Milky Chance recently announced their long-awaited return to South Africa with their “Living In A Haze” tour in February 2024 which will see them perform in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. I chatted to the German duo in December to talk about their rise to fame ahead of their South African return. Their 2019 single “Life Without Fantasies” reached the top of the South African viral charts amassing millions of streams in 2021 during Lockdown. The band connected with tens of thousands of fans online which led to their first sold out headline tour. They have continued to cement themselves in the industry here, having toured the country a number of times over the past few years and return in February 2024 to share the stage with Milky Chance in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Sean Koch is one of SA’s most-loved indie-folk artists who brings a mixed bag of African and western, influence alongside messages of home, a connection to nature, the ocean and the people around him; to his storytelling, feel-good music. While rooted in his flowing-folk style, his music is diverse. From dance infused songs like ‘Lift You Up’ the standout single from his collection (including the Double MZK & G DOM remix) to the dreamier songs like ‘Feel the Energy’ that carry deeper messages of connection to the natural world and the people that surround us. There is something for everyone in Sean’s catalogue. Tickets are on sale from https://breakoutevents.co.za/ and are selling fast, so get yours now! Milky Chance “Living In A Haze” South African Tour Dates: 15 February 2024 – Green Point A-Track, Cape Town (supported by Neon Dreams and Sean Koch) 17 February 2024 – Marks Park in Emmarentia, Johannesburg (supported by Neon Dreams and Sean Koch + final opening act to be announced) 18 February 2024 – Durban Botanic Gardens uMphafa Field, Durban (supported by Neon Dreams + final opening act to be announced) Milky Chance “Living In A Haze” South African Tour 2024 details: For more info, go to: Ticketing link: https://breakoutevents.co.za/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abreakoutevent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abreakoutevent Twitter: https://twitter.com/abreakoutevent

Australian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd returns to South Africa in February 2024.
Before launching his solo career, Rudd began playing music as part of the band 'Xavier and the Hum'. He drew inspiration from artists such as Leo Kottke, Ben Harper, Natalie Merchant and multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, as well as music from diverse sources such as Hawaiian and Native American music.
Rudd's songs incorporate socially conscious themes, such as spirituality, humanity, environmentalism, and the rights of Indigenous Australians.

This interview with the one-time member of Savage Garden and celebrated solo artist in his own right, Darren Hayes, was captured in December 2001 and focused on the release of his debut solo album, Spin.

Fast forward some 22-odd years later, and he’s back with a new album, his fifth, titled Homosexual, validated by longstanding fans, the LGBTQIA+ community and everyone in between.

Give this interview the time, if only to get a sense of this man’s complete professionalism and absolute commitment to his craft, and perhaps you’ll understand his 2023 intent even better. 

Darren Hayes, Savage Garden, Homosexual, Darren Hayes Homosexual, Insatiable, Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Roadshow Music Pty Ltd, To the Moon and Back, I Want You, Truly Madly Deeply, Affirmation, The Animal Song

In 1997 Jon Bon Jovi was in a good place, but had something to say as a solo voice was ready to deliver his second chapter.   

New beginnings, fine collaborations and serendipity, AKA Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) producing, this is Jon's story of that time. USA meets UK, Jon knew how to make records and Dave knew how to experiment, together they were strong.

Finding the sandcastle inside of yourself. Spontaneity is key, Yello’s Dieter Meier spoke to me about his and Boris’ journey in music – not as pioneers, but as authentic artists making music that matters, circa 2 May 1997.

Influenced by the sounds of nature, diesel engines and the music Boris heard, it’s a conglomerate of the planet’s sounds.

"We are who we are." Yello never tried to fit a format.

Frontman Huey Morgan in the room, dropping the dirt on what made 100% Colombian, great!

Wilco multi-instrumentalist, John Stirratt in May 2007 spoke frankly and openly about the Chicago-based band’s journey to Blue Sky Blue’s release.   

Six albums in and still riding on the coattails of 2001’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and 2004’s A Ghost is Born, listen to an interview that sheds light on a journey filled with being overly self-aware, lacking objectivity and the joy of being in a band that could have happily coexisted alongside Pink Floyd, Dylan or Jonathan Richmond.

Staying true to themselves, Soft Cell returned in 2002 with the group’s fourth studio album, some 18 years after their last, 1984’s The Last Night in Sodom. Cruelty Without Beauty was their triumphant return, and I had the privilege of interviewing one half of the duo, Dave Ball.

Another of my legacy interviews, this one being of equal age as Soft Cell’s hiatus was, all dusted off and resuscitated for those curious to hear their journey in music whose contribution fundamentally influenced and shaped pop music made in the 80s, 90s and nulls.

