"It was alien, extremely alien. And it looked alien... with the buttons. What is this machine? What is this thing?" - Abel Selaocoe, on his brother's bassoon.

For this episode, Chris welcomes a South African cellist, singer and composer, who's now resident in Manchester. Inspired by all sorts of different music he heard through the radio, Abel discovered the cello as a pre-teen and at 13 won a scholarship to study music in Johannesburg. Continuing his studies, he moved to Manchester at 18 to attend the Royal Northern College of Music.

In 2021 Warner Classics signed Abel and he's released two albums; his debut 'Where Is Home/Hae ke Kae' featured a guest appearance from Yo-Yo Ma, and his second 'Hymns Of Bantu' enjoyed rave reviews and went to No1 on the OCC Specialist Classical Chart.

In this conversation you'll hear how Abel was encouraged in his music making by his older brother Sammy, the seeds of his eclectic musical style, his inclusive attitude towards live performances and his admiration for the poet John Cooper Clark.

Find out more about Abel Selaocoe's new album here:

https://www.abelselaocoe.com/

Discover more about the amazing work of Help Musicians here:

https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/

'I Never Thought It Would Happen' is produced by Ian Callaghan and Ben Jones for Gimme Sugar Productions.

www.gimmesugar.co.uk