Music Life

Country stars Charlie Worsham, Ashley McBryde and Jaren Johnston combining traditional bluegrass with new sounds in the studio, the importance of being a good songwriter in country music and the differences between live tracking a recording versus piecing it together remotely.Singer and songwriter Charlie Worsham grew up in Mississippi but moved to Nashville as soon as he could to pursue his dreams in Music City. He makes country music that’s influenced by southern rock and bluegrass, and has just released his latest project Compadres, a collection of five collaborations with musicians such as Lainey Wilson, Kip Moore and Luke Combs.Ashley McBryde is a Grammy and CMA award-winning artist who has been making waves in Nashville for decades. She’s particularly well-known for Lindeville, a concept album centred around the characters that appear in her songs and named as a tribute to songwriter Dennis Linde. She's also just released her latest album, The Devil I Know.Jaren Johnston is a multiple Grammy-nominated country and rock songwriter and producer who is one of the founding members of the Cadillac Three. He’s worked with stars such as Keith Urban and Tim McGraw, and produced Charlie’s most recent project, Compadres.

Our host this week is American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Andrew Bird. His recordings combine the violin with loops and effect pedals, whistling and vocals. He started out playing in jazz acts before forming his own swing ensemble. In 2003 he released his first solo album Weather Systems and since then has produced 16 studio albums spanning swing music, indie rock and folk. His most recent album, Inside Problems, came out in the summer. He is joined by Meshell Ndegeocello, a German-American singer-songwriter, rapper and bassist who played a pivotal role in kickstarting the neo-soul movement in the 1990s. Her biggest hit was Wild Night, a duet with John Mellencamp, which went to number three in the Billboard Charts in 1994. She fearlessly used her music to make statements about sexuality and queerness, and continues to do so today. And joining them is Juana Molina, an Argentine singer-songwriter known for her unique ‘folktronica’ sound. Drawing influences from her home country and the Parisian culture she was surrounded by in her adolescent years, her music blends elements of ambient, electronic and folk. Together they discuss musical process, ego in composition and analysis versus intuition. In the second half of the programme, Meshell Ndegeocello takes us through a playlist she has called Sonder, a collection of songs which celebrate that everyone of us has our own story, featuring tracks from Parliament, Womack & Womack, Jeff Parker and more.(Image: Juana Molina (L), Credit: Alejandro Ros; Andrew Bird (C), Credit: Alec Basse; Meshell Ndeogeocello (R), Credit: Charlie Gross)

Our host this week is artist and musician GAIKA - he was born in London and raised in the city’s night clubs. He released his debut mixtape Machine, in 2015 and since released a string of projects including BASIC VOLUME and Seguridad. He has collaborated with some of the most renowned names in contemporary music, including 3D of Massive Attack, Dean Blunt, Kelela, Mike Skinner, Mykki Blanco and SOPHIE. Alongside his music he has also created a number of art installations and has just released his new album Drift. Joining him are a group of artists whose music incorporates hip-hop, dub poetry and experimental pop – plus lots of spaces in between. First is British rapper Speech Debelle, who released her debut album Speech Therapy in 2009, which went on to win the coveted Mercury prize. She released two further albums in 2012 and 2017. In June the self-confessed food lover shared her latest album Sunday Dinner On A Monday. Next up is a singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Lucinda Chua. Based in South London, she primarily uses her voice, a cello, and an array of effects units to create her music, and released her debut album Yian in March. Finally, South London-born poet and musician James Massiah, a wordsmith who has built a reputation for his literary voice. His collaborators include The xx and Massive Attack. He released his Natural Born Killers EP in 2019 and at the end of last year shared the latest in his New Poems series, Volume 4. Together they discuss their song-writing process, whether they are led by words or music, and the psychological effect of creativity. In the second half of the programme, Speech Debelle takes us through a playlist called Music Is Good Food, featuring tracks from Black Uhuru, Prince, Kelis, plus more.

