Lost And Sound In Berlin

Everything is political, even nature. That spark leads us into a wide-ranging conversation with Green-House—Olive Ardizoni and Michael Flanagan—whose new album Hinterlands on Ghostly International proves that quiet, spacious music can still carry teeth. We trace the project's beginnings in LA: Olive escaping a soulless service job by walking Griffith Park, Michael offering early tech scaffolding, and the two slowly dissolving roles until the songs breathed on their own. Think Japanese environmental music and library records as wayfinders; sampled and real guitars treated like synths; textures that breathe, We dig into labels. “Ambient” doesn't fit sonically, but its non-hierarchical ethos does. “New Age” is another story: we talk wellness capitalism, spiritual packaging, and the lazy use of eastern signifiers, especially glaring in LA where cultish histories still hum under the surface. From there, we examine the streaming economy that rewards backgroundability, how algorithms sell artists their own data back, and why Green-House resist being flattened into spa-core.Green-House on Instagram:Hinterlands is released on Ghostly International on March 20thGreen-House on Bandcamp:https://green-house.bandcamp.com/album/hinterlandshttps://www.instagram.com/green_house1976/?hl=enHuge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity PressFollow Lost and Sound on SubstackYou can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

I sat down with Parisian‑born, Brussels‑based producer UFO95 to trace the line between brutalist architecture, Detroit machine soul, and live techno. From early days in punk bands and birthdays above his parents' club to a Tresor residency and a nerve‑tight Berghain performance, he unpacks how structure, space, and human error can turn a set into something physical.We dive into the design choices behind the new UFO95 album A Brutalist Dystopian Society Part 2: concrete‑solid kicks, saturated drones, and spacious pads that carry the grey, functional, futuristic mood of brutalism without ornament. He explains why half his shows remain improvised, how shrinking his hardware rig sharpened the energy, and what different cities teach him about pacing a room. Expect thoughtful nods to Underground Resistance, Jeff Mills, Surgeon, and Regis, reframed through a personal lens that swaps copycat nostalgia for living lineage.We also explore the craft behind the scenes: producing with the live arc in mind, writing twenty‑minute passages that breathe without a kick, and treating the club as a place to express, not excess. UFO95 talks candidly about resisting trends, favouring slow, minimal, and mental tracks while much of techno chases extremes, and why keeping protest and experimentation at the heart of the genre still matters.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support the podcast is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps new listeners discover the show — on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.UFO95 on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ufo95live/?hl=enUFO95 on Bandcamp:https://ufo95.bandcamp.com/Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity PressFollow Lost and Sound on SubstackYou can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

I sat down with Nathan Fake, one of the UK's most distinctive electronic music producers, to chart his journey from rural Norfolk to the forefront of techno, IDM and experimental electronic music — and to unpack Evaporator, his seventh studio album. The record marks a clear pivot away from drum-heavy habits toward mood, melody and atmosphere, growing out of an intentional “ambient-only” brief.We dig into the nuts and bolts of music production: why Nathan still sketches ideas in old versions of Cubase, how cassette saturation, cheap gear and sonic imperfections add human friction, and where modern plugins genuinely earn their place. He talks about contrast as a compositional tool — lush pads against tough drums — and traces a lineage from Border Community's trance-tinged techno through to echoes of Warp-era electronic atmospherics.There's also a candid look at playing legacy tracks live, reshaping classics like “The Sky Was Pink” and “Outhouse” through improvisation, memory and feel, rather than carbon-copy recreations.Beyond sound design, the conversation opens out into bigger questions about electronic music today. Do long-form tracks still survive in a scroll- and swipe-first ecosystem? Nathan answers by doubling down, placing a nine-minute centrepiece at the heart of the new album. We reflect on working with small independent labels versus larger music organisations, and he shares pragmatic advice for staying singular: ignore trends, set your own constraints, and let the idea dictate the tool. We also probe the monoculture of online tutorials and ubiquitous DAWs.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support the podcast is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps new listeners discover the show — on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.Nathan Fake on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nathanpaulfake/?hl=enNathan Fake on Bandcamp:https://nathanfake.bandcamp.com/Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity PressFollow Lost and Sound on SubstackYou can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Nikki Nair gets serious about fun — the formerly Tennessee, formerly Atlanta, currently LA-based DJ and producer talks about how a punk sense of purpose, Detroit and Chicago foundations, and a love of “broken” sound converge into sets and tracks that surprise without losing the groove. Nikki gets into how a recent UK residency sharpened his instincts, the studio sessions that kept his mood afloat, and the tiny cultural artefacts (hello, Percy Pigs) that colour the journey as much as any plugin.From a life-changing afternoon at Submerge with Underground Resistance legend Mike Banks to late nights in Knoxville and formative trips to Atlanta, Nikki maps the lineage that informs his playful, left-turn club and electronic music. We get into the tension between function and originality, how drumming shaped his breakbeat brain, why he chases flow states that make him literally laugh at the DAW, and how he decides when to risk losing a slice of the crowd in order to move the culture an inch forward.There's a wider lens, too. Nikki is candid about the modern reality of nightlife — selling tickets and telling a human story — while keeping the focus on service, community, and sincerity.OK, housekeeping: I've re-activated the show's Substack newsletter. Give it a follow for extra bits about the guests, thoughts on music culture and creativity and whatever else. Nothing is behind a paywall yet, so it's a great time to get on board.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Nikki Nair on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nikki__nair/?hl=enNikki Nair on Bandcamp:https://nikkinair.bandcamp.com/Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Blue Lake is the music of American artist Jason Dungan, shaped by living on a Copenhagen island where wild parkland sits on reclaimed industrial ground and flight paths cross the sky. We sit down to explore how place, practice, and people turn Americana and ambient textures into something fused with a European sensibility. Jason shares the pivot from visual art to sound, and why Don Cherry's spirit sits at the project's core—not as a template but as a way of working that welcomes risk, collaboration, and porous borders. We unpack how chords feel different when five musicians make them together, how a rock club can unlock a set the concert hall couldn't, and why the best parts of a record often come from the problems you refuse to outsource. Along the way, we talk recording in Sweden's forests beside factories, treating albums like thoughtfully built exhibitions, and keeping the human pulse in music even as tools get slicker.We also zoom out. Touring with a band in the UK, leaning on Scandinavian funding, and balancing freelance work all reveal the new economics artists navigate. Jason calls out AI's promise to “solve” creative labour as missing the point—the friction is the point. And when politics intrudes, it's real: living in Denmark means Greenland is neighbours, language, history, protest. Small-country confidence, built on community and cooperation, mirrors the values in Blue Lake's sound.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Blue Lake on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/the_bluelake/?hl=enBlue Lake on Bandcamp:https://bluelake1.bandcamp.com/Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

What happens when a band outlives its own legend and keeps the spark anyway? I sat down with Eric Pulido of Midlake to trace how a group known for mythic, pastoral folk found a new centre after a seismic lineup change—and why the music still lands with the same autumnal glow. Eric takes us behind new album A Bridge Too Far, from sketching twenty ideas to recording live with producer Sam Evian, capturing a decades old chemistry.We talk about stepping into the vocalist role after Tim Smith's departure and the electric snap that shaped an album that could well have sunk lesser acts – Antiphon. Eric shares how his lyric writing moved toward clarity and truth—naming real people and moments while keeping songs timeless and open to anyone's story. We go deep on influences too, from West Coast folk and British folk gateways to earlier loves like Björk, and how Denton, Texas, nurtured the band's early years with a supportive arts scene and real stages to grow on.I love how he talks about touring with refreshing honesty: the fragile math of mid-level bands, why Europe can be more workable than the vast US, and how thoughtful setlists honour both new work and the gateway songs from The Trials of Van Occupanther. There's a visual thread as well, with Eric reflecting on Midlake's cinematic feel and recent collaboration with Ted Lasso's James Lance.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Midlake on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/midlakeband/Midlake on Bandcamp:https://midlakeband.bandcamp.com/musicHuge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

