The Apollo Audio Podcast

Martin and Billy discuss remote recording, production collaboration, AI tools, real musicians, the Apollo recording grant and Keo’s Put A Smile On For Me.

This episode looks at where technology helps, and where music still needs people in the room, or at least properly involved in the process.

Remote vocal recording can solve a practical problem. AI can help an artist hear a version of an idea. Session tools can sketch drums, bass or keyboards when there is no full band available. But the question running through the episode is what happens next: who shapes the part, who performs it, who brings taste, instinct, judgement and feel?

The studio discussion focuses on collaboration, arrangement, production support and the value of bringing real musicians into a project. The AI discussion looks at the difference between using a tool to develop an existing song and asking a machine to create the song for you.

The album discussion is Keo’s Put A Smile On For Me, with a focus on guitar-band energy, artwork, emotional weight, vocal identity, live potential, influences, sequencing and the work behind a band building real momentum.

Topics include:

Remote vocal recording

Production collaboration

Apollo’s recording grant

Using real musicians in studio projects

AI as a sketch tool

Where AI stops being songwriting

The Pope, AI and the spark of human art

Keo

Put A Smile On For Me

Artwork and album identity

Guitar music and live momentum

Why new bands still need to keep playing

Find Apollo Audio online: apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy discuss running playlists, podcasts, vinyl buying, physical records, mastering for vinyl, artwork, sequencing and Björk’s Debut.

This episode looks at what changes when music becomes a physical object.

Vinyl brings its own practical demands: side length, sequencing, low end, loudness, high-frequency detail, artwork, bleed, metadata and the way a record is presented as something to hold, read, look at and own.

A song is not just an audio file. It can have artwork, sleeve notes, credits, visual identity, physical format, merch, context and a sense of place around it.

The album discussion is Björk’s Debut, with a focus on individuality, vocal identity, club influence, unexpected instrumentation, sampling, melody, experimentation and the creative confidence to make something that does not sound like everyone else.

Topics include:

Vinyl buying and record shops

ElasticStage and physical releases

Albums as objects

Vinyl sequencing and side lengths

Mastering for vinyl

Artwork, bleed and metadata

Building a world around a release

Björk

Debut

Club culture and sampling

Unusual instrumentation

Vocal identity and melodic risk

Why artists should lean into the weird

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy discuss live performance, mistakes, stagecraft, setlists, gear problems, rehearsal, audience connection and beabadoobee’s Pylon.

This episode looks at what happens when songs leave the rehearsal room and have to work in front of an audience.

A live set is not just a list of songs. It is the order, the gaps, the mistakes, the recovery, the tuning, the talking, the gear choices, the transitions and the way the band keeps going when something does not quite work.

Martin and Billy talk about road-testing new songs, choosing what to cut, using setlist notes, building confidence through smaller gigs, planning for technical problems and learning how to play through mistakes rather than stopping every time something goes wrong.

The album discussion is beabadoobee’s Pylon, with a focus on concise songwriting, vocal range, production choices, dynamic shifts, guest textures and the way short songs can still feel complete when the arrangement knows where it is going.

Topics include:

Live mistakes and recovery

Road-testing new songs

Setlist flow and stagecraft

Talking to the audience

Visual clicks, tempo and feel

Pedalboards, amp problems and backup plans

Playing through mistakes

beabadoobee

Pylon

Concise song arrangements

Vocal melody and dynamics

Production details and guest textures

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy discuss Oasis, AI, streaming, Bandcamp, artist discovery, merch, QR codes and Gallows’ Grey Britain.

This episode looks at how artists create attention, build connection and give audiences something to follow beyond one song, one stream or one gig.

Oasis’ continuing reunion story raises questions about music as event culture, nostalgia, generational identity and what it means when a band becomes bigger after they stop being active.

The AI discussion focuses on authenticity, useful tools, fake content, creative replacement and why human creativity still matters when technology can imitate so much of the surface.

For independent artists, the conversation returns to a practical point: streaming platforms can help people discover music, but they rarely provide a complete financial model. Artists need somewhere to send listeners next, whether that is Bandcamp, mailing lists, merch, live shows, direct fan contact or a simple QR code at a gig.

