NTS Don't Assume with Zakia

If you don’t yet know the name Obongjayar, you will. Since emerging in 2016 he’s made a series of gradual but intentional moves, launching his debut album in 2022 and collaborating with some big hitters like Little Simz, Pa Salieu, Danny Brown and Fred Again.  Growing up in Nigeria where power cuts were a regular occurrence, he would often only catch half a song on the radio before the e...

Is this the happiest man in dance music? Kevain Space, better known as RP Boo, is widely regarded as one of the originators of footwork, a high-energy, syncopated form of electronic dance music from Chicago. Starting his career in the 1990s, RP Boo started out as a dancer and a DJ before developing his signature sound, which blends rapid beats, chopped-up samples, and frenetic rhythms designed to...

A short-sighted librarian who prides herself on being responsible, reliable and getting home early, Anne ‘Susan’ Cadogan might have been a surprising match for the legendary producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.  But it was her version of Hurt So Good, produced by Scratch in 1975, that saw Susan catapult to fame. As the song rose up the UK charts, Susan found herself on a flight out of Jamaica and bo...

Jamal Moss has been making music in Chicago under the moniker Hieroglyphic Being since 1994. His music is deeply rooted in the influential house and techno scenes of the city but also draws on the avant-garde and jazz. His music is both dark and transcendent, mechanical and organic.  In this interview he unpacks the origins of these dualities, describing how he was raised by his adopted paren...

In the 1960s Vashti Bunyan burned all her possessions, saddled up a horse and cart and set off for Donovan’s Scottish island with her boyfriend. So far, so pastoral. But Vashti’s story is not a counter cultural fantasy, and Vashti is not the folksy heroine people assume she is. Vashti was born in 1945 in Newcastle, named after a rebel queen from Persia and she lives up to her namesake’s reputation...

Bedroom producer turned global club-pop icon Kathy Yaeji Lee, better known as Yaeji, is our guest this week. Yaeji self-identifies as an “introspective loner” and was raised between New York and Seoul. In this interview she reflects on how her upbringing has influenced the music she makes today: whether that’s listening to her dad’s mixtapes of Korean indie ballads, finding community in internet f...

Thundercat doesn’t follow the rules. From his tattoo of the word NO, to his genre-bending playing and extensive collection of cat hair, he's an artist who keeps us guessing and is the perfect guest for Don’t Assume.  The bassist, singer, and producer has become a key figure in the West Coast jazz, funk, and R&B scene alongside the likes of Kamasi Washington and Flying Lotus. Known for his...

Diamanda Galás is one of a kind. The Greek-American artist is known for her uncompromising approach and singular, multi-octave voice. Her work often channels the pain of the dispossessed, giving emotionally charged performances that explore subjects like the AIDS crisis, the Greek-Armenian genocides and experiences of grief. But she is equally at home singing jazz standards and blues songs. W...

Zakia Sewell is back with another season of Don't Assume, brought to you by NTS. This is an interview podcast where avant-garde composer, vocalist, and performance artist Diamanda Galás shared the same feed as Korean-American electronic music producer, DJ, and singer Yaeji alongside Thundercat, Vashti Bunyan and many more... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lisa Maffia came to prominence in the early 2000s as the only woman in So Solid Crew, the platinum selling UK Garage act from South London that took over the UK mainstream.  Lisa joins Zakia in the NTS studio in London to reflect on Lisa’s younger years and the early days of So Solid Crew, through to Lisa’s solo career. Lisa and Zakia discuss the highs and lows of So Solid’s journey, which took th...

Mark Mothersbaugh is the co-founder and lead singer of iconic American new-wave band, Devo. As the band embark on a global tour, Mark and Zakia reflect on the first 50 years of Devo and they speculate on what the next 50 years of the band will look like.  Mark recalls some of his successful moments of subversion; placing subliminal messages into soda commercials and his other film and TV commissio...

Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes and his legendary Wackie’s institution has been at the heart of the dub and reggae scene since the 1970s.  Starting out as a tailor to reggae’s brightest stars, Bullwackie quickly started working as an engineer at Treasure Isle and Studio One studios in Kingston, Jamaica. On moving to New York with his family he became immersed in the burgeoning reggae and dub scene brief...

Accra-via-Atlanta rising Alté pop sensation Amaarae is the subject of this episode of Don’t Assume, where host Zakia discusses the release of her acclaimed new album, Fountain Baby , and everything that went into making it. Discover how the rich musical scenes of the cities Amaarae grew up in helped anchor a distinct musical taste that has made her as at home making soothing Afro-house as she is w...

One of England's best loved folk singers, Shirley Collins talks to Don’t Assume host, Zakia Sewell (a life-long Shirley Collins fan) about her 60 year career in folk music. Recorded from her front room in Lewes, the conversation covers everything from Shirley’s legendary trip around the American South with folklorist Alan Lomax in the 1950s to her unique take on the notion of ‘Englishness’. Hear a...

Terre Thaemlitz, commonly known as DJ Sprinkles, is an artist, producer and public speaker at the heart of club and experimental culture.  Now based in Japan, she grew up in rural Missouri and moved to New York in 1986. His musical output has spanned intoxicating deep house to stripped back experimentation. Her work takes a critical look at identity politics, gender, the music industry and global...