MC Yallah, Catu Diosis, Chrisman and Debmaster, four members of Uganda's Nyege Nyege collective, talk about working remotely, managing your time between touring and the studio, and staying true to yourself. Born Yallah Gaudencia Mbidde in Kenya and raised in Uganda, MC Yallah has been involved in East Africa's rap scene since the 90s, when she was inspired by American hip hop and the Ugandan artists Young Vibes. She was a host on NewzBeat from 2014-2018, which was a TV programme that skirted Uganda’s censorship laws by rapping about current affairs and controversial topics. At NewzBeat she met Derek Debru and Arlen Dilsizian, and is now part of the collective Nyege Nyege. She rhymes in Luganda, Kiswahili, English, and Luo, and in 2019 released her debut album Kubali. This year sees the release of her second album Yallah Beibe. Catu Diosis is a Ugandan DJ and producer who's been making waves across Kampala’s underground electronic scene since the age of 16. She’s one half of the DJ & producer duo БŁΛϾК SłS-ТΛЯZ and a co-founder of Dope Gal Africa, which supports and nurtures female producers across the continent. Chrisman is a DJ and producer from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He began his music career as a sound engineer and member of the hip hop band Young Souljah Empire. His work skilfully blends traditional African rhythms with electronic beats and experimental textures. Debmaster is a French-born Berlin-based electronic producer, also known as Julien Deblois. Back in the early 90s, aged 11, he started off as a punk drummer in the north French countryside. He’s a key part of the Nyege Nyege collective and Hakuna Kulala camp, and a longtime collaborator of MC Yallah.

Anoushka Shankar, Arooj Aftab, Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Nadine Shah talk about the role of spirituality in their music, what their sound gives the audience, and share thoughts on being women of colour in the music industry.Born in the UK, Anoushka Shankar spent her younger years in London and Delhi before moving to California. She began learning the sitar aged 9 with her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, and made her professional debut at 13. Since then has been nominated for nine Grammys, played everywhere from the Barbican to Carnegie Hall, and worked with a wide range of artists including Herbie Hancock, Patti Smith, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Jules Buckley and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Her latest project, a mini-album titled Chapter I: Forever, For Now, comes out in October. Arooj Aftab is a Grammy award winning Pakistani-American singer, composer, and producer whose musical styles cover everything from jazz to minimalism. She’s performed at Coachella, Glastonbury, and the Montreal Jazz Festival, and is also an Emmy winning documentary editor. She also produced Anouska’s latest album. Lisa-Kaindé Diaz is one-half of multilingual French-Cuban duo Ibeyi, whose work fuses jazz with beats, samples, and traditional instruments. They’ve released three studio LPs, appeared on Beyoncé’s groundbreaking visual album Lemonade, and have collaborated with Chilly Gonzales, Kamasi Washington and Jorja Smith. Nadine Shah is a Mercury Prize-nominated British singer-songwriter who has performed at Glastonbury and London's Barbican. She’s supported Patti Smith, Depeche Mode and Suede, recently made her acting debut in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and is currently working on her fifth album.

Steven Wilson, Roland Orzabal, Lucy Rose and Andy Partridge talk about the effect of fan expectations on the creative process, whether the world needs any more new music, and if “retro mania” is stopping rock music from evolving.Born in London and raised in Hemel Hempstead in the UK, Steven Wilson developed an interest in music as a child and was heavily influenced by Pink Floyd. His dad built him a multi-track tape machine when he was 12, which allowed him to start experimenting with sound. He formed two bands in 1986, No Man and Porcupine Tree, both of which came to define much of his career. His music covers everything from rock, to ambient, to electro pop, and he’s worked with Elton John, Guns N' Roses, XTC, Pendulum, Yes, Marillion, and Black Sabbath. He’s just released his seventh solo album, The Harmony Codex. Roland Orzabal is a British musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. He is best known for co-founding of one of the most influential bands from the 80s, Tears for Fears. British singer-songwriter Lucy Rose started out performing with indie act Bombay Bicycle Club before becoming a successful solo artist in her own right. More recently she’s worked with Paul Weller, and she’s just finished her new album. Andy Partridge is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who, as a founding member of cult rock band XTC, many call the godfather of Britpop.

Xefer, Apashe, Kovacs and Raja Kumari discuss singing in English or their native languages, overcoming obstacles due to where you live, and how to evolve as an artist through songwriting.Xefer was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and her journey in music started on YouTube where she would upload covers of herself performing songs in English of the likes of Bruno Mars, Jessie J and Paramore. She released her first single, Judge, in 2016, followed by her debut album, Uncaged, in 2017. Since then her style has changed and evolved, writing hit singles in Bengali such as Nei Proyojon, Jhumka and Harbo Na.Apashe is a Belgian electronic music producer who is known for his bass-heavy anthems and expert sampling skills. His cinematic sound blends electronic music with elements of orchestral and classical music and has soundtracked the trailers for blockbuster films including John Wick: Chapter 2 and Fast & Furious: Hobbes and Shaw. He’s also currently touring the world with a live brass orchestra.Kovacs is a singer from the Netherlands who spent her early years performing at open mic nights and wowing audiences with her powerful yet vulnerable sound. Her debut single, My Love, became a number one hit across Europe in 2013 and this year she released her album Child of Sin.Indian-American rapper and singer Raja Kumari originally trained as an Indian classical dancer before discovering hip-hop through the Fugees’ album The Score. She’s since become a star in both the US and India, collaborating with everyone from Gwen Stefani to Sidhu Moose Wala, headlining huge festivals and founding her own label, Godmother Records.

