Songs From a Padded Envelope

Welcome to episode #75 with our fantastic guest, Jim Cemlyn-Jones There's a lot to enjoy about this episode and we'd like those treats to emerge for you as they did for us when speaking to Jim, who is such an enthusiastic storyteller. As you'll hear, we both really enjoyed speaking with Jim and our sincere thanks to him for being such a generous guest on the show. Check out the links b...

Welcome to episode #74 with the one and only, Thomas Truax! The phrase one and only has never been so aptly deployed, and how lucky we are to add our voices to the admiration and the celebration of this wonderfully creative man. Make time not only for this episode, but also to explore Thomas' world and the riches therein. Huge thanks to Thomas for coming on the show. https://www.thomastruax.co...

Confused? You will be, as we recorded this episode intro before the one for episode #72 and have our timelines well and truly twisted! Nonetheless, this is a corker of an episode with the wonderful, Anders Marcuslund Reuss. Settle in for this one as there is something for everyone in this conversation and our thanks to Anders for being such a brilliant guest. Love and thanks Steve and Ben https://...

Happy new year! We're excited to jump into 2026 with a short run of new episodes, starting with a fantastic conversation with Arlo Spectre, guitarist with Mexican garage rockers Los Intrusos. Once you've had a chance to listen to the episode, do check out their music, at as louder volume as you can! Also, stay to the end of the podcast as we've added a track from the band's debut a...

Safe to say Ben and I love this band and having the chance to speak with them all together was a real treat. Follow the link below, play them loud and watch 'em go! Huge thanks to Forktail for coming on SFaPE and to Mr C for the tip off! Love and thanks Steve and Ben https://forktailwi.bandcamp.com/

Our 70th episode features a wonderful conversation with the fantastic Chris Brokaw. Chris' life as a musician is most commonly spoken of in connection with two excellent and influential bands, Come and Codeine. However, Chris has a vast back catalogue filled with diverse releases and collaborations which is well worth your time, not least his most recent release 'Ghost Ship' about whic...

Sam, Tracey and Brian joined us for this lively jog down memory lane to share the story of Bette Davis and the Balconettes, a uniquely special garage punk band, based in Manchester in the mid to late 90s. Huge thanks to the three of them for being so open and enthusiastic in sharing their recollections and especially Tracey for bringing everyone together for the show. Thanks also to to Glyn Edward...

Having seen Rachel play drums for Califone on their recent UK tour, we felt compelled to reach out to her. This conversation with Rachel far exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled to share it with you. Sincere thanks to Rachel for making time to speak with us and indulging some of our fanboy questions! We'd like to dedicate this episode to Rachel's friend and musical collaborator, M...

Welcome to episode #67 and a conversation with the podcasting master that is Dave Gebroe. We've been fans of Dave's show, Discograffiti, for some time and when we reached out and discovered that Dave has made his own music too, well, it was a no-brainer to invite him onto the show. And we're delighted that we did - as you'll hear! Check out Dave's peerless podcast below and our...

Welcome to episode #66 and a chance to be in the room with two old friends recalling their creative adventures together. Not Ben and Steve but Kate Wright and Richard King whose story unfurls in this epsiode through some warm and wonderful memory sharing of musical endeavours in Bristol. Heartfelt thanks to them both for this unique episode and allowing us all to sit in on their catching up. Love...

Welcome to episode #65 and a really enjoyable chat with Nick and Matt from the very excellent, Navigator. This is a fascinating insight into a quintessential underground band whose work deserves your time and attention, especially following the context and set up offered up here by Nick and Matt. Our thanks to them both for coming onto the podcast and sharing the demo you'll hear at the end. A...

Welcome to episode #64 and a hugely enjoyable conversation with the very excellent, Edwin R Stevens. A laid back and wide-ranging affair, this episode slowly unfurls to reveal the adventures and passions of the singular talent that is Edwin. Lots of links below to explore Edwin's work, which is recommended, for sure. Love and thanks Ben and Steve xx https://edwinrstevens.com/ https://thewebofl...

