excuse the mess

Ben Corrigan

An award winning music podcast featuring a different composer each episode. We'll ramble a bit then attempt to co-write a piece in a day.

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Last refreshed: August 16th, 2025 at 8:28 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

#5 Mark Lockheart

Mark Lockheart is up next on excuse the mess. A composer and saxophonist primarily working in jazz but always finding himself in very different worlds due to his adventurous tastes and versatility as a musician and collaborator. He has been at the forefront of the British Jazz scene (somewhat of a legened!) via his work with some of the most pioneering musicians. Working alongside the likes of: Loose Tubes , Jah Wobble , Kenny Wheeler , Billy Jenkins , June Tabor , Perfect Houseplants , Polar Be...

May 24, 2018•57 min•Season 1Ep. 6

#4 Robert Ames

Hello there! Episode #4 features one of the most important voices to emerge in contemporary music culture in recent years. Robert Ames is the co-artistic director, co-principal conductor and violist of the London Contemporary Orchestra. Since the LCO's creation 10 years ago they have collaborated with some of the biggest names in music and have gained a reputation as one of the most innovative groups around. Their performances and projects are anything but the norm, they are no standard 'orchest...

Apr 30, 2018•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 5

#3b Emily Hall (Gender Inequality in Music)

An important subject, which is rightly getting a lot of discussion at the moment, is that of inequality for women working in music and beyond. I spent a day with composer Emily Hall as part of episode 3 of excuse the mess. We got quite in depth on this subject over lunch and we thought it best to release as a separate episode. We reference an article a fair bit, as it acted as a great springboard for discussion - an article by Grace Banks for the Quietus which you can (and should) read here . It...

Mar 05, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 4

#3 Emily Hall

Welcome all to episode #3 of excuse the mess . In this episode I take a trip to Stroud to meet Emily Hall, a really brilliant contemporary classical composer. We potter about the local countryside and discuss her music including her upcoming release, 'Life Cycle' ( Bedroom Community ) a song cycle about motherhood and how that album was part of a pivotal moment in her compositional approach. We discuss her background and previous album ' Folie à Deux ' (Bedroom Community). We also discuss a very...

Feb 28, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 3

#2 Laura Jurd

excuse the mess has returned, fuelled by funding from the art enablers, Arts Council England and PRS Foundation - big thank you’s go to them. I’m very excited to bring you episode #2 featuring Laura Jurd, the jazz composer, trumpeter and improvisor; one of the most exciting voices on the British Jazz scene. Her band Dinosaur infiltrated a more mainstream audience last year when their debut album ‘Together, As One’ which was nominated for a Mercury Prize. We talk about Dinosaur, their upcoming al...

Feb 13, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 2

#1 Manu Delago

Welcome to the pilot episode of 'excuse the mess' featuring Manu Delago.Manu is a brilliant composer, percussionist and hang drum pioneer. He writes for various things including his band Manu Delago Handmade. He also works with the likes of Anoushka Shankar, The Cinematic Orchestra and the one and only Björk. In this episode you're going to hear us discuss his relationship to Indian music, Anoushka and Björk, his band and the people and process behind it. We touch upon the guest vocalists on his...

Sep 03, 2017•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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