What happens when you stop working behind a project name, a pedal chain, or a layer of reverb, and let the music speak more directly? That question runs through my conversation with Alejandra Cárdenas aka Ale Hop. On her latest album, A Body Like A Home, she releases music under her own name for the first time, marking a shift not just in authorship, but in how the work is written, recorded, and left open for interpretation.Alejandra talks through her path from Lima's punk and experimental underground to Berlin's music landscape. We dig into how her guitar language has changed over time — moving away from volume and posture toward texture, vulnerability, and even a return to acoustic sound as a way of colouring electronics. She also reflects on production work and imitation briefs as quiet training grounds, and the difference between craft and intention.Alejandra discusses her research and editorial work, including writing and publishing on Latin American women in electronic music, and how archives, data, and community can slowly reshape visibility and access. We also talk about Berlin itself: rising costs, disappearing small venues, and what that means for artists who need space to experiment, fail, and find a voice.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Alejandra Cárdenas / Ale Hop on Bandcamp:https://alehop.bandcamp.com/album/a-body-like-a-homeAlejandra Cárdenas / Ale Hop on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ale_hophop/?hl=enHuge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Kicking of 2026 on Lost and Sound with a composer who treats architecture as an instrument and refusal as a creative decision. I sat down with experimental composer Lea Bertucci to explore how spatial sound, politics, and process collide in work that feels both ancient and urgent.Lea's most recent work, The Oracle, is a voice-led album shaped by site-specific acoustics and a climate of Trump-fuelled propaganda and fatigue. We get into the dynamics of spatial sound – how the resonances from recording in a post rainstorm cave in upper New York or in a grain silo in Buffalo can become part of the crerative process —less “reverb plugin,” more duet with geology, history, and weather.Lea also came off Spotify recently, and we go into why coming off this platform was important to her. We talk DIY survival, the role of class in curation and gatekeeping, and how to move between basements and concert halls without losing the hope and humanity that makes scenes thrive.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaLea Bertucci on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/lilbertucci/?hl=enLea Bertucci on Bandcamp:https://leabertucci.bandcamp.com/My book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

A decade after lighting up the UK post-dubstep landscape with his own brand of sadness-tinted bright-focus electronic pop, Orlando Higginbottom returns with a new shape and a sharper edge. Dropping the Totally Enourmous Extinct Dinosaurs nom de plume, now as TEED, he opens up about rebuilding a creative life, dropping that Dadaist moniker that became a barrier, and writing Always With Me as a front-to-back album designed for deep listening. We dig into the real cost of momentum, the strange mix of pride and embarrassment that comes with releasing art, and why the only way to find magic is to run through the cringe instead of hiding from it.Moving from Britain to LA, Orlando speaks honestly about confronting British attitudes to success, learning from American civil rights conversations, and the humility that comes from realising how much you don't know until you leave home.Fans of Junior Boys, Metronomy, and New Order will hear familiar emotional colours in Always With Me: bright, economical production carrying bittersweet lyrics and synth lines that linger. Orlando shares the turning points that kept him going, from burnout after Trouble and industry targets that narrowed his world to a liberating SoundCloud drop that kickstarted a new season of work. Along the way, he offers grounded advice for artists: decide whether you're chasing quick wins or a lasting identity, share work early, set your rules, and avoid outrage-for-clicks traps because relationships outlast algorithms.If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaTEED on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/teed/?hl=enTEED on Bandcamp:https://t-e-e-d.bandcamp.com/album/always-with-meMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Just as everyone else is winding down for the seasonal break, Lost and Sound returns after my project sabbatical with one of UK club culture's most vital voices: I. JORDAN.We trace a line from Doncaster fairgrounds and bassline bus journeys to festival stages — and to the 2024 debut album I Am Jordan, which places community, class, and queer belonging at the centre of contemporary dance music.It's a fast-moving conversation about sound, craft, and care. We talk about why tempo is a feeling rather than a rule, how working at 132–136 BPM can sharpen intent, and what happens when a seven-minute club tool becomes a three-minute vocal track that completely shifts how your body responds.We get into the granular details too: the feedback loop between club and studio, testing dubs on big systems, and the patient editing that turns a drop into a collective release on the dancefloor.Class and culture cut through everything. We discuss reclaiming the much-maligned donk on Ninja Tune as a deliberate act — honouring northern working-class roots while shaping a scene that gives trans artists agency, visibility, and joy. We also talk about why some crowds are easier to guide than others, what truly separates underground from mainstream energy, and how health, sobriety, and touring habits are central to building a sustainable life in music.I.JORDAN on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/i.jordan/?hl=enI. JORDAN on Bandcamp:https://i-jordan.bandcamp.com/If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaBig news time: If you're wondering where LoI made a radio documentary with my partner Rosalie Delaney for BBC Radio 3. It's called Wolf Biermann: The German Bob Bylan exiled by the GDR and it's on the radio on December 28th at 19:15 UK time: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002npsfMy book Coming To Berlin is a journey through the city's creative underground, and is available via Velocity Press.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Gwenno definitely lives through her art. I sat down with the musician and producer to trace a decade-long arc from home-built studios to a Mercury-nominated breakthrough, and into Utopia—an album that weaves Welsh, Cornish, and English into vivid, human pop. The conversation opens with a simple idea that grows larger as we go: language changes what music can say. Welsh brings political sharpness; Cornish opens a deep, interior cave of comfort and myth; English, returned to with intent, becomes a map of places, people, and time. Along the way, we talk about recording at home with Rhys Edwards, the porous line between family and work, and why songs feel more vital as the world gets more digital.I found it really refreshing how Gwenno doesn't hold back when it comes to talking taste, technology, and the future of culture. She pushes back on AI's promise not with fear but with a clearer definition of progress: if a tool only accelerates the past, it can't point to new worlds. We unpack Adam Curtis, Mark Fisher, and the feeling of living in a loop, then rediscover hope by looking at how scenes are actually made—people in spaces, collaging references into something surprising. That's where psychedelia lives for her: in the crack where a wildflower appears, in non-linear time, in the human mistake that turns into the moment you remember.Follow Gwenno on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gwennosaundersBuy / Listen to Utopia on Bandcamphttps://gwenno.bandcamp.com/album/utopiaIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

What does it mean to make music that faces the harshest truths while still holding beauty and hope? Peter Silberman of The Antlers seems to have made contemplating this question a major theme of his life's work, crafting albums that dive deep into emotional and existential territories without losing sight of sonic beauty.On the eve of releasing The Antlers' seventh album "Blights," Silberman spoke with me about how environmental concerns and our accelerating consumption have shaped his newest work. Rather than creating music that points fingers, Silberman examines his own complicity in environmental harm. "I hadn't yet heard music that acknowledges this unwilling participation in these problems and the guilt around it," he shares, noting how our modern world makes it "almost impossible not to be part of the problem.”We spoke about The Antlers' twenty-year history, from Silberman's early days navigating Brooklyn's music scene to the creation of "Hospice," often described as one of the saddest albums ever made. There's something method-like about how he maintains emotional authenticity when performing older material, likening it to "inhabiting a character or persona... playing myself at a different age." Throughout, Silberman's thoughtful approach to music-making shines through, particularly in his deliberate use of quietness and space as counterpoints to our increasingly noisy, distracted world.Follow The Antlers on Instagram:

DJ, producer and multidisciplinery artist Silvia Jiménez Alvarez, better known as JASSS, makes work that spans raw industrial intensity, fragile emotional depth, and immersive audiovisual collaborations.Her debut album Weightless (iDEAL, 2017) marked her as one of the most exciting new voices in electronic music, blending noise, dancefloor frequencies and experimental atmospheres. With her follow-up A World Of Service on Ostgut Ton, she expanded her vision into a full sensory world, working with visual artist Ben Kreukniet to create a touring AV show that didn't hold back.As her new album Eager Buyers emerges, I joined her for a chat about her beginnings in Spain, discovering metal through Soulseek, her journey through Berlin's underground scene, how discomfort in art can provide a place of joy and the Mark Fisheresque anti-nostalgia that not only pervades her new work but feels kind of zeitgeist in these uncertain times.Listen to JASSS – Eager Buyers  BandcampFollow JASSS on Instagram  @jasss_incIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Alexander Tucker sits down with me to explore the twists and turns of his sound on his new MICROCORPS album "Clear Vortex Chambers." Our conversation takes us through a creative rebirth, sparked by crucial production advice from Regis (Karl O'Connor) that transformed his approach to electronic music and helped him to scrap a years work and start again.Like Sudan Archives last week, Tucker is fundamentally a visual thinker – "I feel like I'm a painter and probably never should have got into music" – yet this visual sensibility is precisely what gives his soundscapes such distinctive character. He describes creating music as "digging up a modem or electronic equipment that's all rusted and covered in earth," where "nature has somehow moved in and mutated it." You can feel this fusion of organic and technological elements seep across his work, creating something both familiar and otherworldly.Growing up in Kent surrounded by ancient forests and sandstone formations, Tucker absorbed the layered history of his environment. This sense of "peeling back the past" continues to be an influence, whether working with an acoustic guitar and a 4-track or modular synthesis. We delve into his creative partnerships with Stephen O'Malley, Nick Colk Void and others, with Tucker beautifully describing collaboration as "giving each other these chunks of your life."Whether you're familiar with Tucker's extensive catalog or discovering him for the first time, this conversation offers remarkable insight into an artist who refuses to be confined by genre boundaries or conventional thinking. Listen now and journey through the clear vortex chambers of Alexander Tucker's musical universe.Listen to MICROCORPS:

Sudan Archives aka LA-based composer, producer, performer and violinist Brittney Parks burst out of LA's experimental electronic scene in 2017 with a distinctly visual approach to music making and a deep love of violin. One of the things that makes Sudan Archives' sound so captivating is her revolutionary approach to this instrument. Learning by ear in church rather than through classical training, Parks developed unconventional techniques through pure experimentation. Discovering that an amplified electric violin produces percussive sounds when struck, collecting "stone age violins" that connect her to the instrument's global heritage, and playing upside down on a stripper pole – these unorthodox approaches have yielded a sound that has moved through breakout moments like Come Meh Way to the upfront party energy of her new album, The BPM.The name Sudan Archives itself tells a fascinating story. Originally a nickname suggested by her mother during Parks' journey of cultural self-discovery, it took on deeper significance when she found striking parallels between Sudanese folk music and other global violin traditions. This cross-cultural connection resonated with her own experience seeking representation as a Black violinist. Though sometimes misunderstood, the name reflects what I really feel is a genuine passion for violin cultures worldwide and her own musical journey.When I caught up with Brittney, she discussed her evolution from bedroom producer to innovative artist, her experience with imposter syndrome at Stones Throw Records, and how her latest work embraces a more playful, sometimes "silly" aesthetic that might surprise longtime fans. "The BPM" drops October 17th on Stones Throw – prepare for a boundary-pushing journey that honors the house and techno traditions of Detroit and Chicago while remaining unmistakably, uniquely Sudan Archives.Pre-order and preview tracks fromSudan Archives' The BPM hereFollow Sudan Archives on Instagram: @sudanarchivesIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Somehow, Devendra Banhart's landmark album Cripple Crow is 20 years old. An album that somehow joined an ancient American spirit of song with a just-around-the-corner iPhone generation. So when he joined me on Lost and Sound, I presumed this would be our focus. But instead, right from the beginning, the conversation veered into completely unexpected territory.Banhart, who first rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a leading figure in the freak-folk movement and has since evolved into a multidisciplinary artist, opens up about the intimate relationship between creativity and humility. “You cannot show up at the gates with arrogance, with hubris, with ego,” he explains, describing his approach to making art.We dive into what makes music emotionally resonant, with Banhart outlining his theory that great songs must speak to “the body, the heart, and the mind.” This somehow connects to asking, “Where's Macarena now?”, and to crying over the mournful qualities of Van McCoy's disco classic The Hustle.Way more a conversation than an interview, and that's a good thing. Throughout, Banhart demonstrates a remarkable wariness of certainty, describing it as “the most frightening attribute of a human being.” It's a philosophical stance that informs not just his music but his entire worldview on the day we spoke, suggesting that the best art emerges from questioning rather than knowing.⸻Listen to Devendra Banhart's music on Bandcamphttps://devendrabanhart.bandcamp.com/album/flying-wigPreorder Cripple Crow (20th Anniversary Reissue) here.https://devendrabanhart.com/Follow Devendra Banhart on Instagram:

Mabe Fratti is everywhere these days, and for good reason. The Guatemalan-born, Mexico City-based cellist, vocalist, and composer has built a formidable reputation for creating music that seamlessly blurs between experimental pop and improvisation.We got into one, exploring Mabe's journey from her religious upbringing in Guatemala to becoming a consistently innovative artist. She candidly shares how playing improvisational cello in a 5,000-capacity neo-Pentecostal church connected her to "the spiritual part of music" – an experience that would shape her artistic approach for years to come. When a Goethe Institute residency brought her to Mexico City, she discovered free improvisation that felt "like being a child again," setting her on a path of constant musical exploration.Mabe talks about embracing vulnerability and uncertainty. Rather than pursuing a signature sound, she approaches each project with different visions – from her collaborative work with Amor Muere and Titanic to her solo albums. "I am the one who changes my mind very fast," she admits, discussing how her latest album title "Sentir Que No Sabes" (Feel Like You Don't Know) reflects her comfort with constant evolution.Throughout our discussion, Mabe offers wisdom on navigating creative doubts through playing, meaningful conversations, and continuous learning. As she puts it: "If I feel doubt in this, why not explore that doubt through learning?" Mabe's new album with Titanic, "Hagen" is available from September 5th Check it out on BandcampListen to Mabe Fratti's music on BandcampFollow Mabe Fratti on Instagram: @mabefrattiIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

What does it mean to "Be More Weatherall"? This question looms deep in my conversation with Jagz Kooner, one-third of the pioneering electronic trio Sabres of Paradise, as we explore the reissue of their groundbreaking first two albums and reflect on the enduring legacy of the late Andrew Weatherall.Thirty years after their original release, Sabersonic and Haunted Dancehall have been given the reissue treatment by Warp Records, coinciding with a reformation of the band  for performances at Sydney Opera House and Primavera Sound, amongst places. Jagz gets into how a serendipitous chain of events – beginning with a Q&A at the Golden Lion in Todmorden and the discovery of a forgotten live recording – led to this unexpected new chapter for a project that helped move rave culture beyond the confines of nightclubs.Throughout our conversation, Weatherall's spirit looms large. His philosophy of "don't look back, every day is year zero" initially made Jagz hesitant to revisit past work, until Weatherall's partner Lizzie offered a poignant perspective: "There is no looking forward now he's gone. All we've got is what he gave us." I get the impression of a real lack of the usual get-the-band-back-together cynicism for this project.The interview also traces Jagz' evolution from bedroom DJ to acclaimed producer, known for his signature fusion of electronic precision with rock and roll grit. From his work with Primal Scream on "Swastika Eyes" to his game-changing remix for The Charlatans (which inspired Eddie Temple Morris to start his influential radio show), Jagz has consistently embodied Weatherall's ethos of experimentation and boundary-pushing.Here's the weekly links section for the Jagz Kooner episode, in your fixed Lost and Sound template style, with the artist-specific links swapped in:Listen to The Sabres of Paradise via Warp's BandcampFollow Jagz Kooner: Website InstagramIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Damian Lazarus joins me for a wide-ranging conversation tracing his path from the early 2000s electroclash scene to his position today as one of dance music's most consistently influential figures.We talk about how it all began — from getting his first DJ residency at 16, to working as music editor at Dazed and Confused, to his A&R role at City Rockers, where he helped shape the early sound of electroclash alongside labels like Gigolo and Turbo. He shares stories from that era: warehouse parties in Shoreditch, impromptu gigs in disused toilets, and encounters with everyone from The Strokes to Jarvis Cocker.We also get into what came next: founding Crosstown Rebels, building immersive events like Day Zero and Get Lost, and working with artists like Jamie Jones, Francesca Lombardo, and Maceo Plex.Damian also talks candidly about sobriety, how it affected his creative process during the making of his Magickal album, and what changed for him on a personal level. He describes the early signs — creative blocks, burnout — and the shifts that followed once he made the decision to stop.We cover a lot: longevity in music, what it means to stay curious, and how looking back at music's past helps him think about where things might go next.Listen to Damian Lazarus' music:

