November 5, 2024 • 59 mins
Welsh electronic artist, producer and DJ Kelly Lee Owens has come along way in a short period of time.
Yet, her warmth and charisma mean her A-list stories of playing Ibiza’s legendary Amnesia nightclub with Charli XCX or being welcomed into the Depeche Mode family, or dining with Bill Murray don’t come across like arrogant boasts. That’s because they come sandwiched with grounded stories of her days as a cancer ward nurse, eating cheese when she gets up at 3AM and hiding horse sh*t in the boot of an ex-boyfriend's car.
She also spoke to Stuart Stubbs about the release of her fourth album 'Dreamstate', out now on George Daniel’s (The 1975) dh2 imprint.
You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on Instagram @midnightchatspod.
Further reading/listening/viewing
“Daydreamer of the year” - Loud And Quiet meets Kelly Lee Owens in Venice in 2020
Watch the trailer for the Travis film 'Almost Fashionable'
Listen to our new Beat the Algorithm Spotify playlist
Credits:
Editing by Stuart Stubbs
Mixing and mastering by Flo Lines
Artwork by Kate Prior
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good evening, I'm Greg Cochran, Good evening, I'm Stuart Stubbs.
We are a couple of journalists who've been working in
independent music since the days of my Space.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
One night a week, we become your guides through the
week in music, because, let's face it, the algorithms have
stop working for most of us, so.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
We're here to share the best new underground music and
the news that you might have missed, as well as
discussing the week's biggest headlines and bringing you interviews with
some of our favorite alternative artists.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The show is called Midnight Chats.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Stu.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I've got a question for you right off the bat,
what's your favorite time of the year in music?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's now? I think it's I think it's now. Yeah,
why because oh it was in music, isn't it? So
it does have to be about music? The answer? Yes, Yeah,
maybe it can't be.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It can't be like, Oh, I like Halloween, I like pumping,
I like picking pumpkins and the Christmas lights coming up
I mean, I mean music.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I was going to say all of that stuff, but
I do think the music that so much music's released,
isn't it in autumn? In q Q four of the
year that I think it probably is now quite like
January as well, actually, because I feel like a lot
of new artists release in January, but I will stick
(01:21):
with now why I also like this time of year.
I also like it for frolicking in the autumn leaves
just like you. But this is my favorite time of
the year in music as well, because I feel like,
one you've got like the end of year stuff coming,
so like you can sort of reflect on what's come
out this year, your favorite tracks and albums, and all
(01:43):
the stuff that's happened in music that's close. But more
than that, I really like that that time of year
where everybody's trying to send you new music because they
are trying to get on to your radar for next year. Basically,
it's like that's of have a think about, like listening
to this artist because they're bringing out new music in
(02:03):
twenty twenty five, you know what do you make of it?
Da da da? And I just love that. I love
all of the sort of like the guesswork that goes
along with sort of you know who's gonna beat like
a merge next year, like reading all of the tips
lists all that stuff. I love like the abundance of
basically new artists, new music that always I've always found
(02:24):
that really really exciting, and that starts now. It doesn't
really We obviously see most of it and hear most
of it in like late December January time as people
you know, issue their tips for the new year ahead,
but it really starts. All the sort of jockey in
the behind the scenes stuff starts sort of September October time.
So yeah, it's exciting, loads of new music. And on
(02:45):
that tip, you've been to see some new music. Last
week you went to see McGee. I did two gigs
last week, two big ones. I went to the Royal
Albert Hole to watch Chili Gonzalez did Jarvis Cocker turn
Jervis Cocker turned up. He sang a cover of Private
Dancer by Tina Turner in a typically overly sexualized way right,
(03:07):
which was of course excellent. The support of that show
was an odd one. It was the comedian Peter Sarah
Finowitch you know that, oh yeah, the guy, the big
guy Yeah from Space, and Simon peg Pal he supported
dressed as Elvis, singing first the songs of Elvis and
then songs by Drake and other contemporary musicians as Elvis,
(03:32):
but dressed in a jump a white jumpsuit, no explanation,
and off he went. Any good. I thought it was
quite good. It got better. Okay. I think it's something
he's trying out. I think it's like a character. He's
trying the character as Elvis. But it's a character like
a part comedy thing, part music thing. He can sing though.
(03:53):
That guy can sing, and it's a very good impression
of Elvis vocally, like it sounds really good. Hotline hotline
bling was great. And then the following night I went
to the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the
coolest show in town, which was McGee was playing in
Brixton at Electric Brixton is doing a run of He
was doing a run of nights there and he is
(04:16):
one of these artists who will be probably the top
of the BBC poll maybe next year. Like you just said,
you know, like you're just saying about like how now
is when people are starting to think who do we
back for next year? So look so we look clever
when it happens exactly. McGee's been around for a while.
McGee is spelled mk dot GWe but it is pronounced
(04:38):
McGee as in Alan McGee. It was quite incredible. Actually,
the crowd was very young, twenty five maximum age limit.
I don't know how I managed to sneak him, but
everybody was singing the words McGee sounds. Everybody's using this
same comparison. I'm just going to use it as well.
He's like a low fire bedroom version of Genesis, late Genesis,
(05:03):
like stadium rock Jesus, Jesus. He knows me Genesis, and
he sort of is that. He's a bit of that.
He's a bit of Bonivert. He's a bit, maybe a
bit too much nineteen seventy five for my liking, but
he's got that going for him as well. And he's
got a woozy R and B thing, but he's an
(05:25):
incredible guitarist. And the setup was him on a guitar,
another dude shredding, and then the guy doing all of
the Genesis sort of drums and electronics was just a
guy at the back on some decks really, to be honest,
but people were loving, people were singing every word. Everybody
(05:48):
was filming the whole thing. I could you know, you
can just you go to a show like that and
you're like, Okay, this is the guy that everyone's watching
at the moment, and this is the guy that's gonna
have a very big twenty two five I think.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Now listen, we've got a guest on the podcast tonight.
Would you like to introduce the person you were speaking teacher, Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Tonight's guest is the electronic musician and DJ Kelly le Owens.
I've met Kelly before. We in fact spent a weekend
together in Venice, very very shortly before the pandemic drop.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
That immediately sounds like a romantic entangle.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
It does.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
No.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We were I was writing a cover feature for Land
and Quiet magazine. We were doing a photo shoot in Venice,
went to see a DJ that night. She was DJing
at a festival in Venice, which was in a closed
art gallery. We talk about that a little bit, so
I do know Kelly a little bit, which I think
is good because in this interview that you're about to hear,
(06:50):
I mainly just press her on the glamorous things that
have happened to her since because since that trip she
was doing well. Then. That was for her second album
called Inner Song, but since then she's released two more albums,
one in lockdown called LP eight, which is her like
strange electronic record, her two records before that, and her
(07:11):
new record, dream State, which has just come out on More,
those three will sound a bit more similar. And Kelly's
own music is a cross between minimal techno and dream pop.
It's it's not like banging techno likes, which is what
she normally DJs. When she's in DJ mode, she's sort
of like a club DJ, and when she's making her
(07:32):
own music it's a lot more melodic and accessible and dreamy.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
We're gonna come back and talk about this in a moment,
but basically it's an absolute riot and I don't think
we've ever had anybody on the podcast before who has
had more glamorous encounters with like A listers and wants
to share those stories.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So this is absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So we'll come back after hearing from you, stew Probably
the most glamorous thing this happened to Kelly le Owens
is hearing on Midnight Chats with you in conversation with
the amazing Kelly the Owens, And we'll be back after
we've heard from her and you on this.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
If I was to say to you a car with
a boot full of horseshit? Ah?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Oh my, did I tell you that about that? If
you didn't know, you didn't print that though, did you?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That was on So that was on a members podcast
we did for the magazine. So some people have heard
that story. Are you willing to divulge that story here?
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Yes? Yeah? Why not? Well?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
First of all, wow, I'm hungover and didn't expect to
go straight into that, but.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Apologies, it's fine.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
So I had a it was one of my first boyfriends,
let's call him Stan. Stan wasn't called and let's just
say he didn't treat me very well.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
How old are you young?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
I was like when we first met, like seventeen, okay,
first love, love, you know, and you didn't treat me
very well. And I found out some things, and I
wasn't super close to my family in terms of, you know,
sharing all everything that's happening with me. I kept things
quite close to my chest, but I did eventually have
(09:21):
to end up telling them what had happened. And we
were still in touch me and Stan a tiny bit.
And my mother's partner at the time was selling this
kind of really cool Ford like top down car cramember.
These act make and Stan was like, I'd love to
buy that car. Now, I just put them directly in
(09:42):
touch because I didn't really want to talk to Stan anymore.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Is Stan at this point taking the piss really? Because
if he's treated you bad or does he think he
hasn't treated you bad?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
How why is he? Why is he thinking this is
okay to suddenly say to his ex girlfriend, can I
buy this car from your family? I just the kind
of guy stand was well, okay, well.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
At this point, But also I'm really glad he was
that sort of cheeky because ultimately, what I didn't know,
and actually didn't know for years, was that they did
sell him the car. However, my brother and my mum's
partner had filled had filled the boot with horseship. All
(10:27):
I'm going to say is, don't mess with Welsh people's
that's hardcore. We are gangster in a way that is
like quite you know, we love nature, but that combination
can be deadly.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
So just you know, Welsh mafia on fleek.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And we're into the podcasts.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Welcome, Welcome, Chroiser. As we're saying Wales.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I've got this thing on this show where I try
not to ask people about the pandemic at all, because
we've all been over it a million times. We lived it.
It was horrible. There's something I'm going to mention it
just one time now, and that's because the first time
I met you was in Venice and it was just
it was when the pandemic was just arriving. And it
(11:13):
was weird, wasn't it, Because we'd flown there on separate flights,
but we'd flown there on our flights. We were like,
on your flight, were there people wearing masks about this thing?
And then by the time we'd flown home, we're only
there for like two days. It was a thing, and
then you know, everything else happened. But lifetime has passed
since then, You've done a million and one things, which
(11:35):
I want to ask you about that trip to Venice, though,
What do you once your like lasting memory of that.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I remember because I was also playing in Venice in
one of the gallery spaces, which is what I was
there for when we combined it with this like amazing shoot.
But on the way to the gallery space and where
I was DJing, this guy was like, I said, Wow,
this church beautiful.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Like how amazing?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
And I remember watching before I came death in Venice.
Oh yeah, and then he was saying, well, this is
the church that when the plague was happening, people would
come and pray, and I'm going, this is just this
whole thing is just too close to the bone, and
little did we know that we'd have this like huge
scale pandemic. But I was so glad that that was
(12:24):
one of the last places I got to go for
a while because has everything from my favorite cafe Cafe
Podgy nineteen nineteen shout out, you know, to doing that
amazing shoot there and really feeling like this was one
of the only moments in a way I could like
have support in an editorial way of in a song
(12:45):
and something that I was about to release. I'm not sure,
but yeah, it was this moment of celebration and one
of the last moments that people got to dance together
for a while. So I don't know, it's just it's
kind of engraved there.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, it's a weird one, isn't it, Because it was
you know, we went from being in this most Venice
is just one of the most incredible places I've ever
been in my life to suddenly being you know, at
home for two years essentially and being nowhere at all.
You arrived on a speedboat.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Well, I just thought, you know, if you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It, Sophia Loren sunglasses Sunset speedboat from the airport onto Venice.
You told them I wasn't there for that, but you
told me about that the day I met you, and
one of the things that sparked was you were telling
me how much better DJs are treated to bands and
like artists in bands, and you were there to DJ.
(13:39):
You were headlining this festival called set Up, which, as
you say, was a dishuged gallery. But I mean, it
feels like since then you've done a million glamorous things.
