Music Life

By BBC World ServiceSociety & Culture

Music Life episodes

August 07, 2020 Obsessed with production with Kelly Lee Owens, Jessy Lanza, Jehnny Beth and Tei Shi
Jehnny Beth, frontwoman of noise queens Savages and now a solo artist, leads the discussion with three thought-provoking and inspirational musicians.
Kelly Lee Owens is one of the most exciting DJs and electronic producers right now, a Welsh musician who’s collaborated with the likes of St. Vincent, Bjork, Jenny Hval, and Jon Hopkins. Jessy Lanza is an an electronic songwriter, producer, and vocalist from Ontario, Canada. A former music teacher, she grew up playing piano and clarinet, before going on to study jazz and eventually finding her feet in electronic music. And finally, Tei Shi is a Colombian-Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer born in Buenos Aires, but now based in LA. She’s jokingly described her work as "mermaid music".
Together, they discuss the history of the studio gear they use, positions they record vocals in the studio, watching films to get inspiration, and the difficulties of recording animals.
34 min
July 31, 2020 Throwing away lyrics with Chali 2na, Omar, Skye Edwards and Rodney P
Jurassic 5 founder Chali 2na welcomes Rodney P, Skye Edwards from Morcheeba, and Omar to the show.
Ever wondered what the first step in the creative process is for musicians? What kind of obstacles do they face in achiveving success? These are just some of the questions that Chali will asking the group. Plus there’s some hilarious anecdotes and gentle ribbing along the way.
Chali 2na has one of the most distinguishable baritone voices in hip-hop. He’s an MC, graffiti artist and founding member of the collective Jurassic 5, and forms half of Ozomatli with DJ Cut Chemist. Rodney P is known as the Godfather of British hip-hop. An MC and broadcaster, he released what is widely regarded as the most important UK hip-hop album of all time with Gangsta Chronicle in 1990. Skye Edwards is known for being the lead vocalist of Morcheeba. She’s also worked with the likes of Nouvelle Vague, Grace Jones collaborator Ivor Guest, and our host, Mr Chali 2na. And finally, Omar is a soul singer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and actor, best known for the hit There’s Nothing Like This. He’s worked with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Kele Le Roc, Lamont Dozier, Common, Estelle and Angie Stone. His father was a studio musician and drummer with Bob Marley, Horace Andy and the Rolling Stones.
35 min
July 24, 2020 'Synths are my best friends' with Suzanne Ciani, Marie Davidson, Sui Zhen, and Lorenzo Senni
Legendary electronic artist Suzanne Ciani welcomes Marie Davidson, Sui Zhen, and Lorenzo Senni.
Suzanne is based in San Francisco and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. She was the first woman to score a major Hollywood film, and was the first female voice to be used on a computer game. Marie Davidson is a French-Canadian musician, and one of the world’s most exciting electronic producers. Her most recent record, Working Class Woman, considers “the stresses and strains of operating within the spheres of dance music and club culture”. Lorenzo Senni is a Milan-based electronic music producer, composer and visual artist, and has composed for cinema and theatre. He has even created an installation designed to comfort people in the intensive care unit of a hospital. And Sui Zhen is an experimental pop and performance artist from Melbourne, Australia, whose work focuses on the intersections between human life and technology.
Joining from different timezones across the planet, they’ll dicuss what it’s like to release an album, the importance of human interactions with machines, and how they first discovered their beloved synths.
39 min
July 17, 2020 'I get scared' with Azekel, Kwesi Arthur, Shab and Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano
Nigerian-born songwriter, producer, and musician Azekel welcomes Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon, Kwesi Arthur, and Shab.
Together, they talk about why it’s tricky writing with people you don’t know, what it’s like working with big names, and how important it is to express identity in music.
