab, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.And Beth Jeans Houghton is a London-based artist who makes music under the moniker Du Blonde. Her latest record, Homecoming, came out earlier this year. She’s also directed music videos for the likes of Ezra Furman, LUMP, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

We celebrate Music Life’s 100th episode with some of the highlights from Episodes 50–100. Pop icon and previous Music Life host Melanie C is back to guide us through some of the show’s biggest moments so far. So far in the series we’ve heard Hans Zimmer explain how he went from playing in a new wave pop band to composing for the biggest films in the world, Moonchild Sanelly on what she can’t say in her music, David Byrne on the pressure to do something different, Kranium on how he made his best chorus, Eris Drew on the importance of positivity in dance music, Mykki Blanco on the role of resistance in their work, and Becky Hill on how to write the perfect hit.Throughout 50 episodes we’ve travelled the globe, learned the behind-the-scenes secrets that went into some of the world’s biggest hits, and listened in to some of the most honest and surprising conversations in music. Here’s to the next 50.

Japanese Breakfast, Julia Stone, Black Belt Eagle Scout and Becca Mancari discuss why the third album is often the trickiest to make, meeting your heroes in airports, the role producers play in allowing you to tell your story, and getting Hollywood actors to appear in your videos.Japanese Breakfast is very much the artist of the moment, having released the highly anticipated third album Jubilee. She blends the multiple facets of Pop with Indie, Chamber, and Shoegaze, was born in Seoul and grew up in Oregon, USA. Jubilee follows 2016’s Psychopomp and 2017’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet in 2017. Joining her is Julia Stone, a singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia who is known for the Folk Pop duo she formed with her brother Angus. Indie Rock multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Black Belt Eagle Scout is based in Portland USA. Her debut record Mother of My Children came out in 2017 and was inspired by ‘grief, love and being a Native person in the US today’. And finally, Becca Mancari is a Folk Rock singer-songwriter who is part of the trio Bermuda Triangle alongside Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes. Her latest solo album The Greatest Part channels The Beach Boys sound and explores her experiences of growing up in a deeply religious community in Nashville.

British post-punk newcomer Billy Nomates talks to Simone Marie Butler, Xenia Rubinos and Radie Peat about the pressures of living up to expectations, whether or not they feel proud of their work so far, and songs they write when they think no one else will hear them.Simone Marie Butler is best known as the bassist in rock band Primal Scream. She’s also recorded with Joel Culpepper, the Stooges’ James Williamson, and the Horrors’ Faris Badwan. Xenia Rubinos is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from New York whose sound blends pop, soul, punk, and Latin influences with her jazz training. Radie Peat is a singer and musician best known for her vocals in Irish folk band Lankum, and she is working on her debut solo record.

Amy Lee, Ice T, Aurora and Oli Sykes discuss how they how they got into music, how music has affected their personal growth, and how they work through creative differences with their collaborators.Amy Lee from Grammy Award-winning US Rock band Evanescence is on hosting duties, and she’s invited some of her favourite artists and collaborators to join her, starting with seminal rapper and producer Ice T. Ice has recently teamed up with Evanescence on the track When I’m Gone, and collaborated with everybody from Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre, to Slayer and Public Enemy.Oli Sykes is the lead singer and songwriter of British rock band Bring Me The Horizon, which formed in Sheffield in 2004 and went on to become one of the biggest bands on the planet. Aurora is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer whose music blends folk, electro and art-pop, and she has been cited by Billie Eilish as a major inspiration - as well as being one of our host’s favourite artists.

Will Joseph Cook, Olivia and Queenie from Boys World, dodie, and Alfie Templeman discuss whether they share their creative processes on social media, overcoming industry stigma for being an 'internet artist', and finding strength in being who you are.Will Joseph Cook is a singer-songwriter and self-taught producer from Kent, England. He signed with Atlantic Records when he was 17, and released his debut album Sweet Dreamer in 2017. His second record, Something to Feel Good About, came out on his own label, Bad Hotel, earlier this year.Queenie and Olivia are two of the five members of breakthrough girl group Boys World, all of whom were discovered after posting their covers of songs to social media. They have since moved into a house together in LA, and have just released their debut EP While You Were Out.Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist dodie launched her career performing piano and ukulele covers online, and has gone on to release 3 EPs and collaborate with former Music Life host Jacob Collier. She recently released her debut album, Build a Problem.Alfie Templeman is a singer-songwriter and producer who released his debut EP, Like an Animal, in 2018. He cites Carlton, the English village where he was raised, as one of his biggest inspirations, and has just released the mini-album Forever Isn't Long Enough.

Jamaican rising stars Lila Iké, Sevana, Jaz Elise and Naomi Cowan discuss whether or not they think about genre when creating, how much they write about their personal lives in their music, and how their experiences as a woman in the music industry are reflected in their songs.Lila Iké is a Jamaican singer-songwriter whose genreless sound fuses contemporary reggae with elements of soul, dancehall and hip-hop. She signed to Protoje's In.Digg.Nation label in 2017 and released her debut EP, The ExPerience. last year. Singer-songwriter, actress and label-mate Sevana's music is rooted in soul and R&B, or, as she describes it, "every sound but with a Jamaican filter". She recently released her second EP, Be Somebody, and is also the star of Jamaican web series Losing Patience. Naomi Cowan was 2018's Breakthrough Act at the Jamaica Reggae Industry Awards, and since then she has toured with Estelle and released several singles, including chart-topping hit Paradise Plum. Jaz Elise has been singing since she was 5 years old and released her debut EP earlier this year, an In.Digg.Nation production titled The Golden Hour.The artists discuss whether or not they think about genre when creating, how much they write about their personal lives in their music, and how their experiences as a woman in the music industry are reflected in their songs.