We've just been talking about some of them before we
started recording this. What is the most glamorous things that's
happened since then? It felt like that time in your
life was the start of this new what is now
(14:03):
your norm? Maybe your norm's pushing it, but do you
know what I mean? Like you're in this world where
glamorous things happened to Kelley Lewens.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Now, well you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Know it's I'll tell you something that almost happened that
was almost glamorous, and it's related to Depeche mode, and
I will just say I feel a person like being
on towards Depeche mode is glamor?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Is my idea of glamour?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yeah, mine too, traveling the world, you know, having them
bless them, take all my equipment round and just like
bring me into this family space. And you know, Dave
knocking on my dressing room door. I remember like half
the tour I had like a makeup artist and then
the other half I was doing it myself. And I
literally had one eye done and I get a knock
(14:52):
on the door. No one warned me that this is
going to happen, and I open it and it's Dave Gahan.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Because it's the first time you've met him. Was this
U MEI?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Yeah, literally meeting him.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Was he wearing a leather vest but no show.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
No, he was wearing a leather jacket though, but he went, Hi,
I just want to welcome you to the family. And
what was funny was his assistant and the guy who
was on the whole tell Tony, was behind him. But
Dave stepped into my dressing room. The door was so
heavy that it just awkwardly closed behind him.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So it's just me and Dave.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
But he was just saying, oh, I've seen all the
photos from last night, the first show, and it looks amazing,
and I know you sounded amazing.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
And I'm just oh, just so good to meet you.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
And his daughter Stella is also like a fan, so
it just felt so lovely to be welcomed, you know,
even unsuspectingly. So you know, I'd love love a knock
on the door from Dave. You know, I was a
surprise anytime. But there was one particular show we did
where it was in Las Vegas and we were driving
from La to Las Vegas and there's just kind of
(15:55):
one road through a desert beautiful, and of course that
day there was a huge lorry that had spilled over.
I think everyone was fine, but it just took hours
and hours to clear up. And there was one point where,
like depachche between to Passion and my management were they
were going to get me a helicopter to fly me in,
(16:17):
pick me up in the desert, fly me in.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
That's like you two Joshua Tree vibes, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
And speaking of that, I met Flood did you earlier
this year, and that's another moment for me that I
was going to mention which is like leaving a Depeche
Mode show in January in from the O two in
you know, one of those beautiful, amazing cars. And it
was with Dave's son Jack, who I'm friends with, and
Daniel Miller and Flood and I had a bottle of
(16:46):
don Very and I was just like, right, tell me everything.
I felt like I wish I could have live streamed
that whole conversation as we were drop being dropped off
around the whole of London.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
It's like an uber pool for for that group of
people that it really parts uber.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Pool very yeah, like for nerds.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah. So I mean, and and for the record, I
just want to say, just before we started recording last night,
you had dinner with Bill Murray.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You can't say that that happens. I didn't have it
with him. I had dinner sort of, I would say,
opposite him.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Is that counts? That counts these things now, Like, I mean,
this could be the whole episode, this podcast could just
be you name dropping, which I would encourage.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Can we put this bit at the end, because I
just think people are just going to be just like
turned off, like she's such a she's a name job.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, this is good stuff. Does it feel to you
like I was saying, like you know, to me from
the outside, it feels like from in a song onwards,
despite the pandemic actually, which is essentially like a dead
soon when you did also release another album LPA, which
I want to ask you about. But since then, despite
even despite that the struggle of that, it does feel
(18:09):
like you have skyrocketed, like is that is? Does it
feel like that to you?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And I think what was interesting about in a song
in particular was that I made an album about being
alone well in advance of the pandemic, and.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
So people really related to it.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And I think it's such a unique like period in
history that whatever you did listen to you then or
came out then, which wasn't that many albums. I think
it was me Fleet Foxes and like a few other artists,
it's sort of dead to put something out. People more
than ever perhaps lived with something as their friend and
(18:49):
as as I always visualized albums, and I mean like
a sonic place to be, but in a way that's
so intensely a place to be when you literally can't
go anywhere else. And there's a track called Night which
is saying like it feels so good to be alone
and like embracing the darkness and like rewilding your spirit.
And I felt a lot of us were rewilding our
(19:11):
spirit in that time because we had nothing else to
do but face ourselves. So I think it was just
timely and it was seemingly a sonic companion, I think,
so what I'm trying to say. So when I went
to tour in twenty twenty one, which I was so
privileged to be able to do, and in America I
got an exemption, it was like people coming to their
first ever shows. It was the same sort of memory,
(19:33):
you know, I think for them, and so that in
itself helped. So coming back out was like, oh wow,
people were listening to this.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Yeah, yeah, I felt there were a few records that
did that. I spoke to Cassandra Jenkins for the podcast
a few months ago, and hers was one of those,
a record that she was going to make her last
record because she was it wasn't really working for her,
and then she puts out this really insular, sort of
just loose album that people then were just like it
(20:02):
just absolutely like it played to strengths. Certain people have
great pandemics. You Cassandra can zoom. You know, there was
a few out to Zoom Lego. People were just cleaned
up on that recently. You've just to pick off a
few highlights that I just know you've definitely done. Okay,
(20:23):
you played Amnesia at the Charlie xx party there? What
was playing Amnesia? Like? Just generally?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I mean that's there was all these things going on
simultaneously at once. I'd been to Abetha years ago. I
think it was like I Betha Rocks when I was
more of an indie kid.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, yeah, yeah, but who were you there as a
were you there as a fan?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
I was there with my partner at the time, he
was in a band, and then we stayed at the
host and it was I was like, oh no, it
was so intense.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
And I actually didn't go to clubs then.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
I was a bit of a late bloomer, as you know,
when it came to electronic music.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
So this time around I was ready.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yeah, I'm like, okay, here we go. How long can
I stay for? And it was a Friday night. Ania
and I have all these like beautiful books that are
talk about like clubs and the history of them, and
I knew a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
And also I was playing Pikes that same weekend.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Pikes is where they filmed club video, isn't it. It's
like Famed for that is that where Rocks is?
Speaker 5 (21:22):
No, definitely not.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Yeah, that's that's something else.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I think Pikes is like old school.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Freddie Mercury fiftieth birthday or fortieth birthday party, like debauchery. Yes,
and I was like, I will just get me in there.
I wanted I want to I want to see it all.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
So you were playing Pikes before on the Saturday.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
No, this is crazy. This year has been crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
So Friday night amnesia, Yeah, just that in itself?
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (21:52):
What time were you going on? Well?
Speaker 3 (21:54):
I was opening because I'm there to support Charlie's It's
like me Rummy, shy girl, Rummy and then Charlie and
party Girl. So I opened. But like the experience of
people flooding him into amnesia in itself is mad. So
I got to be there and there was no one
in there.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Oh right, how would you hang on? Let's just backpedal
one second for anyone listening who is thinking, what is amnesia?
What would you what would you describe? How would you
describe it as you know, it's essentially the quintessential superclub
of IBEFA.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
But yeah, it's it's an institution and it reminds me
it's in a more glamorous way of like Fabric here
where you can't imagine London without Fabric, and the same
for Amnesia. It's just it's an iconic truly, like that
word has overused these days, but for me it's it's
it's an iconic place that is almost like a place
(22:44):
of worship, I would say, you know, for people who
love electronic music and yeah, coming together to celebrate in sound.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
So I just felt really honored, firstly that Charlie had
asked me, but secondly the fact that it was in
somewhere that I can't it was a double whammy. I
was very nervous. We all were, every single one of
us doesn't matter, like I think Charlie hasn't DJed much,
but she's actually really good. And then you know, Rummy
Shi got have but we were all bricking it, which
(23:14):
is great because like you need to be consistently humbled
I think when you come when it comes to DJing,
and for me it's always terrifying. But that was just
like wow, Wow, it's happening. And then Pikes was Sunday
afternoon pool side Pikes. Yes, no, nothing over one hundred
and twelve bpm?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Is that stipulated?
Speaker 5 (23:34):
No, that was just my head just knew that.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
You just knew that was what was needed.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Right, Yeah, that's fair Sunday.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
After being there since Friday morning, I was like, were.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
People bopping about? Was everyone just sonked out? Or was
there was there a bit of.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
A people lounging people in the pool?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Can I just say so? Rubbed the bank put this
on another icon? He opened before I came on. He
opened the session by having synchronized swimmers in the pool.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
No, I can't say I've had that before, isn't it?
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
See it's glamor glamor glamour having a Pina Colada, very
eighties and I loved it.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Beautiful when you when you DJ, because there's like two
Kelly le Owens. I feel, is it is it fair
to say this like there's there's DJ and then there's
your live set doing your own thing, and to like,
are those wildly different headspaces for you?
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Totally?
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Because also this question, we were saying that, like I
mentioned earlier you saying like DJs get treated like rock stars,
like old school rock stars, and now sort of bands
especially that's sort of gone for them, but it's still
there in DJ culture when you are doing a live show.
Where does it fall. Does it fall more to the
(24:56):
band thing or does it are you? Are you still
being helicoptered around?
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Well that was for a Lifejap, but that that's more
depression MO than me at this point. No, I'd say
it's still it does live somewhere in between. So I'm
obviously a solo artist, which feels different to being in
a band generally, so it's definitely somewhere in the middle.
(25:21):
But I very much enjoy the live world almost more
than anything else. Although I will say, having dj' so
much this year, I'm finally starting to feel confident DJing.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
You weren't before.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
No, because I think I've done a really.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Good job of pretending. I think of pretending you're confident,
like I've seen you DJ a lot, and you and
anyone listening to is can just watch some clips on
your Instagram of like you're you don't feel self conscious
up there?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I think what I feel.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
All I know is I feel so nervous before I DJ,
because you have to make a decision every sixty seconds.
It's so much work and if you don't get it right,
you can disappoint like a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The same time, you're taking people on a journey.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So it's a really serious job actually, which takes a
lot of energy. And there's a reason why some people
are only DJ because the amount of research, the amount
of time it takes to put a two hour set
together is weeks. It's weeks, you know, and it still
might not work on the night. You still have to
create different moments, so it's just like a whole craft.
(26:33):
Whereas I can I did. I think it was seventy
five thousand people with Depeche Mode, and I felt I
was nervous for a minute, but I felt so at
ease when I got out there and I was playing Lucid,
being like, oh my god, I can't believe I made
this in my bedroom and now I'm playing it to
this many people. But I felt this is my world
and I'm bringing you in right. Whereas I think because
(26:54):
I came up in the underground scene as a woman
and someone who learned to de last kind of like
John Hopkins, did you know like, oh, you can you
make electronic music? So you you DJ right, and you're like, yes,
I guess I do, and I guess I can learn.
So it's it's the thing I know have known the
(27:14):
least about. But I also am really good at not
giving myself any credit, right so I think because I'm
a perfectionist. For me, I'm not yet at the level
where I would.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Like to be.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Let's take a minute to just talk about LP eight,
because that's a record that came out in sorry to
say that eld word again came out in Lockdown.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
But it's okay, it happens. It happened, let's be real,
let's be.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Real about it. But that record came out so in
a song had come out, and obviously you couldn't tour it.
You can, you can't really do much with it. Then
suddenly the surprise record comes out called LP eight, which
is which was your third record, which confused a lot
of people.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
But it's also my eighth record.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Is it also your eighth record?