#daftpunk #chemicalbrothers #tainedlove #crueltywithoutbeauty #thelastnightinsodom #

Tim, Jules and Ben, Up Close and personal, circa May 2021.

The year was 2002, 22 years into his career when I first got to speak to the one-time Hüsker Dü and Sugar lead singer and equally successful solo artist, Bob Mould. 

Over that year and the next, Bob delivered no less than three albums. I caught up with him just after the release of the first of the three, Modulate.  

* Disclaimer: Due to the poor sound quality on this one, it's intended for the die-hard fans, if only due to a buzz on the line I simply don't have the tech to remedy, and for that, I apologise.   

Nonetheless, I loved the interview and thought it only right to share it with those of you who can listen past the buzz and enjoy this rich, humble and engaging artist at a critical stage of his music career.

Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega is a greatest hits album by the American singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega. The album was first released on 28 September 1998 and includes two songs ("Book & a Cover" and "Rosemary") that were not available on her earlier studio albums.

1996’s Different Class took its toll on the band, almost splitting Pulp for good. Mental health and physical strain came to a head with the band fractured.

Fast forward two years, Pulp restored as a now five-piece, reinvigorated and ready the band embraces it all again. Describing themselves as a rugged bunch of misfits, drummer Nick Banks retells tales from the last album’s close and the road to This is Hardcore, their 1998 return. In that same year, Pulp headlined The Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival along with the Britpop “big four”, along with Suede, Blur and Oasis.

Bring It On was the debut album by English indie rock band Gomez, released in April 1998 by Hut Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 1997, during which time Gomez also toured the United Kingdom with Embrace.  I spoke to the band and the very start of their rather stellar journey into the world of popularity. The first single, "78 Stone Wobble", was released in March 1998, while "Get Myself Arrested" and "Whippin' Piccadilly" were later released as singles.

Formed in 1990 by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jason Pierce, the British band Spiritualized quickly gained a reputation for their unique sound, blending gospel, blues, and psychedelic rock elements. 

By 2001, when I was fortunate enough to meet up with my namesake in Cape Town, the band had already released four critically acclaimed albums, including their breakthrough album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.  

In our time together, Jason spoke about the journey up to the point of Let It Come Down and being suspended from a helicopter while flying over the West Coast dressed up in a space suit 😉

With a dedicated following and a reputation as one of their generation's most innovative and daring bands, Spiritualized continues to push musical boundaries and captivate audiences with their electrifying live performances.

Enjoy!

Spritualised, Spiritualized, Jason Pierce, We Are Floating in Space, Let It Come Down, Arista, BMG, SONYBMG

Circa 2001, I finally got to chat to one of my childhood idols, Ian McCullough - he being the much lauded and rewarded lead singer of Echo & The Bunnymen. What a gentleman.

A self-proclaimed narcissist, I still can't decide, having listened back to this 2007 interview, whether I like Ben Harper as much as I do his extraordinary music. #podcast #music #interview #inspiration #storytelling #lifeline #benharpermusic

Throwing Muses did not form to be famous, they got together to make the music they wanted. 

I had the honour of speaking to the late band’s lead singer and respected solo artist at the time of the release of her second solo album, Strange Angels.   

The year was 1998, late February, when the two of us first connected. What followed in our 20 minutes together was her speaking of a fundamentally enlightening time for her as an act of one.  

She labelled Strange Angels a very positive and sweet record, filled with a lot of respect for happiness. “We should all be trying for joy”, she said. Truer words, in these troubled times, could not be more apt.  

Kristen grew up listening to underground music. “I fell in love with music, not to be successful, I couldn’t make the shift to a more commercial reality,” she recalled. Few fans, but each more passionate and less fickle than the pop populous.  A 4AD veteran, she celebrated the labels mantra, music matters. A label with fans, before picking an artist to favour.  

She rightly pointed out, then, what is so true today – Generations will not hear their sound because Top 40 radio and overall streaming is so bad. Throwing Muses, and Kristen in her solo right, we're all about the experimental, paving a further path and an active feeding ground that keeps underground music alive and thriving to this day.  

Kristin has never aimed to trick her audience. Her motivation is personal, free of expectation. She’s not intentionally obscure. “I just like music,” she said on the day.  #Hips&Makers #Michaelstipe, #hips&makers #strangeangels #4AD

In the world of thrash metal influence, it doesn’t get bigger than Metallica. On October 15, 1999, I had the privilege of interviewing the band’s bassist, and my namesake, Jason Curtis Newsted.  

On September 27, 1986, during the European leg of the Damage, Inc. Tour, Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton tragically died as a result of a road accident. Following Burton's death, the band began the arduous task of finding his replacement.  

