Feels Like Healing

This week my guest is Carmody, a singer-songwriter from South-East London. Carmody has collaborated with artists such as Tom Misch, Alfa Mist and Nick Leng. Her EP ‘Out to Sea’, written with Misch, gained a number of supporters - from DJs such as Annie Mac and Zane Lowe to one of YouTube’s biggest music channels, Majestic Casual. The track ‘With You’ was also crowned iTunes single of the week.

Her debut album “Imperfect Constellations” was released in 2022 and adds to her catalogue which boasts over 70 million+ streams.

We talk about the origins of the songs "Morning", "Stronger than my Love" and "Rise" which all address the grief Carmody felt following the loss of her father in 2019.

You can find more information about Carmody by following her on Instagram / Twitter @thisiscarmody

Music featured in this episode:

'The Last Song' by Tom Misch & Carmody (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3wqz0PX )

'Stronger than My Love' by Carmody (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3HqjOJ1 )

'Rise' by Carmody (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3J82A43 )

'Morning' by Carmody (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3wnYxt2 )

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief and trauma has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

If you'd like to be in the audience for the special live episode of Feels like Healing at St John's Church in Cardiff on Wednesday 25th January.

You can reserve your place now (free of charge) by visiting https://feelslikehealing.eventbrite.co.uk

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You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is the English singer/songwriter Sam Genders. Sam alongside Mike Lindsay founded the folktronica pioneers Tunng in 2005. His other songwriting and co-writing credits include artists such as John Smith, Mr Silla (Múm), Liam Bailey, Cibelle, Ben Ottewell (Gomez) and Kate Stables (This is The Kit).

Amongst various other projects and collaborations Genders has released several albums and singles under the name Diagrams, including his 2017 album ‘Dorothy’, the lyrics for which were written in collaboration with Orcas Island (US) poet Dorothy Trogdon and his 2019 single ‘Is This Real’ written in collaboration with two deep learning AI systems developed by Dr Maya Ackerman and her team at Wave AI in the US.

Tunng's latest album 'Dead Club' came out in 2020 and was designed to be a meditation on death and grief. To coincide with the album Sam and his bandmate Becky did a podcast series on the subject of death and grief ‘Tunng presents…Dead Club’, an exploration of society’s relationship to death, dying and grief that featured songs, spoken word collaborations and interviews with writers, philosophers and physicians such as Max Porter, AC Grayling, Dame Sue Black, Kevin Young, Derren Brown, Alain de Botton, Speech Debelle and Dr Kathryn Mannix.

In this episode we talk about how making 'Dead Club' changed Sam's viewpoint on death and dying and how he believes we should all be talking a lot more openly about these difficult yet inevitable subjects.

You can find more information about Sam by following him on Twitter @samgendersmusic

Music featured in this episode:

'Death is the New Sex' by Tunng (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3ZH1lis )

'A Million Colours' by Tunng (Listen here: http://bit.ly/3XjsWEE)

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief and trauma has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

If you'd like to be in the audience for the special live episode of Feels like Healing at St John's Church in Cardiff on Wednesday 25th January.

You can reserve your place now (free of charge) by visiting https://feelslikehealing.eventbrite.co.uk

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is the English punk/folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner. Having made 2 albums over four years with post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner decided to go-it-alone in 2005. He released various EPs and albums while touring and building his profile. In early 2011 Turner released his fourth studio album, and made the step up to the main stage at Reading & Leeds later that year. Spring 2012 brought Frank Turner’s sell-out headline show at Wembley Arena to a 12,000 strong audience. To date, Turner has released nine solo albums, Turner's ninth and most recent studio album, FTHC was released in February 2022 and reached number #1 in the UK albums chart in the week following its release.

We talk about the origins of the song "Miranda", which tells the story of how Frank's father has transitioned and is now living as a transgender woman. The track's lyrics discuss his and Miranda's previously tumultuous relationship and how they began to reconcile following her transition. We also discuss the song "A Wave Across A Bay" which is a tribute to his late friend Scott Hutchison from the band Frightened Rabbit.

You can find more information about Frank by following him on Instagram / Twitter @frankturner

For more information about the charity Tiny Changes visit https://tinychanges.com/

Music featured in this episode:

'Miranda' by Frank Turner (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3CvEJr2 )

'A Wave Across A Bay' by Frank Turner (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Xjwqqu )

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief and trauma has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

If you'd like to be in the audience for the special live episode of Feels like Healing at St John's Church in Cardiff on Wednesday 25th January.

You can reserve your place now (free of charge) by visiting https://feelslikehealing.eventbrite.co.uk

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is the record producer/guitarist/songwriter Hugo White. Hugo was one of the founding members of the Mercury prize nominated indie rock band The Maccabees. They released four albums between 2007-2015: Colour It In, Wall of Arms, Given to the Wild and their final album Marks to Prove It. Hugo has since gone on to work as a record producer, including on the latest #1 album by Jamie T 'The Theory of Whatever'.

We talk about how Hugo used songwriting to help him process the death of his Mum, who passed away when Hugo was just 16, following a 12 year battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

We discuss the role that MS has played in both our lives, the impact that parenthood has had on our grief and Hugo's new band with his brothers, 86TVs.

You can find more information about Hugo by following him on Instagram / Twitter @hugowhitenoise

For more information about the MS Society visit: https://www.mssociety.org.uk/

Music featured in this episode:

'Silence' by The Maccabees (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rk4ik8 )

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is Trinidadian-born saxophonist Jesse Ryan. Jesse is a saxophonist and composer with a keen interest in the connections between jazz and Afro-Caribbean musical traditions and communicating transcendent ideas through his music. Ryan’s debut album Bridges (2020) was nominated for a JUNO award and he was the recipient that year of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award.

