Music Life

Emmelie de Forest, Conchita Wurst, Duncan Laurence and Daði Freyr share their experiences of the Eurovision Song Contest, including what makes a winning Eurovision entry, how taking part in the Contest has influenced their music outside of Eurovision, and the personal stories they tell through their songs. Emmelie de Forest won the Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark in 2013 with her song Only Tea...

Biig Piig, Nayana IZ, Puma Blue and Louis Culture explore the power of community, how social media has affected the way they make music, and what it's like to make music as an introvert. Biig Piig blends soul-tinged melodies over hip-hop and pop beats with lyrics in English and Spanish. After growing up between Ireland and Spain, she moved to London and joined the Nine8 music collective alongside...

Soul producer and composer Adrian Younge, A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad, American harpist Brandee Younger, and Geneva-born, New York-based producer and bassist Alissia go deep on the decade that most inspired them musically, the fight for equality in the music industry, and using their music to show respect for what's come before. Adrian Younge is a musician, broadcaster and DJ who f...

Gazelle Twin, Lucrecia Dalt, Cosey Fanni Tutti and Keeley Forsyth, four artists making truly original music outside of the mainstream, discuss how they use electronics to build different themes in their music, working within and breaking out of their sonic comfort zones, and how making music leads to creative catharsis. Composer and producer Gazelle Twin explores industrial and avant-garde sounds...

Alex Isley, Tiffany Gouché, India Shawn and Gwen Bunn discuss the creative foundations of songwriting – how has your sound evolved over time? How do you finish a track that you’ve been working on for ages? And crucially, how do you know if a song is actually good? R&B and soul singer-songwriter Alex Isley grew up surrounded by the musical influences of her father and uncle’s band, the Isley Br...

will.i.am, Static & Ben El, Lioness and Lady Leshurr take a deep dive into beatmaking, how to collaborate with other artists, and the best way of writing a song - from getting ideas down with a pen and paper, to just getting on the mic and seeing what happens. Hip Hop innovator, songwriter and producer will.i.am has released eight records over 22 years with the Black Eyed Peas, which he formed...

Liraz, Bedouine, Daniel Smienk and Tolga Boyuk discuss the link between music and heritage, turning the past into the future through music, and how to be creative whilst navigating obstacles. Liraz is an Israeli singer, actress and dancer of Iranian descent, whose latest album, Zan (which translates to "women" in Farsi), features collaborations recorded in secret with Iranian artists. Her music co...

Eyedress, Dâm-Funk, Low Leaf and Jessica Pratt discuss how the toughest times they’ve been through inspired their music, how horror films influence their sounds, and the most special moments in their careers. Eyedress is a musician and producer, born and raised in Manilla in the Philippines, and now based in LA. His sound encompasses everything from synth-pop to R&B and shoegaze. The ‘modern f...

Music Life this week joins the World Service Festival and brings together a truly global gathering. Ibeyi talks to Kindness, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Nai Palm from the band Hiatus Kaiyote about their first emotional dealings with art, why they create, and celebrating culture and ancestors. Ibeyi are French Cuban duo Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Díaz, currently based in Paris. They weave together everyth...

Rostam, Santigold, Dijon and Samantha Urbani discuss whether melody or lyrics come first, how to avoid the temptation to go back to tracks to make alterations, and how naming an album is the last bit of personality you can sprinkle on a project. Rostam is a Grammy-winning producer, composer, musician, and founding member of the band Vampire Weekend, producing their first three albums. Now a solo a...

Caroline Polachek, Perfume Genius, Jlin and Oneohtrix Point Never discuss their links to poetry, and how they find harmony between competing elements in songs. Caroline Polachek is a pop and avant garde musician, record producer, writer and singer, who broke through in 2008 with her band Chairlift. She’s now releasing music under her own name, and counts Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, and Taylor Swift as...

Eliza Shaddad is joined by Oddisee, Gaidaa and This Is the Kit's Kate Stables to discuss working from home, where they now record, and how factors such as politics and heritage feed into the creative system. Eliza Shaddad is a singer songwriter whose debut album Future came out in 2018, which she described as her “sonic journal”. Oddisee is a Sudanese-American rapper and producer based in Brooklyn...

