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Sampling Firepits, Feeling Flamenco, Finding Tonás
This week, I finally tackle a long-overdue Genre Tombola pick: Tonás, one of the oldest and most intense styles in flamenco — unaccompanied, emotional, and steeped in centuries of cultural history.
To explore it, I chat with the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who sheds light on the roots of Tonás, its tragic themes, and how flamenco works as a live, collaborative, improvisational artform.
But first… I hit a firepit with a stick. And turn it into music.
Using only my phone and the Ableton Note app, I record a metallic firepit in Dorset with my son, and turn it into a playable instrument. The result? A crunchy little beat made entirely from campsite sounds — and the launch of a brand-new segment: Clip n Mix.
Video versions available on Spotify and YouTube.
00:00 – Intro + podcast updates
03:00 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset
10:45 – Tonás and flamenco intro
11:10 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai
35:30 – Post-interview: why I didn’t make a Tonás track
36:30 – Turning the firepit samples into a beat in the studio
56:00 – Outro, Patreon, live shows, and how to send in your own samples
🎬 Watch the Tonás video Josie mentions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A
👣 Follow Josie:
Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/
Instagram: @josie_sinna
📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note
🎧 Get the firepit samples + Ableton Note project file:
https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces
🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026
👨👩👧👦 Kids show (2pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/
🌙 Evening show (7:30pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/
🌍 More info: https://www.originofthepieces.com
👉 Like the show? Please subscribe, rate, and share — and send your own weird/beautiful samples for future Clip n Mix segments to [email protected] or @stevepretty on social.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
View all episodes
By Steve PrettyThis week, I finally tackle a long-overdue Genre Tombola pick: Tonás, one of the oldest and most intense styles in flamenco — unaccompanied, emotional, and steeped in centuries of cultural history.
To explore it, I chat with the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who sheds light on the roots of Tonás, its tragic themes, and how flamenco works as a live, collaborative, improvisational artform.
But first… I hit a firepit with a stick. And turn it into music.
Using only my phone and the Ableton Note app, I record a metallic firepit in Dorset with my son, and turn it into a playable instrument. The result? A crunchy little beat made entirely from campsite sounds — and the launch of a brand-new segment: Clip n Mix.
Video versions available on Spotify and YouTube.
00:00 – Intro + podcast updates
03:00 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset
10:45 – Tonás and flamenco intro
11:10 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai
35:30 – Post-interview: why I didn’t make a Tonás track
36:30 – Turning the firepit samples into a beat in the studio
56:00 – Outro, Patreon, live shows, and how to send in your own samples
🎬 Watch the Tonás video Josie mentions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A
👣 Follow Josie:
Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/
Instagram: @josie_sinna
📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note
🎧 Get the firepit samples + Ableton Note project file:
https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces
🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026
👨👩👧👦 Kids show (2pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/
🌙 Evening show (7:30pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/
🌍 More info: https://www.originofthepieces.com
👉 Like the show? Please subscribe, rate, and share — and send your own weird/beautiful samples for future Clip n Mix segments to [email protected] or @stevepretty on social.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.