Speaker 3 (28:02):
It is to me, it's my eighth record. And I
know this sounds very pretentious, but I felt like it
was such a strange moment in time. I jumped into
a time machine and made my weird eighth record like
that Burke would make.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Okay, she's being.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Really successful and just commey where she wants. Well, I
had this weird time machine moment, and I made it
in Oslow, got the last plane before they shut the borders,
made it in eight days, and I bounced down all
the sounds again and it was eighty minutes and eight seconds. Okay,
And like I was born in the eighth month in
(28:37):
eighty eight, and so everything was pointing for this to
be LP eight. But you are right, technically it was
my third.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Tech but that okay. I like that concept though, the
idea of because it does sound like a record from
a different time in your career, Yeah, it was to me,
and it's it's a I mean, how would you describe
that record anyone that hasn't heard that one? How would
you describe it? Because it's different to the first and
(29:07):
dream State is more like your third record, I guess,
because that it does feel like a continuation to the
first two. And then in the middle there there's LPA.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Well, just start by saying that I do believe. And
this was Yoakim from small town Zuper Sound who suggested
doing this, so like big ups to him, because he's
always got incredible vision.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
He knew.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
I think that I needed to make something like this
so that I didn't create the next album in a
way that people would expect me to. So I had
something to pivot from and off, which is super important
as an artist. But how I describe it is a deep,
subconscious dive. So I see my albums as elements, and
(29:54):
I think it's similar to the buck like Sonic Symbolism
podcast where she talks about like every has colors and shapes,
you know, of course amazing, and I think for me,
the first record was Water was sub equacious. Everything was
like in like heaps of reverb and space echo, and
(30:14):
you know it was made by the water. I think
in a song was Earth, so like Upeggy is me
kind of coming up through the soil to like regrow
and like find myself. But then the LP eight is
like the ether, it's above air, it's like outer space,
and I felt like I was tapping into like subconscious
(30:38):
family lineages and dark feminine, but also I was trying
to cast spells for the future. I was trying to
bring messages of hope in there, because I always want
to empower people. Everything I do, I realize is like
based around trying to make someone else feel better about
(30:58):
life or themselves. And you know, there's like Martha Graham
quote in there about creativity and your own essence and
just like keeping the channel open, and if you don't
express yourself like that essence will never exist because you
have your own unique thing to say. And like just
I just want to always encourage people, so casting like
(31:19):
Spells of Hope, I think. And then this album is
air all the you know, dream State is. There's a
track called Air, there's a track called Rise, there's a
track called Higher. You know, so this is where we're at.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
I guess, yeah, I love I love it.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
I love that you. I think it's quite gutsy to
put out a record that that is so different. You
know that is that that is a more difficult listen.
I guess for your for like people that would maybe
knew your work before. But I love that it. That
will be the record that for some people will be
like that's why Kelly Lee.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Owen's record, Oh this is what I get all the time.
It's actually Martin Gore's favorite record of mine.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I mean that's that's it's worth me.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
I can retire.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Yeah, it was worth making.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
I mean I think yeah, because he's like, what was
the what was the record you made? Like with it,
you know, with the noise dude, And sometimes I think
that's what I mean about it being I sometimes forget
I've made it. Literally, was like and we were going
to lunch and I was in the car and going,
noise dude, noise dude, and like, Martin's reminded me that
I've made an album. It was weird, but that's his favorite.
And then some people like, wow, that was my favorite record,
(32:28):
and then some people just like didn't get it. But
that again, it's like that classic art thing. And I
wasn't making it for anyone really else than myself. I
was like, you know, kazk spells of hope for me
for the future, like God, can I get through this?
And then hopefully collectively, you know, passing that on. But
it might be one of those in the future people
understand a bit more, but maybe not who you know who.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Cares on to the next one.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Are you a good sleeper?
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Do you love sleep?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Really?
Speaker 6 (33:02):
No?
Speaker 4 (33:03):
I might have some tips for you.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I've stopped caffeine. Is that one of the tips.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
No, I wasn't going to ever suggest that anyway, that
would be horrendous.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
I've done that. It's helped a little bit. But yeah,
always been a bad sleeper.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Night terrors really well, that's the difference.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's why day day day dreaming, day dreaming fine, It
is different from night dreaming. And if you there's a
there's a book by bachel Ard, The Poetics of Space,
which goes all into that and like how space and
your spaces and the house is so important for the
(33:42):
day dreamer and daydreams are completely different.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
Dreams.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
There's not it's not like an active thing. It's it's
like a a way of like switching off and like
bypassing stuff. Whereas I think you work quite hard at
night time when you're dreaming, I do.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I wake up knackered in the morning.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
That's why you need coffee, just one.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Just want to get me out of bed to recover
from my sleep.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
It's exhausting, truly, when you're doing your when you're on
the DJ head, when you're in that in that mode,
have you had to play anywhere like five in the morning,
be four in the morning, like crazy time. Yeah, and
usually Barcelona they do.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Go later, do you, Because I've spoken to DJs before,
who will go to bed before the show? Yeah, so
you go to bed. And when they first told me this,
I thought that that doesn't sound right, but of course
it is. It's like shift work, yes, right. So I
won't say the DJ just in case they don't want
(34:46):
me to say, but yeah, he would go to bed
at say nine, set an alarm for like three am,
wake up, go to the burg or whatever. DJ like,
I'm going to work. Now. That's kind of mad, isn't
it to us as people on the outside, because you know, we.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Go there to the norm core. This is mad.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
No one's doing that. No one's having a like a
sleep before they go to the club as a punter.
But I think more people should do that. But do you?
So you do that? You if you're if you're on late,
you're like, I need to get some rest before I
go and go out there.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I was never a napper, but in order to literally survive,
I've had to train myself. But what's good about DJing
is because I'm not singing, I can eat cheese.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
So my rider is like.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Wine, cheese, bread, and they're like, you know, most people
like maybe maybe ask for drug I don't know drugs.
That's my drug of choice, you know. But so but
then what's great is they'll also take you out for
a three course meal. So I'll go out for dinner
at like eight, have like three courses.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Every band listening to this is furious, right.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
And I've been the band and I still am to
a degree.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
So I'll get it.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And I'm sorry, I'm actually no, I'm not going to
apologize for the industry. It's the industry needs to buck up.
So there you go.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
But have my three.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I'm going to come across so badly in this interview,
oh my god. And then I'll be so car loaded
that I'll just go, yeah, let's go back to the hotel,
have a disco club, nap, techno nap, and then I'll
wake up it if I'm on at say two or three,
(36:36):
I'll wake up at like midnight and I'll have a
shot of espresso, okay, yeah, and then I'll go to
the club get picked up, and then I'll have another
shot of espresso and some sparkling water and a little
bit of cheese or cheese.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
Obvious, I'm ready to go. That's my ritual.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
It's good. I mean, it's working for you, then, you know,
stick with it. We're a week away from dream saying
it comes out next week, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
When we spoke about in a song, I asked you
when would you like people to listen to the album? Yeah,
And your answer was when laying on their back looking
at the sky. Oh wow, that was yeah, that was
your response to what about this record in your mind?
(37:28):
When's the optimum time for someone to put it on?
What are they doing?
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I mean, my hope for this is that I get
to people to listen to it together. Obviously, Ultimately, I
think that's the one thing. It's like, less about being
with yourself and more about being with yourself enough so
that you can come together with people via sound. This
one I think has a lot of movement in it,
so you know, we're always on the go, and I
(37:55):
think even the heartfelt moments like walking and being on
a train and even on a plane.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
I love plane albums, listening to records on planes, that's
my go to rather than put a film on. Yes,
I'll always yes, because do it that much anymore and
like I tend to drive. If I'm driving, you know,
you can drive with music on and that's cool, but
like to just sit and listen to it. And there's
(38:25):
something about you know, there's natural noise cancelation in a plane. Yes,
because of the hum of.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
It and the literal higher perspective you have. That's what
the overview effect is. I think it was come up
by an astronaut, but he got it from the concept
of a plane, which is like zooming out away from
all your issues and just seeing the bigger picture. And
that's very much what this album is about.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
So yeah, Deane's a great show. That's the place to
listen to it. That's the answer the plane. What have
I got here? I've got I've got a few questions
from listeners.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Yes, I'm just going to check O God, this scares me.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
No, No, that's good. That's good. I've only picked out
a few. A lot of them were when are you
coming back to Mexico.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Which kind of said I loved I love to go now,
but I want to go now. You've got people, the food,
the music.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, you've got fans in Mexico. You're never going
to be shy of tickets in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Oh can I just say because I played they were
depche That's that's probably why. Yeah, I was swamped, like
I didn't have security obviously, and I'm not Depeche Mode,
and if they know that. But I was in the
airport and they kept come people get coming up to me.
Oh my god, I got upgraded on the fly. I
was like, you know, I'm not Dave Ghar.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
You know, I cann't quite believe it, but y did you?
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I say, you're also big in This is just a
side note. Travis are really big in Mexico. The band
Travis Oh my god, no way. There's a really good
documentary about Travis Go. They took a journalist who they
know hates them to make a film. They took them
on road in Mexico to say, come on to it
(40:02):
with that band. We know you hate us and you
think we're terrible, but we want to see if we
can convince you that we're actually. Wow, that's so cool
and it's a really lovely, warm film. I'm gonna I'll
find the name of that. I will let you know
it and I will put it in the show notes
of this podcast so people can check it out. It's
a great film, but so one. They obviously just they've
got good taste. I said that after talking about Travis.
(40:26):
They love their music. They do, but are you good
with that? Are you good? Like when people are coming
over and like recognizing you.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
I accept it because I I'm also a music fan.
However boring that sounds, It's just I think it's interesting
because I have my name attached to everything I do
and I sometimes can't separate it. And it's quite a
bizarre thing. It's like maybe there's like Kelly Owens and
then there's Kelly Lee Owens. It's quite I don't know,
(40:56):
it's quite a strange thing for your brain to reconcile.
But no, just I get it because I'm a music
fan and I admire people, so that's all it is.
It's just it's just a love of music. That's all
it is. You know, people love to latch onto you
as the vessel, but actually really it's just the passion
for the sound. I think, so I can relate to that.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
So here are a few questions. Rhese Brown asked about
your boiler Room set. He said, how did you find
the boiler Room set at the warehouse product felt like
you had the crowd in the palm of your hands.
I don't know if Rice was there or.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
Not, but is it a Welsh spelling o h y s.
I love Manchester. I lived there for two years. It's
very close to North Wales, so it feels like a
homecoming to me. And so I, once again, as I
(41:53):
mentioned earlier, was nervous because it's djaying and also it's
being filled.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, and also for any when it doesn't know, like
the boiler room set up is it's a camera bang
in your face on the decks, and then behind there's
people behind you as well. Oh yeah, how did you
find that people like being behind the decks and not
just in front of them?
Speaker 3 (42:14):
I have to zone that out because I used to
request to never have people behind me, not even like
friends or you know. But again, as I've grown confidence
slowly over the years, I'm I'm less fussed about that.
But actually, thank god they were there because they brought
so much energy and was so sweet and I realized, actually,
it's a wonderful thing to have that. So I really
(42:36):
ended up enjoying it so so so much more than
I thought I would because I always have my low expectation. Yeah,
for myself, it's I prepare for days and days and days.
But then I'm like, well, let's just see and once
I got past the nerves, honestly, the energy from the
crowd is as important as what I play, and they
would just as they say, mad for it.
Speaker 4 (42:57):
So it was one of my favorites as yet out.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah is it that point right?
Speaker 5 (43:01):
Not?
Speaker 4 (43:01):
Yeah, it'll be. I think we're looking sometime in November hopefully.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Okay, we'll post to it once we once it's out.
This was from Era the musician Era, who said do
you know Era?
Speaker 5 (43:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Era, She says, will you always be a musician or
are there other things that you'd like to pursue in life?
Speaker 4 (43:24):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (43:27):
It's hard because I came from a background of sort
of healthcare and kind of taking care of people, and
I used to think that that was completely separate to
making music.
