Podcasts to Boost Your Playlist Game

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Podcasts to Boost Your Playlist Game

Whether your music listening is via online platforms, vinyl or even cassette, you can use podcasts to boost your playlist game. Get the commentary on the industry, its insiders and how they craft their tracks from a vast library on offer. Or, explore new genres, find the tracks that resonate and then get drawn into their backstory.

There are decades of music history to be found, listened to and deciphered, from the BBC's 'Desert Island Discs' to the huge hit 'Song Exploder' which due to its success, has now become a Netflix series. Below is a list of a few of the best, to get your lug-holes tuned into and feed your music curiosity.

SONG EXPLODER

Listen Here - Song Exploder

Hosted and produced by Hrishikesh Hirway since 2014, his podcast guests are invited to take apart their songs piece by piece and tell the story of how they were created. The journey involves breaking down the sounds and ideas involved in the writing and recording. Recent guests have included Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Grammy award winner PJ Morton.

SWITCHED ON POP

We've all had good and bad 'Ear Worms' sending us loco at some point and there's no denying certain tracks get stuck in your head! If you are interested in why certain songs have these hooks which draw you in or you can't shake, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding are here to explain. Recent treats include The Weeknd ' Blinding Lights' and Adrian Younge's new project.

DISSECT

Something to really get your teeth into, podcast Dissect is a mix up of episodes and mini-series podcasts that explore individual albums, track by track. Series can run up to 12-13 episodes and the track detail takes in comparisons and history. Recents featured artists have included Kendrick Lamar, Lauren Hill and Frank Ocean. The current series is diving into Beyonce's 'Black is King'.

ROLLING STONE: MUSIC NOW

When is comes to pedigree and heritage, Rolling Stone is up there. If you are a music legend, there are a handful of publications you will bother to get out of bed for. Rolling Stone, is certainly one of them. Taking you inside the biggest stories in the industry and securing interviews with all the top artists of music history, from Rock 'n' Roll to Hip-Hop, not stone left unturned.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED

The various hosts of All Songs Considered, include Bob Boilen and Rob Hilton, giving you their personal recommendations for your listening pleasure. The experience compares to chatting at the pub, and swapping ideas with your best friends. Laid back and charming the focus is on new music and brings interviews with emerging artists and musing over historical figures from the industry.

QUESTLOVE SUPREME

This podcast series is about secrets, passions and personal projects. The themes drive the conversation for the fabulous Questlove and Team Supreme. Using fun and irreverence to entertain and educate their audience, the episodes are a joy of easy listening. They can certainly draw the names, and have put their interview skills to the likes of Michelle Obama, Chris Rock, Chaka Khan and Steve Miller.

LOST NOTES - 1980

A collection of the greatest music stories never told. This season the poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib resides over the podcast and explores a single year: 1980 - the brilliant, awkward and sometimes heartbreaking opening to a monumental decade in popular music. David Bowie got divorced. Lou Reed got married. Ian Curtis died before Joy Division got to touch down for a U.S. Tour. By the end of the year, John Lennon’s death would signal the end of a rock n’ roll era. This gripping series includes the work of Stevie Wonder, Ian Curtis and Grace Jones.

THE THISTLE & SHAMROCK

If your tastes are more on the Folk or Celtic tip, Fiona Richie is your gal. Her podcast show takes you through the history of the genre whilst indulging you in performances and personal playlists. Music from old favourites and new comers are entwined with spoken word artists and interviews with acclaimed authors and award winning composers.

DESERT ISLAND DISCS

The original music podcast, and still arguably the best. Created during World War 2 by Roy Plumley, the show has interviewed heads of state, music and acting legends, world renowned scientists, plus sporting and every-day heroes. The archive is vast and awash with choices, which are easy to source in the 'Collections' area.

The format is simple – a guest is invited to choose eight discs, a book and a luxury to take with them as they’re castaway on a mythical desert island. They’re given the complete works of Shakespeare and the Bible or religious book of their choice. During the interview, guests explain their choices and discuss key moments in their lives, people and events that have influenced and inspired them and brought them to where they are today.

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12
Mar

Crunch Time for Festivals

January 2021 is going to be crunch time for festivals. In this still, uncertain time, the organisers of the UK's biggest events remain on a knife edge about festivals being able to go-ahead. Michael Eavis has pinned his hopes on mass vaccination of the country, so Glastonbury can still happen this year. He received his jab, just before new year. Whilst Emily Eavis has been countering claims their festival has already been cancelled and confirming tickets will be rolled over to 2022. Micheal Eavis at Glastonbury - Photo: Getty UK Music have shared a new report, Let the Music Play: Save Our Summer 2021, outlining their recommendations for how to restart the UK’s live music industry. As MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee open their inquiry into ‘The future of UK music festivals’ today (January 5), UK Music – whose CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin is among those set to give evidence to the inquiry stating the document “outlines a clear strategy to protect and support the multi-billion pound live music industry so it is ready to restart when safe to do so later this year”. Read the report below: https://www.ukmusic.org/assets/general/Let_The_Music_Play_Save_Our_Summer_2021.pdf “The music industry has worked hard to make event spaces as safe as they can possibly be,” UK Music said in a statement accompanying the new report. “This includes launching testing pilots to be able to hold mass events safely, working with government to develop guidance for how to hold events safely, and looking at new ventilation and air purification systems that would dramatically reduce the risk of transmission. “But there is no certainty about when the industry will be allowed to hold mass events once again.” The report warns that the lack of coronavirus cancellation insurance is “the biggest barrier to major events happening in 2021”, and calls on the UK Government to implement an insurance scheme as it has done for the film and TV sector. Key action points in the report are, “an indicative date for a full capacity restart” for venues and festivals, a government-backed indemnity scheme and targeted financial support for the live music industry. UK Music are also calling for an extension to the VAT rate reduction on tickets, a rollover of the paid 2020 Local Authority licence fees for festivals to 2021 and an extension to business rates relief. Up to 50% of the festival workforce faces possible redundancy if the 2021 season is cancelled and a report by the Musicians' Union stated 71% of musicians were considering leaving the sector or were unsure if they would continue. According to Steve Heap, the general secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), major music festivals would have to make a decision about their 2021 editions this month. Smaller festivals, however, could put off cancelling until April. Though the pandemic is still wreaking havoc across the UK the crunch time is definitely, now. The industry and the fans need to know!