After auditioning more than 50 possible replacements, Jason got the gig that same year and went on to play with the band until January 2001.  In his tenure, Jason contributed playing and writing parts to no less than 11 Metallica albums, including …And Justice for All, Load and Reload.   I got to him on the eve of Metallica’s highly anticipated S&M release. 

The band, along with a 90-piece symphonic orchestra, under the baton of the extraordinarily gifted Michael Kamen, delivered the goods. A mammoth undertaking that delivered a colossal soundscape, captured over two nights, all of which Jason labelled, “magnificent!”. 

 #michaelkamen #s&m #jasonnewsted #jasoncurtisnewsted #metallica #algreene #benharper #chemicalbrothers

Chatting to the lead singer of Australia’s Midnight Oil, Peter Garrett, was a personal highlight for me, if only because we [unbeknownst to him] shared a certain level of empathy and awareness of, and with, the world around us.  

In this unedited interview, you’ll get to hear a pivotal voice unpack the perpetual creative struggle real creatives grapple with, regardless of their station.

In May 2020, Rolling Stone magazine crowned Britney Spears’ 1999 breakout smash hit, “…Baby One More Time”, as the greatest debut single of all time.   

I spoke to her in February of that year, at the very beginning of her career in music, when the sky was limit and the stars seemed perfectly aligned. What followed is well documented as anything but a fairy-tale, where Britney sadly remains imprisoned by her fame and fortune to this day.  Everything she said in this interview turned upside down, and so many of the people she counted on put her in shackles and leached off her dream.  

#Britney #Britneyspears #babyonemoretime #jive #maxmartin #freebritney

Not one of life’s great planners, I caught up with New Order and Electronic frontman, Bernard Sumner on the eve of the release of the latter group’s third and final 1999 album, Twisted Tenderness.  

He never wanted to be a singer, only write and play guitar, but then tragedy struck, and everything changed. Bernard goes back to the untimely passing of Joy Division’s lead singer, Ian Curtis, and just how the remaining three members survived and unexpectedly thrived, reinvented, as New Order, Electronic and Monaco.  

As a reluctant frontman, Bernard pointed out, “You’ve got to do something in life. 

There was no alternative, I had to keep going, if only because I’m not any good at anything else.”  Years passed, fame and fortune followed and post-Republic’s 1993 release, the band split and the famed Factory Records declared bankrupt.   

Five years would pass before New Order reunited. Theirs was a very personal relationship, a bond that’s kept them united to this day, bar Hookie. 

“We never thought we’d get back together again, Bernard declared. “Thankfully, the time apart cleared the air.”   Evolution for New Order was important, so breaking away and finding new influences and learning new things refreshed Bernard’s musical database.”   As Electronic, Bernard Sumner was one of only two players only, each participating differently. 

“New Order is democratic and we all compromise, with Electronic I could do whatever I liked, and visa versa for Johnny,” he recalled at the time.  This interview tells that story and a whole more about a group of Manchester-born musicians blessed more than cursed and loved the world over. 

 #chemicalbrothers #primalscream #electronic #neworder #johnnymarr #thesmiths #thieveslikeus #manchesterbands #factory #factoryrecords #neiltennant #chrislowe

The very first media interview Radiohead conducted in support of the release of OK Computer. 

The interview with Colin, Ed, Johnny and Phil, on a hotel rooftop garden in Barcelona - 22 May 1997, marked the beginning of what was to become of the the most important and revered albums of all time. 

The recording was reclaimed from the original cassette used on the day and the interview, as with all Matters interviews, is unedited, captured as it happened. Watch the documentary Meeting People is Easy for greater context.

On the phone with Seether’s lead singer, Shaun Morgan circa 2004, all was not wine and roses – even though the band had already sold a whopping half-a-million copies of Disclaimer.   Ironically, at the time of this interview being captured, Seether was about to become real rock stars, in the true sense of the word, all thanks to “Broken” and a world tour in support of Evanescence.  

Pessimistic, frustrated, America tore into the band; and despite the insane uphill battle and the challenges that went into being signed to Wind-Up Records, Seether prevailed.  At the time, Shaun pointed to the fact that the band felt a lack of creative support from their label. Some might have called it tough love, whereas Shaun simply saw it as bad parenting.  

With 16 bands signed to the label and only four making waves, Wind-Up was in a corner, hungry for hits. The big machine was threatened and panicked where, as a result, Seether suffered the brunt of that desperation.  

Armed with a new guitarist, and all far better players thanks to two-and-a-half-years of continuous touring, Seether was about to cement their place as one of modern rock’s true talents. Shaun turned to his lyrical wizardry to articulate his unhappiness and frustration, all of which aired on the album Karma & Effect, released a year after this interview.  