Speaker 4 (43:36):
But it's just.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
Another form of like well being. And I think what
came full circle for me was when I had doctors
reaching out during the difficult eras of twenty twenty twenty
twenty one, saying your music's helped me.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
To keep going.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
So I used to think that maybe i'd go back
to that, and this is quite a strong one.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
I love talking about death.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah you I love death.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
It I do. It's life is death.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I think you've got a very healthy relationship with death,
thank you. I think, and I certainly don't. But yours
has always been healthy. But that's because for people that
don't know, you have worked as a as a nurse
in a cancer ward. So it was a big part
of your of your daily life, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Yeah, which is crazy because I was thinking it was
when I was eighteen, and then before that I worked
in a nursing home and that's when I really experienced
death like firsthand, and that I was seventeen, So in
a way I was just confronted with it and had
no choice but to sort of because I thought, if
I want to do medicine, I have to know can
I deal with death very practical?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I was an office cleaner.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Oh my god, I don't know. It's quite It's the
older I get, the more crazy.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
No, it is. Yeah, it's mad.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
Can I get And I spoke to my I think
it's science tea and I was like, do you know
what These A levels are just not for me? I
want to do this and like, I just need to
know if I can deal with death. I'm just and
she was like, yeah, I see that fear.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That's hardcore, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
Well, maybe in.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Our societies this is what we're sort of saying, Yeah,
this is true. It is, but I don't know, it's
just the Western thing. But when I did work in
the Cant's hospital, and I was like an assistant nurse,
like an auxiliary, like not a properly trained nurse at
the time, and that's what I thought I would be,
But there's just so much missing for me, scent sound,
(45:33):
talking someone through their death, like you can have a
good death if you're in the right circumstances. And so
my nana Jeanette who you know her name, featured on
a track in a song she did pass away, and
I was like templed to temple with her when she
passed and talking her through it. And it's just has
come naturally to me. So I do feel like perhaps
something like that which still will involve potentially making music.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
Yeah, that's actually sick. It's a bit of a vine. Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Not just not not grotesque.
Speaker 4 (46:06):
Without sickness, you don't really have a job. That's awful.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
But moving on, before we.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Go, do you do you want to repeat the Chateau Marmont.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
Story or no, how would you like to prompt the
story because I don't know if I should go straight.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
Well, let's prompt the story with Hey, what happened when
you went to the chateau hang on? So before we
started recording, Kelly was telling me about going to the
Chateau Malmont in La. Let's end on one last sort
of big Hollywood story. And you arrived there first, you said,
and you sort of skated past this that you arrived
(46:47):
in Michael Sheen's car and when you got Outdrew Barrymore
was there. I mean, that might be the whole story here,
but can you just give me a bit of a
bit of context about what was what the hell was
going on and what's I know you, I know your
type with Michael Sheen, but like what.
Speaker 4 (47:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
I think we were talking about the fact that why
we love La and also find it difficult is that
it's very ungrounded. Yes, yeah, there's no sense of reality
there whatsoever. And you know, I'm glad I can come
back to London. I wrote some stuff for for dream
state there, but I had to come back to London
to finish it.
Speaker 4 (47:27):
That's that's the vibe.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
But you know, well whilst I was there, you know,
you meet a lot of interesting people, and yeah, Michael's
very generous with like, yeah, he's just helped me out
a lot as a friend. And so I just go
there to meet my friends for lunch. And it's a
very iconic place, as we're saying, and I pull up
and there's this like.
Speaker 4 (47:47):
Woman kind of like outside fumbing raua.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
She's got like sunglasses on and like someone's bringing in
like you know, rows and rows of clothes and blah blah.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
I was like, oh, who's it? And it was Drew Barrymore.
And that's exactly what you want.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
You don't want to pull up and like have no
celebrity kind of fumbling outside shut home mom, Like there
has to be one. I don't know if that's her
other job, like a side joe, if she's all with
her or.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
They employ her. They employ I actually noticed they employed.
She's there between.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Don't get sued by Drew Barrymore. That's all I'm going
to say.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Between three pm and nine, she's just employed to come
in and out.
Speaker 4 (48:23):
With that row of that that is when I was there.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
So there it adds up. Yeah, it all makes sense.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
That's just an average Wednesday in La.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Well, Kelly, thanks for coming on the podcast. Lovely to
see you. Congrats on the album. Thank you and your
extremely glamorous life.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
I'm going to come across so badly. I hope I'm not.
I'm just as Charlie x X. I'm just living that
life exactly.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Well, there we go. Leohens on episode one hundred and
fifty six of Midnight Chats. I want to thank Kelly
first of all for humoring me. She was a very
good sport in talking about that stuff. Normally, I'll be
totally honest when I'm doing these interviews with artists. That's
the stuff I actually want to ask people about. What's
so and so like, what what's it like being successful
(49:22):
and glamorous and meeting these different people. But I fully
appreciate that most people don't actually want to talk about that.
They think it's maybe a bit embarrassing, or that they're
sounding a bit pretentious or a bit arrogant in sharing
those stories. And so thank you to Kelly for just
going with it. I know she was thinking, oh, people
are going to think I'm a twat for saying all
this stuff, But I don't think they will. I'm sure
(49:45):
they won't. Like they will accept it in the spirit
it was intended, and it was just it was It
was great to meet with her. Her new album, Dreams
Date is the first release for a brand new label
called DH two, which is part of Dirty Hit label,
and it's run by George Daniel, the guy from the
nineteen seventy five who's the drummer who is a big
(50:07):
electronic music fan. So it's like the electronic spin off
to that very successful indie label, Dirty Hit, and it's
out now.
Speaker 2 (50:16):
I also just want to mark the fact that Stu
a bit like how I always managed to take our
conversations with her artists somehow towards like the topics of
like nature and climate and all this kind of stuff
because of my love of all those things. You like
to talk about death and I don't. I'm going to
sign on it and say this, there's something going on here.
(50:36):
But she was really interesting on that and I just
always really moved by hearing I talk about that experience, because,
as you said before, she was like a super high
flying like artist producer DJ. She was working in like
palliative care, like literally supporting people in their like last
moments of their life. So she does have this really beautiful,
worldly wisdom perspective going on. I think she's very spirit sure.
(51:00):
You can sense that she's got real balance about things.
I always loved that when I hear her speak. I
probably should tone down the death chat. Maybe Stuart stubs
this new podcast how do you want to die?
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Everyone would just say sniper. We used to have in
the magazine, we used to have a feature or getting
to know you know, it's the same questions every single month.
It was like it was like a questionnaire. So yeah,
and one of them was how would you like to die?
And you'd be surprised about the amount of artists who
would say peacefully surrounded by my loved ones. And of
(51:34):
course that's the art I know that's the answer. But like,
come on, go with.
Speaker 2 (51:39):
It, you know what, Let's dig out some of those answers,
like on a future podcast, let's like revisit some of
that stuff and talk about how how your favorite artists
have told us they'd like to die.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Okay, that sounds good. Cool, let's do.
Speaker 2 (51:52):
It right, listen before we go tonight, let's leave people
with a recommendation. This is beat the Algorithm.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Beat the Algorithm A. My recommendation tonight is not it's
not going to be a new name to almost anybody
listening to this podcast, but it is one that might
go get lost in that. Just what we started out
this podcast saying is there's so much new music coming
at the moment that like sometimes stuff just like passes
over our radar. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard former
(52:24):
guests on Midnight Chats back in April episode one, two five,
if you want to like scroll back to that right
now on your phone to go and give it. Listen
when Stuart mackenzie from King Gizzard met Stuart Stubbs from
Midnight Chats. And what was quite funny is in that
episode you made a joke with Stu saying like, by
the time this podcast even comes out, you'd have probably
released a new album. They hadn't. But there is new
(52:48):
music from King Gizzard because as we all know, they
are ridiculously prolific. I think it was only like two
or three months ago that they released the album Flight
B seven four to one, And there's new mus out
from King Gizzard. The song is called Phantom Island, and again,
if you've listened to that episode, you'll know that basically,
King Gizzard try to reinvent themselves conceptually and musically every
(53:10):
time they put out a new album, and this one,
much to my surprise, is basically like an orchestral composition.
They're also going to go on tour in twenty twenty
five with a twenty eight piece orchestra. They've pronounced some
US states so far, some in New York. So yeah,
that's my tip tonight, Phantom Island by King Gizzard and
(53:31):
the Lizard Wizard and Stude.
Speaker 2 (54:13):
The track that your tip in tonight is one that
I also love and have been listening to lads this week.
Speaker 1 (54:17):
Go for it. Yeah. We fought over who was going
to say this one really, and I just wrestled out
of your hands. Richard Dawson Polytunnel Richard Dawson. I'm sure
many people will know he's been around a long time.
He's been operating on the underground, but he's been very
successful in the world of alternative music. From Newcastle. Has
(54:42):
released about one thousand different albums at this point, but
he has this week announced a new one, which is
going to be called End of the Middle, is coming
in February, on the fourteenth of feb and the first
song on it is called poly Tunnel, which I'm about
to play a bit of this. I first heard does
he played this at End of the Road festival earlier
this year and previewed it, and he said from the stage,
(55:04):
this is my new single. And I don't know what
my label of thinking this is never going to be
a hit, a radio hit, I would sort of disagree.
I think this is Dawson is most stripped back, He's
most accessible in the way a lot of his old
music is traditional folk music but bordering on somewhere between
(55:27):
medieval and heavy metal, with very contemporary references in there,
which is what makes him so brilliant. And this is
a song about a polytunnel and gardening. But I think
it's very lovely, and it's more twee than something I
would usually like. I'm not really a fan of too
(55:48):
much twee, but I think this is actually quite lovely,
and I love everything Dawson does. But this is polya.
Speaker 6 (56:00):
Star shot, sweet, wary, slap suw pulling up the turnts,
(56:22):
tending down the cards, leaks, tying on the sweeties, pruning
back the branches of the paltry, mucking out the chairs,
(56:47):
repairing the pop cher in the poly.
Speaker 1 (56:54):
Tunnel.
Speaker 2 (57:01):
What an individual, idiosyncratic, amazing talent Richard Dawson is. If
you're listening to the radio and that song come on,
there is no way that you're not going to be.
Speaker 1 (57:11):
Like thinking.
Speaker 2 (57:13):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (57:16):
So?
Speaker 2 (57:16):
Yeah, big respect for Richard Dawson. Really excited about the
new music that he's going to release next.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
Year as well. I'm definitely sticking with this is my
favorite time of year for music because that song makes
so much sense coming out in autumn. Yeah, it's like.
Speaker 2 (57:30):
An abundance of vegetables and an abundance of new music.
Speaker 1 (57:34):
Yeah, it's very warm, and it's very you know, it's
just it's just the right time for Polytunnel to be released.
Speaker 2 (57:43):
Now, right now, listen, ste we should leave our listeners
for the night. You will probably go off and think
about death for a little while now until we rejoin
next week. Thank you so much for bringing us that
amazing interview with Kelly Lewens. Do you enjoy having her on.
Speaker 1 (57:59):
Much much so? Yeah, She's welcome back at any time.
I think she's only gonna just go up and up.
She's surrounded by the right people. She's doing very well.
I think it's all very well deserved, and I sort
of need her to go out now meet some more
famous people. Then she can come back on and tell
me what they're like.
Speaker 2 (58:20):
In fact, all right, look forward to that on future
episodes of Midnight Chats, But for now, it's.
Speaker 1 (58:24):
Good night from me. It's good night from me. Midnight
Chats is a joint production between Loud and Quiet and
Atomized Studios for iHeartRadio. It's hosted by Stuart Stubbs and
Greg Cochrane, mixed and mastered by Flow Lines, and edited
by Stuart Stubbs.
