John is joined by English musician, songwriter, producer and DJ Emma-Jean Thackray to talk about how she wrote, recorded and produced the album Weirdo.

Emma-Jean Thackray is a musical polymath whose creative approach was shaped by playing in brass bands as a child in West Yorkshire and studying jazz composition and performance at university. Her 2021 debut album 'Yellow' topped the UK Jazz Albums Chart and won Jazz FM Album of the Year. Her second album, 'Weirdo', followed in 2025 and was nominated for that year’s Mercury Prize. Entirely written, recorded, performed and produced by Emma-Jean, the record ultimately became a deeply personal grief diary following the sudden death of her partner.

Sitting down at Strongroom Studios in London, Emma-Jean and John delve into how to make yourself like a whole band when you’re just one artist in a room, including layering and techniques for vocal recording and processing. Emma-Jean talks about exploring death and grief musically on ‘Maybe Nowhere’, being a perfectionist, and why a distortion pedal is the most highly insured piece she owns!

Tracks discussed: Wanna Die, Save Me, Maybe Nowhere

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Recorded at Strongroom Studios

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LISTEN to ‘Weirdo’ here - https://lynkify.in/album/weirdo/XTgkV1p8 

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GEAR MENTIONS

Valhalla Super Massive

Valhalla Plugins

Prophet 5 V Soft Synth

dbx 160 Compressor

Telefunken ELA M Mic

Moog

Ampeg Bass Amp

Fender P-Bass

Bidirectional Ribbon Mics (Coles 4038)

Boss RE202 Space Echo

Fender Semi Hollow Telecaster

Fender Blues Junior

Roland SH-101

Fender Rhodes

Neve 1073 Clone

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