The album discussion is Gallows’ Grey Britain, a heavy, ambitious and carefully constructed British punk record with Hertfordshire links, Frank Carter’s unmistakable vocal presence, and a strong sense of album identity.

Topics include:

Oasis and reunion culture

AI images, AI slop and creative authenticity

Streaming as discovery, not income

Bandcamp, mailing lists and direct fan contact

QR codes, merch and gig strategy

Gallows

Grey Britain

Frank Carter and punk attitude

Albums as complete statements

Preparation before recording

Why attitude and musicianship can work together

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are back on The Apollo Audio Podcast, talking coffee, court, pedalboards, live setups, analogue gear, Reading Festival, Fontaine’s D.C., Charli XCX, Geese and DOMi & JD BECK’s WHO ASKED?

The episode starts with Billy’s newly built pedalboard and a wider discussion about why physical gear, live setup, tap tempo, amp sounds, modulation, delay and stage performance all affect the way music feels.

That leads into a bigger conversation about live sets, song transitions and the craft of performance. How do you build a set that flows properly? How do you move between songs? What happens when something goes wrong on stage? And how much of that only comes from doing it repeatedly?

Martin and Billy also talk about Reading Festival, modern event culture, Fontaine’s D.C., Charli XCX, Geese, Glastonbury rumours, Oasis, Robbie Williams and the way live music now often works as a bigger cultural event.

The album discussion focuses on DOMi & JD BECK’s WHO ASKED?, a technically impressive, jazz-influenced keyboard and drum record that raises a useful question: is technical proficiency enough if the listener cannot find a hook?

Topics include:

• Pedalboards, analogue gear and live guitar sounds

• Quad Cortex vs physical pedals

• Why live performance setup matters

• Setlist flow and transitions

• Sequencing a live set like an album

• Reading Festival, Geese, Charli XCX and Fontaine’s D.C.

• Glastonbury rumours and big-event culture

• DOMi & JD BECK and WHO ASKED?

• Technical musicianship, jazz influence and hooks

• Why curiosity still matters in music

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are back for another episode of The Apollo Audio Podcast, talking PRS, set lists, songwriting royalties, Dolly Parton, Mr. Brightside, demos, Madonna and the difference between singles and albums.

The conversation starts with how songs earn money when they are performed live, why venues need PRS licences, and why independent artists should understand metadata, publishing and the money they may already be entitled to.

They also talk about Dolly Parton, the songwriting behind I Will Always Love You and Jolene, and how a song can take on a life far beyond its first version.

That leads into Mr. Brightside, the power of a great first idea, and why demos can be more than rough sketches. A demo can help a band hear transitions, test arrangements, find hooks, and sometimes capture something that is hard to recreate later.

The main album discussion focuses on Madonna’s Ray of Light, produced with William Orbit. Martin and Billy talk about Madonna’s career, her 80s and 90s pop dominance, why Ray of Light still feels like a proper album, and how producer collaboration helped create a sound that was different from what people expected.

Topics include:

• PRS, live set lists and songwriting royalties

• Why metadata matters for independent artists

• Dolly Parton and I Will Always Love You

• Mr. Brightside and the power of a first song

• Why demos are useful before recording

• Madonna’s 80s and 90s career

• Ray of Light and William Orbit

• Producer collaboration and artist reinvention

• Singles, EPs and albums

• Why albums and singles do different jobs

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are back in one of Apollo Audio’s newly refurbished rehearsal rooms, talking studio upgrades, vinyl, cassettes, music scenes, AI, physical gear, festivals and Phoebe Bridgers’ new album Lost Weekend.

The conversation starts with the changes happening around the studio, including the newly updated rehearsal rooms and plans for more music production, recording and releases at Apollo Audio.

They also talk about record shops, cassette culture, vinyl collecting, local music scenes, AI music tools, Suno, physical amps, pedalboards, and why the process of making music still matters.

The main album discussion focuses on Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend, a record that feels like a deliberate album rather than a collection of tracks. Martin and Billy discuss reinvention, courage, texture, production choices and why artists sometimes need to move forward without simply repeating what worked before.

The episode closes on a production point that applies to any artist making records now: perfect is not always better. Sometimes the hiss, the movement, the push and pull, the timing changes and the rougher edges are what make a recording feel human.