Speaker 2 (58:45):
Find us on Instagram and TikTok to watch clips from
our recordings.
Speaker 1 (58:48):
And much much more. We are Midnight Chats Pod. For
more information, visit Loud and Quiet dot com.
Good evening, I'm Greg Cochran, Good evening, I'm Stuart Stubbs.
We are a couple of journalists who've been working in
independent music since the days of my Space.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
One night a week, we become your guides through the
week in music, because, let's face it, the algorithms have
stop working for most of us, so.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
We're here to share the best new underground music and
the news that you might have missed, as well as
discussing the week's biggest headlines and bringing you interviews with
some of our favorite alternative artists.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
The show is called Midnight Chats.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Stu.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I've got a question for you right off the bat,
what's your favorite time of the year in music?
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's now? I think it's I think it's now. Yeah,
why because oh it was in music, isn't it? So
it does have to be about music? The answer? Yes, Yeah,
maybe it can't be.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It can't be like, Oh, I like Halloween, I like pumping,
I like picking pumpkins and the Christmas lights coming up
I mean, I mean music.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I was going to say all of that stuff, but
I do think the music that so much music's released,
isn't it in autumn? In q Q four of the
year that I think it probably is now quite like
January as well, actually, because I feel like a lot
of new artists release in January, but I will stick
(01:21):
with now why I also like this time of year.
I also like it for frolicking in the autumn leaves
just like you. But this is my favorite time of
the year in music as well, because I feel like,
one you've got like the end of year stuff coming,
so like you can sort of reflect on what's come
out this year, your favorite tracks and albums, and all
(01:43):
the stuff that's happened in music that's close. But more
than that, I really like that that time of year
where everybody's trying to send you new music because they
are trying to get on to your radar for next year. Basically,
it's like that's of have a think about, like listening
to this artist because they're bringing out new music in
(02:03):
twenty twenty five, you know what do you make of it?
Da da da? And I just love that. I love
all of the sort of like the guesswork that goes
along with sort of you know who's gonna beat like
a merge next year, like reading all of the tips
lists all that stuff. I love like the abundance of
basically new artists, new music that always I've always found
(02:24):
that really really exciting, and that starts now. It doesn't
really We obviously see most of it and hear most
of it in like late December January time as people
you know, issue their tips for the new year ahead,
but it really starts. All the sort of jockey in
the behind the scenes stuff starts sort of September October time.
So yeah, it's exciting, loads of new music. And on
(02:45):
that tip, you've been to see some new music. Last
week you went to see McGee. I did two gigs
last week, two big ones. I went to the Royal
Albert Hole to watch Chili Gonzalez did Jarvis Cocker turn
Jervis Cocker turned up. He sang a cover of Private
Dancer by Tina Turner in a typically overly sexualized way right,
(03:07):
which was of course excellent. The support of that show
was an odd one. It was the comedian Peter Sarah
Finowitch you know that, oh yeah, the guy, the big
guy Yeah from Space, and Simon peg Pal he supported
dressed as Elvis, singing first the songs of Elvis and
then songs by Drake and other contemporary musicians as Elvis,
(03:32):
but dressed in a jump a white jumpsuit, no explanation,
and off he went. Any good. I thought it was
quite good. It got better. Okay. I think it's something
he's trying out. I think it's like a character. He's
trying the character as Elvis. But it's a character like
a part comedy thing, part music thing. He can sing though.
(03:53):
That guy can sing, and it's a very good impression
of Elvis vocally, like it sounds really good. Hotline hotline
bling was great. And then the following night I went
to the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the
coolest show in town, which was McGee was playing in
Brixton at Electric Brixton is doing a run of He
was doing a run of nights there and he is
(04:16):
one of these artists who will be probably the top
of the BBC poll maybe next year. Like you just said,
you know, like you're just saying about like how now
is when people are starting to think who do we
back for next year? So look so we look clever
when it happens exactly. McGee's been around for a while.
McGee is spelled mk dot GWe but it is pronounced
(04:38):
McGee as in Alan McGee. It was quite incredible. Actually,
the crowd was very young, twenty five maximum age limit.
I don't know how I managed to sneak him, but
everybody was singing the words McGee sounds. Everybody's using this
same comparison. I'm just going to use it as well.
He's like a low fire bedroom version of Genesis, late Genesis,
(05:03):
like stadium rock Jesus, Jesus. He knows me Genesis, and
he sort of is that. He's a bit of that.
He's a bit of Bonivert. He's a bit, maybe a
bit too much nineteen seventy five for my liking, but
he's got that going for him as well. And he's
got a woozy R and B thing, but he's an
(05:25):
incredible guitarist. And the setup was him on a guitar,
another dude shredding, and then the guy doing all of
the Genesis sort of drums and electronics was just a
guy at the back on some decks really, to be honest,
but people were loving, people were singing every word. Everybody
(05:48):
was filming the whole thing. I could you know, you
can just you go to a show like that and
you're like, Okay, this is the guy that everyone's watching
at the moment, and this is the guy that's gonna
have a very big twenty two five I think.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Now listen, we've got a guest on the podcast tonight.
Would you like to introduce the person you were speaking teacher, Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Tonight's guest is the electronic musician and DJ Kelly le Owens.
I've met Kelly before. We in fact spent a weekend
together in Venice, very very shortly before the pandemic drop.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
That immediately sounds like a romantic entangle.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
It does.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
No.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
We were I was writing a cover feature for Land
and Quiet magazine. We were doing a photo shoot in Venice,
went to see a DJ that night. She was DJing
at a festival in Venice, which was in a closed
art gallery. We talk about that a little bit, so
I do know Kelly a little bit, which I think
is good because in this interview that you're about to hear,
(06:50):
I mainly just press her on the glamorous things that
have happened to her since because since that trip she
was doing well. Then. That was for her second album
called Inner Song, but since then she's released two more albums,
one in lockdown called LP eight, which is her like
strange electronic record, her two records before that, and her
(07:11):
new record, dream State, which has just come out on More,
those three will sound a bit more similar. And Kelly's
own music is a cross between minimal techno and dream pop.
It's it's not like banging techno likes, which is what
she normally DJs. When she's in DJ mode, she's sort
of like a club DJ, and when she's making her
(07:32):
own music it's a lot more melodic and accessible and dreamy.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
We're gonna come back and talk about this in a moment,
but basically it's an absolute riot and I don't think
we've ever had anybody on the podcast before who has
had more glamorous encounters with like A listers and wants
to share those stories.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
So this is absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
So we'll come back after hearing from you, stew Probably
the most glamorous thing this happened to Kelly le Owens
is hearing on Midnight Chats with you in conversation with
the amazing Kelly the Owens, And we'll be back after
we've heard from her and you on this.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
If I was to say to you a car with
a boot full of horseshit? Ah?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Oh my, did I tell you that about that? If
you didn't know, you didn't print that though, did you?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That was on So that was on a members podcast
we did for the magazine. So some people have heard
that story. Are you willing to divulge that story here?
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Yes? Yeah? Why not? Well?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
First of all, wow, I'm hungover and didn't expect to
go straight into that, but.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Apologies, it's fine.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
So I had a it was one of my first boyfriends,
let's call him Stan. Stan wasn't called and let's just
say he didn't treat me very well.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
How old are you young?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
I was like when we first met, like seventeen, okay,
first love, love, you know, and you didn't treat me
very well. And I found out some things, and I
wasn't super close to my family in terms of, you know,
sharing all everything that's happening with me. I kept things
quite close to my chest, but I did eventually have
(09:21):
to end up telling them what had happened. And we
were still in touch me and Stan a tiny bit.
And my mother's partner at the time was selling this
kind of really cool Ford like top down car cramember.
These act make and Stan was like, I'd love to
buy that car. Now, I just put them directly in
(09:42):
touch because I didn't really want to talk to Stan anymore.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Is Stan at this point taking the piss really? Because
if he's treated you bad or does he think he
hasn't treated you bad?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
It?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
How why is he? Why is he thinking this is
okay to suddenly say to his ex girlfriend, can I
buy this car from your family? I just the kind
of guy stand was well, okay, well.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
At this point, But also I'm really glad he was
that sort of cheeky because ultimately, what I didn't know,
and actually didn't know for years, was that they did
sell him the car. However, my brother and my mum's
partner had filled had filled the boot with horseship. All
(10:27):
I'm going to say is, don't mess with Welsh people's
that's hardcore. We are gangster in a way that is
like quite you know, we love nature, but that combination
can be deadly.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
So just you know, Welsh mafia on fleek.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And we're into the podcasts.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
Welcome, Welcome, Chroiser. As we're saying Wales.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
I've got this thing on this show where I try
not to ask people about the pandemic at all, because
we've all been over it a million times. We lived it.
It was horrible. There's something I'm going to mention it
just one time now, and that's because the first time
I met you was in Venice and it was just
it was when the pandemic was just arriving. And it
(11:13):
was weird, wasn't it, Because we'd flown there on separate flights,
but we'd flown there on our flights. We were like,
on your flight, were there people wearing masks about this thing?
And then by the time we'd flown home, we're only
there for like two days. It was a thing, and
then you know, everything else happened. But lifetime has passed
since then, You've done a million and one things, which
(11:35):
I want to ask you about that trip to Venice, though,
What do you once your like lasting memory of that.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I remember because I was also playing in Venice in
one of the gallery spaces, which is what I was
there for when we combined it with this like amazing shoot.
But on the way to the gallery space and where
I was DJing, this guy was like, I said, Wow,
this church beautiful.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Like how amazing?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
And I remember watching before I came death in Venice.
Oh yeah, and then he was saying, well, this is
the church that when the plague was happening, people would
come and pray, and I'm going, this is just this
whole thing is just too close to the bone, and
little did we know that we'd have this like huge
scale pandemic. But I was so glad that that was
(12:24):
one of the last places I got to go for
a while because has everything from my favorite cafe Cafe
Podgy nineteen nineteen shout out, you know, to doing that
amazing shoot there and really feeling like this was one
of the only moments in a way I could like
have support in an editorial way of in a song
(12:45):
and something that I was about to release. I'm not sure,
but yeah, it was this moment of celebration and one
of the last moments that people got to dance together
for a while. So I don't know, it's just it's
kind of engraved there.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, it's a weird one, isn't it, Because it was
you know, we went from being in this most Venice
is just one of the most incredible places I've ever
been in my life to suddenly being you know, at
home for two years essentially and being nowhere at all.
You arrived on a speedboat.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Well, I just thought, you know, if you're going to do.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It, Sophia Loren sunglasses Sunset speedboat from the airport onto Venice.
You told them I wasn't there for that, but you
told me about that the day I met you, and
one of the things that sparked was you were telling
me how much better DJs are treated to bands and
like artists in bands, and you were there to DJ.
(13:39):
You were headlining this festival called set Up, which, as
you say, was a dishuged gallery. But I mean, it
feels like since then you've done a million glamorous things.
