For Episode 6 we’re joined by Tay Iwar and Nix Northwest.

A driving force in the Alté music scene, Tay Iwar’s ascent has been steady but deliberate. Not even 16, Iwar released the projects ‘Passport’ and ‘Renascentia’ in quick succession, but it was in 2019 where Iwar finessed his signature cool blend of distilled soul, RnB and afro-rhythms on ‘Gemini’. Beyond his noteworthy credits for other artists, Iwar is gearing up to unveil his next solo experiment, the project ‘Summer Breeze’. For Overtones, Iwar shares why this forthcoming body of work is a bridge between worlds and diasporas, how he developed his moody, after-hours sound and what the future holds for one of Nigeria’s most versatile risers.

Our second guest, Nix Northwest, is a modern-day sage; a rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist from London who emerged on the scene in 2019 making nostalgic jazz-laden rap. Later this month, Nix will release ‘Xin’s Disappearance’, a concept album filtering through surreal moments from his childhood and adult life through the voice of Xin, a fictional alter-ego growing up in the shadows of a metropolis. In conversation, Nix shares his DIY process which is both spiritually demanding and liberating, and the inspiration behind the idiosyncratic storytelling he so intricately invokes through the album’s 15 tracks.

For Episode 5. we’re joined by Parisian-Tahitian collective QuinzeQuinze and talent development programme, Future Bubblers.

QuinzeQuinze are an interdisciplinary network of musicians sitting firmly in the hinterlands of the progressive music scene in Paris. Their music takes cues from criss-crossing underground movements, challenging established convention, social diversity and immigrant identity. EPs ‘NevaNeva’, ‘La Jeune’ and 2022 project ‘Vārua’ (“spirit” in Tahitian), filtered Polynesian folklore through a synthetic blender; the result was a ceremonial take on dance music, retaining a sense of sibylline spirituality where earthly and astral entities collide in frictional fashion. Their audio-visual art creates autonomous spaces for marginalised voices, a counterpoint to the restrictive whims of normative gatekeepers in music. 

Future Bubblers’ project leaders Selassie Tevie and Claudia Afranie also joined us in the studio. Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings has long been a trusted incubator for emerging musicians, and an expansion of that world lies in the Future Bubblers; a talent discovery and artist development scheme which develops unsigned talent helping them build their own identities, audiences and networks. Future Bubblers are helping shape a more equitable landscape for budding musicians. These year-long schemes integrate industry-backed mentor-mentee partnerships, production workshops, placement on the critically-acclaimed compilation series (compilation 6.0 was just released to high-praise), and performance slots at Future Bubblers showcases.

For Episode 4. we're joined by two singular next-gen musicians, Haich Ber Na and Louis Culture.

Peterborough-born, London-based visual artist Haich Ber Na emerged on the scene as a grime producer-for-hire. Disenchanted with the confines of that scene, he embraced his idiosyncrasies with early solo EPs ‘Unbalanced’ and ‘Everywhere’s Home’, home to muffled and muted electronics, akin to the sounds of Jamie Woon and early James Blake. With his latest project, 'When We Knew Less', Haich integrates pop tropes and surrealist melodrama into his matrix, coalescing his disparate influences into something animated, darkly comic but playful.

Underground rap artist Louis Culture is seeking broader recognition with his new era. Louis debuted on the scene in 2016 with 'Don’t F Up Louis', his output moving between searing political takedowns, diaristic wordplay and hands-in-the-air, club-skewed aspirations. His ascent has coincided with the rise of his collective, Elevation Meditation - home to p-rallel, Lord Apex, Finn Foxell, Ric Reefer and Xav - and it's this ethos of community, friendship and finding their place in the world, that marks his new era. With a new project due in November, launched with the singles '7am' and 'Twiss', Louis continues his journey as an adult-in-progress.

For Episode 3, CLASH special projects assistant Louis Torracinta continues a summer of festival reportage with a primer for anticipated club music and dance events in the UK and beyond. Electronic duo Bondax are interviewed on the road. The Lancashire act have plied their craft as regional radio favourites and festival headliners. After three years away, Bondax made their comeback in 2021 with the fervid disco heat of ‘Don’t Want It’, following up with a series of standalone singles, most notably ‘FADE’ featuring vocalist Shells, continuing an exploration of blissful and buoyant house, expanding their methodology beyond functional tropes to genuine admiration for the sounds of yesteryear.

DJ/producer Charlie Tee caps off the episode as our musical guest. In September, Charlie will be fronting the prime time Radio 1 Drum & Bass show – the first woman ever to occupy that venerated space. For over a decade, Charlie has emerged as a trusted connoisseur of club-skewing sounds, DJing around the world with high-octane sets that retain a sense of humanity and soulfulness in between the thrill of basslines. In this granular conversation, Charlie reflects on a career steeped in the lore and discovery of house and techno to the bombast of sound system culture.

For Episode 2, the festival experience is the focus of conversation. Shahzaib is joined by Time Out staff writer Chiara Wilkinson, a discerning voice reporting on nightlife and the live music sector. Chiara shares the communal events that shaped her, also providing recommendations for events skewing the mainstream, offering insight into festival innovation and her verdict on 2022 line-ups as a whole.

Later, Preye Crooks, founder of Strawberries & Creem festival, charts the evolution of a project that was once a mere student-run night and is now a marquee event in the music calendar. Preye explains how the S&C team realised their 'Celebrate Heritage, Champion Future' motto through a genre-fluid line-up that appeals to nostalgia heads and endorses nascent artists on the rise, whilst affirming their stance on gender equality with a roster that boasts more than 60% female/non-binary artists gracing the various stages this year. It makes the Cambridge festival an inclusive, accessible, and ultimately joyous experience for festival goers.

Overtones is an episodic series with editorial insight at its core. Hosted by lead staff writer Shahzaib, alongside a rotating array of presenters, musical guests, contributors and creatives that define the CLASH publication experience and wider music ecosystem, we’ll be exploring era-defining buzzy releases and deep diving into the world of our favourite artists across music, film and fashion; bringing forth themed commentary and amplifying diverse voices through focus interviews.

For Episode 1, Shahzaib is joined by Clash Editor-in-Chief Robin Murray for a look back on the 2021 Albums of the Year list, the themes that emerged in the albums we loved, as well as the new names we’re touting for a breakthrough in 2022.

For the second half of the episode, Shahzaib is joined by musical guest, NAYANA IZ, who features as a cover star alongside the NiNE 8 Collective for Issue 120 of Clash Magazine. In a raw and revealing conversation spanning Desi and conscious rap influences, spirituality and what it means to be a part of the British South Asian Renaissance, NAYANA IZ is framing a vision of a world rooted in community and kinship.