I published the video that accompanies this episode of the podcast, wherein I speak to Dan Searle, drummer, and co-founder, in British metalcore titans Architects, on the Spoook YouTube feed, earlier this week. It had an excellent response, and, if you allow me a moment of tooting my own trumpet, not without reason, I don’t think.

It’s rare in 2023, to hear a musician – especially one as significant as Dan – to speak so frankly about… well, anything really. Not that what Dan is saying is especially controversial, but the ever present threat of cancellation, for the most innocuous of gestures and statements, looms large over the music scene. And it’s made your favourite band frightened. And it’s made much of the discourse about music boring and repetitive. And that’s made an awful lot of people who care deeply about music and its potential as a space for ideas and excitement to be shared, deeply unhappy.

I applaud the Brighton based musician’s bravery for having this conversation with me. About cancel culture, his late and much missed twin brother Tom, mental health, the pressures of touring… we go deep. And so I do so hope you enjoy what is unquestionably one of my favourite episodes of the podcast to date. 

Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8VTskHDPL0&t=1142s

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