Mike Lindsay of the pioneering folktronica band Tunng is joined by Falle Nioke, Hannah Peel, and JFDR to discuss the power of a concept album, disappearing music, and how it feels getting new gear for your studio. Plus Falle gives us all a lesson in percussion. Falle Nioke is a singer and percussionist from Guinea, West Africa. He was part of the DawoLos crew as a teenager, sings in eight language...

Liz Lubega, R-Kay, Intalekt and TINYMAN discuss the importance of community, the love of language and culture, and whether self-doubt has got in the way of creating. R-Kay is a Ugandan producer and multi-instrumentalist from Brixton, South London. His sound blends hip-hop and jazz influences with his classical training, having studied cello from an early age before taking up piano. Last year, he c...

Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton, Abby Anderson and Twinnie discuss issues around the country music industry, how they tell stories in their songs, and the importance of being yourself and speaking your mind. Jimmie Allen is an artist from Southern Delaware, USA, who mixes country, rock, R&B, and pop. He released his debut album Mercury Lane in 2018, a tribute to the street he grew up on, which led...

South African artists BŪJIN, Desire Marea, Lynn Daphne Rudolph and Jackie Queens discuss why the collective experience of creating is better, their biggest failures, and getting into trouble. Cape Town-based artist BŪJIN makes music that blends East African techno with funk, bass and classical orchestrations. Her work incorporates performance, sound installation and research into the realms of son...

Jazz musician Sarathy Korwar talks to Nadine Shah, James Holden and Nubya Garcia about whether there is something inherently dysfunctional about being a performer, relationships with their voice or instruments, and what it means to control and own your own music. Sarathy Korwar was born in the US, grew up in Chennai and Ahmedabad in India before moving to London. He’s a percussionist, drummer, pro...

DJ and producer Eris Drew talks to Octo Octa, Jayda G, and Kate Pierson of The B-52's about who they’ve remixed recently, why it's hard to do DJ mixes and not be able to look at the crowd, why 1950s rock'n'roll is important for dance music, and the role positivity plays in their music. Eris is a transgender DJ and producer, originally from Chicago, who started raving in the early 90s, eventually m...

Soul singer and producer Aloe Blacc talks to Gregory Porter, Kadhja Bonet and Chelsea Jade about the purpose behind some of their work, writing songs in planes under blankets, and what happens to the creative process after losing those closest to you. Aloe Blacc is a soul singer and producer raised in Orange County, USA. He absorbed the sounds of cumbia and salsa from his Panamanian parents, befor...

Experimental sitarist, singer, and producer Ami Dang is from Baltimore in the US. Her sound fuses North Indian classical with ambient electronics. She’ll be asking the group today all about the importance of not knowing where a song will end up, persevering with a project even when it’s not going well, and how relations with family can inspire stories of positivity and tragedy. Talking about those...

Are you happy working alone? Does location affect your music? What happens after the album is done? This is what Icelandic composer, producer and king of the ambient Ólafur Arnalds will be asking the group in this episode of Music Life. He’s just released his new record Some Kind of Peace, has scored for film and TV, and has carried the Icelandic sound further around the world than it’s been befor...

St. Vincent is an artist, songwriter and producer from Texas, now based in LA. After playing with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, she formed her own band in 2006. She’s since released six albums including Love This Giant, a collaboration with David Byrne, and she completely shreds on the guitar. Vagabon is a Cameroonian-American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer described as an...

This week Music Life gets crazy about pop with host Becky Hill, who asks MNEK, Ella Eyre and Frances all about their signature styles, if there's a formula for writing the perfect hit, and when songs don’t turn out as expected. Becky was a finalist on the first series of The Voice UK, and has since gone on to achieve global Pop stardom, working with the likes of Rudimental, MNEK, Little Simz, Jona...

Kranium is a singer and songwriter who blends dancehall and reggae. Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York, he’s worked with the likes of Ty Dolla $ign, Burna Boy, Mahalia and Ed Sheeran. He chats to Masego and Alicai Harley about working quickly in airports, what their best choruses are, how they use the sounds of what came before, and what it’s like working with th...

An unbelievable line up this week sees Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus ask Danielle and Este from Haim, Black Pumas' Eric Burton and Bardo Martinez of Chicano Batman if they consider the audience when writing, the ways in which their creative process has adapted from when they started out, and how they use the music of the past in their work. Eric Burton - a singer, songwriter, former busker, and one h...