Music Life

George Fitzgerald, SOAK, Marie Davidson, Mount Kimbie's Kai Campos and TOKiMONSTA discuss how they make their music matter in today’s transient world, whether an artist’s work has to have a clear narrative, having to live with music that you're not 100% happy with, and accidentally writing knock-offs of your favourite artists.

George FitzGerald is one of the most popular electronic producers and DJs in the UK right now. He was raised on garage and dubstep in his early years, before moving to Berlin to work as a translator and falling in love with the city's house and techno scenes.

French-Canadian producer Marie Davidson's hypnotic style combines analog synthesizers and drum machines with “spoken text” vocals, leading to a prolific career both as a solo artist and member of creative trio L’Œil Nu.

After expanding the horizons of the dubstep scene in the late 2000s, Mount Kimbie's Kai Campos has gained a reputation for being an innovative producer, lending his skills to the likes of James Blake, King Krule and slowthai.

TOKiMONSTA is a producer, DJ and prominent member of LA’s underground dance music scene. She creates a futuristic style of electronic music that touches pop and instrumental hip-hop, and is also the boss of the Young Art label.

Amahla, Corinne Bailey Rae, Tiana Major9, and Simeon Hammond Dallas discuss using music to freeze life, how much to reveal about yourself in a song, creating worlds through lyrics and crying in the studio.

British soul singer-songwriter and Nile Rodgers mentee Amahla grew up in a Caribbean household, and her songwriting is inspired by a love of literature and activism.

Multiple Grammy-winning artist Corinne Bailey Rae's soul-rooted indie sound helped her shoot to fame in 2006 with her self-titled debut album, and she’s since collaborated with the likes of Mary J Blige, Al Green, Paul McCartney, and Stevie Wonder.

Tiana Major9 is a singer-songwriter and Grammy nominee signed to Motown Records. Her track Collide, with EarthGang, featured on the soundtrack to the film‘Queen & Slim and was nominated for a Grammy. She blends influences from jazz, soul, and her Jamaican heritage.

Singer-songwriter Simeon Hammond Dallas fuses country, blues, and soul music to create her own brand of UK Americana.

Thomas Attar Bellier, Dina El Wedidi, Alsarah, Ali Güçlü Şimşek and Alain Johannes discuss collecting sound memories from birth, Egypt's rich tradition of melodies, the power of modal music, why folk music is fundamentally old-school pop, and adapting traditional instruments for modern listening.

Thomas Attar Bellier is a French-American musician and producer from the Arab garage rock outfit Al-Qasar. They combine instruments like the oud and the darbuka with Fender amps and drum kits to create a sound that unites East and West.

Prolific Egyptian singer Dina El Wedidi plays a mixture of folk, fusion and contemporary music. She’s been mentored by Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil, and Time Magazine declared her “a future leader for the next generation”.

Alsarah is a Sudanese-American singer-songwriter and ethnomusicologist. After fleeing from Sudan aged 8 she’s gone on to create music that she calls "East African retro-pop” with Alsarah & the Nubatones.

Musician and producer Ali Güçlü Şimşek has been one of the biggest names in Turkish rock over the last 20 years. His current band Lalalar are making waves in the Turkish psych scene with their fusion of retro basslines, dirty electro beats and old samples from Turkey’s rich psych-rock heritage.

Chilean-American musician Alain Johannes has toured with Dave Grohl’s Them Crooked Vultures and formed the band Eleven. He's also worked extensively with the likes of PJ Harvey and the Arctic Monkeys.

They’ll be talking

Folk musicians Alela Diane, Rhiannon Giddens, Mariee Siou and Uwade discuss that spark of electricity you get when songwriting goes well, how moments of personal growth and transition affect the music, going a whole year without writing a song, thinking of taxes while performing, and how songs are their own little houses or realms that have their own energy.

Alela Diane is a singer and guitarist based in Oregon, USA. She would often hear her parents harmonize bluegrass songs in the kitchen, which inspired a move to San Francisco aged 19, and started her on a path to a musical career that has garnered fans all over the world.

Rhiannon Giddens is a Grammy award-winning multi-instrumentalist and former Music Life host. She was the lead singer, violinist, banjo player and co-founder of the old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, and her solo work covers everything from country to opera and hip-hop.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Mariee Siou makes ethereal and transcendental folk music, which draws inspiration from her indigenous heritage and an upbringing spent going to bluegrass festivals.

Uwade is a young singer-songwriter born in Nigeria, who started writing music during her studies in New York. Her sound is influenced by everything from Greek mythology to choral hymns to Nigerian highlife.

Harvey Sutherland, Yu Su, Paul Woolford and Stella Mozgawa discuss treating yourself (psychologically), the power of non-verbal connection, the thrill of being in a room together, producing new and experimental music in China, and nature’s ability to inspire.

Harvey Sutherland is a 'neurotic funk' producer and synth player from Australia. Yu Su is a composer, DJ, producer, instrumentalist and prominent member of Vancouver’s underground dance scene. Born in the Henan province of China, she creates elegant downtempo electronic music, which has been described as “organically groovy jazz-bient expeditions”. Paul Woolford is one of British dance music's most important and most respected producers and DJs, with a career now pushing 20 years. Stella Mozgawa is an Australian drummer and producer, probably best known for being in the indie rock band Warpaint. She’s also played with the likes of the xx, Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and Tom Jones, and produced artists including Australian rock royalty Courtney Barnett.

