You are listening to a special episode of The Download recorded live from CordaCon 2019. We captured interviews from BizDay and DevDay at R3’s flagship conference in London. This episode explores how blockchain allows liquid movement of digital assets and the future of this emerging asset class.  

Fred Dalibard, Chairman of the Board at R3 and Head of Digital CIB & Global Blockchain Coordinator at Natixis shares benefits of using blockchain for identification and KYC when moving digital assets. 

Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie CEO of global cryptocurrency broker BCB Group, explains how businesses can benefit from seamless cross border payments, how digital assets are creating new markets and how the DASL solution enables trade of fiat currency and crypto across the same ledger. 

Former Head of Emerging Technology at RBS, Richard Crook talks about the benefits of being on Corda network. Richard now heads up LAB577, a software house poised to deliver solutions at the intersect of emerging technology and financial services.   

To find out more from the three firms, follow them on LinkedIn or visit Natixis https://www.natixis.com/natixis/jcms, BCB Group https://bcbgroup.io/ and LAB577 https://lab577.io/dasl/  

Don’t forget, we also have two more episodes in our The Download CordaCon 2019 series, The Download // Telco // CordaCon 2019 explores how Telco’s are harnessing the potential of blockchain. We also have The Download // Out & About // CordaCon 2019, where a range of firms and voices give the low down on their businesses, how they use blockchain and what is next in this exciting emerging tech space.

You are listening to a special episode of The Download recorded live from CordaCon 2019. We captured interviews from BizDay and DevDay at R3’s flagship conference in London. This episode explores how Telco’s are harnessing the potential of blockchain.  

R3 Business Development Director & Telecom Lead Thomas Spencer shares how firms are using corda and blockchain as a digital enabler to drive new revenue streams.  

Having one of the biggest telco networks across the globe, Jorge Bento CTO at Vodafone explains his firm’s perspective on blockchain and why instant connectivity isn’t just important, it’s a necessity.

Gareth Mee CEO at Invenica identifies the key drivers of adoption of DLT as we head towards 2020, a new decade and beyond.  

Don’t forget to follow R3, Vodafone and Invenica on LinkedIn to be up to date with their movements.  

To find out more about R3 and Corda network visit https://www.r3.com/
Why not check out Invenica’s Blockchain innovation & disruption in Media & Telecoms webinar here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uqwZxHX1cQ  

Don’t forget, we also have two more episodes in our The Download CordaCon 2019 series, The Download // Digital Assets // CordaCon 2019 explores the future of digital assets using blockchain. We also have The Download // Out & About // CordaCon 2019, where a range of firms and voices give the low down on their businesses, how they use blockchain and what is next in this exciting emerging tech space.

Welcome to Sonic Adventures, a journey through the past, present and future of electronic music. Together, ditto founder Mike Wilson and his fellow audio astronaut Chi Ming Lai, music writer at The Electricity Club, take you through what you should be listening to right now.

Chi’s playlist this week is, as always, music to our ears:

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the experimental electronic group formed in Merseyside in 1978. Could this be the only band to be more Kraftwerk than Kraftwerk themselves?

We take a sonic ride to Scandinavia listening to two tracks from Swedish synth-pop duo Kite. Can you imagine if Ennio Morricone did soundtracks for Nordic Noir? That is Kite in a nutshell.
Looking into music future, we have imi. With swooping vocals and seductive synth-pop sounds, we discuss why her classical training and human league inspired vibe has led her to release one of the most promising tracks of the year.

If you want to get down to see imi live, she is opening The Electricity Club’s 006 event at London Electro works on Saturday 30th November. Tickets are available here: https://billetto.co.uk/e/tec-006-with-rein-se-komputer-imi-tickets-381506?fbclid=IwAR3DQlytyhRxa_KXQ6y5Ry8xc47yAQfo-oUQt_DvUjTe5TGJrbopgRBBBQA

Radio ditto presents Campfire, where we talk to inspiring folk from the worlds of tech, art and culture.

In this episode, we chat with theatre producer and all-round virtuoso Jo Mangan, Director and CEO of Ireland’s Carlow Arts Festival and Artistic Director of The Performance Corporation. She’s also currently curating the Ireland exhibition for the Prague Quadrennial Design Exhibition.

From DJing in the nightclubs of Venezuela to presenting Kofi Annan with one million signatures on behalf of Amnesty International, Jo’s career has been varied as it’s been illustrious.  

Jo talks about tempting her partner into showbusiness, how to fund the arts ethically and the impossibility of forcing creativity to fit corporate KPIs.

Jo’s zest for life is infectious. If you’re hungry for more, check out Jo's Campfire presents Big Boost Mondays event at ditto.tv/events to relive the event from our Clerkenwell studio on 4th November.

In Bytes & Pieces, ditto founder Mike Wilson shoots a round of quickfire questions at three companies shaking up the FinTech scene.

This episode is a trans-Atlantic talk, as we speak to Sean Coyne in Dublin at Code Institute, over in New York we catch up with Joe Laranjeiro at Conscious Business Institute and then it's to London with Andy Honess, CEO & Founder of JumpXL.

In a quickfire 10-minute Q&A, they each tell us about what they do and why:

Sean is a Digital Transformation Advisor at Code Institute. The firm is dedicated to accelerating digital talent, upskilling employees with the tech capabilities needed in today’s evolving digital landscape, through a full-stack development program online.

Joe at Conscious Business Institute shares more about the culture and leadership development company. He tells us why culture is more than bean bags and coffees, the science behind a ‘happy workplace’, along with how we can measure expressions of talent, resilience and effective contributions.

