In The Spotlight: Interviews

For the eighth episode of In The Spotlight, Bill Cummings is joined by Kaptin Barrett at a local cafe to talk about Hip Hop: A Welsh Story, a new exhibition he is a co-ordinator on.  It celebrates the evolution of the genre and art form in Wales, it launches on the 17th of July at the Museum of Wales in Cardiff find out more here.

A promoter and DJ of over 20 years, Kaptin was Head of Music at Boomtown for a decade. He currently has the same title but at the Welsh festival Big Love, and is on the board for Sound Progression and the advisory panel for the Black Welsh Music Awards. Plus he has just started a show on DIFF radio with his broadcast partner Dregz.

 Bill also asks Kaptin about his history in music, hip hop in Wales, his life and the difference between being an artist and a creator and much more.

Read Kaptin's substack here.

Play out with a clip of Luke RV x Mace The Great - See Me Shine

For the seventh episode of In The Spotlight Bill Cummings is joined by music journalist and author Liam Inscoe-Jones, he is a music and fiction writer who has written for The FADER, Crack, Clash, Rolling Stone, The Quietus and Line of Best Fit, and has appeared on BBC Radio 6.  His debut short story 'You Have Been Notified' was published in 2021. They discuss indepth his new book Songs in the Key of MP3 and how artists of the last decade and technology have shaped popular music. They also discuss the value of music, music discovery, playlists, plus the artists he focusses on in his book Devonté Hynes (of Blood Orange), FKA Twigs, Oneohtrix Point Never, Earl Sweatshirt and SOPHIE.
 
 Each began their careers as obscure outsiders but, over time, they helped to re-shape pop culture in their image. Through these five extraordinary figures and an eclectic supporting cast of dozens more, Inscoe-Jones paints a picture of the sonic landscape of the last ten years, exploring the influence of their music on pop culture, the internet and ourselves.
An unorthodox mix of criticism, biography and music history – and featuring interviews with the likes of Caroline Polachek, Daniel Lopatin and Nicolás Jaar – Songs in the Key of MP3 is a book of endless curiosity and wonder; a salutary attempt to define pop culture in a fast and ephemeral age.

White Rabbit recently published Songs in the Key of MP3: The New Icons of the Internet Ageby Liam Inscoe-Jones.

Order here: Songs In The Key of MP3 | White Rabbit

For episode six of In The Spotlight, a new podcast where Bill Cummings gets to know the work of artists, figures and authors, Bill is joined by multi talented Welsh superstar Aleighcia Scott. They talk her first Welsh single 'Dod o’r Galon' – which recently made history as the first Welsh-language reggae song to reach number one on the iTunes Reggae Chart.

Plus, her burgeoning broadcasting career including her role as the winning coach on Y Llais 2025 (The Voice Wales), alongside Sir Bryn Terfel, Yws Gwynedd and Bronwen Lewis.. Plus her regular show on Radio Wales, spots on 1xtra and sitting in for the legendary David Rodigan.

Scott also talks about her influences, Lovers rock, her 2023 debut album Windrush Baby, working with reggae legend RoryStoneLove, the exciting black music scene in Wales, Focus Wales, her future plans and a lot more.

Spring 2025 saw Aleighcia invited as special guest on Lila Iké’s UK Tour. Aleighcia has also opened for icons like Julian Marley and Soul II Soul, toured the UK with The Skints and Gentleman’s Dub Club, and stepped into her own spotlight with a packed-out UK headline tour that proved her pull as a leading live artist. She has performed festival sets at Glastonbury and Boomtown and graced stages in Jamaica at Dub Club and on King
Jammy’s sound system.

Produced by AndyVonPip

More info: https://aleighciascott.com

For the latest episode of In The Spotlight, Bill Cummings is joined by Dylan Murphy Irish music journalist and presenter of a new podcast produced in association with The Tenth Man called I Was There.
 
It tells the stories of iconic gigs in Ireland through the voices of the people who were there—journalists, photographers, promoters, and more. 

The first episode  dives into Bob Marley's 1980 Dalymount Park gig, which nearly didn’t happen, and another revisits Nirvana opening for Sonic Youth to a half-empty Sir Henry’s in 1991. 

Episode 3 explores Dolores O’Riordan’s transformative first gig with The Cranberries after joining the band in 1990. From her unforgettable audition to the creation of "Linger," this episode celebrates her legacy and the rise of Irish music in the ‘90s. 

In this podcast Bill Cummings asks Murphy about the genesis of the podcast, the guests that help tell the stories of each legendary gig across each episode. They also discuss songs they have chosen by Bob Marley, Nirvana and The Cranberries, the current renaissance in the Irish music scene, artists that are exciting them and more.  Playlist here.


"Blending meticulous research with compelling storytelling, I Was There offers a deep dive into the energy and chaos of live music history. This podcast is a celebration of the shows that defined not just music but cultural movements, all through the uniquely Irish lens that ties these episodes together. It is also a reminder of the ever-growing disappearance of the spaces that made these moments possible, and the urgent need to cherish and protect the venues that remain."


The series is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms, follow The Tenth Man on Instagram @tenthmanhello.