Emerald has built a name as a leading voice representing UK underground club culture, we spoke as she steps into a new chapter as label owner and producer. From growing up as "the laptop DJ" on the outskirts of London to becoming a champion of underground sounds on Rinse FM and beyond.Standing six feet tall, mixed-race, and bisexual, she describes feeling like "a clumsy giraffe on roller skates" yet transforms this feeling of otherness into her greatest strength. The origins of her new label Precious Stones—named after herself and sisters Sapphire and Ruby—reflect both personal heritage and her vision for music that transcends conventional boundaries.Throughout our conversation, Emerald dismantles industry myths with a refreshing and down to earth honesty. She questions the often contradictory definitions of "underground" culture, challenges networking norms that feel forced, and advocates for spaces where revolutionism and anti-establishmentarianism can flourish. Listen to Emerald's music on BandcampIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Lost and Sound's sponsor Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Kiana Li, the electronic producer and sound artist known as Gyrofield, creates music that steadfastly refuses simple categorization. Growing up in Hong Kong before relocating to Bristol and eventually Utrecht, she began making music in isolation – alone in her bedroom and sharing tracks online. When their parody track “Out Of My Mind” unexpectedly caught fire in 2019, it marked the beginning of a fascinating artistic evolution that continues to unfold in surprising ways.Our conversation reveals how deeply intertwined Kiana's artistic and personal identities have become. As a self-described "cat-spirited interdisciplinary artist," she discusses how exploring gender fluidity has influenced her approach to creating music that exists beyond conventional boundaries. "What happens when we make identity fluid?" she asks, suggesting that both transness and artistic expression allow people to "possess otherness and turn it into something beautiful."What emerges most powerfully from our discussion is how music has functioned as both survival mechanism and connection point for Gyrofield. Growing up neurodivergent and socially isolated, creating electronic music offered an essential lifeline. Now, as a respected artist with releases on labels like Metalheadz and XL, she's using her platform to explore complex emotions while still creating moments of joy.Follow Gyrofield on Instagram: @gyrofieldListen to Gyrofield's music: Suspension of Belief – Bandcamp Akin / Mother – BandcampIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Lost and Sound's sponsor –  Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaBored on the beach? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Eli Keszler joins me this week to talk about rethinking sound, space, and what it means to create music in an uncertain world. A lifelong percussionist, Eli's work has often explored the edges of rhythm and texture—dismantling traditional approaches and rebuilding them into something uniquely his own. Eli isn't just a percussionist who produces great albums though. A visual arist and a creative mentor who has collaborated with everyone from Oneohtrix Point Never to Laurel Halo to Skrillex. We talk about how his relationship with the studio has shifted over time, how working in film has expanded his compositional approach, and how speed and density in performance can create a strange kind of stillness. His new self-titled album on LuckyMe marks his eleventh solo release and reflects years of process, reflection, and experimentation.The conversation also opens out into something I‘m currently really interested in asking artists‘ opinions on: how the function of music itself is changing. As digital culture reshapes how we interact, consume, and listen, Eli reflects on the possibility that music might be returning to something more spiritual, more tactile—more connected to personal and communal practice than product. We talk about the idea of a “humanist retreat” from the frictionlessness of tech, and how creative work might serve as a space to resist or reimagine that drift.Listen to Eli Keszler's music:BandcampListen to Eli Keszler (2024):BandcampFollow Eli Keszler on Instagram: @eli_keszlerIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.Lost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

What began with nothing more than a four-track recorder, a couple of "crappy mics," and a friendship forged over Erik Satie records at university parties led to the quietly seminal influence Stars Of The Lid have had over ambient, modern composition and drone music over the past four decades. I spoke with Adam Wiltzie – one half of the project (the other, Brian McBride sadly passed away in 2023).Against the backdrop of 1990s Austin – a city dominated by rock and country music – Stars of the Lid emerged with something radically different. Their debut album "Music for Nitrous Oxide" quietly initiated a revolution, pushing against what Adam describes as the prevailing white boy funk and laying groundwork for what would become a seminal force in ambient and modern composition. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary with a remastered release, Wiltzie reflects on those early creative days with the late Brian McBride and the unexpected longevity of their collaborative vision.Wiltzie is so disarmingly unpretentious I almost gulped at one point. "I am definitely my own worst critic and I still love getting bad reviews," he confesses with surprising candor. This willingness to embrace imperfection has fueled a four-decade career spent continually moving forward rather than getting stuck in pursuit of perfection – a lesson valuable for creators in any medium.Most poignantly, Wiltzie shares how Brian McBride's passing inspired this anniversary project, bringing memories of their formative creative partnership back to the surface. The reissue serves not as nostalgic celebration but as a "time capsule" documenting how two university students with minimal equipment created atmospheric soundscapes that seaped their way into the water influencing generations of musicians working at the intersection of ambient, drone, and modern classical composition.Listen to Stars of the Lid's music:BandcampListen to Music for Nitrous Oxide (30-Year Anniversary Remastered): BandcampFollow Adam Wiltzie on Instagram: @adamwiltzieIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Thanks to Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear and sponsors of Lost and Sound. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaIf you're looking for summer read and you've not read it yet, check out my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you like tales of punks outwitting the establishment, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

How do you make an album through personal upheaval? I spoke with rRoxymore about the process of making her third album "Juggling Dualities" – a work born from the ashes of emotional upheaval and creative block. When we sat down together, the genre-blurring producer opened up with remarkable candour about finding her way back to music through surrender rather than force."I couldn't produce any track of music that was satisfying for my standards," rRoxymore aka Hermione Frank confessed, describing the frustration that preceded her creative breakthrough. The turning point came when she abandoned expectations entirely – no planned album, no pressure to deliver a product, just pure exploration. What emerged was something she considers her most honest work, created in a surprisingly short timeframe with an authenticity that surprised even herself.The conversation ventured beyond the album into rRoxymore‘s journey as an artist – from her early days in France feeling constrained by rigid genre expectations, to finding freedom in Berlin's electronic music scene, to her recent move to a smaller city where she's embracing a slower rhythm of life. Throughout it all, she's maintained a fluid relationship with genre, using it as "a reference point that you'll avoid to go to" rather than a rigid framework to follow.Perhaps most striking was her deliberate disconnection from digital noise during this period of creation. "I deleted all the socials for a while," she shared, emphasizing the importance of asking fundamental questions: "What do I want? Who am I?" This return to essentials allowed her to follow her natural rhythm – a practice she describes as "maybe financially not as rewarding, but it's so satisfying."Listen to rRoxymore's music: Bandcamp Artist Page – rRoxymore Listen to Juggling Dualities (pre-order available):Bandcamp – Juggling Dualities Follow rRoxymore on Instagram: @rroxymore If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Thanks also to this episode's sponsor, Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Richard Fearless is a true lifer. The DJ, producer and Death In Vegas founder sits down with Paul to reflect on 30 years of musical evolution that has taken him from the hugely influential Heavenly Social to Mercury Prize nominations, a top ten hit about a serial killer sung by Iggy Pop to his current creative renaissance, working free from industry bullshit and producing his best work in years,Growing up in remote Zambia with music-loving parents, Fearless recalls connecting with music at an early age. His path would lead through the emerging London techno scene of the late '80s and '90s, where he cut his teeth as a resident DJ alongside contemporaries like Andrew Weatherall and The Chemical Brothers before launching Death in Vegas. The conversation reveals a pivotal moment when commercial success led to a crossroads rather than continued mainstream pursuit.What emerges is the portrait of an artist who deliberately stepped away from major labels, management, and industry expectations to craft a more authentic sonic identity. His riverside studio "The Metal Box" becomes central to this narrative – an analog sanctuary where tape machines, field recordings, and environmental sounds combine to create the stripped-back, trance-inducing techno of his current work. "I make my best music when I'm digging deep within myself," he explains.Perhaps most compelling is Fearless's admission that he feels more proud of his recent, independent work than the commercial hits that brought him fame. His collaborative ventures with friend of Lost and Sound Daniel Avery and new dub-inspired night "Holy" demonstrate an artist still pushing boundaries rather than retreating into nostalgia. "I feel as excited about DJing as I was when I was 20," he confesses, signaling that artistic liberation has reinvigorated his passion.Death Mask by Death In Vegas is out now. Listen on  BandcampFollow Death In Vegas on Instagram:  @deathinvegasmusicIf you enjoy Lost and Sound, I've got a little favour to ask: please subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Huge thanks to Lost and Sound's sponsor, Audio-Technica – makers of vcry fine engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up

