The HeavyTrackerz exploded onto the UK music scene as the production duo behind Meridian Dan's German Whip , one of the most commercially successful grime songs ever. The pair quickly went on to work with the likes of Stormzy ( Not That Deep ), Wiley, Skepta, Dizzee Rascal and more. The masked duo talk about making the transition from behind the scenes producers to artists in the forefront, the history of grime, and the insane features on their new album, TRKRZ FM ....
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 79
We go behind the brand at LA Percussion Rentals with co-owners Abby and Dan Savell, who reveal the origins of their high-end professional percussion business. They explain why their vast range of unique instruments sets them apart from other rental companies (including their treasured Emil Richards collection), how they cater to composers, filmmakers, orchestras and bands, and how they have adapted in 2020.
Dec 17, 2020•55 min•Ep. 78
Ben Baptie has co-produced, mixed and engineered records for artists such as Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson and Moses Sumney to name a few, and is now based out of London’s Strongroom following a fruitful stint at Electric Lady Studios. Here we take a closer look at Ben's career, and learn more about his new personal studio setup based around a Neve Genesys console.
Dec 16, 2020•32 min•Ep. 6
Record producer and mixer, Romesh Dodangoda – whose credits include Motorhead, Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral for a Friend, and Bullet for My Valentine – discusses his route into music production, his love of guitar music, and why his Long Wave recording studio in Cardiff wouldn’t be complete without his Genelec monitors.
Dec 15, 2020•33 min•Ep. 9
South African born, London based singer, songwriter and producer Julia Church has already amassed 50 million streams in her short career. We talk about her new music, songwriting masterclasses with Paul McCartney and Ozzy Osbourne, her keen eye for music production, and lots more!
Dec 15, 2020•51 min•Ep. 19
In this podcast we chat to Lucas Pinzon - front of house engineer for hugely successful Colombian singer-songwriter Maluma - about adapting to life at home during lockdown, his artistic approach to mixing, and his passion for immersive audio. Lucas also offers some tips and tricks when it comes to treating and tuning PA systems, and reveals his plans to create some big arena shows with d&b’s Soundscape as the centrepiece.
Dec 14, 2020•38 min•Ep. 8
In this podcast we dive into the creative process with super talented singer-songwriter Frank Turner. Frank discusses songwriting, his newfound love for music production (particularly cool bits of hardware), how he is making his new album remotely, his support of the pivotal #wemakeevents campaign, and his love of Sennheiser and Neumann kit on stage and in the studio.
Dec 10, 2020•35 min•Ep. 2
Originally from Cannes in France, artist, producer and remix maker French Original has been behind the scenes for some time, respected on both sides of the Atlantic and the Channel. We recently caught up about how he first got into producing electronic dance music, his much-anticipated 2020 debut single “History”, and how he likes to experiment with a variety of Waves plugins.
Dec 09, 2020•37 min•Ep. 2
Quincy Jones protégé David Davis talks about his time on NBC’s Songland , where his song Everything It Took To Get To You was chosen as the winner of the Ben Platt episode. Davis talks about shining a light on songwriters, working with Ryan Tedder on the show, and why now is the time for the world to get to know him as an artist.
Dec 08, 2020•30 min•Ep. 8
Australian singer-songwriter Amy Shark talks about new single C’Mon , featuring Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker – the first single from her sophomore album, which is available for pre-order today (December 4) . Amy talks lockdown, how her success is sinking in, and teases info about her upcoming record.
Dec 04, 2020•27 min•Ep. 77
Nominated for the Australian Music Prize and his music described as “absolutely heavenly” by Radio 6’s Mary Anne Hobbs, Melbourne’s Luke Howard is one of the solitary figures in Australia’s slowly-burgeoning contemporary classical music scene. He reflects on his eight-album discography and we discuss why Howard could be a key figure in transferring the immense popularity of this genre in Europe to his own country.
Dec 02, 2020•52 min•Ep. 76
We sit down for a chat with Luke Smallbone, one half of four-time Grammy Award-winning christian rock/pop duo For KING & COUNTRY, to discuss the musical chemistry he has with his brother Joel, collaborating with Dolly Parton on the band’s hit “God Only Knows”, and why their new Christmas album has been eight years in the making.
Dec 01, 2020•36 min•Ep. 34
2020 has been a mega year for London-based singer-songwriter Arlo Parks, who wrote and recorded most of her latest album, Collapsed In Sunbeam s, during lockdown. Here she discusses how poetry has influenced her songwriting process, her broad range of musical influences, and why she feels making music is such a fun and liberating process.
Nov 30, 2020•21 min•Ep. 75
Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer Nick van de Wall’s tremendous reputation precedes him no end. Best known as Afrojack, he came in at number seven in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ poll this year, and has been using the lockdown period to focus on and revive his once-dormant house and techno alias Kapuchon. Here, the superstar DJ tells us why he’s getting back to his musical roots, why human relationships are so important, and reveals the production techniques through which he has made such a name for ...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 74
Despite over a decade of hard work in Music City, country musician and singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters was only recently able to take a step back to reassess why she started this journey in the first place: to create music that she loves on her own terms. Here, “Nashville’s newest unsigned star” explains how she’s been staying connected with her fans throughout lockdown, and how things have finally come full circle on her latest album release, The Dream.
