Anyone Can Play Guitar

Hello and welcome to episode 157 of the ACPG Podcast.

In this episode Ben is zooming with Matt Corby. A solo artist from Australia. We're in the middle of a little run of Austrialian artists. Shame we couldn't record these in person in Australia. But you know, small details.

Matt and Ben talk about his new album, Everything's Fine, playing live and Australian idol.

The album was recorded at his own Rainbow Valley Studios with long time collaborators Alex Hendrickson and Chris Collins, and pop-writing savante Nat Dunn(Charli XCX, Tkay Maidza, Rita Ora). Together they drew out the sounds that make 'Everything's Fine' Matt Corby's most accomplished record yet. A sonically adventurous rumination on all of life's big stuff, it's a record that pulls together a decade of musical threads and production nous to reveal a body of work that glides even deeper into Corby's RnB roots, while embracing aspects of vintage funk, hip-hop and playful soft rock motifs.

We hope you enjoy this episode and we promise normal service will resume next week as James is back from holiday.

See you in a week with Hamish Hawk.

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Hello and welcome back to ACPG podcast.

Welcome to SEASON FIVE. Five season and 156 episodes we've been doing this.. mad.

This is the first episode in season five and we have a wonderful guest in Jonny Took from the awesome DMA'S.

Ben and Jonny catch up over zoom to discuss DMA'S new album, coming out at the end of March, How Many Dreams?, touring, the DNA of DMA'S (try saying that ten times fast), and having Liam Gallagher in your corner.

It's great to be back and we have a great season coming up. It's going to be weekly and a little shorter. It's like a sprint of episodes. How exciting.

See you in a week.

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Hello and welcome to the last episode of season four.

This is just a quick outro and reflection on season four with Ben and James. We look back at season five and look forward to season five. Wow that was very corporate writing there. Apologies.

Thank you to everyone who listened, downloaded, passed the podcast to their friends, guests, management companies, PR companies, and every last tour manager.

See you later in the year with some hopefully some more amazing guests.

Take care and see you soon.

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Hello and Welcome to the final interview of season five.

This week Ben is zooming with solo artist Jackson Mico Milas. Ben and Jackson talk about his new album Blu Terra, writing with Tim Minchin, running and so much more.

Having cut his teeth at New York's Nylon Studios, Jackson carved out a career with award-winning film and TV scores including a long-standing collaboration with Tim Minchin on the acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama 'Upright'. 'Blu Terra' brings together eleven tender and emotive compositions and finds the British artist hitting his stride.

On 'Blu Terra', Jackson comes of age, and delivers a mature and elegant suite of compositions encompassing acoustic, alt-folk and jazz elements to set up soaring and heartfelt songs. The LP features a cast of great players, including string arrangement on 'June' from Elliott Wheeler (Musical Director/Composer on ELVIS), and Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie 'Blackstar'), and Troy Simms (Lee Scratch Perry). The album is released on Apollo, the home to ground-breaking talent such as Aphex Twin, Nadine Shah, Synkro, Biosphere and many more over its 30-year tenure.

Thank you to Jackson for talking to us, and thank you to Terry for setting up the interview.

The end of season wrap is in your feed now.

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This week we speak to Tara Divina.

If you visit her website, which you should, you'll be presented with this call to action - "You deserve to experience the greatest joy and fulfilment life has to offer. Create your work of art. Leave your legacy. Live free of regret.".

Big statements. And she can help. An ex record label exec and current musician and coach shares a wealth of fantastic insights.

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Hello and welcome to episode 152 of the ACPG Podcast.

This week Ben is zooming with Nic and Alex of the awesome TV Priest.

They talk about all things TV priest, on stage, off stage, writing, recording and moving to a different country. Listen out of the classic European sirens.

With just a few singles and one gig in a warehouse, they were signed to Sub Pop mid-campaign in 2020 and released their debut album Uppers in the height of a global pandemic, which reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its 'dystopian doublespeak''. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.

Dampened by the inability to share it live, singer Charlie Drinkwater found the success of the album both gratifying and bad for his mental health as it felt kind of divorced from reality. As such, My Other People intentionally maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking full advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. He set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health, at a time where he would call himself unwell.