We also chatted around the then-recent arrival of this new thing called ‘download culture’ and the threat and influence the internet was imposing on the music business.  USA 2004 – George Bush had just outlawed gay marriage; the conservative slide was well and truly afoot. Sardonic when you consider 2021 America. 

Ruling by fear and with the real worry that Bush would be re-elected, Shaun considering leaving the US because of the politics of the day.  Luckily for us all, Seether stayed put, and in the process realised phenomenal success right around the world, no thanks to their label.

Spoiler alert – As those who listen to my interviews will know, no two are made equal. They’re all unedited and captured, in the moment, warts and all. This is another one of those.   

Between gushing fanboy, struggling to not fail my idiosyncratic idol, this interview saw us take a good five minutes to settle into a groove.   Boys for Pele was dark, she even found it hard to listen to. Fast-forward two years and 1998’s From the Choirgirl Hotel, her fourth studio album, was one that was as equally painful to make as it was cathartic but for very different reasons.   

Tori speaks frankly about the loss of a child, confronting her deities, and finding her way out of the deep dark woods.   She talks about the fragility of life and how she liberates herself from it through the music she makes.   

Regardless of the awkward pauses and pensiveness, on both our parts, there a few choice moments and powerful statements worth listening to.

   #toriamos, #boysforpele, #fromthechoirgirlhotel, #littleearthquakes

In a near attempt at getting William Orbit to Cape Town, South Africa, just before the pandemic hit, this is our conversation around a road well-travelled and adventures ahead, some of which are still to be realised.

But just who is William?

William Orbit is an English musician, composer, and record producer who has been active in the music industry since the 1980s. He has had a successful career, working with a range of high-profile artists, and producing innovative and influential music in electronic, dance, and pop music.

In 2023, William Orbit continues to be a respected and influential figure in the music industry. He is known for his unique and experimental approach to music production, influencing many other artists in the electronic and dance genres.

Over the years, Orbit has collaborated with various musicians, including Madonna, All Saints, Britney Spears, and Blur. He is particularly well-known for his work with Madonna, producing some of her most iconic albums, including Ray of Light and Music.

In recent years, Orbit has continued to produce music, collaborate with other artists, and release his solo work. He has also embraced new technologies and trends in the music industry, experimenting with virtual reality and incorporating new digital tools into his production process.

Overall, William Orbit remains a significant and influential figure in the music industry, whose legacy and contributions to electronic and dance music inspire new generations of musicians and producers.

William Orbit, Ray of Light, Blur, electronica, dance, pop, Britney Spears, All Saints, Blur, Ray of Light, The Painter, Music

On April 2nd, 2021, Travis’ 1997 debut, Good Feeling is being re-released on vinyl. 

Seven short years after that critically acclaimed album’s original release, on 24 September 2004, I got to interview lead guitarist Andy Dunlop on the eve of their then first, Greatest Hits compilation, Singles.   

Travis appeared and rose above their peers of the day, at the time creating equally memorable music. So, what was it about this frosty Scottish band that captured the imagination of the world, and still does to this day? Listen here to find out.   

#travis, #franhealey, #oasis, #coldplay, #andydunlop, #singles, #goodfeeling, #mikehedges, #stevelilleywhite, #antoncorbijn

Chatting to Dave Matthews on the eve of their third RCA album release was a coup of sorts, if only because at the time he wasn’t doing interviews with the South African media.   

Close on four years after their breakout smash hit record, Under the Table and Dreaming, followed by Crash, two years later, the Dave Matthews Band were already colossal having built their audience independently.   

He talks through the creation process, the band's surprise success, working with Steve Lillywhite and the stress RCA felt at trying to top the success of the last record.   

He also speaks about how the new album's title, Before These Crowded Streets, the layered darkness, with sprigs of positivity and the band’s growth. “We’re taking a lot more chances and brought in new players, the likes of Bruce Hornsby and Tim Reynolds.   

All-new, fresh, yet tight, in a relaxed way.” Lyrically vulnerable, ambiguous as always, listening to this interview you quickly realise how Dave Matthews was born to do what he continues to do so very well, all to our collective benefit.   

#davematthews, #brucehornsby, #timreynolds, #crash, #underthetableanddreaming, #beforethesecrowdedstreets, #stevelillywhite, #davematthewsband, #thedavematthewsband

“We’re very happy with what’s happening, but we’re aware it could disappear in a heartbeat.” Humble, yes, but oh so wrong! Circa March 1998, Matchbox 20’s Paul Doucette took time to talk me through the very early days of the band’s success with their then debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You. Today it stands as one of the most successful albums of its era.
#matchbox20, #pauldoucette, #robthomas

Michael David Rosenberg, the voice and prolific songwriter behind Passenger shares just where he's at. With a brand new album, teasing the top of the UK album charts and 12 more albums to reflect upon, this 13-minute peak inside his world was a privilege and joyous from start to finish.  #passenger, #davidrosenberg, #gallorecordcompany, #royalalberthalllondon

Captured on the eve of her debut South African promotional tour, in August 1997, this interview with Janet Jackson unpacks more than just The Velvet Rope. A very introspective album, “finding myself is where I find myself,” she declared.

