Music Life

Caterina Barbieri, Kali Malone, Moritz Von Oswald and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe discuss the role limitations play in the creative process, and whether they can be a source for creativity, if working with limitations helps sharpen one’s aesthetics and define one’s unique artistic voice, and whether human imagination needs limits to become limitless.

Caterina Barbieri is a composer and modular synth artist whose sound draws from electro...

Ane Brun, Linden Jay and Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath discuss collaboration, navigating between genres and lyrical inspirations.

Ane Brun is a musician hailing from Norway but based in Sweden, who also runs the label Balloon Ranger. Her music is rooted in folk pop and she's released 11 studio albums; her most recent is Portrayals, which came out last year. It is a collection of covers, including a previously unheard version of Richard...

Bill Ryder-Jones, Anna Calvi and Poppy Hankin discuss the first piece of music that really affected them, how their writing has changed as they’ve grown older, and how much they’re willing to give people control over their music.

Bill Ryder-Jones is from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the Coral, playing as their lead guitarist from 1996 until 2008. Since then he’s pursued a solo career, writing his own albums and film scores,...

Dot Allison, Andy Bell, Bishi and Charlotte Kemp Muhl discuss AI in music, the importance of music in education and finding your own creative voice.

Dot Allison is a singer-songwriter and composer whose work has included film and TV scores such as Black Death, Triangle, The Devil’s Double and Henry: Mind of a Tyrant. She began her career in Edinburgh in the early 90s with the band Dove/One Dove, before releasing her debut solo album...

Laura Misch, Suzanne Ciani, Madame Gandhi and Sian O'Gorman talk about their music practices, how they’re entwined with nature and technology, the natural muses which inspire their creative process, and imagining futures in which music can have a reciprocal relationship with the environment it is played within.

Laura Misch is a multidisciplinary artist and producer from London. She is a singer, songwriter and saxophonist, who also...

Chromeo, La Roux and Empress of discuss longevity in the music world, the future of music media and the shifting notions of taste and trends.

David “Dave 1” Macklovitch and Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel make up electro-funk duo Chromeo. The pair met in the mid-1990s at college in Montreal, bonding over a love of hip-hop and vintage funk. After hearing records like Daft Punk’s Discovery, they formed Chromeo in 2002, releasing their debut...

Joel Shadbolt, Dallas Tamaira, Anna Coddington and Allen Stone talk about how environments shape their sound, staying healthy and sane on the road, and the 70s soul sound.

A lifelong musician from the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, Joel Shadbolt studied music at polytechnic before joining L.A.B. as the singer and guitarist in 2016. Their distinct blend of reggae, rock, funk and soul has established them as one of the premier acts in ...

Ana Carla Maza, Lucas Santtana and Eliane Correa discuss the music of Cuba, women as producers and composers in Cuban music, and their creative process.

Cuban composer, cellist and singer Ana Carla Maza grew up in the Afro-Cuban Guanabacoa district of Havana, Cuba, in the early years of the Buena Vista Social Club revival. She moved to Paris to train at the Conservatoire, and the city became the beginning of her solo and touring car...

Composers Zubin Kanga, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Laura Bowler and Neil Luck discuss the role of technology in their work, how their collaborators have influenced them and the technology they’d love to try.

Australian-born pianist, composer and technologist Zubin Kanga moved to London in 2007, where he attended the Royal Academy of Music. Through his work he seeks to explore and redefine what it means to be a performer through interaction...

George Evelyn - AKA Nightmares on Wax - Corinne Bailey Rae, Theo Croker and James Lavelle discuss their creative relationship with music, the presence of social issues in music, and the pros and cons of the digital age.

Musician, record producer and DJ George Evelyn, aka Nightmares on Wax was born in the city of Leeds, UK, and is now based in Ibiza. In his youth, he was greatly inspired by the likes of Quincy Jones and Curtis Mayfie...

Galya Bisengalieva, Robert Ames, Actress and Claire M Singer discuss how instruments can affect composition, collaboration, and the relationship between music and its visual identity.

Born into a musical family in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Kazakh-British musician Galya Bisengalieva won a music scholarship to study music in London, where she now lives. A classically trained violinist, composer and electronic musician, she released her debu...

Arthur Jeffes of Penguin Café, Johnny Borrell, Douglas Dare and Judi Jackson discuss taking your own music seriously when starting out, selling out, and whether it’s OK to re-hash your previous work.

Musician, composer and band leader Arthur Jeffes formed Penguin Cafe in 2009, bringing together a talented and disparate group of musicians initially to perform his father Simon Jeffes’ legacy of world renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra mu...

Faizal Mostrixx, Afrorack, Grove and Kaya Byinshii discuss pop music, musical cultures and the aftermath of live performance.

Ugandan producer, dancer and choreographer Faizal Mostrixx was surrounded by music and dancing as a child and began his working life as a professional dancer, before deciding to focus on his other love, sound. After putting out EPs in 2019 and 2022, this year he released his debut full length album Mutations ...

Siavash Amini, Sarrsew, mHz and Mariam Rezaei discuss Tehran’s experimental scene, and how geography and community can affect the creative process.

Based in Tehran, Iranian musician and composer Siavash Amini has worked with the labels Room40, Hallow Ground, Opal Tapes and Umor Rex for the better part of the past 10 years. He’s also collaborated with a wide range of international artists including Rafael Anton Irisarri, 9T Antiope a...

Since starting out in the late 90’s, musician, DJ and label owner Adrian Younge's sound has borrowed from soul, funk, jazz and hip hop. His work includes scores for film and TV, including the Marvel series Luke Cage; a collaborative album with Ghostface Killah based on the comic book Twelve Reasons To Die; and productions for Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z. He founded the label Linear Labs, and is also co-founder of the Jazz Is Dead labe...

Carlos Niño, Liv.e, André 3000 and Luis Pérez Ixoneztli discuss how their music is inspired by spirit, the feeling of creating sounds that are meaningful to them, and how they stay open to learning during their lives in music.

Carlos Niño is a prolific producer, percussionist, and composer based in California, known for his unique, highly developed, self-described “Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage” sound. In September of th...

Zach Condon, AKA Beirut, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields discuss the myth of self-expression as an artist, the influence your location, and particularly New York, has on songwriting, and what unexpected genres we might get musical influences from.

Zach Condon, AKA Beirut, grew up in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and from a young age absorbed a vast array of musical influences. W...

Charlotte Adigéry, Bolis Pupul, John Carroll Kirby and Marie Davidson discuss second albums, having kids as a musician and collaborations.

Charlotte Adigéry is a Belgian musician of Martinican and Guadeloupean descent, born and raised in Ghent. She's worked extensively as a solo artist and also as her punk alter ego WWWater. Bolis Pupul is a Belgian musician of Chinese descent who debuted in 2016 with the single Moon Theme / Sun The...

Bloom Twins, Dorofeeva and Jamala discuss the influence of their Ukrainian identity in their music, how their music has changed since the war, and the advice they have for aspiring Ukrainian musicians.

Bloom Twins are a pop duo made up of sisters Anna and Sonia Kuprienko, who are currently based in London. They’re both classically trained multi-instrumentalists who use their platform to draw attention to issues such as mental health...