Ryan grew up in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago surrounded by a rich heritage of music and is the grandson of one of the islands’ calypso veteran, the late Clifton Ryan, aka the “Mighty Bomber”.

When he moved to Toronto in 2013, he had this unspoken fear of losing a loved one while he was away. That became a reality in 2017 when his mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on July 27, 2017. He was in Toronto when she passed away and couldn’t travel home in time to be with her. When that happened, he knew that one of the ways that he could deal with the trauma and process his grief was to write some music. That’s how the song 'The Night Before She Passed' came about.

You can find more information about Jesse via his website: https://www.jesseryanmuzik.com/

or follow Jesse on Instagram @jesseryansax

Music featured in this episode:

'The Night Before She Passed' by Jesse Ryan (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3CC54EJ)

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is former Disney illustrator Gary Andrews. A few years back Gary started keeping a 'doodle diary' of daily events, as a happily married father-of-two it involved documenting the joy of family life with his wife and children. Sadly, not long after starting this daily exercise, Gary's wife Joy contracted and tragically died from sepsis and Gary was suddenly thrown into a new life as a widower and a single parent. The night of Joy's death Gary opened up his diary notebook and simply drew a broken heart. This was to be the beginning of a new chapter for Gary's 'doodle diary'. Throughout the various stages of his grief, Gary continued to document his thoughts and emotions as drawings on paper, gaining himself a huge following online along the way.

We talk about how Gary has used drawing to help him process the untimely death of Joy and how his drawings have helped open up conversations online about widowhood and grief.

In 2020, Gary's grief inspired doodles were made into a beautiful book 'Finding Joy'. You can purchase 'Finding Joy' here : Amazon : https://amzn.to/3Pv2d3j

You can find more information about Gary via his website: http://www.garyscribbler.co.uk/

or follow him on Instagram / Twitter @garyscribbler

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is English singer/songwriter Charlie Barnes. He has released three albums; the latest, Last Night's Glitter, was released in July 2020. As well as performing and releasing music under his own name, Charlie is also a touring multi-instrumentalist with indie rock band Bastille.

We talk about how Charlie has used songwriting and performing to help him process the untimely death of his Mum, who died of breast cancer when Charlie was just 15.

You can find more information about Charlie via his website: https://www.charliebarnesmusic.co.uk/

or follow Charlie on Instagram / Twitter @charliebarnesmusic

Music featured in this episode:

'Film' by Charlie Barnes (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3phTwPa)

'Young at Heart' by The Society Pages (Listen here: https://thesocietypages.bandcamp.com/)

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest this week is English singer/songwriter Sam Brookes. Sam is a Bristol-based alt folk artist who has featured and collaborated with artists as diverse as Lucy Rose and Basement Jaxx. His 2011 eponymous debut saw him named as Sunday Times ‘Breaking Act’ and his independently released follow up Kairos was picked as one of the best albums of 2014 by The Independent. Considerable streaming success and support slots for the likes of Willy Mason, Scott Matthews and Joan Armatrading have also earned Sam a dedicated following.

Black Feathers, which was released in 2020, is Sam's first album in six years and is described as “a meditation on grief”.

We talk about how Sam began writing the songs for Black Feathers as a response to several significant (and traumatic) life events which all occurred within a short space of time, the end of a long-term relationship, the death of his Dad and also the loss of a friend to suicide.

You can find more information about Sam at: https://www.sambrookes.com/

or follow Sam on Instagram / @sambrookes

Music featured in this episode:

'18 and Sleeping' by Sam Brookes (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3vNyf3k)

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is Scottish singer/songwriter Mary Erskine. Growing up in rural Fife in a big old house near the sea, she started writing songs when she was 13. Mary first came to prominence as the lead singer of band 'Talk in Colour', before embarking on a solo career under the moniker 'Me for Queen'.

Mary's excellent cycling inspired album 'Iron Horse' was released at the very apt Stratford Velodrome in 2014 where the stage electricity for the whole launch was provided uniquely by cycle power from the audience. Mary is also in demand as a theatre writer and session musician playing on recordings and live performances for various artists.  

We talk about how Mary turned to songwriting to help her process the often unspoken trauma of miscarriage.

You can find more information about Mary at: https://www.meforqueen.com

Support her via her Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/meforqueen

or follow Mary on Instagram / Twitter @MeForQueen

Music featured in this episode:

'These Hands' by Me For Queen (Listen here: https://meforqueen.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-red-gables-ep)

'Inside' by Me for Queen

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week my guest is English double bassist John Parker. John first came to prominence as one half of the band Nizlopi, which he formed in Leamington Spa with his best friend from school Luke Concannon.

In 2004, they released their first album Half These Songs Are About You, "JCB" became a single from that album and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on the 18 December 2005. It eventually won the duo an Impala Platinum award recognising sales of over 500,000 copies of the song across Europe in 2007.

John now works as a freelance session player and has worked alongside artists such as Maz O'Connor, Polly Paulusma, Jake Morley and Paper Aeroplanes.

We talk about how John used creativity and music as an outlet to help him through the grief of losing his Dad when he was 14. John also talks about what life has been like as a full-time carer for his Mum before she sadly passed away last year.

You can follow John on Instagram @JP_Plays_Double_Bass_

Music featured in this episode:

'JCB Song' by Nizlopi (Listen here: https://bit.ly/3PvCdW8)

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.

These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.

::

You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.