We're living in fractured times. What can art really offer us? Lyra Pramuk's powerful new album Hymnal might just offer a clue — not through escapism or easy answers, but by embracing contradiction and carving out sonic spaces where new ways of being can start to take root.I visited Lyra at her studio in Berlin to talk about the making of what could be one of the most bold and affecting records of the year. Building on the foundation of her acclaimed 2020 debut Fountain, she's taken things somewhere even more unflinching — a place of dissonance, grief, ritual, and surprising beauty. Hymnal isn't here to soothe; it mirrors the complexity of the world around us, while still offering room to breathe and imagine something different.What's remarkable is how central collaboration is to this work. There's Berlin's Sonar Quartet, whose strings thread through the record with a kind of aching elegance. But perhaps most unexpected is her partnership with a slime mold — yes, a slime mold — whose movements across poetic maps helped shape the flow of her vocal improvisations. It's as wild as it sounds, and just as moving.Our conversation drifts through everything from the spiritual and physical labour of music-making to the poetic logic of electronic sound. Lyra shares thoughts on technology as an extension of our bodies (think spiders sensing the world through their webs), the limits of Cartesian mind-body dualism, and why electronic music can hold radical potential — not just as art, but as a way of reimagining how we live together. Where techno-capitalism demands hierarchy and separation, Hymnal offers something else: a kind of sacred entanglement between people, nature, and machines.Listen to Lyra Pramuk's music: Spotify – Artist | BandcampListen to Hymnal (2025): Spotify – Album Hymnal | Bandcamp – HymnalFollow Lyra Pramuk on Instagram: @lyra.pramukIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Thanks also to this episode's sponsor, Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Bradley Zero simply has that rare fusion of global success and grassroots authenticity. From humble beginnings as a teenage bar back in Leeds to becoming the founder of Rhythm Section International, what makes Bradley's approach so refreshing is his unwavering commitment to community. During our conversation, he reveals how finding his tribe in Peckham transformed his understanding of creative collaboration. "I was part of something," he reflects. "It wasn't networking... it was people somehow congregating around a small geographical area with an insane amount of creative energy." This foundation informs everything he touches – from his NTS radio show to Jumbi, his one-turntable hi-fi bar that draws inspiration from Jamaican sound systems and David Mancuso's legendary loft parties.The pandemic proved pivotal for Bradley, creating space for reflection on his role within the industry, leading him to launching Future Proof – a mentorship initiative aimed at demystifying the often secretive workings of the music industry. His observations about discovering the lack of diversity at upper industry levels led to this mission of opening doors and creating change "one step at a time."If you've ever danced to one of his sets or tuned in to his NTS show, you'll know that Bradley's musical philosophy defies easy categorization, embracing everything from jazz and broken beat to minimal techno and 90s piano house. Add to this rock solid DIY ethics, where "balancing micro and macro," help him keep check in on where he‘s at, helping him in nurturing local scenes while thinking globally.Whether discussing the challenges of festival versus club DJing or offering wisdom to his younger self about enjoying the journey, I loved having this chat.Follow Bradley Zero on Instagram  @bradley_zeroExplore Future Proof, his emerging‑artist mentorship programme at Rhythm Section: Future Proof If you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.Lost and Sound is sponsored by those good people at Audio‑Technica – check them out here: Audio‑TechnicaIt's that time of the year where if you‘re looking for a beach read about Berlin and you‘ve not done so already, grab a copy of Coming To Berlin, my journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War‑era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC World Service.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind‑the‑scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up

Talking with Nicola Cruz feels a bit like tuning into a different frequency—the producer and DJ has spent the last decade helping redefine perceptions of South American electronic music through a series of transcendental releases and live appearances. Based in Ecuador, Cruz doesn't give many interviews, so I was super happy to have this rare conversationHe talks about his approach to DJing, where instead of scanning a crowd, he locks into the energy of one or two people and lets that guide the set. It's a more intimate, slower way of connecting, sometimes taking hours, and sometimes never quite happening at all. But when it works, it shapes everything.We also get into his field recording work—using geophones to capture the movement inside glaciers, recording whale sounds deep underwater. These aren't just sonic experiments; for Cruz, they're a way of exploring how we relate to the parts of the world we can't usually hear. His new album Kinesia lives in this space—somewhere between the physical and the imagined.At the heart of it all is a deep belief in creative freedom. Though he's formally trained, Cruz talks about the importance of unlearning, of breaking structures down in order to build something new. If you're interested in where electronic music, listening, and inner exploration overlap, this one's worth your time.Listen to Nicola Cruz's music: Spotify | BandcampListen to Kinesia: Spotify | BandcampFollow Nicola Cruz on Instagram: @nicola_cruzIf you enjoy Lost and Sound and want to help keep it thriving, the best way to support is simple: subscribe, leave a rating, and write a quick review on your favourite podcast platform. It really helps others find the show. You can do that here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.Thanks also to this episode's sponsor, Audio-Technica – makers of beautifully engineered audio gear. Check them out here: Audio-TechnicaWant to go deeper? Grab a copy of my book Coming To Berlin, a journey through the city's creative underground, via Velocity Press.And if you're curious about Cold War-era subversion, check out my BBC documentary The Man Who Smuggled Punk Rock Across The Berlin Wall on the BBC Sounds app.You can also follow me on Instagram at @paulhanford for behind-the-scenes bits, guest updates, and whatever else is bubbling up.

Cristobal Tapia de Veer on instinct, tension, and walking away from The White LotusIt‘s not often I have a guest on the show primarily known for scorring for screen but the outspoken, punk-rock ethosed, voice-warping composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer is so Lost and Sound it hurts. Whether it's the unnerving soundworld of Utopia, the chaotic beauty of The White Lotus, or the warped voices of A24‘s Babygirl, his scores don't just sit behind the picture—they shape how you feel it.In this conversation, we talk about how some of his most striking ideas come in a flash. How one of The White Lotus‘ most memoral earworms: “took me the time it takes you to listen to it,” he says. “I feel like somebody else did it for me.”We get into why scoring the show felt like “trying on a yellow dress,” and how stepping into unfamiliar territory let him bring something raw and unexpected to it. He's honest about how uncomfortable that space was—and how that discomfort helped him land something sharper.Cristobal opens up about working in an industry that often pulls in the opposite direction of intuition. We talk about trusting the subconscious, letting go of control, and how stepping back sometimes allows something better to come through.We also touch on his recent public split from The White Lotus—and the bigger questions that come when creativity and power don't align.If you're interested in how a politically minded Iggy Pop fan became one of the most highly revered film and TV composers working right now, or just curious about what it takes to stay true to your instincts inside a system that often doesn't want you to, this one's worth your time.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Cristobal Tapia de Veer on Instagram Cristobal Tapia de Veer on Apple Music and TIDAL.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

The boundary between imagination and technology blurs in Lila Tirando a Violeta's mesmerizing sonic experiments. From her early DIY noise experiments in Uruguay to her current position as one of electronic music's most distinctive emerging voices, Lila's creativity has flourished despite—or perhaps because of—the challenges of living with a chronic condition.When health issues confined her to hospitals and home at age 23, Lila found herself transitioning from improvisational performance to structured composition. The internet became both her music school and lifeline, leading to collaborations with artists like Loraine James and Amnesia Scanner—relationships that began digitally before materializing in the physical world. This digital-first approach mirrors the themes in her work, particularly her fascination with David Cronenberg's Videodrome, which she references in her new album "Dream of Snakes."What makes Lila's creative process so compelling is her transformation of limitation into innovation. She samples her own pulsating tinnitus, captures field recordings from hospital rooms, and builds intricate sonic collages without formal training. Though her aesthetic suggests urban futurism, she's found her creative sanctuary in the quiet Irish countryside, where nature and technology intertwine in unexpected ways.Most striking is Lila's openness about navigating the music industry—from including special lighting requests in her rider to dealing with international promoters who expect her to play reggaeton simply because of her South American heritage.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Lila Tirando a Violeta on Instagram Listen/Buy Dream Of Snakes hereFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Bartees Strange makes music that doesn't sit still. One moment it's soaring indie rock, the next it's touched by soul, punk energy, or the weight of hip-hop—yet it all holds together in a way that feels completely his own. We sat down in a quiet Berlin hotel room to talk about the creative process behind his new album Horror, produced by Jack Antonoff and released on the iconic 4AD label.Bartees doesn't approach songwriting as a straight path. It's more like piecing together different fragments until something unexpected clicks. “I might write five or six sections and not know they're in the same song until I start plugging them into each other,” he said. That instinctive method pulls influence from across the board—Fleetwood Mac, Parliament, Burial, Neil Young—and filters it through a sound that's urgent, intimate, and ever-shifting.What stood out most in our conversation was his view on genre itself. For Bartees, it's not just about music—it's about identity, and how people are often encouraged to box themselves in. “Music is representative of people,” he told me. “And people separate themselves from each other because of all these things that don't make sense. Through music, I can show people that all those things you thought were unique to you are also unique to them.” His work holds a quiet defiance, a kind of gentle political energy that moves through emotion rather than statement.Before committing to music full-time, Bartees worked as deputy press secretary at the FCC under Obama. That experience brings a clear-eyed perspective to his writing—but it was never about strategy. “I tried not to do it. I got a job, I worked… but after a while, I was like I'd rather just not survive than not do what I want to do.” That sense of risk and necessity lives in every note.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Bartees Strange on Instagram Listen/Buy Horror by Bartees Strange hereFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