Cakes Da Killa, Nita Aviance, Rochelle Jordan and Eli Escobar discuss the current climate of dance music, being inspired by the nightlife of New York City, and how to turn painful experiences into music.

Brooklyn-based rapper Cakes Da Killa’s music blends ‘90s grit with club beats, with witty, unapologetic lyrics that promote Black excellence and LGBTQIA+ visibility in the hip hop world. Nita Aviance is a producer and DJ who is one of the most prominent figures in New York’s LGBTQIA+ nightlife scene. Originally a trained percussionist, jazz singer and dancer, she was inducted into the legendary House of Aviance and has had DJ residencies across New York City. Rochelle Jordan is a singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada, whose gritty and experimental R&B sound has seen her gain a cult following. She’s released four albums since 2011, and collaborated with the likes of Childish Gambino and Jimmy Edgar. Eli Escobar is a DJ and producer who has been tearing up clubs in New York and beyond over the last two decades. He’s built a unique sound that combines his love of hip-hop, disco, dance music and remixing, and also runs his own label, Night People NYC.

Poppy Ajudha, Maverick Sabre and Madison McFerrin discuss how much they try to cater to an audience when songwriting, the backlash that can come from political and social comment in songs, and the complexities of expressing their identities through music.

Poppy Ajudha is a singer-songwriter from London, UK whose music fuses pop, jazz, soul and R n’ B with politically-charged lyrics. Her songs have received over 25 million streams and in 2019 she featured in Barack Obama’s Best of the Year playlist.

Maverick Sabre is a platinum-selling London-born Irish singer, songwriter and rapper. After being nominated for a BRIT Award in 2011, he’s gone on to collaborate with the likes of Jorja Smith, Akala, and former Music Life guest Kojaque.

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and producer Madison McFerrin was born into a family of celebrated vocalists, but has forged her own career in music, creating a sound which seminal producer Questlove dubbed "soul-appella".

Metal and hard rock stars Diamanda Galás, Lamb of God's Randy Blythe, Inger Lorre and Malevolence frontman Alex Taylor discuss balancing the emotion with the noise, recording in Charlie Chaplin’s studio, and how an artist's duty is to reflect the times.

Alex Taylor is the lead singer of the heavy metal band Malevolence, from Sheffield in the UK. They’re known for their ferocious sound and live shows, and have supported some of the biggest names in heavy metal including Trivium, Architects and Lamb of God.

Singer, pianist and avant-garde luminary Diamanda Galás has gained a huge cult following for her violently compassionate music and stunning four-octave vocal range.

American singer Inger Lorre fronted the seminal glam-punk band Nymphs in the 1990s. She is an underground icon and has worked with the likes of Jeff Buckley and Iggy Pop.

Randy Blythe is a true legend of heavy metal who is the frontman of one of the genre’s most important bands of the last 30 years, Lamb of God. His band have released 10 studio albums and taken their thunderous sound to sold-out stages across the world.

Jitwam, GAIKA, Elle Shimada, and Nabihah Iqbal discuss what it means for your music when the place you’re from can’t be easily described, why they like making music when they’re bored, how musicians don’t think about genre when they’re creating music, and why listening to their own music at the gym is an odd experience.

Jitwam is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist creating music that fuses funk with disco, punk and hip-hop. He’s based in New York but born and raised in India, Thailand and South America. His latest record, Third, explores the idea of finding peace within the chaos of daily life.

GAIKA is a south London-based artist, writer and musician whose music pairs dancehall rhythms and melody with imposing electronic beats. His parents were from Grenada and Jamaica, and those influences appear in his music in dark and twisted forms.

Elle Shimada is a violinist, producer and DJ from Tokyo but now based in Melbourne, who uses abstract compositions and dance beats to create music inspired by the futuristic underground sounds of Tokyo and beyond.

Nabihah Iqbal, once known as Throwing Shade, is a British-Pakistani DJ, producer, guitarist, and songwriter who originally pursued a career in law before turning to music. She blends her influences in new wave and shoegaze with electronics and heartfelt lyrics.

You Me at Six's Josh Franceschi, Lynn Gunn of PVRIS, Cody Frost and A Day to Remember's Jeremy McKinnon discuss getting protective over their own original ideas, writing with people from different styles and genres, releasing music at 4am in the morning, and the importance of liking your own music.

Josh Franceschi founded You Me at Six in 2006 with a group of school friends, and since then they’ve released seven studio albums of pop-punk and rock. Their most recent album SUCKAPUNCH reached number 1 in the UK album charts back in 2021 and sees them introducing dance, R&B and hip-hop elements into their sound.

Lynn Gunn is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist from the band Pvris. After releasing their hugely successful debut album White Noise in 2014, her band have continued to prove they’re one of the most innovative groups in rock right now, blending explosive, rhythm-driven rock music with atmospheric electro-pop.

Jeremy McKinnon is the singer, producer and frontman of A Day to Remember. He’s been releasing his incredible fusion of metalcore and pop-punk music since 2004 and has also lent his production skills to some of the best bands in the scene, including The Devil Wears Prada and Neck Deep.

Cody Frost is a young singer-songwriter and tattoo artist who makes maximalist electro-pop-punk music. She started out uploading covers to YouTube after teaching herself piano and guitar, and her debut mixtape TEETH was released in 2022. She's also recently been collaborating with You Me at Six.