Azekel has collaborated with the likes of Gorillaz, Massive Attack, GAIKA, and Grammy-winning producer Om’Mas Keith (who’s worked with Frank Ocean and Anderson .Paak). Prince also tweeted about one of his songs, and Grace Jones is a fan. The lead singer of Swedish band Little Dragon, Yukimi Nagano has a Swedish-American mother and a Japanese father. The band are back with a new record called New Me, Same Us. Kwesi Arthur is a 25-year-old rapper and musician from Tema, Ghana. He initially wanted to be a footballer but was inspired to pursue a career in music after listening to Drake’s album Thank Me Later. And Shab is an Iranian singer-songwriter who is one of 13 brothers and sisters, a refugee now based in America. Her debut album is due later this year and the first track from it, Spell On Me, is produced by Grammy-winning producer Damon Sharpe (Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez). She describes the track as a “disco ode to female wildness”.
30 min
July 10, 2020 The art of pop with Soweto Kinch, Charlotte Adigéry and Jordan Rakei
Saxophonist, MC and poet Soweto Kinch talks to Charlotte Adigéry and Jordan Rakei about pop music inspirations, writing to fit in a genre, and the role ego plays in their art.
Charlotte Adigéry is a Belgian-Caribbean musician, born and raised in Ghent to parents from Martinique and Guadeloupe, and she’s hard to define by genre. She also performs as electro-punk alter ego WWWater. When making music, Charlotte has said, “I try and make something without thinking about direction or genre or sound.”
Jordan Rakei is a New Zealand-Australian jazz, soul, R&B, and pop musician, singer, songwriter and producer. His breakthrough record came in 2017 with Wallflower, and he released the Origin LP earlier this year. He’s also worked with the likes of Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Loyle Carner and Anna Calvi.
25 min
July 03, 2020 The best of the guests
Music Life digs out some of the highlights of the series so far for its 50th episode.
The first musician to ever host an episode of Music Life was John Grant, and he’s back to guide us through some of the highlights that have happened on Music Life since the show began last year.
Through 50 unbelievable episodes we’ve heard from the likes of Billy Cobham on playing for Miles Davis, Souad Massi on being an artist from a country that frowns upon it, Iggy Pop on genre-crossing, Raye on surviving the lows, Chassol on hilarious creative rituals, Yuna on working with superstar Usher, Rhiannon Giddens on how music can be a tool for social justice, and Niarui from Les Amazone D’Afrique on when the best time to write is.
We’ve covered so many subjects with nearly 200 musicians, and no episode has ever been the same or covered the same ground. Here’s to the next 50.
1 hr 36 min
June 26, 2020 The words, the rhythm, the melody with Angelique Kidjo, Melissa Laveaux, Flavia Coelho and Maya Kamaty
Canadian guitarist Melissa Laveaux welcomes Flavia Coelho, Maya Kamaty, and Angelique Kidjo. Melissa gets to the bottom of issues within the industry, the importance of asking questions rather than finding answers, and themes in their music that they keep returning to. All of this while being completely in awe of the legendary Angelique.
Angelique Kidjo is a four-time Grammy award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actor, and activist of Nigerian descent. She’s fluent in five languages, and has worked with the likes of Alicia Keys, Philip Glass, Bono, Carlos Santana, John Legend, and Herbie Hancock. Flavia Coelho is a Brazillian singer-songwriter born in Rio De Janeiro, who mixes samba, bossa nova, Brazilian rap, reggae and ragga. Her latest release, DNA, explored themes of corruption, homophobia and racism; an echo of the political difficulties in Brazil. And finally, Maya Kamaty is pioneering a new generation of the Reunion Island’s traditional song form, maloya. She is also the daughter of legendary maloya musician Gilbert Pounia, leader of the band Ziskakan.
32 min
June 19, 2020 Fascinations with the future, with Rvdical the Kid, Gafacci, Ria Boss and Keyzuz
This week, Music Life brings together four of the best West African young producers and trend setters for the first time.
Rvdical the Kid is from Nigeria and Ghana, raised in Benin, before moving to Accra. In 2015 he released the genre-defining album Carte Blanche, and is due to follow it up later this year.