Thank you to Alex for setting up the interview and to Nic and Alex for their time.

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Hello and welcome to episode 151 of the ACPG Podcast.

This week Ben is on zoom with Conradfrom the North West based band - The Luka State.

Ben and Conrad talk about all things The Luka State as well as a lot of rock n roll.

Hailing from Winsford – a forgotten town between Manchester and Liverpool – The Luka State aren't overly concerned with the loftier heights of the rock'n'roll dream.

"Music has always been therapy for me," says Conrad Ellis, frontman of rising UK indie-rock powerhouse The Luka State. "You do feel like there's a weight lifted, but for people with mental health struggles and people from working-class towns, you feel like you deserve more than the cards you've been dealt – those feelings don't go away."

Ellis, along with his hometown childhood friends Sam Bell (bass, vocals), Lewis Pusey (guitar) and Jake Barnabas (drums), dropped their self-funded debut album 'Fall In Fall Out' in 2021 to media attention and critical acclaim, but also a world gone quiet due to the pandemic. "It was hard to connect with the wider world when we were all stuck at home, so we couldn't see what impact we'd had on the scene, the industry and the wider world," remembers Ellis.

When the world opened up and the band could return to the stage, they found legions of fans who had connected with their debut album's punchy stories of hometown life and knew every word. But by then, they'd already been at work on the follow-up and were evolving as a band both musically and lyrically.

Thank you to Kat for setting up the interview. And thank you to Conrad for coming on.

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Hello and welcome to episode 150 of the ACPG podcast.

This week Ben is zooming with DC Gore (Dom) to talk about his new album All These Things, his plans for the future, playing live again and much much more.

Dom was currently moving when they spoke. Both literally and in general. So expect some transit at the start of the conversation.

Dom is a great musician and he is new album All These Things, expertly layers fantastically dystopian imagery against twinkling tapestries of electronics and propulsive beats. It's a shift akin to the Pet Shop Boys' development between Introspective and Behaviour: from bright, dancefloor-focused pop to melancholic mini-symphonies.

Thank you to Dom and Stasi for the interview.

See you in a week where will be zooming again.

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Hello and welcome to episode 149 of the ACPG podcast.

In this episode Ben is on zoom with Washington DC based duo Flasher.

Ben, Emma, and Taylor talk all things touring, new albums, living on miles and miles apart, and the Washington DC punk scene.

The band's 2018 debut, Constant Image, was a triumph – a set of songs both dizzy and explosive, balancing new-wave lushness and post-punk frenzy. Love is Yours steps up the ambition and reaches for the horizon. The record is ablaze with mood, melody, and carefully threaded hooks, finding the band foregrounding the pop sensibilities that had always been present in their previous releases. It retains the attitude that was fundamental to the band's DIY roots, but cuts loose a touch of the angst. Though the songs process disillusionment and loss, the music evokes warmth and optimism. It is their best record and also their most generous.

Thank youfor listening and see you soon.

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Hello and welcome to episode 148 of the ACPG Podcast.

This week Ben is back on zoom with Roxanne Emery talking about her new music project Rory.

It's a wide ranging episode covering her life in music, her new album, and mental health.

She's a multi-platinum selling songwriter who has written for the likes of Charli XCX, NOAHFINNCE and All American Rejects, has graced the cover of Spotify's All New Rock and YouTube's Noise Riot, been selected as BBC Introducing Record of The Week, as well as receiving eclectic support from from BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders, Kerrang, PopJustice and Rock Sound, with the latter calling previous single and EP track 'Uncomplicated' "an emotional, sentimental and crushing pop-punk belter."

She's known for her incredibly emotive and impactful songwriting, with the new EP exploring an impressive and cathartic range of emotions and sonics from melodic post hardcore to infectious pop punk crowd pleasures, and more sensitive alt pop. 'Help Your Friends Get Sober' taken from the EP, has also gone viral on Tik Tok with over 900,000 views, connecting with those who have lost loved ones to addiction.

Please note there is a trigger warning for this episode as we discuss some very personal topics with Roxanne and some listeners may wish to listen with caution around mental health.

Thank you to Roxanne and Jasleen for this interview.

See you in a week.

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