Songs From a Padded Envelope

Welcome to episode #1 of Songs From a Padded Eiggvelope! Yep, we're joined by the truly splendid Johhny Lynch aka Pictish Trail for a funny, frank and fascinating conversation recorded back in May 2022. This is a wonderful conversation and an epsiode we're certain you're going to take lots from, dear listener. Huge thanks to Johnny for coming on the show. Please do take some time to ch...

Its been a while and our apologies for the radio silence! But we're back with Episode #59 and the very excellent Will Crewdson aka Scant Regard. Will is a lifetime musician with the stories to match and we are hugely grateful to him for coming on the show and speaking with us. Lots to explore in Will's back catalogue below, along with the wonderful RHLSTP (RHLSTP!) which led us to Will in...

Welcome to the second of our two episodes featuring members of the fantastic Oneida, whose new album, Success, is about to be released. Founder member Bobby Matador is a guest par excellence! So giving with his time insights and enthusiasm for the podcast and we are hugely grateful. The resulting episode is a corker! Check out the brilliant, Success by Oneida (and we highly recommend a delve into...

Hello and welcome to episode #57 of Songs From a Padded Envelope. We're joined from Brooklyn by the supremely talented and prolific, John Colpitts aka Kid Millions who joined us to talk about his work with Oneida, his solo projects and many collaborations. So much to enjoy in the one and in exploring John's catalogue of stunning work. Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx https://johncolpitts.b...

Welcome to episode #56 of the podcast and another unique and hugely enjoyable conversation with Rudolf Buitendach and Jacques Womarans. More than anything else, this is a story of friendship. Rudolf and Jacques take us back to Pretoria in the late 80's and share experiences unlike any we've heard before but with a kinship to so many previous guests. Sit back and enjoy the company of these...

Welcome to episode #55 with our guest, Seja Vogel. Seja is a fellow podcaster, which is where we came across her work. She makes the excellent HearSej podcast, which comes with a strong recommendation! Seja is an accomplished and highly experienced musician who has a deep love for all things synth, as this episode will attest to. She was a wonderful guest with a cool enthusiasm for her work, her m...

A random search through facebook music archives led us to today's guest, Jens Zimmerman. What a stroke of luck! Jens is a fantastic guest whose storytelling is chock full of energy and twists you just won't see coming. Sincere thanks to Jens for being such a generous guest! Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx Sound of the Suburbs - The Members

Welcome to episode #53 of the podcast and a long overdue conversation with our dear friend, Carl Roberts. Carl is a wonderful songwriter, primarily known as frontman for the irrepressibly brilliant, Gintis. This is an episode that's been waiting to happen since we started the show and it doesn't disappoint. Our gratitude to Carl for coming on the show and sharing the demo for, 'Hope is...

Hello and welcome to Episode #52 of Songs From a Padded Envelope! There has been a brief hiatus but we're back with a wonderful conversation with Libyan Metal guitarist, Jonathan Steele. This is another 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...

Welcome to episode #51 of Song From a Padded Envelope and great conversation with Kate Sattler / Sweet Freeze. This episode rolled out before us in the most intriguing and fascinating ways and we're delighted to have asked Kate to come on the show. Please take some time to check out the links to Kate's work and that of the Foris Project, which is quite brilliant! Love and thanks Steve and...

Welcome to episode #50 of Songs From a Padded Envelope! We'll keep the show notes short as this is a bumper edition with so much to discover within. Huge thanks to John for being such a generous and enthusiastic guest. Do take some time to check out his work below. Spread the word, send us some stars and enjoy the show. Love and thanks Steve and Ben xx http://www.johnschmersal.com/ https://bra...

Welcome to episode #49 and a warm, funny and engaging conversation with Elliot Atkins and Anthony Lee from The Embezzlers. This is almost a quintessential SFaPE episode with stories and conversation that typifies the reasons behind why we set the podcast up in the first place. Both are smart, honest, funny and giving throughout the conversation and we're hugely grateful to El and Ant for comin...