20
Mar

Independent Musicians & Performers have 365 Days to Celebrate

Happy Birthday IMAP! A year ago today Jeeni founding directors decided they wanted to create a supportive, free, public, non-judgemental, democratic, kind and sharing organic eco-system for independent musicians and performers across the globe. Independent Musicians and Performers (IMAP) Community managed by Jeeni was launched this time exactly one year ago. Jeeni CEO & founding Director who manages the community group said: "Seven days a week for the entire 365 days we personally supported and promoted independent artists across the globe. Sharing and showcasing the creatives and we are now members of 300 + other Facebook groups with potential outreach to 4.3m members, with access to over 34K videos. All of this has been achieved at NO cost, just our time and passion resulted in organic growth during the Pandemic. We are absolutely delighted and very proud of our effort and commitment to our members. But we could not have done it with all our members so a massive congratulations to all of you." Today we're celebrating our first anniversary, and what an amazing year it’s been. Our thanks to each and every one of you. We have loved every minute of it, and we’ve grown stronger all the time. Over 3,300 members, sharing, liking, posting, interacting and supporting one another through these challenging times. We've been connecting and promoting unsigned singers, musicians, performers, poets, dancers and DJs every step of the way, 7 days a week for the last 365 days. We have broadcast two global Festivals featuring Grammy Award-winners alongside brand new talent, and our next Festival will be live-streamed around the world on Saturday 10th April to spotlight some of our favourite IMAP members plus some very special guests. And it’s been a great year for Jeeni, where we run the IMAP group for you. 1,800 artist showcases, 105 Channels, 139 Celebrity Fanbases and over 2 million audience outreach. We have welcomed 11 new Team Jeeni members to match singers and songwriters with bands, mentors and experienced professionals, safe and securely online, and we’ve supported artists raising money from investors and platforms like AmplifyX, Patreon and Rocket Fuel. With £350,000 investment from 422 investors to develop Jeeni as the ethical alternative for Independent Musicians and Performers like you, let’s party for our birthday! Help us celebrate and join Jeeni.com right now.

07
Feb

Ace Bermuda - ‘WTF is Ace Bermuda?’ (Feat. Jada Freeman & Profiiit) Single Review

If the elusive, grand and electrifying Ace Bermuda were a TV show, ‘WTF Is Ace Bermuda’ would be their theme song. The collective’s first official release perfectly encapsulates the group’s innovative intentions and collaborative nature. The first official emergence of Ace Bermuda has been literally years in the making and although they took their sweet time to release a track, the debut has smashed all expectations. Brand new to Jeeni, we’re so lucky to catch this group at the genesis of their refreshing and wild style of alt hip-hop/electronic fusion. This act consists of a core partnership of Jake Thomas and Jacob Richardson, two evil-genius producers, who work overtime for the chief himself, Mr. Ace Bermuda. The semi-retired industry legend watches from a distance and nods his approval as the two do his creative bidding. ‘WTF Is Bermuda’ is a living, breathing organism which shifts and morphs around whoever takes to the mic at any given time. Where other electronic based producers might copy and paste chunks of identical audio to flesh out a track, the Bermuda beat-makers give each bar attention, care and detail. Similarly, neither feature steals the show, but instead are balanced and work together incredibly well. American rapper, Profiiit brings a stone-cold iciness to the middle section of the track. His second verse is accompanied by a harsh, yet distant synth that snakes alongside his un-faltering bars and propels the part even higher. East London’s Jada Freeman sing/raps her smooth, and captivating featured verse as the track begins to peak and wind down. The reverb settings and panning given to her vocalisations brings an ethereality to her voice which adorns the outro with charm and beauty. A potential reason behind Ace Bermuda's ambiguous sense of identity is also subtly addressed here on the group's debut single, another reason why this track is important to the act's timeline and history. A repeating verse heard at the beginning of the track and throughout, criticises those who value their image above a message that they could be expressing, "Look, another self promoter, spread your face, not your voice". This ideology was infamously held by the late MF DOOM; the masked rapper was known for occasionally sending imposters in his stead at live shows to outline the unimportance of his actual identity. This is an interesting stance in the music industry, which luckily has been continued with acts like Ace Bermuda. Check out Ace Bermuda’s showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/AceBermuda/ The Ace Bermuda masterminds have a lot more up their sleeve. Follow the group on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ace.bermuda/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ace_bermuda Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ace.bermuda.927 They also have an upcomming live show with ‘Naytiive’ at Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden on the 12th of February: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/limited-tickets-naytiive-support-the-fiddlers-elbow-tickets/11537915?pl=hotvox&edpPlParam=%3Fpl%3Dhotvox How can Jeeni support artists like Ace Bermuda? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

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