Devendra Banhart, Phil Elverum, Jenny Hval and Bedouine discuss eating on tour, how art is intimacy exposed, and what can be learned from terrible shows.Devendra Banhart, was born in Texas and raised between Venezuela and California, where he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. After dropping out in 2000, he started moving around different cities, experimenting with songwriting and busking as he went. When he released his second album, Oh Me Oh My, in 2002 ,he signed to XL Recordings, and has since released nine albums and collaborated with artists like Anohni, Beck and The Strokes’ Fabrizio Moretti. His new album Flying Wig has just come out and was recorded in a Topanga cabin once owned by Neil Young. He’s also a visual artist, and has had pieces featured in galleries including San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art, MOCA and Brussels’ Centre for Fine Arts.Phil Elverum is a singer-songwriter, producer and visual artist from Washington state. Best known for his musical projects The Microphones and Mount Eerie, he almost exclusively uses analogue recording equipment to make music and tends to compose as he records. His output spans more than 40 albums. Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer and novelist Jenny Hval's avant-garde music has a heavy focus on sexuality and politics. Her debut EP Cigars was released in 2006 and was nominated for a Spellemannprisen (the Nowegian Grammys). Since then, she has released music under her own name, Rocket to the Sky and collaboratively with Laura Jean as Lost Girls.Bedouine is a Syrian-American folk musician whose sound is beautifully reminiscent of 1960s North America. Born in Aleppo, Syria, she grew up between Saudi Arabia and Texas before settling in Savannah to study sound design. Since then, she’s released three studio albums and toured with the likes of Fleet Foxes, Michael Kiwanuka and Jose Gonzalez.

Lea Salonga, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Gerard Salonga and Daniel Edmonds discuss the process of working through a piece that isn’t going well, what drives them when starting a new project, and the most important things they look for in a performer of musical theatre.Lea Salonga has done everything from playing Kim in the original production of Miss Saigon, to playing Fantine and Éponine in Les Misérables. She has also released 12 of her own albums.Claude-Michel Schönberg is a French record producer, actor, singer and musical theatre composer with a prolific career in music. He is best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil and has scored some of the biggest works in musical theatre including Les Misérables, La Révolution Francaise and Miss Saigon.Gerard Salonga is a Filipino conductor, composer and arranger who is currently the resident conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur. He started playing piano at the age of five and sang duets with Lea, his sister, for her first album, Small Voice, before going on to study at Berklee College of Music. He's conducted orchestras across the Philippines and has worked with distinguished conductors and composers across the world.Musical director, composer and arranger Daniel Edmonds has written music for both screen and stage. He was the musical director of the musicals King Kong, Strictly Ballroom and Dream Lover, as week as the award-winning show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He’s also worked closely with Lea on various projects, such as writing the music for her 2020 single Dream Again, which was released to raise funds for Covid-19 charities.

Jeff Mills, Neue Grafik, Prabhu Edouard and Knoel Scott talk about improvisational performance, rhythms as a form of communication and how technology is overtaking the artist. Jeff Mills started out on the Detroit techno scene in the 1980s before founding Underground Resistance with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks in 1989. He left Detroit for New York in 1991 (via a residency at Berlin’s mighty Tresor), to pursue a solo career and set up his own label, Axis. Since then, he’s released a number of projects, including two volumes of Waveform Transmissions for Tresor; 2005’s Blue Potential, a live album recorded with the 70-piece Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra; and a new soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s 1926 film Metropolis in 2000. In 2018, he set up the Afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest with the late Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and has been making music and performing with the collective ever since.Neue Grafik is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist making a truly unique sound. Blending hip-hop, jazz and house, his music draws a map between his African heritage, time in Paris and love of London’s grime scene. Forming the Neue Grafik Ensemble at an after-hours jam session at London’s Total Refreshment Centre, he’s established himself as formidable force in the world of jazz.Indo-French percussionist and composer Prabhu Edouard is recognised as one of the most versatile tabla players of his generation. A student of the legendary Pandit Shankar Ghosh, he’s collaborated with artists from around the world including Jean-Pierre Drouet and Laxmi Shankar, and is part of the afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest.Knoel Scott is an American saxophonist and composer best known for his time with jazz collective Sun Ra Arkestra. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he’s worked alongside jazz greats including Lou Donaldson and Leon Thomas. Most recently, he’s released his first major studio album, Celestial with long time collaborator Marshall Allen.