Line Noise

Ben Cardew interviewed Chicago's finest, Jana Rush, at Primavera Sound 2023 to talk footwork, depression, jazz and so much more. Photo: Cecilia Diaz Betz

On today's Line Noise, Johann Wald and Ben Cardew welcome British electronic music wizard James Holden to the RPS studio, ahead of his Barcelona gig. We dig into "trance" versus trance, utopia, playing the hits, Madonna, Max/MSP and more, in a wide-ranging interview.

Richard West, aka Mr. C, shares his journey from London club scene to pop star and back underground, discussing acid house, music evolution, meeting Charles Koch, and transitioning from rapper to MC with tales of success and struggles.

This is a special miniature edition of Line Noise to celebrate the 10th Anniversary edition of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. Ben Cardew, author of Daft Punk's Discovery - The Future Unfurled, discusses the new re-edition of RAM, what works, what doesn't and what it tells us about the original album. Plus: what on earth is Prog-Some Access Memories?

Masterful French producer Étienne de Crécy discusses hip-hop, Philippe Zdar, and file sharing at Nitsa club in Barcelona. They explore the French touch movement, evolution of music in the digital age, and fusion of English and French musical styles. Also, delving into production styles, collaborations, and the challenge of selecting representative songs from a varied career.

Our guest on Line Noise this week Is Eddie Fowlkes: a man whose handprints are cemented on the Detroit Historical Museum's Legends Plaza as a techno music pioneer; a producer whose first record was released in 1986 and who has been DJing since the 1970s. He told Ben Cardew about clubbing with Frankie Knuckles, his role in Juan Atkins's legendary Deep Space DJ collective and being overlooked for his role in inventing techno.

Ben Cardew welcomes dub legend Mad Professor, a man who has worked with everyone from Lee “Scratch” Perry to Sade, onto Line Noise, ahead of his performance at the Jazztronica festival in Barcelona this weekend (April 22, 2023). They talk about the inspirational Scratch, remixing Massive Attack, dub as social commentary, white privilege and the lasting impact of dub.

Ben Cardew invited French house hero Folamour to the RPS studio to talk about his love for 1980s indie, Oasis, "that" ABBA moment, playing drums, the House of Love and - above all - his new album Manifesto.

Often on Line Noise we speak to artists who are in their imperial phases; but we also love new acts too, which is why it was a pleasure to speak to LaMeduza, a vocalist, songwriter, producer and - above all - junglist, based in Geneva. She first came to my attention with her vocals on the Subjective album, The Start of No Regret in 2022; and has just released her debut solo single, the LaMeduza EP for Overview music, which combines the fiercest jungle beats with the sweetest melodies. She was in Barcelona to appear at Nitsa with Phase, the drum and bass producer with whom she has frequently worked, although we caught up via Zoom, to talk flamenco jungle, working with Goldie and the importance of a good song.

Line Noise typically concerns itself with electronic music. But we couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a word with two genuine musical legends. Noah Lennox, better known as Panda Bear, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founding member of the band Animal Collective; Pete Kember, also known as Sonic Boom, is a psychedelic pioneer, guitarist, producer and vocalist, known for his work with Spacemen 3 and Spectrum. Together, they made one of our favourite albums of 2022, with the gorgeous Reset. We met them in Barcelona, before their brilliant gig, to talk about intros, Pete’s (lowbrow) love of Queen, a stage show, children, appearing on the Simpsons and working with Daft Punk.