Nov 26, 2020•26 min•Ep. 5
Academy Award-nominated composer Hauschka lives two lives; as the solo artist known for his pioneering of the prepared piano and wildly succesful albums, and more recently as Volker Bertelmann (his given name), the film composer behind the scores of Lion, The Old Guard and Summerland . We talk pitting his eccentric artistry against a traditional upbringing in West Germany, his arduous journey to success, and his prolific film scoring partnership with Dustin O’Halloran.
Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 73
ACM and CMA Award winner Lee Brice is in the middle of a record-breaking career run with his latest album, Hey World , and shows no signs of slowing down. Here, the country superstar tells us about some of the pivotal moments in his career and how some of his incredible collaborations have come together over the years.
Nov 25, 2020•20 min•Ep. 33
Irwin Sparkes delves into the making of White Tail Falls’ debut album, Age Of Entitlement , and the protracted: ‘How did I end up here?’ moment that inspired its creation. Sparkes reveals the toll that chasing approval in the music industry takes, and explains how this record was a raw return to the initial reason he bothered to pick up a guitar as a child.
Nov 24, 2020•40 min•Ep. 72
Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sam Eagle explains how recent single, Like This , came to him overnight, and how his lyrics have evolved over time. Sam’s new EP, Something Out Of Nothing , sees him take on a bigger and more focused sound whilst also channelling his lyrical content inwards, and he explains why a big part of the process of writing and recording the new EP involved him completely losing his way.
Nov 23, 2020•40 min•Ep. 18
Although she began singing and gigging at only 14, Hope Winter's maturity in her songwriting, vocal performances, arrangements and production make her 21 years of age quite a shock. She chats about her slick new jazzy number and empowerment tune, I'm Gonna Love Me , hitting 100k subscribers on YouTube, and her work with The Ivors Academy.
Nov 20, 2020•48 min•Ep. 8
British composer Harry Escott, whose composition resume includes Shame and Hard Candy , delves into how he created the score for new BBC One political thriller, Roadkil l, by going against the trend of subtle underscoring, instead creating distinctive, attention-grabbing musical themes.
Nov 20, 2020•40 min•Ep. 71
Canadian country-rock artist, Manny Blu, explains why his latest EP, New Ink straddles the worlds of rock and country, and how the influence of outlaw country is new territory for him. Manny reflects on his journey to become an artist, and reveals that before that, he almost became an MMA fighter.
Nov 19, 2020•31 min•Ep. 32
Hertfordshire-born Luke Pickett explains how he just kept going, despite some setbacks that would put most people out of the game entirely. He talks about his metal band origins in Her Words Kill, being flown out to meet Jay Z's record label, dealing with huge disappointments, and how does he sound so uncannily like Michael Jackson?
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 70
After initially being signed to Naughty Boy’s label, Bristol-born singer Ava Lily is now laser-focused on pursuing success as an independent artist. Here, she talks about how she first started writing songs in her bedroom, collaborating with Zayn Malik on his latest album, and the creative process behind one of her recent tracks, Blameless .
Nov 18, 2020•27 min•Ep. 17
LYR comprises of British poet laureate, Simon Armitage, musician Richard Walters, and multi-instrumentalist/producer, Patrick Pearson. The trio explain how they have rendered their music undefinable: Armitage delivers spoken word/performance poetry over a bed of music that’s at times samples and ambience, otherwise soaring indie-rock instrumentals with an occasional chorus from Walters.
Nov 17, 2020•45 min•Ep. 16
L.A.-based monitor engineer Chris Lee has worked extensively with Kendrick Lamar, Jennifer Lopez, SZA and many other big names. Here he talks about how he learned his craft working in churches from a young age, his approach to mixing monitors for one of the greatest hip hop acts on the planet, and why he’ll never be without his trusty DiGiCo SD7 console.
Nov 17, 2020•27 min•Ep. 8
Head engineer at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, Oli Jacobs, has been as busy as ever this year, particularly with one of the studios’ initiatives WOMAD at Home. A collaboration between Real World and the WOMAD international arts festival, the project has seen a number of artists record intimate tracks in lockdown using d&b audiotechnik’s immersive Soundscape system.
Nov 16, 2020•27 min•Ep. 7
Grammy-nominated producer and mix engineer Damien Lewis has worked with the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry, Janelle Monáe and many more over the course of his career. Damien talks about how he’s forged a reputable career in production, juggling multiple projects this year including the new Justin Timberlake album, and his love of Waves plugins, which he admits he can’t live without.
Nov 13, 2020•32 min•Ep. 1
The sound of Tokyo-based producer and beat-maker Vantage has become synonymous with French filter house vibes and melodies inspired by the Japanese city pop era of the 70s and 80s. Here we find out more about his experimental production process, his relationship with old analogue synths and instruments, and why he’s always on the hunt for something that sounds a little bit different.
Nov 13, 2020•30 min•Ep. 68
Limahl reflects on Kajagoogoo’s early success and shares the way their smash hit, Too Shy came together, and why he never expected it to be a hit. The 80s icon reveals what he thought of his character in American Horror Story , and the way Stranger Things weaved his hit, The Neverending Story into the finale of season three. Back with a new single named One Wish For Christmas , Limahl explains why the song was seven years in the making and how it fulfils a lifelong ambition of his. And is there ...
Nov 12, 2020•50 min•Ep. 68