Topics include:

• Apollo Audio’s refurbished rehearsal rooms

• Vinyl, cassettes and physical music formats

• Record shops and local scenes

• AI music tools and creative shortcuts

• Pedalboards, amps and physical sound

• Reading and Leeds, BBC Introducing and new artist routes

• Phoebe Bridgers and Lost Weekend

• Reinvention after success

• Why perfect is not always better

• Human timing, texture and production choices

• Keeping the feel in a recording

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are joined by Josh Dean, MP for Hertford and Stortford, for a conversation about music, local culture, grassroots venues and why spaces like Apollo Audio matter.

Josh talks about growing up in Hertford, spending time around friends in bands, discovering Bob Dylan through his granddad, and his more recent love of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

Local music, business rates, rehearsal spaces, recording studios, grassroots venues and the role that places like Apollo Audio play in giving artists somewhere to practise, perform, record and develop, plus Hertford’s wider music culture, including Rock at the Castle, Musical Mystery Tour, local pubs, young musicians, summer band camps and the importance of giving people a real place to make music rather than only consuming it online.

Topics include:

• Josh’s musical background

• Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and protest music

• Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath

• Artists who reinvent themselves live

• Hertford’s music scene

• Grassroots venues and business rates

• Why rehearsal and recording spaces matter

• Young musicians and local opportunity

• Apollo Audio as part of the community

• Recommended album: Ozzy Osbourne, Blizzard of Ozz

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are back for another episode of The Apollo Audio Podcast, AI, copyright, mixing, live performance, chart records and Loathe’s new album A Stranger To You.

The conversation starts with recent discussion around support for grassroots music and the challenge of protecting artists from AI scraping, stem separation and the unauthorised reuse of creative work.

AI tools may have their uses, but there is still a difference between using technology to support a creative process and using it to bypass the work completely.

Martin and Billy also talk about mixing as an active, creative process: automation, fader moves, dynamics, transitions, and the small decisions that make a record feel alive rather than static.

The album discussion focuses on Loathe’s A Stranger To You, a heavy, atmospheric and highly produced record that moves between ambience, industrial textures, extreme heaviness, melody and carefully controlled dynamics.

Topics include:

• AI, copyright and artist protection

• Stem separation and backing tracks

• The difference between tools and shortcuts

• Why learning an instrument still matters

• Mixing, automation and dynamic movement

• UK album chart records

• Oasis and What’s the Story Morning Glory?

• Loathe and A Stranger To You

• Arrangement, transitions and album flow

• Why records still reward proper listening

Video version available on YouTube and Spotify.

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin and Billy are back for another filmed episode of The Apollo Audio Podcast, starting with the latest Apollo Audio studio gig featuring Conor Bond, Wire Bugs and High Society.

That leads into a wider conversation about small venues, DIY shows and why intimate gigs still matter. Stadium shows can be huge events, but smaller rooms give artists something different: atmosphere, connection, audience response and a place to build properly.

They also talk about System of a Down, Oasis, stand-up comedy in stadiums, the Rolling Stones, chart records in the streaming age, and why comparing modern streams with old physical single sales is not always straightforward.

The album discussion focuses on Bring Me The Horizon’s Count Your Blessings | Repented, a re-recorded version of their debut album. Billy explains his connection to the band, while Martin tries to understand the value of revisiting an old record with more experience, better production and a much larger audience.

Topics include:

• Apollo Audio studio gigs

• Why small venues still matter

• Stadium shows vs intimate rooms

• Building an audience before stepping up

• The cost and risk of putting on live shows

• Streaming-era chart records

• Bring Me The Horizon and Count Your Blessings | Repented

• Re-recording old albums

• Heavy music, niche audiences and artist evolution

• Why production quality can change how a record is heard

Video version available on YouTube and Spotify.

Find Apollo Audio online:

apollo-audio.co.uk

The Apollo Audio Podcast is hosted by record producer Martin Lumsden and musician and studio owner Billy Hills and is recorded at Apollo Audio Hertford.

Each episode offers insight into songs, records, and the creative process, drawn from real-world experience in studios and making music.

Also available to watch on YouTube and Spotify

📍 www.apollo-audio.co.uk

📷 Instagram: @apolloaudiopodcast

📧 [email protected]

A Froody Music Production. Production and editing by Martin Lumsden.

www.froodymusic.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-apollo-audio-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.