Digging with Flo

This week Flo is in the picturesque town of Wivenhoe, Essex for a slightly different take on Digging. She’s meeting one of the UK’s most quietly remarkable musical figures: Martin Newell. Singer-songwriter, poet, columnist and author - as well as the man behind cult guitar pop outfit Cleaners from Venus (whose song The Artichoke That Loved Me has heralded the start of this podcast since launch bac...

Flo is in the greenhouse today with avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson. Laurie is an enduring creative force who has been at the forefront of innovations in music and technology since the 1970s, including her creation of the Talking Stick and voice filters. As the pair plant out crocus sativa bulbs they compare strange counting habits, their very different takes on AI, and...

Flo is in the polytunnel today with venerated British musician, producer and composer Dev Hynes. Previously part of dance punk outfit Test Icicles, he ventured into solo music as Lightspeed Champion before evolving into Blood Orange, which he releases music under today.  As Flo and Dev plant out spring bulbs, they discuss the British county of Essex and its complicated reputation, as well as...

It’s officially autumn on the allotment, and Flo is joined by beloved contemporary art critics The White Pube, aka Zarina Muhammad and Gabrielle De La Puente. Raised on Tumblr and MySpace, the duo met at art school, and began publishing reviews, criticism and essays on their website under their collective name The White Pube. Over the last 10 years they have become a vital voice in the contemporar...

Flo is back on the allotment today with a packed-out interview featuring a beguilingly down-to-earth star. Hayley Williams, co-founder and lead vocalist of Paramore, the pop-punk band that defined the lives of 2000s teens and beyond, signed a “360 deal” with Atlantic Records in 2003 at just 14 years old. Today, she joins Flo on the allotment to celebrate the release of her new record, Ego Death At...

Flo is off the plot today and in the garden of British cultural icon, Bez. Bez found fame as the exuberant dancer/maraca player for the legendary Madchester band Happy Mondays. Since his days at the centre of the Hacienda club scene, he’s become something of a national treasure - going on to win Celebrity Big Brother and is now a regular on Celebrity Googlebox.  On Bez’s patch, the pair plant...

Flo is in the greenhouse today with Clairo, an American musician whose music encompasses elements of  lo-fi pop, soul and introspective folk. She grew up on the internet, with her viral hit Pretty Girl landing on YouTube in 2017. Three albums later, Clairo’s work feels like it’s maturing with her, but still maintains the raw intimacy and emotional clarity that her growing fanbase know her for...

Flo is off the plot today and in the London garden of English musician, filmmaker, painter and feminist icon, Gina Birch. Gina’s career spans the late 1970s and 80s when, alongside Ana De Silva, she formed The Raincoats. Through the 80s and 90s she continued to make music with Red Crayola and toured with Nirvana, as well as making music videos for the likes of New Order. Constantly evolving, her m...

Flo is back on the allotment for another dig with pop star (and fellow NTS host) Olivia Dean.  Olivia Dean is a British singer-songwriter, celebrated for her soulful blend of neo-soul, pop and jazz. Though she has many talents, it turns out digging isn’t one of them - but what she lacks in technical skill she makes up for with enthusiasm. As they plants out some butternut squash, Olivia &...

If anyone can make weeding (a mundane but necessary part of allotment life) exciting, it’s Detroit party starters, HiTech.  HiTech are a Detroit-based trio redefining the sound and spirit of the city. King Milo, Milf Melly, and 47Chops fuse ghettotech, footwork, techno, and hip-hop into a high-octane, genre-blurring style that’s both futuristic and deeply rooted in Detroit’s musical DNA. Thei...

We’re back on the plot for another bumper crop of Digging interviews.  Today Flo is joined on the allotment by Laraaji: meaning "beautiful divine sun being," Laraaji is a fitting guest for this episode, which is infused with both the warmth of London sunshine and Laraaji’s divine positivity. Born Edward Larry Gordon in Philadelphia in 1943, Laraaji is a pioneering American musician, composer,...

This is the last episode of Digging for a while, and we’re celebrating with the queen of vegetables… potatoes! Flo is joined by CMAT for her favourite job on the allotment. CMAT is a fast rising singer songwriter from Ireland who has been tirelessly touring Europe and North America with her incredible live show for years now. She’s just been nominated for the Mercury Prize, adding that to her list...