This time around, Janet was focusing on her R&B roots. She spoke to me about exposing her inner, sensual self. “If it’s too much, I apologise,” she confessed at the time. “I have desires, just like the next person. It’s very unsettling. We’re not alone in our feelings.” Most artists would not touch the subject matter, yet Janet embraced it. “I have to do it for myself,” she insisted.

When discussing “Got ’til it’s Gone” – in this interview Janet talks through how the Joni Michelle-inspired track came together. And with Q-Tip in residence, the two made magic. “He has a peacefulness about him,” she said at the time.

“Tonight’s the Night”, Rod Stewart’s classic made it onto the album too… At the point of this recording, he’d yet to hear and endorse it.  “I hope it helps people,” she said, “and that they get something from it. That’s most important.”

It was a difficult album to make, where Janet went back into her past to realise it. Six months committed and multiple revisits saw The Velvet Rope come to life. Working with the original team, all egos were left at the door. “I hate arrogance,” she insisted. Cathartic, unsettling, as time passed each day after the album was released, Janet got her strength, courage and artistic conviction confirmed with the album’s success.

Here she also speaks of her friendship with Harvey Weinstein in 1997, the same year she received the Lina Horn Award. “I felt so honoured!” she recalls. Janet discusses racism, emotional battles and her inner struggles. More motivated then as ever, Janet, for the first time since Control, Ms Jackson was doing it for herself, no matter what.

#janetjackson, #rhythmnation, #thevelvetrope, #harveyweinstein, #thejacksonfive, #thejackson5, #control, #sidneypollack, #gwnethpaltrow, #slidingdoors, #rodstewart, #q-tip

Laying the beast to rest, albeit only for five years. Big shoes to fill and a global audience to win over, Blaze Bayley rose to the occasion and spent five years actively evolving one of the most important and relevant British rock bands of its age.

Eleven studio albums in, Virtual Eleven arrived in 1998, and I had the opportunity to speak to Bruce Dickenson lead-singer-replacement, Blaze Bayley. We spoke about football, the soccer World Cup, and just how integral the game is in appealing and landing their music.

We spoke firsts – Israel, South Africa, video games, online, but the music was where the main focus lay. Clocking in with eight tracks, close on 60 minutes, Iron Maiden kept it tight and tidy. Iron Maiden is an album, not a singles band, free to express themselves; and Blaze managed to have his voice heard and where he, arguably, pushed the needle for this seminal force in music.

#ironmaiden, #brucedickenson, #virtualeleven, #blaizebayley, #playstation

Recorded in late 1997, I got the opportunity to speak to the jazz crossover legend Abdullah Ibrahim.   

An interview, a mere three years into our young democracy, Abdullah lived through the thick of the apartheid mayhem, and here he runs his hands over the scars it left. He spoke frankly about his journey from leaving South Africa and establishing himself abroad, all of which was not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

 Abdullah is probably best recognised for his "Mannenberg" composition, a jazz piece that remains a highly revered anti-apartheid anthem to this day.  Cape Town Flowers, a trio setting, was the album he’d just released at the time. His second trio release – the format was the link between the solo piano compositions and his other groups and symphony pieces. 

Here he talks through the flexibility that the trio offered and its formula. Not just one groove, a capturing of a mood that traversed the country – improvising abounded.  Based in New York and Cape Town, Ibrahim’s mainstay fuel came from live performance across Europe and the United States. “We can play anyway, and people respond to it in the same way." His music appeals to people from all walks of life and always will.   He speaks of settling, but not slowing down. 

At the time he had five more albums ready to go!  Personal aspiration and focused on the people who survived the struggle alongside him, Abdullah Ibrahim remains one of South Africa's finest exports, still.  

#abdullahibrahim, #mannenberg, #capetownflowers, #dollarbrand, #theloniousmonk, #dukeellington

Singer, songwriter, musician, actor, philanthropist and record producer, Josh Groban is all that you see, and some.  In this interview, captured weeks before the release of his ninth studio album, Harmony, I had the honour and privilege to spend 20 minutes with a man whose music and presence carries extraordinary weight.  Harmony was captured and curated pre and through the very worst of the 2020 global pandemic. 