We've just been talking about some of them before we
started recording this. What is the most glamorous things that's
happened since then? It felt like that time in your
life was the start of this new what is now
(14:03):
your norm? Maybe your norm's pushing it, but do you
know what I mean? Like you're in this world where
glamorous things happened to Kelley Lewens.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Now, well you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Know it's I'll tell you something that almost happened that
was almost glamorous, and it's related to Depeche mode, and
I will just say I feel a person like being
on towards Depeche mode is glamor?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Is my idea of glamour?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yeah, mine too, traveling the world, you know, having them
bless them, take all my equipment round and just like
bring me into this family space. And you know, Dave
knocking on my dressing room door. I remember like half
the tour I had like a makeup artist and then
the other half I was doing it myself. And I
literally had one eye done and I get a knock
(14:52):
on the door. No one warned me that this is
going to happen, and I open it and it's Dave Gahan.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Because it's the first time you've met him. Was this
U MEI?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Yeah, literally meeting him.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Was he wearing a leather vest but no show.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
No, he was wearing a leather jacket though, but he went, Hi,
I just want to welcome you to the family. And
what was funny was his assistant and the guy who
was on the whole tell Tony, was behind him. But
Dave stepped into my dressing room. The door was so
heavy that it just awkwardly closed behind him.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
So it's just me and Dave.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
But he was just saying, oh, I've seen all the
photos from last night, the first show, and it looks amazing,
and I know you sounded amazing.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
And I'm just oh, just so good to meet you.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
And his daughter Stella is also like a fan, so
it just felt so lovely to be welcomed, you know,
even unsuspectingly. So you know, I'd love love a knock
on the door from Dave. You know, I was a
surprise anytime. But there was one particular show we did
where it was in Las Vegas and we were driving
from La to Las Vegas and there's just kind of
(15:55):
one road through a desert beautiful, and of course that
day there was a huge lorry that had spilled over.
I think everyone was fine, but it just took hours
and hours to clear up. And there was one point where,
like depachche between to Passion and my management were they
were going to get me a helicopter to fly me in,
(16:17):
pick me up in the desert, fly me in.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
That's like you two Joshua Tree vibes, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
And speaking of that, I met Flood did you earlier
this year, and that's another moment for me that I
was going to mention which is like leaving a Depeche
Mode show in January in from the O two in
you know, one of those beautiful, amazing cars. And it
was with Dave's son Jack, who I'm friends with, and
Daniel Miller and Flood and I had a bottle of
(16:46):
don Very and I was just like, right, tell me everything.
I felt like I wish I could have live streamed
that whole conversation as we were drop being dropped off
around the whole of London.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
It's like an uber pool for for that group of
people that it really parts uber.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Pool very yeah, like for nerds.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah. So I mean, and and for the record, I
just want to say, just before we started recording last night,
you had dinner with Bill Murray.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
You can't say that that happens. I didn't have it
with him. I had dinner sort of, I would say,
opposite him.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Is that counts? That counts these things now, Like, I mean,
this could be the whole episode, this podcast could just
be you name dropping, which I would encourage.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Can we put this bit at the end, because I
just think people are just going to be just like
turned off, like she's such a she's a name job.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Yeah, this is good stuff. Does it feel to you
like I was saying, like you know, to me from
the outside, it feels like from in a song onwards,
despite the pandemic actually, which is essentially like a dead
soon when you did also release another album LPA, which
I want to ask you about. But since then, despite
even despite that the struggle of that, it does feel
(18:09):
like you have skyrocketed, like is that is? Does it
feel like that to you?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And I think what was interesting about in a song
in particular was that I made an album about being
alone well in advance of the pandemic, and.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
So people really related to it.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And I think it's such a unique like period in
history that whatever you did listen to you then or
came out then, which wasn't that many albums. I think
it was me Fleet Foxes and like a few other artists,
it's sort of dead to put something out. People more
than ever perhaps lived with something as their friend and
(18:49):
as as I always visualized albums, and I mean like
a sonic place to be, but in a way that's
so intensely a place to be when you literally can't
go anywhere else. And there's a track called Night which
is saying like it feels so good to be alone
and like embracing the darkness and like rewilding your spirit.
And I felt a lot of us were rewilding our
(19:11):
spirit in that time because we had nothing else to
do but face ourselves. So I think it was just
timely and it was seemingly a sonic companion, I think,
so what I'm trying to say. So when I went
to tour in twenty twenty one, which I was so
privileged to be able to do, and in America I
got an exemption, it was like people coming to their
first ever shows. It was the same sort of memory,
(19:33):
you know, I think for them, and so that in
itself helped. So coming back out was like, oh wow,
people were listening to this.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Yeah, yeah, I felt there were a few records that
did that. I spoke to Cassandra Jenkins for the podcast
a few months ago, and hers was one of those,
a record that she was going to make her last
record because she was it wasn't really working for her,
and then she puts out this really insular, sort of
just loose album that people then were just like it
(20:02):
just absolutely like it played to strengths. Certain people have
great pandemics. You Cassandra can zoom. You know, there was
a few out to Zoom Lego. People were just cleaned
up on that recently. You've just to pick off a
few highlights that I just know you've definitely done. Okay,
(20:23):
you played Amnesia at the Charlie xx party there? What
was playing Amnesia? Like? Just generally?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I mean that's there was all these things going on
simultaneously at once. I'd been to Abetha years ago. I
think it was like I Betha Rocks when I was
more of an indie kid.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, yeah, yeah, but who were you there as a
were you there as a fan?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
I was there with my partner at the time, he
was in a band, and then we stayed at the
host and it was I was like, oh no, it
was so intense.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
And I actually didn't go to clubs then.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
I was a bit of a late bloomer, as you know,
when it came to electronic music.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
So this time around I was ready.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yeah, I'm like, okay, here we go. How long can
I stay for? And it was a Friday night. Ania
and I have all these like beautiful books that are
talk about like clubs and the history of them, and
I knew a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
And also I was playing Pikes that same weekend.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Pikes is where they filmed club video, isn't it. It's
like Famed for that is that where Rocks is?
Speaker 5 (21:22):
No, definitely not.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Yeah, that's that's something else.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I think Pikes is like old school.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Freddie Mercury fiftieth birthday or fortieth birthday party, like debauchery. Yes,
and I was like, I will just get me in there.
I wanted I want to I want to see it all.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
So you were playing Pikes before on the Saturday.
Speaker 4 (21:43):
No, this is crazy. This year has been crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
So Friday night amnesia, Yeah, just that in itself?
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (21:52):
What time were you going on? Well?
Speaker 3 (21:54):
I was opening because I'm there to support Charlie's It's
like me Rummy, shy girl, Rummy and then Charlie and
party Girl. So I opened. But like the experience of
people flooding him into amnesia in itself is mad. So
I got to be there and there was no one
in there.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Oh right, how would you hang on? Let's just backpedal
one second for anyone listening who is thinking, what is amnesia?
What would you what would you describe? How would you
describe it as you know, it's essentially the quintessential superclub
of IBEFA.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
But yeah, it's it's an institution and it reminds me
it's in a more glamorous way of like Fabric here
where you can't imagine London without Fabric, and the same
for Amnesia. It's just it's an iconic truly, like that
word has overused these days, but for me it's it's
it's an iconic place that is almost like a place
(22:44):
of worship, I would say, you know, for people who
love electronic music and yeah, coming together to celebrate in sound.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
So I just felt really honored, firstly that Charlie had
asked me, but secondly the fact that it was in
somewhere that I can't it was a double whammy. I
was very nervous. We all were, every single one of
us doesn't matter, like I think Charlie hasn't DJed much,
but she's actually really good. And then you know, Rummy
Shi got have but we were all bricking it, which
(23:14):
is great because like you need to be consistently humbled
I think when you come when it comes to DJing,
and for me it's always terrifying. But that was just
like wow, Wow, it's happening. And then Pikes was Sunday
afternoon pool side Pikes. Yes, no, nothing over one hundred
and twelve bpm?
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Is that stipulated?
Speaker 5 (23:34):
No, that was just my head just knew that.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
You just knew that was what was needed.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Right, Yeah, that's fair Sunday.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
After being there since Friday morning, I was like, were.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
People bopping about? Was everyone just sonked out? Or was
there was there a bit of.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
A people lounging people in the pool?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Can I just say so? Rubbed the bank put this
on another icon? He opened before I came on. He
opened the session by having synchronized swimmers in the pool.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Love that.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
No, I can't say I've had that before, isn't it?
Speaker 5 (24:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
See it's glamor glamor glamour having a Pina Colada, very
eighties and I loved it.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Beautiful when you when you DJ, because there's like two
Kelly le Owens. I feel, is it is it fair
to say this like there's there's DJ and then there's
your live set doing your own thing, and to like,
are those wildly different headspaces for you?
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Totally?
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Because also this question, we were saying that, like I
mentioned earlier you saying like DJs get treated like rock stars,
like old school rock stars, and now sort of bands
especially that's sort of gone for them, but it's still
there in DJ culture when you are doing a live show.
Where does it fall. Does it fall more to the
(24:56):
band thing or does it are you? Are you still
being helicoptered around?
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Well that was for a Lifejap, but that that's more
depression MO than me at this point. No, I'd say
it's still it does live somewhere in between. So I'm
obviously a solo artist, which feels different to being in
a band generally, so it's definitely somewhere in the middle.
(25:21):
But I very much enjoy the live world almost more
than anything else. Although I will say, having dj' so
much this year, I'm finally starting to feel confident DJing.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
You weren't before.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
No, because I think I've done a really.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Good job of pretending. I think of pretending you're confident,
like I've seen you DJ a lot, and you and
anyone listening to is can just watch some clips on
your Instagram of like you're you don't feel self conscious
up there?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I think what I feel.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
All I know is I feel so nervous before I DJ,
because you have to make a decision every sixty seconds.
It's so much work and if you don't get it right,
you can disappoint like a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The same time, you're taking people on a journey.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So it's a really serious job actually, which takes a
lot of energy. And there's a reason why some people
are only DJ because the amount of research, the amount
of time it takes to put a two hour set
together is weeks. It's weeks, you know, and it still
might not work on the night. You still have to
create different moments, so it's just like a whole craft.
(26:33):
Whereas I can I did. I think it was seventy
five thousand people with Depeche Mode, and I felt I
was nervous for a minute, but I felt so at
ease when I got out there and I was playing Lucid,
being like, oh my god, I can't believe I made
this in my bedroom and now I'm playing it to
this many people. But I felt this is my world
and I'm bringing you in right. Whereas I think because
(26:54):
I came up in the underground scene as a woman
and someone who learned to de last kind of like
John Hopkins, did you know like, oh, you can you
make electronic music? So you you DJ right, and you're like, yes,
I guess I do, and I guess I can learn.
So it's it's the thing I know have known the
(27:14):
least about. But I also am really good at not
giving myself any credit, right so I think because I'm
a perfectionist. For me, I'm not yet at the level
where I would.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Like to be.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Let's take a minute to just talk about LP eight,
because that's a record that came out in sorry to
say that eld word again came out in Lockdown.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
But it's okay, it happens. It happened, let's be real,
let's be.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Real about it. But that record came out so in
a song had come out, and obviously you couldn't tour it.
You can, you can't really do much with it. Then
suddenly the surprise record comes out called LP eight, which
is which was your third record, which confused a lot
of people.
Speaker 4 (27:59):
But it's also my eighth record.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Is it also your eighth record?