As Ben says at the start of this episode, settle down by the fire for the stories and recollections of the wonderful, Paul Simpson. Paul is a legendary figure from the Liverpool post-punk scene, exemplified within the pages of his stellar memoire, Revolutionary Spirit. This episode comes with a money-back guarantee, no questions asked and if you don't buy Paul's book, the ghost of John Pee...

We are back once more, with a brand new episode of Songs From a Padded Envelope which features a hugely enjoyable conversation with Daniel and Alex, fellow podcast hosts and frequenters of venues and rehearsal rooms around London in years gone by. An episode for the SFaPE purists to restart our show and we're hugely grateful to Alex and Daniel for coming on and being such generous guests for t...

Finally, in our Rewind series, Ben has chosen our episode with the brilliant, Joe Thompson. In this episode we were joined by Joe for a fascinating conversation which centred around his involvement in the underground/DIY music scene. Once we had both read Joe’s Sleevenotes book that tracked his journey as a musician it was a no-brainer that we had to invite on the podcast. An inspirational convers...

Steve's final Rewind selection is the episode with the one and only Cathal Coughlan. Three iterations of the gorgeous, Officer Material , guide us through this fascinating conversation with the maestro, recorded just a few months before his tragic and untimely passing. A treasured episode and well worth your time. Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx https://ffm.to/cathalcoughlanplaylist

Tracking back in time to take a glorious run through on John’s life as a musician. John has described himself as the custodian of the Brainiac archives, which enabled him to collate the recent and rather spectacular Attic Tapes release.  Listen in to get a unique opportunity to hear 5 demos that stretch across John’s career and how these came together! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx https://en.w...

Steve has chosen this conversation with death metal musician, Dagur Gíslason, for the 7th in our Rewind series. Dagur spoke about a previous project, Abacination, as well as giving an insight into his musical journey up to his current project, Misþyrming . Check 'em out! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx

Next up is this rewind pick from Ben. Returning to our hugely enjoyable conversation with Rudolf Buitendach and Jacques Womarans. The tale of a friendship that began in Pretoria in the late 80's and takes us right up to the present day with Rudolf in LA and Jaques in South Africa, but with their wonderful creative relationship still is full flow! Sit back and enjoy the company of these two fin...

Steve's 5th Rewind pic is the episode with Seja Vogel. Seja presents the fantastic HearSej podcast, and is a wonderful musician with a passion and exuberance which is apparent throughout this entire conversation. A great episode to enjoy from the archives ahead of the exciting episodes coming your way very, very soon! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx http://sejamusic.com/ https://podcasts.appl...

Rewind choice #2 from Ben is Will Burns. Join us for a conversation that took place just as Will was about to release his first novel, ‘The Paper Lantern’.  Listen in on his full circle journey from musician to poet that finishes with ‘Chalk Hill Blue’,  his magical collaboration with renowned composer Hannah Peel. A lesson in how to follow your true creative drive. Love and thanks Steve and Ben h...

Steve's second Rewind episode takes us back to episode #10 and a wonderful conversation with the peerless, James Acaster! So much to recommend about this chat with James and we'll always be grateful to him for this opportunity to talk music and so much more - including Cardiacs! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx

Revisiting our conversation with inspirational and inimitable, Bruce Russell. Noisemaker! Outsider! All around wonderful human being! Hear about Bruce’s journey from ground zero at the start of Flying Nun records in Dunedin in the 80’s to his position as one third of the indefatigable noise rock trio, The Dead C. Listen, learn, enjoy! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx http://www.badabingrecords.com...

In the first of our rewind series, ahead of our new episodes, we present this amazing conversation with Libyan heavy metal guitarist, Jonathan Steel. As we said when this episode dropped originally, this is one of those episodes which is best left to unfold, as the conversation did for us. Needless to say we're very grateful to Jonathan for sharing his time and stories with us. Check out Jonat...

Return, Relaunch, Rewind! Ahead of the official launch of Season 2 of Songs from a Padded Envelope we took a deep dive into the archive from Season 1 to come up with our top highlights  If this is your first visit to Songs from a Padded Envelope and you have even a passing interest in what it means to be a musician, then you're in for a real treat  And if you're returning to the podcast th...