David Longstreth on Dirty Projectors, Orchestral Experimentation, and the Radical Psychedelia of FatherhoodDavid Longstreth stands at a fascinating creative crossroads. For twenty years, he's been the driving force behind Dirty Projectors, crafting music that defies easy categorization while earning collaborations with icons like Björk, Rihanna, and Paul McCartney. Now, with his ambitious new orchestral song cycle "Song of the Earth," Longstreth explores our shifting relationship with nature while processing what he calls "the radical psychedelia of fatherhood."Speaking from his California home studio (formerly a kitchen, before that a garage that "bloomed with mold"), Longstreth reveals how this project emerged from conversations with his longtime friend Andre de Ritter, conductor of the Berlin-based ensemble Stargaze. Drawing inspiration from Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde," Longstreth initially set out to write nature poems, only to discover his feelings about the natural world had "gotten weird" – reflecting our collective anxiety about climate change.The beauty of Longstreth's approach lies in his embrace of uncertainty. Throughout our conversation, he repeatedly describes putting himself in musical situations "beyond what I'm capable of," allowing the learning curve itself to become part of the creative process. This has been his method since recreating Black Flag's "Damaged" album from memory for Dirty Projectors‘ 2007 "Rise Above" (deliberately avoiding revisiting the original) through to this orchestral collaboration that marries environmental themes with deeply personal transformation.Perhaps most captivating is Longstreth's description of how parenthood has fundamentally altered his perception. Watching his three-year-old daughter experience the world for the first time has made him question everything he knows, creating a profound sense of renewal that directly influences the emotional landscape of "Song of the Earth." Twenty years into his career, Longstreth has found a way to make music that feels simultaneously ambitious and intimate, political and personal – a rare achievement worth celebrating.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Dirty Projectors on Instagram Dirty Projectors Official StoreFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Seamus Rawles Malliagh, better known as Iglooghost, is an artist who doesn't just make electronic music—he builds entire worlds. His sound is hyper-detailed, bursting with surreal textures, and deeply tied to the mythologies he creates around it.In this episode, we dive into how growing up in rural Dorset shaped his imagination, from childhood experiments with ley lines to the eerie, folklore-like atmosphere of empty landscapes. We also explore the making of his most recent album, Tidal Memory Exo, crafted during a five-year stint living near Thanet's brutalist seafront. Immersed in what he calls “aesthetic ugliness”—concrete towers, decay, a nearby sewage plant—he channeled these surroundings into an intricate fictional narrative, where a storm isolates Thanet from the mainland, birthing underground music subcultures.Iglooghost shares how discomfort and constraint fuel his creativity and how mythology plays a key role in his artistic process. Whether you're deep into his sonic universe or discovering him for the first time, we get into one about how environment, storytelling, and electronic music collide.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Iglooghost on InstagramIglooghost on BandcampFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Étienne de Crécy is one of the architects of the French Touch movement—those lush, filter-heavy grooves that shaped house music in the ‘90s, right alongside acts like Daft Punk, Air, and Alex Gopher. But his journey didn't start in the clubs. Before electronic music, he was a punk bassist, navigating Parisian record shops that looked down on house music before the scene exploded worldwide.In this conversation, Étienne reflects on three decades of pushing electronic music forward, from his groundbreaking Super Discount series to his latest album, Warm Up. This new record marks a shift—more organic, more vocal-driven, and carrying a double meaning: a reference to its sound, but also a nod to the global moment we're in. “We are just at the warm-up… for the climate, for politics.”We talk about his creative process, his mathematical approach to composition, and why he avoids the easy route of plugins in favor of crate-digging for samples. Plus, the story of how he unearthed a long-lost collaboration with Damon Albarn, recorded twenty years ago and now perfectly fitting Warm Up's aesthetic.As electronic music culture shifts—where younger generations lean into harder, faster sounds—Étienne remains committed to a philosophy: “What I'm learning is to stay simple and to be amazed by simple things.”If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Étienne de Crécy on InstagramWarm Up Listen/BuyFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Loraine James is one of the most forward-thinking artists in electronic music today. Her sound is instinctive, fluid, and deeply personal—whether she's crafting glitchy, jazz-infused beats, bending genre expectations on Hyperdub, or exploring mood and texture through her Whatever the Weather project.In this episode of Lost and Sound, Loraine talks about her approach to making music without rigid plans, letting emotion and instinct guide the process. She shares insights into the creative freedom that shapes her work, from improvisation to embracing imperfections in her own way. We also dive into the personal themes in her music, including the deeply moving 2003, a track that reflects on loss and memory.With a new Whatever The Weather album out now on Ghostly International, Loraine talks about the balance between control and spontaneity, how she navigates external expectations without compromising her sound, and why she's never been interested in fitting into any one scene. Thoughtful, open, and refreshingly down-to-earth, I feel we got a rare look into the mindset of an artist constantly pushing her own boundaries.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Loraine James on InstagramWhatever The Weather on BandcampFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

What happens when music becomes so deeply personal that it reshapes the course of your life? Kali Malone joins me to explore this through the lens of The Sacrificial Code, the album that transformed her from an underground experimentalist into one of contemporary composition's most vital voices.Malone's approach to the organ exists in a liminal space—both ancient and futuristic. She explains how recording on a 16th-century instrument for the album's reissue created radically new interpretations despite the composition remaining unchanged: “The music is strictly composed, but the registration and delivery change its identity so much.” You could read it as a poetic parallel to human evolution—our core essence intact, yet constantly shifting.We dive into the tension between intuition and discipline, a defining force in her work. In an era of relentless digital noise, Malone advocates for silence as a creative act: “Remove all the layers and all the noise, and you'll slowly start to hear what you feel, what you want, what you believe in.” It's a philosophy that resonates far beyond music, speaking to anyone searching for artistic clarity.From Colorado's DIY punk scenes to Stockholm's experimental avant-garde, Malone's journey reveals the role of artistic communities in shaping sound. Her deep collaborations with Caterina Barbieri and Maria W Horn (both previous guests on Lost and Sound) highlight how musical friendships create “secret languages” that transcend time, breaking down artificial boundaries between traditions.And when asked what she'd tell her younger self? Without hesitation: “You're not crazy.” A simple but powerful affirmation for anyone carving their own path—where instinct often feels irrational but, in the end, is the most honest route forward.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Kali Malone on InstagramThe Sacrificial Code pre-order on BandcampFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Tesfa Williams has been shaping the sound of UK underground music for over two decades. From his early days as Dread D in the Black Ops crew—helping define the sublow sound that fed into grime—to becoming a key figure in UK funky, his journey has always been about pushing bass culture forward.In this episode of Lost and Sound, Tesfa breaks down the evolution of UK club music, from jungle and garage to grime and beyond. We talk about his early days in West London's underground scene, the impact of pirate radio, and the industry challenges facing electronic artists today. He also shares the motivations behind his recent name change and how it connects to identity, culture, and artistic evolution.We also get deep into his latest album, Raves of Future Past—a record that bridges the past and future of UK bass with Tesfa's signature blend of raw energy and deep musicality. Plus, we explore the fragmentation of today's music landscape, the struggle for meaningful connection in a digital world, and the importance of community and reclaiming spaces for underground music.This is an essential listen for anyone passionate about UK club culture, sound system lineage, and the future of bass-driven music.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Tesfa Williams on InstagramBeyond Today EP by Tesfa Williams is available now on Heist Recordings, Bandcamp.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