Speaker 3 (28:02):
It is to me, it's my eighth record. And I
know this sounds very pretentious, but I felt like it
was such a strange moment in time. I jumped into
a time machine and made my weird eighth record like
that Burke would make.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Okay, she's being.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Really successful and just commey where she wants. Well, I
had this weird time machine moment, and I made it
in Oslow, got the last plane before they shut the borders,
made it in eight days, and I bounced down all
the sounds again and it was eighty minutes and eight seconds. Okay,
And like I was born in the eighth month in
(28:37):
eighty eight, and so everything was pointing for this to
be LP eight. But you are right, technically it was
my third.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Tech but that okay. I like that concept though, the
idea of because it does sound like a record from
a different time in your career, Yeah, it was to me,
and it's it's a I mean, how would you describe
that record anyone that hasn't heard that one? How would
you describe it? Because it's different to the first and
(29:07):
dream State is more like your third record, I guess,
because that it does feel like a continuation to the
first two. And then in the middle there there's LPA.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
Well, just start by saying that I do believe. And
this was Yoakim from small town Zuper Sound who suggested
doing this, so like big ups to him, because he's
always got incredible vision.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
He knew.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
I think that I needed to make something like this
so that I didn't create the next album in a
way that people would expect me to. So I had
something to pivot from and off, which is super important
as an artist. But how I describe it is a deep,
subconscious dive. So I see my albums as elements, and
(29:54):
I think it's similar to the buck like Sonic Symbolism
podcast where she talks about like every has colors and shapes,
you know, of course amazing, and I think for me,
the first record was Water was sub equacious. Everything was
like in like heaps of reverb and space echo, and
(30:14):
you know it was made by the water. I think
in a song was Earth, so like Upeggy is me
kind of coming up through the soil to like regrow
and like find myself. But then the LP eight is
like the ether, it's above air, it's like outer space,
and I felt like I was tapping into like subconscious
(30:38):
family lineages and dark feminine, but also I was trying
to cast spells for the future. I was trying to
bring messages of hope in there, because I always want
to empower people. Everything I do, I realize is like
based around trying to make someone else feel better about
(30:58):
life or themselves. And you know, there's like Martha Graham
quote in there about creativity and your own essence and
just like keeping the channel open, and if you don't
express yourself like that essence will never exist because you
have your own unique thing to say. And like just
I just want to always encourage people, so casting like
(31:19):
Spells of Hope, I think. And then this album is
air all the you know, dream State is. There's a
track called Air, there's a track called Rise, there's a
track called Higher. You know, so this is where we're at.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
I guess, yeah, I love I love it.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
I love that you. I think it's quite gutsy to
put out a record that that is so different. You
know that is that that is a more difficult listen.
I guess for your for like people that would maybe
knew your work before. But I love that it. That
will be the record that for some people will be
like that's why Kelly Lee.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Owen's record, Oh this is what I get all the time.
It's actually Martin Gore's favorite record of mine.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
I mean that's that's it's worth me.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
I can retire.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Yeah, it was worth making.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
I mean I think yeah, because he's like, what was
the what was the record you made? Like with it,
you know, with the noise dude, And sometimes I think
that's what I mean about it being I sometimes forget
I've made it. Literally, was like and we were going
to lunch and I was in the car and going,
noise dude, noise dude, and like, Martin's reminded me that
I've made an album. It was weird, but that's his favorite.
And then some people like, wow, that was my favorite record,
(32:28):
and then some people just like didn't get it. But
that again, it's like that classic art thing. And I
wasn't making it for anyone really else than myself. I
was like, you know, kazk spells of hope for me
for the future, like God, can I get through this?
And then hopefully collectively, you know, passing that on. But
it might be one of those in the future people
understand a bit more, but maybe not who you know who.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Cares on to the next one.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Are you a good sleeper?
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Yeah? I do.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Do you love sleep?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (33:01):
Really?
Speaker 6 (33:02):
No?
Speaker 4 (33:03):
I might have some tips for you.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I've stopped caffeine. Is that one of the tips.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
No, I wasn't going to ever suggest that anyway, that
would be horrendous.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
I've done that. It's helped a little bit. But yeah,
always been a bad sleeper.
Speaker 5 (33:18):
Night terrors really well, that's the difference.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
That's why day day day dreaming, day dreaming fine, It
is different from night dreaming. And if you there's a
there's a book by bachel Ard, The Poetics of Space,
which goes all into that and like how space and
your spaces and the house is so important for the
(33:42):
day dreamer and daydreams are completely different.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
Dreams.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
There's not it's not like an active thing. It's it's
like a a way of like switching off and like
bypassing stuff. Whereas I think you work quite hard at
night time when you're dreaming, I do.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I wake up knackered in the morning.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (34:01):
That's why you need coffee, just one.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Just want to get me out of bed to recover
from my sleep.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
It's exhausting, truly, when you're doing your when you're on
the DJ head, when you're in that in that mode,
have you had to play anywhere like five in the morning,
be four in the morning, like crazy time. Yeah, and
usually Barcelona they do.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Go later, do you, Because I've spoken to DJs before,
who will go to bed before the show? Yeah, so
you go to bed. And when they first told me this,
I thought that that doesn't sound right, but of course
it is. It's like shift work, yes, right. So I
won't say the DJ just in case they don't want
(34:46):
me to say, but yeah, he would go to bed
at say nine, set an alarm for like three am,
wake up, go to the burg or whatever. DJ like,
I'm going to work. Now. That's kind of mad, isn't
it to us as people on the outside, because you know, we.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
Go there to the norm core. This is mad.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
No one's doing that. No one's having a like a
sleep before they go to the club as a punter.
But I think more people should do that. But do you?
So you do that? You if you're if you're on late,
you're like, I need to get some rest before I
go and go out there.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
I was never a napper, but in order to literally survive,
I've had to train myself. But what's good about DJing
is because I'm not singing, I can eat cheese.
Speaker 4 (35:36):
So my rider is like.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Wine, cheese, bread, and they're like, you know, most people
like maybe maybe ask for drug I don't know drugs.
That's my drug of choice, you know. But so but
then what's great is they'll also take you out for
a three course meal. So I'll go out for dinner
at like eight, have like three courses.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Every band listening to this is furious, right.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
And I've been the band and I still am to
a degree.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
So I'll get it.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And I'm sorry, I'm actually no, I'm not going to
apologize for the industry. It's the industry needs to buck up.
So there you go.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
But have my three.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I'm going to come across so badly in this interview,
oh my god. And then I'll be so car loaded
that I'll just go, yeah, let's go back to the hotel,
have a disco club, nap, techno nap, and then I'll
wake up it if I'm on at say two or three,
(36:36):
I'll wake up at like midnight and I'll have a
shot of espresso, okay, yeah, and then I'll go to
the club get picked up, and then I'll have another
shot of espresso and some sparkling water and a little
bit of cheese or cheese.
Speaker 4 (36:52):
Obvious, I'm ready to go. That's my ritual.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
It's good. I mean, it's working for you, then, you know,
stick with it. We're a week away from dream saying
it comes out next week, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
When we spoke about in a song, I asked you
when would you like people to listen to the album? Yeah,
And your answer was when laying on their back looking
at the sky. Oh wow, that was yeah, that was
your response to what about this record in your mind?
(37:28):
When's the optimum time for someone to put it on?
What are they doing?
Speaker 3 (37:32):
I mean, my hope for this is that I get
to people to listen to it together. Obviously, Ultimately, I
think that's the one thing. It's like, less about being
with yourself and more about being with yourself enough so
that you can come together with people via sound. This
one I think has a lot of movement in it,
so you know, we're always on the go, and I
(37:55):
think even the heartfelt moments like walking and being on
a train and even on a plane.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
I love plane albums, listening to records on planes, that's
my go to rather than put a film on. Yes,
I'll always yes, because do it that much anymore and
like I tend to drive. If I'm driving, you know,
you can drive with music on and that's cool, but
like to just sit and listen to it. And there's
(38:25):
something about you know, there's natural noise cancelation in a plane. Yes,
because of the hum of.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
It and the literal higher perspective you have. That's what
the overview effect is. I think it was come up
by an astronaut, but he got it from the concept
of a plane, which is like zooming out away from
all your issues and just seeing the bigger picture. And
that's very much what this album is about.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
So yeah, Deane's a great show. That's the place to
listen to it. That's the answer the plane. What have
I got here? I've got I've got a few questions
from listeners.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Yes, I'm just going to check O God, this scares me.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
No, No, that's good. That's good. I've only picked out
a few. A lot of them were when are you
coming back to Mexico.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
Which kind of said I loved I love to go now,
but I want to go now. You've got people, the food,
the music.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
I mean, you've got fans in Mexico. You're never going
to be shy of tickets in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (39:18):
Oh can I just say because I played they were
depche That's that's probably why. Yeah, I was swamped, like
I didn't have security obviously, and I'm not Depeche Mode,
and if they know that. But I was in the
airport and they kept come people get coming up to me.
Oh my god, I got upgraded on the fly. I
was like, you know, I'm not Dave Ghar.
Speaker 4 (39:36):
You know, I cann't quite believe it, but y did you?
Speaker 1 (39:41):
I say, you're also big in This is just a
side note. Travis are really big in Mexico. The band
Travis Oh my god, no way. There's a really good
documentary about Travis Go. They took a journalist who they
know hates them to make a film. They took them
on road in Mexico to say, come on to it
(40:02):
with that band. We know you hate us and you
think we're terrible, but we want to see if we
can convince you that we're actually. Wow, that's so cool
and it's a really lovely, warm film. I'm gonna I'll
find the name of that. I will let you know
it and I will put it in the show notes
of this podcast so people can check it out. It's
a great film, but so one. They obviously just they've
got good taste. I said that after talking about Travis.
(40:26):
They love their music. They do, but are you good
with that? Are you good? Like when people are coming
over and like recognizing you.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
I accept it because I I'm also a music fan.
However boring that sounds, It's just I think it's interesting
because I have my name attached to everything I do
and I sometimes can't separate it. And it's quite a
bizarre thing. It's like maybe there's like Kelly Owens and
then there's Kelly Lee Owens. It's quite I don't know,
(40:56):
it's quite a strange thing for your brain to reconcile.
But no, just I get it because I'm a music
fan and I admire people, so that's all it is.
It's just it's just a love of music. That's all
it is. You know, people love to latch onto you
as the vessel, but actually really it's just the passion
for the sound. I think, so I can relate to that.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
So here are a few questions. Rhese Brown asked about
your boiler Room set. He said, how did you find
the boiler Room set at the warehouse product felt like
you had the crowd in the palm of your hands.
I don't know if Rice was there or.
Speaker 3 (41:32):
Not, but is it a Welsh spelling o h y s.
I love Manchester. I lived there for two years. It's
very close to North Wales, so it feels like a
homecoming to me. And so I, once again, as I
(41:53):
mentioned earlier, was nervous because it's djaying and also it's
being filled.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, and also for any when it doesn't know, like
the boiler room set up is it's a camera bang
in your face on the decks, and then behind there's
people behind you as well. Oh yeah, how did you
find that people like being behind the decks and not
just in front of them?
Speaker 3 (42:14):
I have to zone that out because I used to
request to never have people behind me, not even like
friends or you know. But again, as I've grown confidence
slowly over the years, I'm I'm less fussed about that.
But actually, thank god they were there because they brought
so much energy and was so sweet and I realized, actually,
it's a wonderful thing to have that. So I really
(42:36):
ended up enjoying it so so so much more than
I thought I would because I always have my low expectation. Yeah,
for myself, it's I prepare for days and days and days.
But then I'm like, well, let's just see and once
I got past the nerves, honestly, the energy from the
crowd is as important as what I play, and they
would just as they say, mad for it.
Speaker 4 (42:57):
So it was one of my favorites as yet out.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
Yeah is it that point right?
Speaker 5 (43:01):
Not?
Speaker 4 (43:01):
Yeah, it'll be. I think we're looking sometime in November hopefully.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
Okay, we'll post to it once we once it's out.
This was from Era the musician Era, who said do
you know Era?
Speaker 5 (43:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Era, She says, will you always be a musician or
are there other things that you'd like to pursue in life?
Speaker 4 (43:24):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (43:27):
It's hard because I came from a background of sort
of healthcare and kind of taking care of people, and
I used to think that that was completely separate to
making music.
Speaker 4 (43:36):
But it's just.