Joining him is Gafacci, one of the most exciting Ghanaian music producers, DJs, and songwriters right now. Club nights and publications around the world are spreading his name, so keep your ears on him. He’s worked with homegrown and international artistes such as Sarkodie, Samini, Bryte, Mina, Famous Eno, and Fever Ray.
Ria Boss is a Ghanaian-Burkinabe singer songwriter, also based in Accra. Her debut EP, Find Your Free, is a compilation of healing songs she wrote to help get her through her rough battle with depression, identity issues, and quest for self-love. She also released the #THANKGODITSRIA series in which she released 11 EPs in 11 weeks.
And finally, Keyzuz is a DJ and producer who has shaped her creative identity around being a nonconformist, an artist who pushes the boundaries of her expression both aurally and visually. She’s originally from Ghana and is now based in America.
They’ll be discussing elements that repeat in the music process, how much of the artists’ work is intentional, and how they deal with imposter syndrome (a very common syndrome amongst musicians).
32 min
June 12, 2020 Dance and wash the dishes with Laetitia Sadier, Peter Zummo, Mabe Fratti and Marie Merlet
Stereolab founder Laetitia Sadier chats to Mabe Fratti, Peter Zummo, and Zooey’s Marie Merlet.
French singer, keyboardist, percussionist and trombonist Laetitia Sadier has worked with the likes of Blur, Luna, Deerhoof, Common, Mouse on Mars, and Tyler, The Creator. She’s asking the guests how they overcome hurdles, how they define originality, expanding musical ideas, and what sparks the creative process.
Answering these tough questions is American composer, trombonist and producer Peter Zummo. He’s perhaps most famous for his years of work with cellist and producer Arthur Russell, plus the Love of Life orchestra, Flying Hearts, and Lounge Lizards, which saw him create a style that he wryly termed "minimalism plus a whole lot more". Guatemalan cellist, singer, and sound artist Mabe Fratti started playing the cello when she was just eight years old. She released her debut album Pies Sobre la Tierra earlier this year to critical acclaim. And French singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marie Merlet completes the line-up. You might also know her as Iko Cherie; she also makes up one half of French duo Zooey with Matthieu Beck, and used to be in the French post-rock band Monade with host Laetitia.
33 min
June 05, 2020 Accidents, humour, and guilt with Joy Crookes, Georgia, Jaz Karis and Afrikan Boy
On hosting duties is Olushola Ajose, a.k.a. Afrikan Boy, a London-born rapper and producer of Nigerian heritage whose music blends hip hop, grime and afrobeat. His track One Day I Went To Lidl caught the attention of MIA, who invited him to collaborate and tour with her. He’s since worked with the likes of Damon Albarn’s Africa Express, DJ Shadow, The Noisettes, Lady Leshurr and Nneka.
He’s joined by South London-based neo-soul singer and songwriter of Bangladeshi-Irish heritage, Joy Crookes. She has firmly established herself as one to watch with three critically acclaimed EPs and receiving a Rising Star Award nomination at the 2020 Brit Awards, just in time for the release of her debut album coming later this year.
Jaz Karis is a soulful RnB singer-songwriter who cites Erykah Badu, Frank Ocean and Amy Winehouse as some of her biggest influences. Since releasing her debut EP Into the Wilderness in 2017, she has signed to NAO’s record label Little Tokyo Recordings, and amassed nearly 10 million views for her performance of her track Petty Lover on music platform Colors.
Also joining the conversation is producer, singer and songwriter Georgia, who began her music career as a drummer for Kwes and Kate Tempest, and has gone on to collaborate with Africa Express, Honne, Mura Masa, Gorillaz and Peter Hook. She won the One to Watch Award at the AIM Independent Music Awards in 2019, and released her second record Seeking Thrills in January this year to critical acclaim.
They’ll be discussing what aspects of their personalities shine through the most when making music, what drives their creativity, and what life lessons they’ve learned so far from working in music.
29 min