Midnight Chats

In two days time (25 July), the short list for the 2024 Mercury Prize will be announced. On this week's show, Stu and Greg discuss who they think will DEFINITELY be on the list, and who they hope will be.  Greg also spills the beans on what it's like to be on the Mercury Prize judging panel (something he's done 3 times), we ask how relevant the award is in the instant age of TikTok, and throw in s...

As Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods release a 10-year anniversary edition of their breakthrough album Divide & Exit , frontman and lyricist Jason Williamson revisits the album that changed his life, the time he threw the bleakest album release party of all time, and how he finally found success in his 40s on his 7th album.    You can watch clips of the podcast online now, just give us a follow on...

Look around and you’d be forgiven for feeling the world is completely broken in 2024. War. Division. Crises. How did we get here? That’s the fundamental question Norwegian songwriter AURORA explores on her latest album What Happened To The Heart?.  It’s a project that is technicolor in feeling, and in sound. Host Greg Cochrane went to meet her to talk about activism, conflict and why she and the i...

Stuart got the hot ticket. Greg did not. In the field, and from the sofa at home, Midnight Chats does Glastonbury 2024.  Your hosts tackle the biggest talking points from the most famous music festival in the world. Did Dua Lipa fulfill her promise to turn Worthy Farm into a club on her headliner debut? Was SZA's microphone fresh out of batteries? Did Coldplay bring the world together in a moment...

James Smith from Leeds band Yard Act met New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo at Glastonbury festival a couple of years ago when the pair were watching little Simz. Since then, Smith's group has invited Matafeo to sing on their second album, Where's My Utopia? , star in one of their music videos and open for them in their hometown. What better excuse did we need to get them both in a room to discuss...

Frontman with one of Britain’s biggest modern rock bands, Yannis Philippakis recently launched Yannis & The Yaw – not so much a solo project, more of an experiment in collaboration. Dial back seven years and Yannis spent time writing songs with one of his heroes, the icon drummer Tony Allen – godfather of Afrobeat and distinguished collaborator with everyone from Damon Albarn to Air. The resul...

Annie Clark has been recording as St. Vincent since 2007, collaborating with David Byrne and Paul McCartney along the way, and proving herself as one of the best guitarists (and songwriters) in the world.  In more recent years she's written a number one hit single (aren't they all) for Taylor Swift, co-written and starred in her debut feature film, The Nowhere Inn , with her close friend Carrie Br...

South Londoner Lynks used to make the type of straight-faced, emotional music that all of his friends were making, until one day, for a bit of fun, he decided to adopt a masked drag persona and lean into being an entertainer. His thumping alt. pop songs since have centred around his experiences as a young queer person, with songs about sex with strangers delivered with a bluntness that is matched...

Sam T. Herring’s distinctive growl and spectacular dance moves may still be one of the best known things about Future Islands , but away from the chest-thumping on stage he's a charismatic, thoughtful and humble guy.  Greg Cochrane caught up with him to talk about his recent move into acting (he starred in TV series The Changling last year), the heartbreak channeled in Future Islands’ most recent...

Katie Crutchfield aka American artist Waxahatchee joins Stu on the podcast to look back on how she arrived at her sixth album, Tigers Blood, following on from her 2021 breakthrough record Saint Cloud .  Just what does having a breakthrough record do to an artist? How will Katie navigate 2024? Is MJ Lenderman the most talented young dude in US indie rock right now? And what was Charlie Sheen talkin...

The Blessed Madonna – truly one of the most engaging, fun and opinionated guests we’ve welcomed onto Midnight Chats .  One of the world’s foremost DJs, producers and curators, Marea Stamper invited Greg Cochrane to her intimate London studio Godspeed to record this colourful conversation.  Topics covered: 2024 and this turbulent time in politics and journalism; her unique relationship with the ico...

A. G. Cook joins Stu on this week's show to talk about the visionary hyperpop label he founded in 2013 and closed in 2023 (PC Music), his work with Charli XCX as her creative director, co-writing a song for Beyonce, growing up an only child as the son of radical architects, and his new 3-disc, 24-track, 100 minutes long album, Britpop . A completely singular creative mind, this episode was recorde...

It’s surprising to find 23-year-old British songwriter GRIFF’s feet firmly on the ground, given her extraordinary experiences the past three years.  It’s been a steep rocket ride: from bedroom songwriter to a powerful breakthrough performance at the BRITs, and onto the stages of stadiums with Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran. Coldplay’s Chris Martin is such a fan the duo collaborated on the song ‘Astronaut...