Andy Honess talks about Jump XL, a business consultancy practice in London. Andy, also a mentor and advisor to several high-profile, tech start-up incubation and accelerator programmes tells us about his path to angel investment, and whom he chooses to invest in.

The Download is a deep dive into trends shaping technology today, from capital markets to cutting-edge software.

For this month’s discussion, we’re joined by two players in the fixed income market. We ask how firms are searching for the positive in the negative yield.

The first is Mark Watters, who after 17 years at Bloomberg is now Chief Commercial Officer at AxeTrading, a fixed income eTrading technology company.

Then there's Chris White, founder and CEO of ViableMkts & BondCliQ. ViableMkts delivers unparalleled strategic guidance to institutions focused on innovation and financial markets. BondCliQ is the first central market system for the corporate bond market.

Chris gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look of his bi-annual event in New York, whilst Mark shares how Axe Trading have just been named Fixed Income Trading System of the Year by FOW.

Check out Chris’s weekly Friday newsletter of fixed income and bond market news. Follow @FridayNwsletter or subscribe at http://www.fridaynewsletter.com/

Radio ditto presents Campfire, where we talk to inspiring folk from the worlds of tech, art and culture.

In this episode, we're joined by prolific London-based record producer, songwriter, sound engineer, musician, DJ and author Richard Norris. He is best known as a member of electronic dance band The Grid. Richard has also worked as a producer and engineer since the 80s with artists such as Bryan Ferry, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Marc Almond, Joe Strummer and Pet Shop Boys.

He began making music as a teenage member of St. Albans punk band Innocent Vicars recording two singles in 1980 - ‘Antimatter‘ and ‘Funky Town‘ for the independent No Brain Records. He started working in the music industry as the label manager for the British psychedelic record label, Bam Caruso, before becoming a writer for NME in 1987. Since then Richard has been in the UK TOP 3 charts, most notably in with the single ‘Swamp Thing’ when he was a member of The Grid, and most recently performing at the 26th Anniversary of BBC Meltdown festival with Nile Rodgers, the most long-running artist-curated festival in the world. Richard is also working on a new abstract and ambient album Abstractions.

During this fascinating talk we journey through Richards rise in music from electronic bedroom beats to UK TOP 3 singles. We find out why Joy Division were creatures from another planet and how a mix of music, LSD and fashion created the new term ‘Freakbeat’ embodying the mod, pop-psych sound. We talk about the rumours of Richard’s old manager based on an eccentric Spinal Tap character.

We also discuss how music can be an escape and a safe haven, and the necessity to create a safe space in dubious surroundings, which is what led Richard onto his ambient adventure.

At the end of the podcast, Richard gives his recommendations on what to listen to, what to read and what to watch.

Visit ditto.tv/events to check out Richard's Campfire presents Big Boost Mondays event from October 7th at our Clerkenwell studios. 

The Download is a deep dive into trends shaping technology today, from capital markets to cutting-edge software. 

This episode features three key players in the Blockchain foodchain:

• David Nicol, Head of Digital Assets at R3, an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of 300 participants from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, its open-source blockchain platform.
• Richard Crook, CEO & Founder of LAB577, who co-create applications using emerging tech, dedicated to clients in the financial services industry, they are at the intersect between finance and emerging tech.
• Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie. CEO & Founder of BCB Group, a global enterprise pushing the boundaries in the digital asset space, with a dedicated focus on prime brokerage for institutional markets.

The firms discuss the adoption of digital assets from consumer to corporate world, how Mastercard are adopting blockchain into their offering for faster cross border payments, the stand out firms making waves with digital assets and how challenges can be turned into triumphs when you partner with the right people. 

Welcome to Sonic Adventures, a journey through the past, present and future of electronic music. Together, ditto founder Mike Wilson and his fellow audio astronaut Chi Ming Lai, music writer at The Electricity Club, take you through what you should be listening to right now.

Chi’s playlist this week is, as always, music to our ears:

• Depeche Mode: how do a group of Essex lads continue to sell out shows decades after their conception, grossing $202 million from their recent global spirit tour across 30 countries worldwide?
• We ask whether The International Teachers of Pop's Kraftwerk-style cover of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall, recorded in German vocals strengthens our connection to Europe in these tumultuous times of Brexit Britain. 
• Chi showcases his ones to watch, Circuit3, producing catchy bleep beats and "synthpop for the masses".

In Bytes & Pieces, ditto founder Mike Wilson shoots a round of quickfire questions at three companies shaking up the FinTech scene.

This episode has a global feel to it, with Matt Hicks from Codat in London, Tom Kennedy from CWSI in Dublin and Luis Aguirre at Rhisco based in Mexico City. In a quickfire 10-minute Q&A, they each tell us about what they do and why:

• Matt from Codat, who operates in the SME financial services landscape, talks about market trends in the last 5 years with the range of technology platforms such as Quickbooks and Sage. With different standards and API’s banks find it complex to build multiple connectors, which is where Codat comes in. 
• Luis from Rhisco introduces his consulting firm and transitioning into RegTech. He discusses his award-winning data aggregation and management tool Tegra, and a new RegTech platform ‘Oh Good’ which allows for curated controls for its customers.
• Tom over at CWSI is on a wave this year after coming off the back of a successful funding round and about to embark on CWSI's UK campaign. CWSI helps businesses to adopt mobile working, with a mission to help organisations to thrive in a mobile world. They help firms to attract and retain talented employees with useful mobile devices.