Podcast

We sit down with James Skelly and Nick Power of The Coral at Liverpool’s Parr Street Studios to discuss the writing of their new album Move Through The Dawn. In addition to reflecting on tuneful new offerings like ‘She’s A Runaway’, ‘Eyes Like Pearls’ and ‘Strangers In The Hollow’, the pair remember their mentor Alan Wills and tell the stories behind hits like ‘In The Morning’, ‘Pass It On’ and ‘Dreaming of You’.

Tom Ogden, Joe Donovan and Charlie Salt of Stockport’s own Blossoms talk about the writing of their second album Cool Like You, including songs like ‘I Can’t Stand It’, ‘Unfaithful’, ‘There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)’, ‘How Long Will This Last’ and ‘Stranger Still’. The band reflect on the role of synthesisers on this record, how the group dynamic imbues the songs with specific qualities, and the band’s relationship with producer James Skelly.

In this episode, Simon and Brian visit the London studio of Grammy and Ivor Novello-winning songwriter and producer Fraser T Smith. Fraser talks about the writing of songs like ‘Set Fire to the Rain’ (Adele), ‘Break Your Heart’ (Taio Cruz) and ‘Broken Strings’ (James Morrison) and his collaborative partnerships with Stormzy, Craig David and Dave among others. Fraser also reflects on his approach to learning through studying online and how he strives to make meaningful work that will resonate over time.

The delightful Fran Healy of Travis discusses the writing of classic songs like ‘Driftwood’, ‘Writing to Reach You’, ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me’, ‘Turn’, ‘Sing’, ‘Side’ and ‘Flowers in the Window’. In the course of the conversation, Fran reflects on the importance of never having a plan, how he make songs relatable, and his new film Almost Fashionable, a documentary about Travis.

Bassist and composer Stanley Clarke sits down with Simon and Brian to chat about his work on solo and Return to Forever tracks like ‘Lopsy Lu’, ‘School Days’, ‘Hello Jeff’ and ‘The Magician’. Stanley describes his collaborations with the likes of Louis Johnson (‘We Supply’), George Duke (‘Let’s Get Started’) and Gregory Hines (‘Bassically Taps’) and details his approach to film scoring for movies like Passenger 57 and What’s Love Got To Do With It.

Singer-songwriter, composer, playwright and author Rupert Holmes discusses songs from his lavish box set Songs That Sound Like Movies from Cherry Red Records. The polymath and raconteur talks Simon and Brian through the writing of classic songs like ‘Widescreen’, ‘Him’, ‘Timothy’, ‘Studio Musician’, ‘Partners in Crime’, and ‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’. Rupert also describes writing for Barbra Streisand, collaborating with Marvin Hamlisch, and the secret of managing his many projects.

Andrew W.K. sits down in London with Simon and Brian to talk about his new album You’re Not Alone. In this wide-ranging conversation, Andrew describes how his philosophy, his knowledge of music and his instrumental skills inform his approach to writing and recording songs like ‘Music Is Worth Living For’, ‘Party Mindset’ and ‘You’re Not Alone’. The Party God also describes the processes behind some classics from his back catalogue including ‘Party Hard’ and ‘Don’t Call Me Andy’.

Singer-songwriter Nell Bryden describes the writing of her recent album Bloom including the songs ‘Thought I Was Meant For You’, ‘Barcelona’s Gone’ and ‘Dared the World and Won’. From the back catalogue, we also go in-depth on ‘Sirens’, ‘Buildings and Treetops’ and ‘Wayfarer’ while Nell reflects on confessional writing styles, using unfamiliar instruments, and the power of prose.

The brilliant Charlie Dore sits down with Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of her most recent album, Dark Matter. Charlie also talks in detail about her classic hit ‘Pilot of the Airwaves’, working on TV’s Rainbow, co-writing songs like ‘Ain’t No Doubt’ (Jimmy Nail), ‘Rain, Tax (It’s Inevitable)’ (Céline Dion), and ‘Strut’ (Sheena Easton), and her time spent in the company of friends and colleagues like Eric Idle, George Harrison and Harry Nilsson.

To kick off 2018, Simon and Brian sit down with actress and singer-songwriter Rita Wilson to talk about her journey into songwriting, her recent eponymous album, collaborations with a range of world-class writers both in LA and Nashville, and her live music series: Liner Notes: Songwriters, Stories and Music with Rita Wilson and Friends.

This special episode features a sit down with legendary British songwriter Noel Gallagher who talks about his approach to writing the new High Flying Birds album Who Built The Moon? as well as classic Oasis songs like ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. In describing his work, Noel likens the discipline of songwriting to fishing, and, in that way only he can, expresses his distaste for artists who rely on songwriting teams.

In this episode, Simon and Brian visit the Ealing studios of celebrated UK producer and songwriter Naughty Boy (aka Shahid Khan) for a chat about the writing and production behind songs like ‘Diamond Rings’, ‘Clown’, ‘Wonder’, ‘La La La’ and ‘Runnin’ (Lose it All)’. Naughty Boy also talks about his long-standing writing partnership with Emeli Sandé, working with other luminaries like Beyoncé, and completing his next album.