What this interview does (my first Zoom and most recent recording) is present a man, regardless of his station, openly share his innermost thoughts, hopes and aspirations. All of which adds a richness to the beautiful music he continues to make and that, in many cases, actively brings us little closer and helps us all heal.   

If this interview doesn’t strike a chord with you on some personal level I would be very, very surprised. After all, with all we’ve been and are going through, I think we, as Josh put it, “could all do with a little harmony in our lives right now.”

In this unedited cassette-recorded interview captured in May 2005, British composer, musician and lyricist, Jeff Wayne takes the listener on his 27-year journey with his classic and timeless The War of the Worlds score.

What would Jeff Wayne have changed about his original 1978 The War of the World score? Listen here and enjoy more funny tales, working with Sir Richard Burton, and just how he created one of the last century’s most important and referenced scores that triggered the imagination of audiences right around the world, all while staying true to H.G. Wells science-fiction original.

In 2003 Jack and Megan White released their fourth White Stripes, Grammy Award-winning, album, Elephant. This is another of my candid, unedited telephonic interviews - this time with none other than the rarely interviewed Jack White himself.

With 2023 now in full flight, multi-award-winning pop singer-songwriter, actor and philanthropist Jann Klose releases his seventh studio album, a 12-track collection of arguably his most considered and commanding work yet.

Filled with no less than ten original tracks, along with an arresting acoustic version of "Love You the Most" featuring Alicia Madison and an equally intoxicating, passion-filled Spanish rendition ("Te Amaré Más"), Surrender is steeped in pop brilliance.

Stream/listen to ‘Surrender’ Album HERE

Musically, Surrender is filled with everything from infectious topical Top 40 familiarity, all while teasing the fringes of Americana, flirting with rock, and getting up close and personal with heartfelt ballads. In essence, there's something on Surrender we all will want to submit to, repeatedly.

As the next exciting chapter, post-2018's In Tandem stellar success, the bridge to Surrender was littered with cataclysmic encounters. Death, rebirth, collaboration, positivity, and partnerships that, out of the ashes of global adversity, was born and not a moment too soon if only to heal and inject positivity the world so critically needs.

With five singles already successfully landed, including “Flesh and Blood”, Surrender has five more ripe and ready tracks to be plucked and played on high rotation well into 2024.

"Each song, each album is, if nothing else, an offering," Jann concludes. "That's how I feel about it. This is what I do, this is what I love, and I am offering it. The rest is out of my control."

I resurrected this unedited archive interview with the extraordinary Kylie Minogue from a cassette interview conducted on 21 January 1998. 

Here, Kylie talks through her relationships with the late-great Michael Hutchence and Nick Cave and how she intended to stay relevant. Twenty-two years later, she's done just that, and some!

Fin de Siècle is the sixth studio album by the Northern Irish band, The Divine Comedy, released in 1998. Before its release, someone thought it a good idea that frontman Neil Hannon got to tell me all about it, and this is that analogue, 1998, recording, warts, and all (apologies), but do enjoy it.

The album received critical acclaim and was a commercial success, reaching the Top Ten in the UK album charts.

The album features lush orchestral arrangements and witty lyrics, typical of The Divine Comedy's style. It includes the hit single "National Express," a humorous song about a coach trip around the UK. Other standout tracks include "Generation Sex," which satirizes modern society's obsession with sex and youth, and "The Certainty of Chance," a melancholy ballad about the fleeting nature of life.

Fin de Siècle showcases Neil Hannon's songwriting skills and unique vocal style, often compared to that of Scott Walker and Jacques Brel. The orchestral arrangements by Joby Talbot complement the songs perfectly, adding to the album's lush, cinematic sound.

This remains a highly regarded album by The Divine Comedy, showcasing the band's signature sound and Hannon's songwriting talent.

In early August 2004, a wonderful time in my life and music in general, I got to chat with Badly Drawn Boy for a second time. This interview caught him on the release of his fourth, highly anticipated release, One Plus One Is One.

Badly Drawn Boy, whose real name is Damon Michael Gough, is a British singer-songwriter and musician who gained popularity in the early 2000s for his unique blend of indie rock, folk, and electronic music.

For context

In August 2004, Badly Drawn Boy had just released his fourth studio album, One Plus One Is One, which received generally positive reviews from critics. The album departed from his previous works with a more polished and cohesive sound and featured tracks such as "Year of the Rat" and "Nothing's Going to Change Your Mind".

Around this time, Badly Drawn Boy was known for his quirky personality and eccentric fashion sense, often sporting a distinctive beanie hat and unkempt hair. He had recently completed a successful tour of the United Kingdom and was gearing up for a tour of the United States in the autumn of 2004.

