Sound Affects Podcast: Music & Mental Health, with Katy Georgiou

James McMahon was Features Editor of NME in the early 2000s, and the Editor of Kerrang 2011-2017. He now freelances, writing about music, gaming and mental health.  We discuss life at NME and Kerrang, the merits of music journalism as an endeavour, the chaotic lifestyle of journalism, what it means to be a music fan, and James's lifelong struggles with OCD which ultimately led him to leave Kerrang...

Jonathan Antoine was a finalist in 2012 Britain's Got Talent, and has since gone on to release 5 studio albums and a Christmas album Christmasland out now.  https://www.jonathanantoinemusic.com/ Twitter @jonantoine Christmasland album out now 5th Studio album Going the Distance also out now Follow Sound Affects Podcast: @SoundAffectsPod (Twitter and Facebook) sound_affects_podcast (Instagram) Emai...

Welcome back to Sound Affects podcast, after a long hiatus during which time we've been in a 6-month lockdown/post-lockdown pandemic. In this episode, I speak to Steve Lamacq, aka Lammo – BBC radio DJ for BBC 6 Music, former NME journalist and co-host of BBC Radio 1 Evening Session with Jo Whiley, founder of Deceptive Records (Elastica, Placebo, Idelwild), and author of Going Deaf for a Living . H...

In Part 2 of Episode 13 with Marianne Rizkallah, she talks more about music therapy, her role as Director of North London Music Therapy, plus I visit her in her home where I discover she is a member of Crouch End Festival Chorus, through which she toured with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds in 2015. This leads us to a discussion about her experiences on that tour, and we explore the transcenden...

In Part 1 of episode 13, I speak to music therapist Marianne Rizkallah about her role as vice chair of BAMT,  her work with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, her journey into music therapy and how music therapy works, particularly with refugees and survivors of trafficking, war conflict and other traumatic and sexual abuse. She gives me a sample music therapy session to exemplify how it wor...

When Jess Greenfield got a call to say she was joining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, she was obviously delighted. She was also pregnant in a long-term relationship (now husband) with Gav Condor. Faced with the choice of motherhood or a successful career, Jess was confronted with a painful dilemma that many women find themselves in in their 30s. In a male-heavy music industry climate, this di...

Drummer Mark Richardson joined Skunk Anansie in 1995, re-uniting with the band in 2009 after a long stint in Feeder 2001-2009. He talks about his addiction struggles that led him to co-found the charity Music Support for anyone in industry experiencing emotional difficulties. We also discuss his experiences in Little Angels, Feeder and joining Skunk Anansie; race and gender; the generational traum...

What is the definition of 'sane'? Bez would like to know. I interviewed Bez in Manchester this month amidst Happy Mondays' UK reunion tour. You can still get your tickets here: https://www.seetickets.com/tour/happy-mondays Please be aware, this is not an interview with an academic or professional so please don't expect that. It's an interview with Bez who has his own point of views about mental he...

James of Oasis Pod talks to me through his life story through music

I speak to Kat and Rob from Fife band Pilgrims – after spending years feeling disillusioned with their music careers, the Scottish duo joined forces and found meaning in their work again by campaigning for their love of animals through song. In this candid interview, they share their histories with depression, loss and grief, and the power in music to heal and tell important stories. WARNING: This...

In the early 2000s – post-Britpop – an influx of indie bands emerged, beginning with New York based The Strokes. This paved the way for the Hives, The Vines, The Soundtrack of our Lives, and then a host of British bands – the most popular of all of them, The Libertines, as fronted by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. Around 2003/4, following Pete and Carl's falling out in relation to drug abuse, Pete f...

Music industry exec Alan McGee has witnessed the moving tide of the music industry over the last 30 years. Given that he's worked with some of the most notorious rock stars in history – including Bobby Gillespie, Liam Gallagher, Pete Doherty and Shaun Ryder – I was curious to know what cumulative mental health impact this has all had on him over time. His stories of drugs and excess are often pass...

In this episode, drummer Paul Costello of Primitive Machine explains what it's like to be a blind musician and we discuss the added dynamic of being in a relationship with a fellow band member (in Paul's case, with the band's lead singer/songwriter Tracy). Primitive Machine:  http://www.primitivemachine.ie/ Twitter: @PrimMachine Songs in order: Primitive Machine, 'BoogeyMan' Primitive Machine, 'Pr...

In this episode, I speak to psychotherapist John Bassett from MITC (Music Industry Therapist Collective). All therapists in MITC began with fruitful careers within the music industry before retraining in therapy. They worked for record labels, in artist and tour management, A&R, or, as in the case of John, as sales and marketing reps for labels and music companies. They have first-hand, lived expe...

In this epsiode, I visit an acute adult in-patient psychiatric hospital in London to talk to a music therapist Phil Clarke about how music therapy works for people experiencing psychosis. We also discuss Phil's background as a drummer to former rock band The Lipstick Melodies/Tourniquet which disbanded under tragic circumstances following the death of the lead singer, leaving a profound impact on...

The rock n roll romance. Sex, drugs, rock n roll. A common thread running through a rock star's narrative is emphasis on the drugs, the mayhem, the madness. We instinctively laugh along. You can hear it happen in this episode. But is it funny?

Caution: This episode discusses experiences with chemotherapy and the emotional effect of PTSD post recovery. Brandon is very open and explicit about the hardships of cancer. I have added a list of helplines and links beneath the episode. You may have already heard Brandon speak on the Oasis podcast. This time, he talks about how his fandom of bands like Oasis and The Beatles instilled in him a po...

Tom Bellamy is the producer, songwriter and guitarist for the band Losers and the former guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of The Cooper Temple Clause. Caution: This episode contains occasional high-pitched sounds to demonstrate tinnitus (beginning around 6 mins 20 secs) Tom Bellamy/Losers – @losersuk (Facebook & Twitter),  www.losersband.co.uk Advice, support and helplines: British Tinnitus Ass...