What happens when music and psychoanalysis occupy the same creative headspace? This week on Lost and Sound, I chat with Ezra Feinberg—composer, guitarist, and practicing psychoanalyst—about the deep interplay between experimental music, the subconscious mind, and the subtle forces that shape creativity.We dive into Soft Power, his latest album—a lush, hypnotic fusion of minimalism, kosmische music, ambient soundscapes, and psychedelic influences and one of my favourite albums of the last 12 months. We talk about how intention and perception collide in music, whether the emotions a listener feels mirror what the artist originally set out to express, and what it means to truly trust the creative process.Ezra shares how his twin worlds of music and psychoanalysis aren't as far apart as they seem, touching on problem-solving, patience, and artistic intuition. We explore the realities of navigating a career in underground music alongside parenthood, and how New York's evolving music scene has shaped his journey.Plus, we get into formative influences, spontaneous collaborations and the long game of making music on your own terms. A conversation about sound, time, and the quiet forces that shape creativity.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Ezra Feinberg on InstagramSoft Power by Ezra Feinberg is available on Tonal Union, Bandcamp.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Alva Noto—aka Carsten Nicolai—has spent decades at the forefront of experimental electronic music and multimedia art. Growing up in East Germany, his work has been shaped by the country's stark aesthetics, Leipzig's bookmaking traditions, and the GDR's Bauhaus-influenced design. In this episode, we talk about minimalism, sound as texture, the NOTON label and how his collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto (including The Revenant soundtrack) have redefined electronic music.Carsten takes us back to the late '80s and '90s—a time when electronic music was shifting from analog to digital, opening up new creative possibilities. He shares how artists like Kraftwerk and Brian Eno paved the way for his work and how embracing imperfections in technology led to the birth of glitch.We also explore how music distribution evolved from CDs to MP3s, how that shaped the way we experience sound, and what it means for artists today. Plus, Carsten reflects on his friendship with Ryuichi Sakamoto and their artistic journey together.Listen in for a deep dive into sound, technology, and the art of pushing boundaries.If you're enjoying Lost and Sound, please do subscribe and leave a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Alva Noto on InstagramAlva Noto WebsiteFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Turntablist, composer, and sonic explorer NikNak joins Lost and Sound to talk about pushing DJing into new dimensions. From layering ambient textures to weaving intricate narratives through sound, she's redefining what turntables can do.We get into her creative process, the influence of video game soundtracks, and how she's carved a space in the UK's experimental music scene. She shares stories from performing with Grandmaster Flash, winning the Oram Award in 2020, and navigating the realities of being an artist today—where financial pressures, privilege, and technology all shape the landscape.This was a really fun chat and NikNak makes some great points about sound as storytelling, the tension between artistry and survival, and why embracing play and experimentation is more important than ever.If you're enjoying the show, please consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.NikNak on Bandcamp.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Underground Bass culture never sits still and when it comes to forward momentum,  Slikback is at the heart of it. With at least 28 projects since 2018, his sound is restless, urgent—pushing bass, distortion, and rhythm into new forms. In this conversation, we get into the discipline behind his experimental process, how fatherhood has reshaped his approach, and the impact of his latest release on Tempa.We also talk about the move from traditional labels to self-releasing on Bandcamp—a decision that cracked open new creative freedom, especially during the pandemic. For Slikback, aka the very charming Freddie Mwaura Njau, it's not just about breaking industry norms; it's about the raw energy of finishing ideas, pushing sound forward without losing the impulse that made it exciting in the first place.From early influences growing up in Nairobi to global collaborations, from DIY scenes to Nyege Nyege's cultural force, this episode traces the connections that shape his music. We talk process, community, and the balance between instinct and refinement in electronic music today.If you're enjoying the show, please consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Data by Slikback is out now on Tempa, listen or buy here.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Emo ambient? That's just one way to describe the ever-evolving work of boundary-pushing artist Mari Maurice, better known as more eaze. Her prolific output defies the norms of the music world, blending ambient, noise, autotune, and pedal steel with a deeply personal, human touch. In this episode, Mari shares her unique approach to making music that dissolves the lines between pop and what's considered, in inverted commas, „serious“ music. Her collaboration with claire rousay on Never Stop Texting Me beautifully exemplifies this artistic ethos.We talk about the challenges Mari faced in Austin's experimental scene and the creative freedom she‘s discovered since relocating to New York. Immersed in the city‘s rich musical landscape, she's embraced collaboration and opened up new dimensions in her sound, drawing from both minimalist and maximalist influences to reshape her approach to composition.Mari also reflects on the joy of making experimental music more accessible, sharing how a live performance sparked her own musical journey and shaped her ethos as an artist. Along the way, we explore the serendipitous nature of sound creation and the growing acceptance of pop elements in avant-garde music.If you're enjoying the show, please consider subscribing and leaving a rating or review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen. It really helps to spread the word and support Lost and Sound.Kinda Tropical by more eaze and claire rousay is out now on Thrill Jockey, pre-order the album No Floor hereFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

What happens when a rock and roller decides to venture into clubland? Singer, songwriter and author Lias Saoudi, the charismatic frontman of the Fat White Family, joined me initially to explore this question. Lending his seductive, slinky and sleezy tonsils to techno supergroup, Decius:  their second album "Decius Volume 2: Splendor and Obedience,” absolutely pumps and you can see why they were picked to play at Berghain's 19th Birthday. The Fat White Family have a rep. As Lias says in our conversation, they were a band made up of some of the five worst people in England, yet I found him to be a charming, erudite gent. From the psychological chaos of band dynamics to the romanticized notion of the tortured artist, our conversation touches on the existential struggles of maintaining artistic integrity. Lias offers a raw and honest perspective on balancing creative freedom with the pressures of performance, sharing humorous anecdotes about societal expectations and generational quirks along the way.If you like the show and you havn‘t already, please give it a subscribe and consider leaving a rating and a review on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or wherever you listen. It all really helps build the show.Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience), released 31st January 2025 on The Leaf LabelThe Moonlandingz — The Sign Of A Man, listen here.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

There's a quiet power in rediscovery. Some music doesn't just endure; it pulses beneath the surface. A.R Kane were one of those bands. This week on Lost and Sound, I had the honor of sitting down with Rudy Tambala, one-half of the groundbreaking duo and also a key figure in the formative acid house/chart smashers M/A/R/R/S.Rudy Tambala isn't someone who shouts about legacy. But you can feel it in everything he says. Back in the mid-to-late '80s, A.R Kane crafted sounds that were indescribable at the time—blurring post-punk guitars with dub's spaciousness, the ethereal textures of dream pop, and rhythms that felt beamed in from a future club culture still in its infancy. Their debut album, 69, and its follow-up, “i”, eschewed the live band format for a studio playfulness that pointed to bedroom producers and Ableton a good decade before this would even start to become norm. On the surface, AR Kane might not be a household name. But dig deeper, and their fingerprints are everywhere. You hear it in shoegaze, trip-hop, and the experimental corners of electronic music. The seeds of jungle, ambient, and post-rock are there too. These were records for outsiders, yet their influence seeps through so many of the sounds that defined the '90s and beyond.It's easy to place AR Kane in the same breath as My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, or even Prince in the way they created entire worlds of sound. But there's something so singular about their vision, it incorporated old films, literature and design concepts. Rudy spoke candidly about what it meant to exist in a space where commercial success wasn't the goal, but creating something new—something honest—was everything.This episode isn't just about AR Kane's legacy, though. It's about the art of listening differently and I got the impression it's clear that Rudy is no nostalgist. We talk about sonic boundaries, connecting this with both Marshall MacLuhan and, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know a food analogy or too.Tune in to Lost and Sound this week to hear Rudy Tambala in his own words—reflecting on the past, navigating the present, and imagining the future of sound.Rudy records now as Jübl, I think you could say AR Kane Mk 2, here's the Bandcamp.Up Home Collected by A.R. Kane on BandcampFollow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Oliver Johnson, the synthesizer maestro better known as Dorian Concept, graces our latest episode with tales of musical evolution from "failed jazz artist" to electronic music luminary. Renowned for his collaborations with Thundercat, MF Doom and Flying Lotus, Johnson opens up about his unorthodox journey and the creative philosophies that guide him. We journey through the making of his latest EP, "Music from a Room Full of Synths," recorded at the Swiss Museum for Electronic Music Instruments, where jazz, funk, and hip-hop merge with club sounds.Another topic that came up was on how Dorian navigates artistic identity and societal expectations, revealing how personal experiences can forge a path to authenticity. From childhood piano lessons that prioritized play over pressure, to encountering musical influences that shaped his tastes.If you like what I'm doing with Lost and Sound, please like, rate, review or subscribe to the show on your podcast app of choice – it really does help."Music for a Room Full of Synths” is out now, check it out here. Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