Speaker 3 (43:38):
Another form of like well being. And I think what
came full circle for me was when I had doctors
reaching out during the difficult eras of twenty twenty twenty
twenty one, saying your music's helped me.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
To keep going.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
So I used to think that maybe i'd go back
to that, and this is quite a strong one.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
I love talking about death.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah you I love death.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
It I do. It's life is death.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I think you've got a very healthy relationship with death,
thank you. I think, and I certainly don't. But yours
has always been healthy. But that's because for people that
don't know, you have worked as a as a nurse
in a cancer ward. So it was a big part
of your of your daily life, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (44:19):
Yeah, which is crazy because I was thinking it was
when I was eighteen, and then before that I worked
in a nursing home and that's when I really experienced
death like firsthand, and that I was seventeen, So in
a way I was just confronted with it and had
no choice but to sort of because I thought, if
I want to do medicine, I have to know can
I deal with death very practical?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I was an office cleaner.
Speaker 4 (44:49):
Oh my god, I don't know. It's quite It's the
older I get, the more crazy.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
No, it is. Yeah, it's mad.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
Can I get And I spoke to my I think
it's science tea and I was like, do you know
what These A levels are just not for me? I
want to do this and like, I just need to
know if I can deal with death. I'm just and
she was like, yeah, I see that fear.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
That's hardcore, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
Well, maybe in.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Our societies this is what we're sort of saying, Yeah,
this is true. It is, but I don't know, it's
just the Western thing. But when I did work in
the Cant's hospital, and I was like an assistant nurse,
like an auxiliary, like not a properly trained nurse at
the time, and that's what I thought I would be,
But there's just so much missing for me, scent sound,
(45:33):
talking someone through their death, like you can have a
good death if you're in the right circumstances. And so
my nana Jeanette who you know her name, featured on
a track in a song she did pass away, and
I was like templed to temple with her when she
passed and talking her through it. And it's just has
come naturally to me. So I do feel like perhaps
something like that which still will involve potentially making music.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
Yeah, that's actually sick. It's a bit of a vine. Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Not just not not grotesque.
Speaker 4 (46:06):
Without sickness, you don't really have a job. That's awful.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
But moving on, before we.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Go, do you do you want to repeat the Chateau Marmont.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
Story or no, how would you like to prompt the
story because I don't know if I should go straight.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
Well, let's prompt the story with Hey, what happened when
you went to the chateau hang on? So before we
started recording, Kelly was telling me about going to the
Chateau Malmont in La. Let's end on one last sort
of big Hollywood story. And you arrived there first, you said,
and you sort of skated past this that you arrived
(46:47):
in Michael Sheen's car and when you got Outdrew Barrymore
was there. I mean, that might be the whole story here,
but can you just give me a bit of a
bit of context about what was what the hell was
going on and what's I know you, I know your
type with Michael Sheen, but like what.
Speaker 4 (47:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (47:08):
I think we were talking about the fact that why
we love La and also find it difficult is that
it's very ungrounded. Yes, yeah, there's no sense of reality
there whatsoever. And you know, I'm glad I can come
back to London. I wrote some stuff for for dream
state there, but I had to come back to London
to finish it.
Speaker 4 (47:27):
That's that's the vibe.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
But you know, well whilst I was there, you know,
you meet a lot of interesting people, and yeah, Michael's
very generous with like, yeah, he's just helped me out
a lot as a friend. And so I just go
there to meet my friends for lunch. And it's a
very iconic place, as we're saying, and I pull up
and there's this like.
Speaker 4 (47:47):
Woman kind of like outside fumbing raua.
Speaker 3 (47:48):
She's got like sunglasses on and like someone's bringing in
like you know, rows and rows of clothes and blah blah.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
I was like, oh, who's it? And it was Drew Barrymore.
And that's exactly what you want.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
You don't want to pull up and like have no
celebrity kind of fumbling outside shut home mom, Like there
has to be one. I don't know if that's her
other job, like a side joe, if she's all with
her or.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
They employ her. They employ I actually noticed they employed.
She's there between.
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Don't get sued by Drew Barrymore. That's all I'm going
to say.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Between three pm and nine, she's just employed to come
in and out.
Speaker 4 (48:23):
With that row of that that is when I was there.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
So there it adds up. Yeah, it all makes sense.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
That's just an average Wednesday in La.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Well, Kelly, thanks for coming on the podcast. Lovely to
see you. Congrats on the album. Thank you and your
extremely glamorous life.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
I'm going to come across so badly. I hope I'm not.
I'm just as Charlie x X. I'm just living that
life exactly.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Well, there we go. Leohens on episode one hundred and
fifty six of Midnight Chats. I want to thank Kelly
first of all for humoring me. She was a very
good sport in talking about that stuff. Normally, I'll be
totally honest when I'm doing these interviews with artists. That's
the stuff I actually want to ask people about. What's
so and so like, what what's it like being successful
(49:22):
and glamorous and meeting these different people. But I fully
appreciate that most people don't actually want to talk about that.
They think it's maybe a bit embarrassing, or that they're
sounding a bit pretentious or a bit arrogant in sharing
those stories. And so thank you to Kelly for just
going with it. I know she was thinking, oh, people
are going to think I'm a twat for saying all
this stuff, But I don't think they will. I'm sure
(49:45):
they won't. Like they will accept it in the spirit
it was intended, and it was just it was It
was great to meet with her. Her new album, Dreams
Date is the first release for a brand new label
called DH two, which is part of Dirty Hit label,
and it's run by George Daniel, the guy from the
nineteen seventy five who's the drummer who is a big
(50:07):
electronic music fan. So it's like the electronic spin off
to that very successful indie label, Dirty Hit, and it's
out now.
Speaker 2 (50:16):
I also just want to mark the fact that Stu
a bit like how I always managed to take our
conversations with her artists somehow towards like the topics of
like nature and climate and all this kind of stuff
because of my love of all those things. You like
to talk about death and I don't. I'm going to
sign on it and say this, there's something going on here.
(50:36):
But she was really interesting on that and I just
always really moved by hearing I talk about that experience, because,
as you said before, she was like a super high
flying like artist producer DJ. She was working in like
palliative care, like literally supporting people in their like last
moments of their life. So she does have this really beautiful,
worldly wisdom perspective going on. I think she's very spirit sure.
(51:00):
You can sense that she's got real balance about things.
I always loved that when I hear her speak. I
probably should tone down the death chat. Maybe Stuart stubs
this new podcast how do you want to die?
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Everyone would just say sniper. We used to have in
the magazine, we used to have a feature or getting
to know you know, it's the same questions every single month.
It was like it was like a questionnaire. So yeah,
and one of them was how would you like to die?
And you'd be surprised about the amount of artists who
would say peacefully surrounded by my loved ones. And of
(51:34):
course that's the art I know that's the answer. But like,
come on, go with.
Speaker 2 (51:39):
It, you know what, Let's dig out some of those answers,
like on a future podcast, let's like revisit some of
that stuff and talk about how how your favorite artists
have told us they'd like to die.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Okay, that sounds good. Cool, let's do.
Speaker 2 (51:52):
It right, listen before we go tonight, let's leave people
with a recommendation. This is beat the Algorithm.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Beat the Algorithm A. My recommendation tonight is not it's
not going to be a new name to almost anybody
listening to this podcast, but it is one that might
go get lost in that. Just what we started out
this podcast saying is there's so much new music coming
at the moment that like sometimes stuff just like passes
over our radar. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard former
(52:24):
guests on Midnight Chats back in April episode one, two five,
if you want to like scroll back to that right
now on your phone to go and give it. Listen
when Stuart mackenzie from King Gizzard met Stuart Stubbs from
Midnight Chats. And what was quite funny is in that
episode you made a joke with Stu saying like, by
the time this podcast even comes out, you'd have probably
released a new album. They hadn't. But there is new
(52:48):
music from King Gizzard because as we all know, they
are ridiculously prolific. I think it was only like two
or three months ago that they released the album Flight
B seven four to one, And there's new mus out
from King Gizzard. The song is called Phantom Island, and again,
if you've listened to that episode, you'll know that basically,
King Gizzard try to reinvent themselves conceptually and musically every
(53:10):
time they put out a new album, and this one,
much to my surprise, is basically like an orchestral composition.
They're also going to go on tour in twenty twenty
five with a twenty eight piece orchestra. They've pronounced some
US states so far, some in New York. So yeah,
that's my tip tonight, Phantom Island by King Gizzard and
(53:31):
the Lizard Wizard and Stude.
Speaker 2 (54:13):
The track that your tip in tonight is one that
I also love and have been listening to lads this week.
Speaker 1 (54:17):
Go for it. Yeah. We fought over who was going
to say this one really, and I just wrestled out
of your hands. Richard Dawson Polytunnel Richard Dawson. I'm sure
many people will know he's been around a long time.
He's been operating on the underground, but he's been very
successful in the world of alternative music. From Newcastle. Has
(54:42):
released about one thousand different albums at this point, but
he has this week announced a new one, which is
going to be called End of the Middle, is coming
in February, on the fourteenth of feb and the first
song on it is called poly Tunnel, which I'm about
to play a bit of this. I first heard does
he played this at End of the Road festival earlier
this year and previewed it, and he said from the stage,
(55:04):
this is my new single. And I don't know what
my label of thinking this is never going to be
a hit, a radio hit, I would sort of disagree.
I think this is Dawson is most stripped back, He's
most accessible in the way a lot of his old
music is traditional folk music but bordering on somewhere between
(55:27):
medieval and heavy metal, with very contemporary references in there,
which is what makes him so brilliant. And this is
a song about a polytunnel and gardening. But I think
it's very lovely, and it's more twee than something I
would usually like. I'm not really a fan of too
(55:48):
much twee, but I think this is actually quite lovely,
and I love everything Dawson does. But this is polya.
Speaker 6 (56:00):
Star shot, sweet, wary, slap suw pulling up the turnts,
(56:22):
tending down the cards, leaks, tying on the sweeties, pruning
back the branches of the paltry, mucking out the chairs,
(56:47):
repairing the pop cher in the poly.
Speaker 1 (56:54):
Tunnel.
Speaker 2 (57:01):
What an individual, idiosyncratic, amazing talent Richard Dawson is. If
you're listening to the radio and that song come on,
there is no way that you're not going to be.
Speaker 1 (57:11):
Like thinking.
Speaker 2 (57:13):
What is that?
Speaker 1 (57:16):
So?
Speaker 2 (57:16):
Yeah, big respect for Richard Dawson. Really excited about the
new music that he's going to release next.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
Year as well. I'm definitely sticking with this is my
favorite time of year for music because that song makes
so much sense coming out in autumn. Yeah, it's like.
Speaker 2 (57:30):
An abundance of vegetables and an abundance of new music.
Speaker 1 (57:34):
Yeah, it's very warm, and it's very you know, it's
just it's just the right time for Polytunnel to be released.
Speaker 2 (57:43):
Now, right now, listen, ste we should leave our listeners
for the night. You will probably go off and think
about death for a little while now until we rejoin
next week. Thank you so much for bringing us that
amazing interview with Kelly Lewens. Do you enjoy having her on.
Speaker 1 (57:59):
Much much so? Yeah, She's welcome back at any time.
I think she's only gonna just go up and up.
She's surrounded by the right people. She's doing very well.
I think it's all very well deserved, and I sort
of need her to go out now meet some more
famous people. Then she can come back on and tell
me what they're like.
Speaker 2 (58:20):
In fact, all right, look forward to that on future
episodes of Midnight Chats, But for now, it's.
Speaker 1 (58:24):
Good night from me. It's good night from me. Midnight
Chats is a joint production between Loud and Quiet and
Atomized Studios for iHeartRadio. It's hosted by Stuart Stubbs and
Greg Cochrane, mixed and mastered by Flow Lines, and edited
by Stuart Stubbs.
Speaker 2 (58:45):
Find us on Instagram and TikTok to watch clips from
our recordings.
Speaker 1 (58:48):
And much much more. We are Midnight Chats Pod. For
more information, visit Loud and Quiet dot com.
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