Inspired by recent interview with Big Boi, I examine how rap and yoga are coming together for The Guardian... Funkmaster flex: why rappers love yogawear Rappers have never been shy of co-opting sportswear. From reversing baseball caps to Run DMC rapping about Adidas and Skepta’s new tracksuit-tastic Mains clothing line, clothes originally intended for …
A bit of an unexpected challenge to mark the 10th birthday of Interpol's third album, Our Love To Admire. Rather than the usual 140, or so, characters for a social media post, BBC Radio 6 Music commissioned a full review for their Facebook page (for anyone only requiring the pithy summary, their Twitter has a …
Q have been keeping me on my toes, getting me to point my tape recorder at a very varied cast of late, including Craig David, Kasabian, Phoenix, Sleaford Mods, Phoenix, and George Ezra. The magazine do not post articles online (they don't update their website any more as you'll see if you follow any of …
Recently, I was invited to contribute reviews of two albums for a BBC Radio 6 Music article charting the influential releases of 1997 as part of the station's celebrations for Radiohead's OK Computer which was released in the tune of that year. The full article can be read online here at http://www.bbc.co.uk, but here are …
Continue reading 2 of the 15 key albums that define 1997… for BBC Radio 6 Music
I've been creating 'content' for Independent Venue Week – the yearly celebration of the UK's grassroots venues – since taking over their social media on November 2016. We've interviewed a lot of the artist who've played and created bespoke 'blog' posts for the sponsors and supporter. Recently, I spoke to Shaun Ryder for them – …
Continue reading Q&A – Shaun Ryder on Black Grape, 100 Club & Fred Perry for Independent Venue Week
George Ezra is releasing a new album later this year. I interviewed him for Q in December last year while he was still in the studio and this is how he hoped it would turn out (originally published in January 2017, print only)... Hi George, before you wrote your debut album Wanted On Voyage your …
It's almost a biannual event, I get to write an in the studio piece with Baxter Dury for Q. It's a tradition I hold dear. Here is the latest installment (originally published print only in January 2017), although there's been some changes since the last time Baxter and I convened. Hello Baxter, your recent albums …
Continue reading “Prejudice is weakness” in the studio with Baxter Dury
This article originally appeared in MOJO and on MOJO4Music.com AS SONG SUBJECTS go, listing an old family recipe sounds tasty, but hardly artful. However, for French duo The Limiñanas, culinary instructions proved to be the starting point for their chic brand of garage-rock-infused psych. “We didn’t have any particular plan or ambition when we started,” …
Continue reading The Limiñanas: A Psychedelic Tour De France
Two Christmases ago – in 2014 – Leon Bridges part of the festive season in his local branch of Staples. The Fort Worth branch of the office supply story is not exactly the most festival place on earth, but the neo soul man was celebrating. As he recounted in an interview I did for MOJO …
Continue reading New Soul & Seasons Greeting with Leon Bridges
This article originally appeared on Qthemusic.com Having called time on LCD Soundsystem in 2011, main man James Murphy has been enjoying his retirement... as long as your definition of retirement includes producing Arcade Fire and Pulp, remixing David Bowie, building unique, vinyl-only Despacio Soundsystem with Soulwax, contributing music for films and Broadway plays, running the …
Continue reading Q&A: James Murphy on LCD Soundsystem’s long goodbye
Paul Stokes – Journalist 