Welcome to episode #48 of Songs From a Padded Envelope! Our guest for this episode is classical composer and music producer, Gabriel Prokofiev. Gabriel joined us from his home in London and took us through some brilliantly insightful and engaging stories from across his creative life, as well as sharing a demo and completed version of one of his compositions. This was a great conversation and we d...

As you might be able to pick up from the intro, this is an episode about which we are really excited. Paul Richards and his former band, Heavy Load, encapsulates so much of what unfettered creativity is about and present it in the most glorious of ways. Please check out the links below as they lead to some hugely important initiatives and a chance to delve into the music of the wonderful, Heavy Lo...

Welcome to episode #46 of Songs From a Padded Envelope with our guest, Julian Lynch. Julian is a prolific musician, composer in his own right, as well as playing guitar for Real Estate. This conversation takes in all of this, along with some really fascinating conversation around his work as an ethnomusicologist. Sincere thanks to Julian for making time to speak with us. You can click on the links...

Back to the Faroe Islands for Episode #45 and some laid back country vibes courtesy of Sigmund Zachariassen and his band, Koboykex. Siggy, who is also the guitarist for friends of the podcast, Joe and the Shitboys, joined us from his home to share some more insights into the creative scene of the Faroes and an approach to making music which is as inspiring as it gets. Lovely stuff. Big thanks to S...

Welcome to episode #44 with our guest, Katie Spencer. We came across Katie's music through a Hull Music Archive site and in doing so have discovered some truly special songwriting. As you'll hear, Katie's brand of folk music is rooted in tradition but also faces forward, and is built through a genuine passion for the craft and music making. The demo Katie shares in this episode is a fi...

Welcome to episode #43 of Songs From a Padded Envelope and a fantastic conversation with our guest, Patrick Flegel. Pat spoke to us from his basement studio, Realistik to discuss his music making past, present and future. This is a funny, warm and inspiring episode and the demo at the end speaks to the ideas and influences Pat describes in the most enjoyable of ways. Pat's work as Cindy Lee an...

Andre Tschan joins us for episode #42 and a really fascinating and inspiring conversation which takes us from the Swiss punk scene of the late 1970's right up to the present day, through Andre's many musical projects and explorations. So much to take from this chat with Andre, not least of which is the lasting impact from a life of genuinely open creativity and community. Our thanks to And...

Champion of grass-roots music, Pete Cole, joins us for episode #41 of the show. Inspired by our conversation with Sid Stovold on ep#35, we reached out to Pete to talk about his 30+ years of supporting bands and musicians through his Farnborough Groove compilation series. Now that's what we call commitment! Check out the series through the links below and our sincere thanks to Pete for coming o...

Episode #40 takes us to the Faroe Islands and a massively enjoyable conversation with the irrepressible Fríði Djurhuus aka Joe Shit, singer of the wonderful Joe and the Shitboys. This is another unique episode for which the less said the better. Check out the music via the links below and get excited about the prospects of the Shitboys being in a house near you very soon. Thanks so much to Joe for...

Writer Will Burns joins us for Episode #39 of Songs From a Padded Envelope. As he prepared for the release of his first novel, The Paper Lantern, Will joined us for a rich and rewarding conversation which traced his creative journey through a passion for music into his life as a poet and so much more. This is an episode to sit back and enjoy with a glass of red and your feet up. Not surprisingly,...

We're joined by singer-songwriter, Melanie S Jane for episode #38 of Songs From a Padded Envelope. Melanie contacted us about coming on the show, which is indicative of the self-driven, individualistic and unique approach she has to making and sharing her music. There are plenty of links here to explore and, having heard what Melanie has to say about her music, we're sure we'll want to...

Will Carruthers is our guest for episode #37. He joined from his home in Berlin and has shared an unreleased Brian Jonestown Massacre track, which features Will on vocals! This was a riotous conversation; hilarious and poignant in equal measures - pretty much. Very much like Will's wonderful book, 'Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands' - an absolute must-read for anyone with even a p...

We are joined for episode #36 by Kiana and Nick from Tilly and the Wall. Tilly and the Wall recently released a compilation covering the band's career, which also included their earliest recordings, described as 'not-demos'. We therefore couldn't resist reaching out in the hope of having them come on the show. We are so glad that we did as our conversation was a joyful hour in the...