For the latest episode of In the Spotlight podcast, Bill Cummings is joined by Sox from the London group, Tugboat Captain whose forthcoming fourth album, Dog Tale, is out on the 25th April.  They talk Tugboat Captain, their new album, inspirations, favourite dog breeds, AI music, Divine Comedy, music venues, producing music and more. 

Following their critically acclaimed 2020 album Rut, Tugboat Captain's Dog Tale was written and recorded in just one week at the South London studio Josh and Sox run, Ctrl P, the album is both an exercise in the band and studio’s ethos of creating music in an atmosphere of spontaneity and creativity. It also represents a more personal dimension for chief lyricist Sox, as he muses on the ephemeral nature of living in London in your mid-late twenties.

Originally starting off as Sox’s solo project back in 2017, Tugboat Captain has morphed over the last eight years into one of London’s most distinct bands, with a sprawling, romantic sound that draws on folk, classical music, indie pop and singer/songwriters like Scott Walker and the Divine Comedy. Now a fluctuating sextet, the rest of Tugboat Captain are comprised of Joshua Cobb (Bass & Trombone), Buddy Caderni (Keys & Bassoon), Georgia Mancey (Drums & Percussion), Sophia Bartlett (Violin & Keys) and Dougal James (Keys & Bass).

As well as the forthcoming release of Dog Tale, the band have a plethora of UK live dates coming up where they’ll be bringing the widescreen sound of the album to venues up and down the country.

Tour Dates

23rd April - York - The Fulford Arms

24th April - Newcastle - Little Buildings

25th April - Halifax - Grayston Unity

30th April - Bristol - The Lanes

1st May - Newport - Le Pub

9th May - London - The Ivy House

10th May - London - The Ivy House

5th June - Falmouth - The Fish Factory

26th June - Portsmouth - Deco

27th June - Brighton - Folklore

28th June - Rainham - The Oast

Tik Tok // Instagram // X

 For the latest episode of the In the Spotlight podcast, Bill Cummings is joined by Annie Dressner who recently released her new single ‘For The Thrill Of It’ feat Kathryn Williams. They talk about how the song highlights misogyny in the music industry uniquely and how we should call it out. She also talks about working with Kathryn Williams, and working on a new album with artist and producer, Peter Bruntnell, Plus supporting Badly Drawn Boy and Bernard Butler; her dream tour, and what records and new artists she's loving at the moment. They also talk about streaming algorithms and fake artists used on sleep playlists and more. Dressner is currently on tour with Danny & the Champions of the World.

Since moving from her hometown of NYC to the UK thirteen years ago, singer-songwriter Annie Dressner has garnered rave reviews for her recordings and live performances. From her debut Strangers…, her EP 'East Twenties’, her second full-length 'Broken…’, to her third full-length Coffee…. and more recently ‘I Thought It Would Be Easier’, Dressner has gone from strength to strength. Her straightforward lyrical style, sharp ear for wordplay and crisp, lilting vocals offer listeners a front row seat to her stories. Her music has drawn comparisons to an up-tempo Mazzy Star, an understated Jenny Lewis, Soccer Mommy & Phoebe Bridgers.

Website: https://anniedressner.com/home
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniedressner/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anniedressner/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieDressner

 In the Spotlight is a series of interview podcasts where Bill Cummings talks to artists, authors and interesting figures and tries to get to know them and their work better. In memory of James McMahon and his podcast. 

Produced by Andy VonPip

 In The Spotlight, is a series of podcast interviews with artists and figures, where Bill Cummings finds out more about their lives and work. For the second episode, he is joined by Patrick Jones.

Jones is a poet and playwright who has brought the struggles and contradictions of life in the Welsh Valleys to new audiences. He was voted the most innovative poet and playwright in the ‘Top 100 heroes of Wales’. He has collaborated with Amy Wadge, John Robb, Martyn Joseph, Beverley Humphreys and provided the words for James Dean Bradfield's Top 10 homage to Victor Jara, 'Even in Exile'.

He talks about his powerful new album 'A Constellation of Sorrows', out this week on Repeat Records.  He says “The album is my small act of resistance, of solidarity with the Palestinian people". It's also about the futility of wars worldwide and the lessons we can learn from history. He also touches on his trip to Palestine, Elon Musk, twitter and the post-truth world, his cultural highlights of 2024 and more.

A Constellation of Sorrows | patrick jones

For the debut episode of In The Spotlight a new series of podcast conversations, Bill Cummings is joined by Julia and Simon from The Indelicates.

They chat about their seventh album AVENUE QANON a labyrinthine concept a record full of songs "about being old and sad and silly amid the bathetically surreal discourse of one of history's all-time stupidest decades."

They talk about conspiracy theories, right-wing populism, the re-election of Trump, 4chan, RFK jnr, and how anyone can fall down the conspiracy rabbit hole. They also chat about Simon's solo projects Pylon Music, Arcadia Park and The Mechanical Child. AI and Julia's first photographic retrospective, Fleetwood Mac and much more. 

The Indelicates released their debut album American Demo on Weekender Records in 2008.

That album was followed by five albums on their own Corporate Records label. Their most recent album was Juniverbrecher in 2017.
A huge range of Special Editions is available from:
https://avenueqanon.indelicates.xyz 

Other information also available at: https://www.indelicates.com/