Flo’s joined today by the godfather of Memphis rap, DJ Spanish Fly. Fly is celebrated for his influential role in the early sound of Southern hip-hop, and known for his lo fi, distortion heavy musical style. In this conversation with Flo he recalls his childhood in the church, his arrival in Memphis as a country boy from rural Illinois and his role in the development of bucking, a dance style whic...

Off the allotment and into a city garden today with musician and composer Rufus Wainwright. Rufus joined Flo fresh from a run of shows and special events, including the performance of his Dream Requiem in Paris, performed by Anna Prohaska, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, and narrated by Meryl Streep.   In this episode of Digging, Flo and Rufus - with the assistance of Siegfri...

Back on the allotment today with Lias Saoudi, best known as the frontman of the heavily mythologised South London band Fat White Family. For the uninitiated, FWF are a controversial band born out of a Peckham squat in 2011: they became known initially for their riotous, electric live shows, as well as their unapologetic attitudes - depending on who you talk to, FWF are post punk heroes or “horribl...

Off the plot today and into the Suffolk garden of writer, critic and lifelong gardener Olivia Laing. Laing's diverse career began with their involvement in road protests in the 1980s & 1990s where they lived completely off grid: this led to training as a herbalist, before moving into the literary world. As the deputy books editor of The Observer they wrote extensively on arts and culture, befo...

Today on the plot Flo’s joined by multidisciplinary artist and musician Duval Timothy. Duval’s work blends his musical and cultural influences with the piano at the centre of his practice. His work spans food, painting, sculpture, textiles and more. Recent collaborators include fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner and rapper Kendrick Lamar. Flo and Duval talk about fatherhood, Lewisham’s Mr Pink ,...

This week Flo is joined by artist, activist and founder of Sports Banger, Jonny Banger. Jonny has taken the art of the bootleg and used it to deliver searing take downs of the status quo: his work is subversive and accessible, and encompasses themes of pop culture, politics and fashion, all undercut by a spirit of rave.  In this episode Flo and Jonny talk about Jonny's long standing connectio...

Flo and her guests are back on the allotment for the summer. In this first episode she’s joined by NYC based Molly Lewis, who is probably the world’s most famous whistler.  In this episode of Digging, Flo and Molly will be planting potatoes whilst chatting about cane toads, the weird and wonderful world of competitive whistling - and Flo gets a whistling lesson.  Presenter - Flo Dill, Pr...

This week, in the final episode of Digging Season 2, Flo is with fellow NTS host Shy One. Shy is a producer and DJ who started aged 13 making grime instrumentals for this emerging London scene. Now a celebrated DJ and musician, she’s played in clubs and festivals across the world, and is loved for her musically deep, eclectic sets. In this episode Flo and Shy One plant out tiny baby leeks and disc...

Not only are we off the plot today, we aren’t really gardening either. In this special edition of Digging, Flo is spending time with Penny Rimbaud in his garden. Penny is a founding member of the anarcho-punk band Crass and performance group EXIT, as well as a poet, writer and philosopher. In this episode Penny gives Flo a tour of the garden and ‘sheds’ at Dial House, the radical open house he est...

We’re back on the plot today with Slauson Malone 1, formerly Slauson Malone, also known as Jasper Marsalis. Jasper is a painter, sculptor and musician who currently lives in Los Angeles. His work in music feels like a form of collage; of narratives, sounds and references. In this episode Flo and Jasper are appealing to Jasper’s perfectionist qualities and planting out garlic. They discuss the musi...

Today Flo’s off the plot and into the garden of English musician Tirzah. One of the most enduring exponents of weird and wonderful music, Tirzah has released a string of acclaimed albums, and works in close collaboration with other musicians, namely school friend Mica Levi.  In this episode Flo and Tirzah are planting onion seeds and broad beans into seed trays to be grown inside, until they’...

Today’s guest digger is rising UK rapper Sainté: originally from Leicester, this charismatic artist is an accidental musician: forced to rethink his promising basketball career due to the pandemic, he uploaded a song born out of a freestyle on the bus on the way to practice, and the internet did the rest.  In this episode Flo and Sainté plant out raspberry canes as they discuss Sainté’s caree...

Flo is back on the allotment for another season of Digging. In this first episode, she’s joined by English contemporary artist Jeremy Deller. The Turner Prize winner often weaves music and pop culture into his art, which tends to be politically focused and collaborative in nature.  In this episode of Digging, Deller and Flo attempt to bridge the gaps between Take That, William Morris and the...