The Wind Thieved Hat

In this conversation, recorded down the line, I talk about writing and life with poet Toria Garbutt.

We chat about what it was like growing up in a close knit northern town in the aftermath of the miner’s strike; Toria tells me how poetry has enabled her to come to terms with some of the toughest episodes in her life; she explains how she’s overcome getting stuck with her second collection; and she shares a technique for making your wildest dreams come true.

Oh, and we discuss Sonic the Hedgehog as a metaphor for the creative process.

You can explore Toria’s work on her website.

Her first collection is The Universe and Me. Available here.

If you ever find yourself on a shoot for a TV commercial then there’s a good chance that the Director of Photography, will be male and white. Deepa Keshvala, one of the UK’s most sought after DOP’s, is neither of these things. And in this brilliantly refreshing and inspiring conversation Deepa gives me her unique take on the creative process.

She tells me about her first film, Canned, a documentary about meeting her estranged alcoholic father, and why she had to make Kara, a fictionalized version of the same encounter.

We talk about the influence of India on her work, about how best to collaborate with a director, and about her role on the extraordinary BAFTA nominated short Goldfish.

And with great dignity Deepa explains why, just a couple of months ago, when faced with unethical behaviour on advertising set she took the bold decision to walk.

I loved talking to Deepa. I hope you enjoy listening to her just as much.

‘The person we become as adults has everything to do with how we play as children.’

I first came across Cas through the Netflix documentary Abstract, the Art of Design. My interest was piqued by the fact we share the same surname, but I soon became utterly absorbed in Cas’s brilliantly iconoclastic approach to creativity.

For Cas play is a fundamental part of the human experience, shaping the people we become and the world we make for ourselves.

Through her company Heroes Will Rise, Cas designs tools for the imagination. Much more than toys, these are objects which invite curiosity, experimentation and original thinking.

In this conversation, recorded earlier in the summer, and down the line, so please forgive the occasional audio glitch, we talk not only about Cas’s philosophy of play but also how she came to be where she is today.

Cas tells me how she got thrown out of school only to end up chasing lizards on the Galapagos islands. She talks about her time on the drag scene in San Francisco. She explains why every designer needs an existential crisis now and again. And there’s a great story about her grandpa’s steel toe boots.

Poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer Inua Ellams is without doubt one of the most inspiring and eloquent creators I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with so far.

There’s so much in this short conversation, recorded remotely during lockdown. Inua talks about his childhood in Nigeria, and the black privilege he only became aware of later; he talks about finding inspiration in sources as diverse as Terry Pratchett, Tolkein and 90’s west coast hip hop; he tells me why his plays are really poems which have gone wrong; why he never really gets writer’s block and he makes a compelling case for the similarities between a poem and a basketball team.

Witty, wise, and hugely talented, he is Inua Ellams.

I’m a sucker for a portrait project. And Richard Beaven’s All of Us is one of the most beguiling I’ve seen for a long time. Originally from Devon in the UK, Richard now lives in a small town called Ghent in upstate New York. On the town’s bicentennial Richard set out to photograph as many of the townspeople as he could, one by one. The captivating series of 276 medium format images will soon be a book.

In our conversation, recorded in the middle of lockdown, Richard talks about how he made the switch from the brutal world of advertising to life as a professional photographer. We discuss the paradox of the medium, that photography depicts surface yet somehow takes you deeper. And Richard explains practically about how he photographs strangers and why some of the most interesting subjects can often be very close to home.

If you can, check out Richard’s work while you listen.

For many years Guilhem Gallart was a successful record producer and recording artist. Better known as Pone, he helped shaped the sound of hip hop in France in the 90’s and enjoyed a number of hits with his collective the Fonky Family. In 2015 Pone was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or motor neurone disease. There’s no cure for ALS. It’s left Pone tetraplegic, dependent on a machine to breathe, and unable to move anything but his eyes. And yet … Pone recently released an album of new music. He’s working on a series of books. He writes a regular blog, ALS for Dummies and as he tells me in our conversation he is now more at peace than ever. Pone’s boundless creativity is painstakingly realised, note by note, letter by letter, using eye tracking software. The interview you’re about to hear was conducted over a month via email. Pone’s words are spoken by the French actor Guillaume Farré and the sound design for this episode was created by Sébastien at La Plage music. Pone’s story is a remarkable one. I hope you enjoy it.

It’s often said that you shouldn’t meet your heroes. So it was with some trepidation that I went down to Brighton one rainy day in January to meet Henry Normal.

Henry’s name always used to pop up on the credits of some of my favourite TV shows. Paul Calf’s Video Diaries, Mrs Merton, The Royle Family, The Mighty Boosh … I could go on.

But I needn’t have worried about meeting him. Henry’s a lovely man.

And his creative endeavours extend even beyond those TV classics. He’s a poet, a writer and someone who thinks a lot about creativity, the world and our place in it.

Our conversation begins with his early life in the slums of Nottingham. He tells me how Jack Benny and Dean Martin got him thinking about a life beyond the narrow streets of St Anne’s. He tells me what it was like to write with Steve Coogan and Caroline Aherne, and there are some great stories about the making of Mrs Merton and the Royle Family. And we talk about Henry’s son, Johnny and how he inspired Henry to return to poetry after a break of 20 years.

I tried really hard to get this conversation down to under an hour. I really did. But there was just too much good stuff to let go.

There’s laughter and there’s tears.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Henry Normal.

'Life is monotonous. We are often wrapped up in our thoughts as we move from place to place. We can become blind to the environments and objects we interact with. NEON was founded to elevate the everyday.’ So say Mark Nixon and Viliina Koivisto. Otherwise known as NEON. They work together from their studio in Margate creating fantastical architecture, art and design. Their projects are usually large, sometimes very large, and they invite interaction. I first met Mark & Viliina when I was working with the British channel ITV on a project to have a different artist every week create an artwork based on their logo. I loved the project NEON produced and I really enjoyed the way they think. In this conversation, which was recorded sometime before we’d become familiar with the phrases self-isolation and social distancing, we talk about their mission to elevate the everyday, how they function - as a collaborative duo, and as a couple - they tell me the stories behind their projects, this interview is going to want to make you visit Ethiopia if you didn’t already - and they let me in on how they manage to keep a steady stream of paid commissions.

My first encounter with Nicola Davies was on telly after school in the 1980’s when she was presenting the Really Wild Show, a TV show for kids all about animals. My second encounter with her was at a family gathering when I discovered - with a double take - that Nicola and my wife are related.

Today Nicola is a writer. She’s written over 60 books, many of them award winning, and most of them for children and young adults. In our conversation Nicola describes ‘the joy of seeing and the fizz of understanding’. She talks about why - despite studying for a PHD in Zoology - she could never have been a scientist. And she speaks with a devastating eloquence about the importance of creativity in these troubled times. She’s a great writer, a brilliant mind, and a wonderful human being.

You can find Nicola on Twitter here.

This conversation with the Emmy nominated and internationally acclaimed creative director & designer Ana Criado was recorded over lunch in her garden in LA. Ana is as generous with her stories as she was with her paella. The tale of how she wound up being hired to create motion graphics for one of the best studios in the world without knowing anything about motion graphics is brilliant.

We also discuss impostor syndrome; how the creative life can get harder the better you get; cooking as a metaphor for creativity and how the time is ripe for a paradigm shift in titles.

You can explore Ana’s work here.