Overall, August 2004 was a busy and exciting time for Badly Drawn Boy as he continued to make a name for himself in the music industry with his unique style and sound.

The Prodigy’s fourth studio album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, was released on August 23rd 2004, and I was lucky enough to chat with Liam Howlett on July 13th of that year. This is that brief encounter.

Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned marked a significant departure from the group’s earlier work. It featured no live vocals from frontman Keith Flint or other guest vocalists, instead relying solely on samples and instrumentals.

The album was primarily the work of Liam Howlett, who produced, arranged, and played most of the instruments on the record. He was joined by guest musicians such as guitarist Jim Davies, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, and actress Juliette Lewis, who provided vocals on the track “Hotride”.

Musically, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned continued to push the boundaries of electronic music, incorporating elements of rock, hip-hop, and even country into the mix. The album’s opening track, “Spitfire”, featured a guitar riff reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, while the track “Girls” used a sample from the Beastie Boys’ “It’s the New Style”.

Overall, the album received mixed reviews from critics and fans, with some praising its experimental approach and others criticising its lack of live vocals. Nevertheless, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned remains an important and influential work in The Prodigy’s discography, showcasing Liam Howlett’s versatility as a producer and willingness to take risks and try new things.

In 2004, I had the privilege of speaking to Rykodisc co-founder Arthur Mann. Sadly, he’s been written out of critical modern music history today. What’s tragic is that his role was pivotal and needed tremendous respect.

If you want to commit to this VERY analogue recording of that interview, captured in a busy office (apologies for the ambient noise), there is sage wisdom shared to take away here.

For context - Arthur Mann was a record producer and executive who worked at Rykodisc, an independent record label founded in 1983. He joined the label in the mid-1990s and became its president in 1999. While at Rykodisc, Mann signed and released diverse music, including jazz, world music, and classic rock.

Mann was known for his passion for music and ability to identify and promote talented artists. He was instrumental in helping Rykodisc establish itself as a leading independent label, earning a reputation for quality releases and innovative marketing strategies.

Under Mann’s leadership, Rykodisc released albums by many notable artists, including Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and Robert Wyatt. Mann also oversaw the acquisition of Hannibal Records, a world music label, and worked to expand Rykodisc’s presence in the digital music market.

Mann left Rykodisc in 2006 to pursue other opportunities in the music industry. However, his legacy at the label continues to be felt, and he is celebrated as a passionate and visionary leader who helped shape the independent music scene.

This interview, captured in early 2023, has taken 30 years to realise.

For context, Frederick Botha, AKA Drikkie to those who know and love him, formed a band in the late 1980s called The Gathering in Pretoria, South Africa, a country coming out of the State of Emergency brought on by the then Nationalist Party and government of the day. So, not a convenient time to be unconventional; everything The Gathering was, in the very best way. This is that untold back story.

I will hand it over to Drikkie to explain best. “Recording the first versions of “Perfect Souls” and “Wooden Walls” was not a nice experience. Out-of-step engineers and a shitty record company typical of the time. “Lamb Stricken” was, however, more pleasant.

“We could play the song how we wanted, without the producer trying to change it. They probably didn’t understand what we were doing in the first place, which was funny. Recording the final single was great. We could do exactly what we wanted, and it was fun.

“The fifth band member will always be Charl; he ensured the image was always taken care of, designed all the posters, and even helped with the live shows. I think he was sadder when the band broke up than I was 😉”

thegathering, thegatheringsa, perfectsouls, woodenwalls, drikkiebotha, frederickbotha, theoutsiders, lambstricken

In 1998, Culture Club was all things reunited, something that became somewhat of a theme from then on out.

This interview, captured in 1998, at the start of the band’s first official re-start after disbanding, is something special and a snapshot worthy of capturing for posterity.

Culture Club made up and informed our pop culture and music landscape right through the 1980s, 90s and comfortably into the nulls – a fact no one can or should deny.

If you want to get a sense of who these creatives were back then and where their original motivations lay all those years ago, this is one for you. Enjoy.

Culture Club, Boy George, Karma Chameleon, I Just Wanna be Loved, Church of the Poison Mind, Virgin, Virgin Records

It's not every day you get to chat to someone who defined your professional life. In my case and a music journalist when "Drops of Jupiter" was the biggest pop song in the world.

Fast forward a good two decades and Pat and Co. remain as relevant today as they did back then.

As they embark on the biggest world tour in what seems like an age, ‘I Know, It’s Been A Long Time Coming Tour’, I got to spend 12 precious minutes with the man who has carved out a space in music that could not, should not be ignored.