This week, I'm joined by producer and sound designer Demian Licht. With a unique approach to creating deep techno, Demian treats frequencies and textures like an intricate structure, embracing minimalism and drawing inspiration from diverse sources beyond music itself, such as Greek mythology in her latest "Hémera" EP as well as Biohacking.Our discussion moves from Mexico City, where Demien honed her craft and became the first certified female Ableton trainer in Latin America to the chilly streets of Berlin, where she released her debut LP Die Kraft during the pandemic. We explore the transformative power of external influences on creativity, from surfing to learning new languages, and how stepping outside one's comfort zone can nurture genuine artistic expression. Demian highlights the significance of fostering an inclusive environment in music education, reflecting on the vital role of teaching in her career.If you like what I'm doing with Lost and Sound, please like, rate, review or subscribe to the show on your podcast app of choice – it really does help.HÉMERA VOL.1, out now on Demian Licht's label Motus Records. Listen an buy through Bandcamp here.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

A few Sundays ago I spoke with Icelandic producer and DJ Bjarki, whose seems to be at an interesting point in his artistic evolution, capable of creating club bangers yet seemingly more curious to explore dark yet heartfelt spaces between satire and science. From his explosive blunt weapon of a debut track "I Want to Go Bang,” almost ten years ago now,  to his innovative new album "A Guide to Hellthier Lifestyle." Bjarki shares how he weaves themes like environmental awareness  and the wellness industry into his music, shaping each track into a piece of conceptual art. Bjarki has built up a reputation for releasing under different pseudonyms and is able to create music that doesn't sit under one label, he's pretty hilariously dissmissive about how easy it is to make a club banger in our chat, for one. We discuss the creative journey of producing an album that examines wellness and influencer culture while embracing new technologies like spatial sound design to enhance the listener's experience. We also get to weave one of my favourite semi-regular sidenotes into the conversation — the connections between music and food!If you like what I'm doing with Lost and Sound, please like, rate, review or subscribe to the show on your podcast app of choice – it really does help. “A Guide To Hellthire Lifestyle” by Bjarki is released on February 7th, pre-order on Bandcamp.Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaPaul's BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.Paul's debut book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

It's the 150th episode of Lost and Sound and I'm joined by the legendary DJ and producer Laurent Garnier, who this week releases his epic Fabric Presents Mix, celebrating 25 years of the London superclub.Garnier famously checks out 400+ tracks a day, and we discuss how he sustains his passion for music amidst an avalanche of daily releases. He underscores the relentless pursuit of musical treasures, maintaining that even in a saturated market, gems persist. Garnier also reflects on the evolution of DJ culture and music trends, highlighting the significance of resisting nostalgia and embracing fresh tracks while acknowledging the challenges posed by technological advances in music distribution.Our conversation also touches on the nuances of today's techno scene, where commercial and underground elements often blur, not always in the best way. Garnier's approach shifts towards intimate venues that prioritize artistic expression over mainstream success. Lastly, we celebrate Fabric's 25th anniversary with Garnier's contribution: a mix for each of Fabric's rooms and a special "fourth room" mix for home listeners. Garnier is also a keen cook, and we draw on the parralels between clubs and restaurants, and how good resident DJs fulfull the same need for the culture as good chefs do. I loved hearing his insights into maintaining a successful DJ career, understanding crowd dynamics, and the intricacies of performing for different audiences.If you like what I'm doing with Lost and Sound, please like, rate, review or subscribe to the show on your podcast app of choice – it really does help.fabric presents Laurent Garnier: celebrating 25 years of fabric. Initial deluxe vinyl and CD release: 29th November. Pre-order here. Follow me on Instagram at PaulhanfordLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaMy BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.My  book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Join us for an immersive journey into the world of sound and creativity with electroacoustic composer, Sarah Davachi. Discover her unique methodology that combines a secular interest in pipe organs with innovative approaches to music composition and psychoacoustics. Sarah invites us into her world, sharing insights into the process behind her latest album, "The Head Has Form'd in the Crier's Choir," and reflects on her academic pursuits that enrich her art. Explore how Sarah balances the cerebral with the ethereal, blending insights from Greek mythology with modern musicology to craft evocative soundscapes. She reveals how taking inspiration from Monteverdi and Rilke helped her create a conceptual suite that embodies emotional depth and narrative coherence. Uncover her philosophy of creative limitations, where constraints are not obstacles but tools for shaping cohesive musical experiences."The Head Has Form'd in the Crier's Choir,” on BandcampFollow Paul Hanford on InstagramLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaPaul's BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.Paul's debut book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

Andy Bell, celebrated for his work with iconic guitar bands Ride and Oasis, takes us on an unexpected journey into the world of electronic music. We chat about his latest project, Glok, and the new album "Alliance," crafted alongside Timothy Clerkin. Ride's early '90s shoegaze influence is unmistakable in his electronic creations, making for a fascinating blend of past and present musical elements. This episode touches on Andy's humility and creative spirit, offering a fresh perspective on his evolving musical path.Our exploration of minimalism uncovers its surprising role as a common thread across diverse musical genres. Navigating personal music preferences often led to the term "psychedelia," yet it is minimalism that for him truly ties together interests ranging from post-punk to ambient sounds. Conversations about Ride's reunion reveal insights into how cultures and eras influence each other, emphasizing a continued evolution of sound. The authenticity of past musical revivals is questioned while finding genuine connections in minimalism and transcendence.A transformative recording session in 2012 marks the beginning of Andy's electronic music journey, as he shares experiences with software and effects. Creating music during lockdown led to a serendipitous collaboration with Timothy Clerkin, highlighting the unpredictability of remote music production. We reflect on the influence of Andrew Weatherall and the tracks born from this unique partnership, with "Empyrean" standing out as a testament to Glok's sound.“Alliance” by Glok and Timothy Clerkin is out now on Bytes and available here.Follow Paul Hanford on InstagramLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaPaul's BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.Paul's debut book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins

What compels an artist to stay true to their vision in a world full of expectations and pressures? Join us as we sit with the genre-straddling Granada-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer Kid Simius. We explore the psychology behind an artist's decision to either fit in or break the mold, a theme central to hias career. He shares how the cultural backdrop of his hometown Granada and the bustling energy of Berlin have shaped his musical path, from his humble beginnings of releasing tracks in 2012 to performing on international stages.  Kid Simius opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of releasing music, the challenges of being an international touring DJ, and how these experiences have influenced his creative process. He candidly discusses the personal significance of naming his album "Jose," a choice that reflects clarity and authenticity. We talk about the delicate balance of maintaining artistic integrity while navigating external pressures from social media and music industry expectations. Kid Simius' journey emphasizes the importance of self-expression and letting go of self-judgment, encouraging listeners to interpret music in their own unique ways.“José” by Kid Simius is out now on Shall Not Fade. Check it out here.Follow Paul Hanford on InstagramLost and Sound is sponsored by Audio-TechnicaPaul's BBC World Service radio documentary “The man who smuggled punk rock across the Berlin Wall” is available now on BBC Sounds. Click here to listen.Paul's debut book, Coming To Berlin: Global Journeys Into An Electronic Music And Club Culturet Capital is out now on Velocity Press. Click here to find out more. Lost and Sound title music by Thomas Giddins