London-born musician Anna B Savage talks to Stu in this particularly freewheeling episode of Midnight Chats that covers topics including meeting Cillian Murphy, present-opening etiquette, music industry anxiety, and what the hell is success anyway?!  Stu also reveals to Anna where she is/was on the Loud And Quiet 2023 Albums of the Year list. And then there's a song to end. Give the show a follow...

Surprise! When you get an icon like Brian Eno on the podcast, it cannot wait until our usual Monday night drop. So we come to you early.  Welcome to this special, bonus "Earth Day" (22 April) edition of the podcast. Brian Eno is a trailblazing musician, producer and activist. Working with everyone from U2 to Talking Heads, Coldplay to Grace Jones, he's also deeply passionate about climate action,...

Maybe you were reminded of the genius songwriting of US duo MGMT when their song ‘Time To Pretend’ recently popped up on the Saltburn film soundtrack? Ever since their breakthrough in 2007, with songs like ‘Kids’ and ‘Electric Feel’, the duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have continued to release a stream of compelling new music.  Greg Cochrane spoke to them from their homes in America...

Melbourne band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard don't just make a LOT of records (they've released 25 since they started 11 years ago); each one comes with a different experiment at the heart of it. There's the thrash metal record ; the collaborative jazz record ; the microtonal record ; one made exclusively on acoustic instruments; one that plays on an infinity loop. And on and on.  Their lates...

Adele – "There's something about Brittany [Howard] that puts fire in my soul – she’s so fucking full of soul, overflowing, dripping, that I almost can’t handle it." Tonight's guest has some major, major fans: Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator, Fred again..., Chris Martin. The list could go on. Yet, the former Alabama Shakes frontwomen - and x5 Grammy Award winner - is totally grounded. Not to men...

Legendary Dutch music photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn is the man who's made black and white photography his own since 1979, while shooting everyone from Joy Division to Depeche Mode to Bowie to The Rolling Stones. He became the visual creative director of Depeche Mode and U2 around the time he started directing some of the most iconic music videos of our time, from 'Enjoy The Silence' to...

Over black coffee and biscuits at his kitchen table at home in Bristol IDLES' vocalist Joe Talbot speaks to Greg Cochrane.  In discussion: Joe's mental health, his band and the state of UK politics. Plus, talk of transformative parenthood, working with LCD Soundsystem and his new music plans with Jamie T and Willie J. Healey.   Recorded in December 2023 - find video clips of the chat on our social...

American musician Natalie Mering – aka Weyes Blood – talks to Stu on the first episode of our new series, about growing up in (and returning to LA), her early beginnings in various DIY noise scenes around the country, and the time she met Lou Reed on the Occupy Wall Street demo in 2011.  Recorded in November 2023. Further links: Our various Weyes Blood interviews for Loud And Quiet Our review of A...

After a bit of a break, Midnight Chats from Loud And Quiet is back, with a huge series that starts 12 March 2024.  Here's a quick bit of info about what Stu and Greg have coming up over the next weeks and months, including new interviews with Weyes Blood, IDLES, Future Islands, Waxahatchee, Anton Corbijn and many more artists for your late-night listening pleasure.  For the first time, we also hav...

Ahead of his debut solo album, Hideous Bastard , The xx's Oliver Sim talks to Stuart Stubbs about that record, the horror film he's made to go with it, and the secret of being in a band with friends you've known since you were 3 years old.   This episode is supported by Southbank Centre   Buy tickets for the Loraine James show on October 2 Buy tickets for Nick Cave and Sean O'Hagan on October 27  ...

In a special edition of the podcast, Midnight Chats comes to you from a park wall Barcelona where Squid singer and drummer Ollie Judge and Stuart Stubbs talk about NFTs, dodgy merch, Primavera Sound, riders and more.   Read our Squid cover feature   Order our Squid issue   Order some L&Q fleece mittens (I think we have a few left)   Become a member of Loud And Quiet See omnystudio.com/listener...

West London rapper AJ Tracey talks to Stuart Stubbs about his beloved Tottenham Hotspurs, fine dining, gaming, Japanese art and hip hop, of course.   Takashi Murikami's An Arrow Through History exhibition   'Reasonable' video 'Thiago Silva' video with Dave video 'Ladbroke Grove' video See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.