My relationship with The Smashing Pumpkins goes back to their debut Gish, but this interview was recorded a good few years later when, in mid-1998, Adore landed. Not by me, sadly, but captured nonetheless, thanks to my working at EMI and an advance CDR recording of the interview landing on my desk, and I was ready to tell anyone who cared.

I shared the interview on The Cutting Edge, a weekly show I hosted at the time, along with the inimitable Tiene van den Berg, back in May 1998. Yes, it’s all mono and analogue horrible, but it remains a slice of modern rock history worthy of resharing.

Yes, there are poorly captured mono recordings on this session, which copyright oddly allows, but which make my heart gratefully happy for past and future generations to appreciate, so enjoy and, more importantly, go dig out or purchase the rich catalogue that exists. If this band doesn’t move you, consider yourself already dead.

Smashing Pumpkins, Adore, Billy Corgan, Gish, Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Cutting Edge, Tuksfm, Tuks FM, Virgin, Flood, Ava Adore, James Iha, D’arcy Wretzky, Virgin Records

This is the second Sugardrive interview I conducted with lead singer Paul E. Flynn. Of the five albums this seminal band released, I somehow managed to convince the band to head out to Pretoria and perform, ‘unplugged’ on a little show I did each week on @tuksfm back when Noah imagined his ark.

Here we joked a lot and didn’t get much work done, but it was a glorious one-of-a-kind night, huddled in a small studio, one I will treasure forever.

My relationship with the band began in 1994, and over the years, I would like to think that, in some small way, I was pushing the needle in trying to get the world to pay attention. I miss their gigs and their self-deprecating humour.

Sugardrive was a band always a year ahead of their peers, a lot like The Outsiders, which, if you know anything about this business, is entirely unhelpful when it comes to being in the right place at the right time.

·  Disclaimer – there is music played that’s not cleared for broadcast. Still, due to the nature of my mono-captured cassette sessions, the Universe will allow us all to rekindle a memory and perhaps cajole Paul to reform the band sans the sadly departed and much-loved and missed Garth McLeod.

Three months into the new millennium, I got offered an interview with Jude Abbott, one-eighth of the English rock band Chumbawamba. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to discover how they intended to replicate or surpass the success of their previous album, Tubthumper.

Their eighth album, WYSIWYG (an abbreviation of What You See Is What You Get), and its 22 tracks, sadly did not chart anywhere in the world. Still, they did get to land their multi-layered, overtly politically driven messages. A year after capturing this recording, the band left EMI and headed off to blaze new trails for the rest of the decade.

It’s an interview that contextualises their sudden global appeal after having been around for some 15 years before that. Enjoy.

On the 18th of March 1998, I got to speak to one part of the critical twosome, Gert Bettens, known as K’s Choice, Belgium’s duo who turned the world on its head with the 1995 debut single “Not an Addict”.

From there, the world welcomed them, and the band spent the next two years touring the better part of the US and Europe.

On the eve of their third album’s release, Cocoon Crash, this humble, wonderful man opened up and shared the story to then. If you followed the band then, or simply enjoyed their musical delivery, give this interview a listen and get a better sense of who these two siblings were some 24-odd years ago.

This was the second of many interviews I was privileged to host throughout Faithless’ lifespan. 

Having first spoken to Maxi Jazz while he was ordering a pint in a busy London pub on the eve of Reverence’s release in 1996, two years later, a few million albums sold subsequently and tours aplenty, Maxi and I reconnected again.  

It was hard to listen back to this while converting it from its original cassette recording, if only because the great oral disseminator recently and unexpectedly left us. The world has lost a true gentleman, a humble soul, a respected producer, and a spoken word lyrical genius.   

Enjoy and keep their music alive with multiple replays of “God is a DJ” and all that Sunday 8pm and the rest of their glorious emotional rollercoaster ride offers that will forever be faith-filled, Faithless.

Each week, give or take, I post an interview I have conducted, either legacy or current. This week’s contribution comes kind courtesy and hot-off-the-press (as it were) from creative agitator, initiator, serial entrepreneur, and extraordinary all-around human being David Chislett. I count him as a dear, dear friend and equal inspiration.

What David has not poked, questioned, or contributed to in the arts, corporate business, training, workshops, or keynote addressing over decades is extraordinary.

Finding his ‘voice’ and realising his contribution has seen him go down many a rabbit hole to where he finds himself successfully installed today. As we close out 2022, this is where David’s at.

It’s apparent, upon listening, why his contribution to the world at large is so significant and his role invaluable in unlocking what each of us carries, known or otherwise. As a Change Pilot, he holds the key.

To find out more and engage, plug in here:

https://davidchislett.com

https://www.patreon.com/davidchislett

YouTube: @DavidChislett or https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidChislett

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidchislettcreativity/