The Apollo Audio Podcast

This week we find ourselves back in the 90's yet again, but this time with the self-proclaimed "Punk for Pansies" Ben Folds Five and their second album Whatever and Ever, Amen. Martin was and is a big fan, with songs and melodies from this collection living pretty much rent free in his head. But what will Billy think of it? And has his amazing premonition of Sleep Token's rise to the top of the ch...

Bank Holiday schedules meant we couldn't quite bring it together for a full new episode this week, so instead enjoy this bonus topical waffle that didn't make the cut from a recent recording. Back with a new episode next week! The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer and engineer) and Billy Hills (musician and studio owner), and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford. Ea...

The second album from American singer Phoebe Bridgers was Billy's lockdown album, listened to while on long dog walks while coping with the enforced lack of a social life. And it's a thread we followed from last week's episode on Elliot Smith as Phoebe Bridgers is a self confessed fan and his work inspires hers. Bill and Martin discuss whether music about depression needs to be sad and the differe...

In at attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle we seek out another American singer songwriter with a great reputation and a tragic death - although we didn't really know about the death bit when we made the choice. Elliot Smith came to prominence when his songs were used in the soundtrack for Good Will Hunting, resulting in an Oscar nomination. This album is widely regarded as his finest accompl...

RETRO AAP! Billy is away so we're taking a short break from new episodes, but here's one from way back in 2022 that you may have missed or forgotten. We'll be back soon! In this special selection episode, its Miles's choice and he's gone for the 1979 disco classic from the king of pop. Off the Wall is Michael Jackson's first "proper" solo record having separated from Motown and The Jackson 5 franc...

No messing about, we both agree this is the best album we've listened to this year and it's 30 years old. Billy has owned it for ages - Martin can't believe he hasn't properly listened to it before. If you want to spend some money on some vinyl you won't feel shortchanged on this one. At least that's our opinion...what's yours? The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer...

After years of waiting Martin finally get's his personal choice for review! This goes way back to postponed sessions from Season 1 so if you've been with us this long - thanks for sticking around. From 1978 this was the breakthrough 3rd album from Blondie and it wasn't just the songs that were capturing the imagination. And hey! it's number 146 on The Rolling Stone 500 so once again we find oursel...

On the podcast this week Martin is joined by Jay Hollis, also known as artist Millionth Chance and a member of Westward Ho. We chat about the "genesis" (see what I did there) of his solo album The Ghost's Companion and his recommended listening, the third album from Peter Gabriel. Officially titled just Peter Gabriel, but also known as Peter Gabriel III or "Melt" due to the cover art, it has a cou...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week Billy continues his mission to have every album from 1997 featured on the show...this week with the self titled (lazy!) album from San Francisco Alt Pop band Third Eye Blind . You've probably heard the big hit single Semi Charmed Life before, but does the rest of the album match up? Plus chat and musings on the Herffordshire scene and other music relate...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week Martin is joined online by Rich from Melodic Rock/ Metal band San Demas for a chat about their upcoming single release You & I and recommended album listening Synchronicity by UK New Wave band The Police . Released in 1983, it's the final album from the band before they split and is currently at No. 159 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week Billy invited podcast guest Alfie Flanagan to the show to talk about the resurgence of hardcore, his band Sunday Best and a new artist promotion venture In The Fields Project. Find details of how to submit your band to the project on instagram at @in_the_field_project Check out Alfie's band Sunday Best at @thisissundaybest Tickets for the next Hardcore...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week Billy throws a curveball and recommends Everything You Want, the major label debut album from US band Vertical Horizon. Billy bought Everything You Want off the back of hearing one song on the soundtrack to Bruce Almighty and it remains one of his favourites. Will Martin be equally smitten? We also chat about festival lineups and the big difference betw...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week we chat the pointlessness of the awards season, the pointless revisions made to the Rolling Stone 500 albums list and the pointed artistic and musical statement that is To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lemarr. We've mentioned him in nearly every episode so about time we actually talk about the music. Don't forget to let us know your nominations for the b...

It's the Apollo Audio Podcast, and this week our attempt to understand the pressures of content creation and social media "marketing" that is making it ever harder to understand what role(s) you have to play when you are a working artist. Martin and Billy are joined in the studio by Sam J Roper, photographer and videographer to try and suggest how you can approach this ever more complex subject. D...

This week it's special guest and timeless classic album time as Martin is joined by Singer Songwriter Dan Thomas to discuss the No.7 entry on the Rolling Stone 500 - the 48 year old 40million plus selling Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Will we honestly be able to find anything new to say about it? Also, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath chat. Let us know your nominations for the best album of a...

This week we discuss the Superbowl and Oasis B-sides but mainly focus on Welsh rockers Stereophonics, and in particular their second studio album "Performance and Cocktails". Is it good enough to make our list of recommended albums, did they lose the plot after 110 years, and why do cover bands seem to only feature one of their songs? Let us know your nominations for the best album of all time - b...

If you’re new to The Apollo Audio Podcast , this is a good place to start. In this episode, Martin and Billy discuss the latest news from the music business, including their take on the 67th Grammy Awards and the nominations for the 2025 Brit Awards. They also return to album discussion, looking at an influential release from over 30 years ago alongside more recent albums from artists it has inspi...

On this special episode, join the team as they introduce and explain the new Apollo Audio College which will be launching at the start of the new school year later in 2025. Find out more at apollo-audio.co.uk The Apollo Audio Podcast is Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden. www.martintheproducer.com The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by Martin Lumsden (record producer...

This week we take a completely non geeky or intellectual approach to building the ultimate rock band. Would they be great or just a cacophony of noise? Maybe one day AI will help us decide. Until then, joint the debate and let us know who you think would make it in to the ultimate supergroup. In this episode hosts Martin Lumsden and Billy Hills, along with special guest Joe Casasola, discuss their...

Martin and Billy are back (no Miles - booh!) discussing the best albums of 2024 year, the return of iconic bands and the resurgence of heavy music, while also looking forward to the music scene in 2025 and the excitement surrounding upcoming gigs and festivals. Let us know your nominations for the best album of all time - be prepared to defend your choice, we may be asking questions! New episodes...

We're 50 albums (plus a couple extra) in to the Rolling Stone 500 album list and it's time to reflect, review and decide which of them we want to keep for our own Apollo Audio list. There's a couple of surprises and outliers but on the whole we managed to agree on 15 that deserve our seal of approval. Did you guess our choices? What did we miss, or get wrong? Get in touch at apolloaudiopod@gmail.c...

We reach a milestone with episode 25, and our 49th and 50th albums from the Rolling Stone 500 Best Albums of all time. It's a good way to close out season 1, taking us back to the punk heyday of 1978 and ten years later to the New York folk scene where we discover that one of the most satisfactory elements of a good album is keeping it short! The Apollo Audio Podcast is recorded at Apollo Audio He...

Welcome to episode 24 of The Apollo Podcast where we find numerous ways to avoid talking about this week's albums and instead ruminate and pontificate on the mixing value of mono, the disposal of unloved master tapes, the ongoing discussion on the point of "skits" in hip hop albums and the different approaches to songwrting. Almost 10% of the way through the list and we're just hitting our stride....

Another special selection episode, this time its Miles's choice and he's gone for the 1978 disco classic from the king of pop. Off the Wall is Michael Jackson's first "proper" solo record having separated from Motown and The Jackson 5 franchise. Teaming up with Quincy Jones for the first time, this album is wall to wall hits and paved the way for a career that remains unsurpassed in commercial suc...

On an episode that promised to be fairly uncontentious we ended up arguing the toss about what Radiohead were trying to achieve with The Bends, whether Creep is a great song, whether Oasis are known for their genre switching and if Coldplay should have stuck to their early stuff! Join us for our longest episode yet where we manage to largely disagree despite discussing what proves to be two of our...