Episodes

  • #015 James Holden on playing live, coding swing, and what he really thinks of nightclubs
    Jun 24 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    James Holden is a highly respected electronic musician from the UK. He first broke through in the late 90s with his trance-crossover anthem 'Horizons', and quickly became established as an expert producer and DJ. Following his first album 'The Idiots Are Winning', released like almost all of his music on his own label Border Community label, his sound has evolved in expansive and unexpected ways, culminating in 2023's 'Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities' and most recently 'The Universe Will Take Care Of You' with Waclaw Zimpel.


    We discuss his changing approaches to making recording and performing, his relationship with nightclubs and DJ culture, the specifics of making his most recent albums, and the nature of music as art.


    We also attempt to get him to dish the dirt on big name DJs but he turns out to be the model of discretion!


    This is a good one, stick it on, and then listen to his recent catalogue - it's truly amazing work.


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • Classic Episode: Tijana T on music journalism and the politics of dancing
    Jun 17 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    We've been talking a lot in recent weeks about politics in dance music. Over on the Patreon feed we did a bonus episode covering the debate around private equity in festivals, of which there will be a second part this week. There will be a solo podcast covering all that on the main feed in the next couple of weeks but in the meantime we wanted to return to one of the absolute best episodes we've done, one which covered many of the wider themes that have come to the forefront of the discussion recently, from all the way back in March 2023.


    Tijana T is a DJ from Serbia. She's been involved in the scene in Belgrade one way or another since the 90s, a period which for obvious reasons was extremely fraught across the whole region. The discussion covers her wider career, but we spend a lot of time discussing the effect that conflict has on art, and on artists. From a position of direct experience, Tijana speaks with real insight on these topics.


    Covering this sort of thing is difficult. Not least because we get blocked from promoting our videos on Youtube when certain topics are even mention. But this is the important stuff that's happening in culture right now, and while tackling anything of it with a degree of nuance is a serious challenge, it's one that we enjoy on this show.


    Even if you listened to this episode the first time round we highly recommend giving it another spin. It's highly relevant to what is going on today.


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 56 mins
  • #014 Groove Armada - Andy Cato on juggling music, regenerative farming, and working with Jeremy Clarkson
    Jun 10 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    Andy Cato is half of Groove Armada - one of the biggest ever UK dance acts and source of some of the biggest hits of the late 90s and early 2000s.


    To a younger audience, however, he might be more familiar as the guy who does regenerative farming on Top Gear alumnus and pantomime villain Jeremy Clarkson's weirdly successful Amazon show 'Clarkson's Farm'.


    This is an interesting combination to say the least, and really we could've done with another couple of hours to explore the two things in full, and also the link between. But an hour is all we had on the day... because Andy had to go off to film with Clarkson.


    We actually focus mostly on the second half of Andy's career during this conversation - I found the prep for this so interesting that I had a ton of questions on his journey to prominence in this area, as a farmer but also a co-founder of the Wildfarmed organisation, and also the area itself.


    But we also get into the music too.


    Episode 1 of Farming Not Diving it is...


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 8 mins
  • #013 Joe Goddard on getting political, musical longevity, and the beauty of jamming
    May 27 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    How important is it for musicians to have a political message? Not just the platitudinous virtue signalling that many in the arts indulge in - but a real message that poses a challenge to the powerful forces in society? That's a question that sounds like it has an easy answer to it, but reality is always more complicated.


    Hot Chip's Joe Goddard joined us on stage last summer at Lost Village festival for a chat in front of an audience that you can find on this episode of our previous incarnation - the Not A Diving Podcast. But this episode is not that - Joe joined us in the studio earlier this month for a 'proper' episode in which we tackle the above questions and a lot more besides.


    We also discuss the process for making a Hot Chip record, and also the processes behind his solo material. We talk about his work a producer for other acts and his music making philosophy more generally. We continue on the topic of grunge from our last conversation, and we ponder the challenges of staying relevant in music over a long career.


    Joe is one of the good ones and you're gonna enjoy this!


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 23 mins
  • #012 WME Booking Agent on clubs, festivals, Ticketmaster, and Kneecap (Steve Hogan)
    May 20 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    Is the club scene dead? Have festivals killed it? Or are festivals themselves in terminal decline? Or is everything actually doing great in live music, humming along nicely with a rosy future?


    These are questions inexpertly pondered in the usual morass of music discussion, but on this week’s episode we are graced with real expertise on the subject.

    Steve Hogan is a partner and senior agent at one of the world’s biggest talent agencies - WME - who looks after acts including Pete Tong, Eric Prydz, and Groove Armada.


    He's a twenty-year veteran at the company who has seen it all in the live sector and particularly the electronic side of it.


    We address the aforementioned questions, as well as discussing the role of the agent in an artist’s career, ticketing and the role of Ticketmaster, and we also get into the topical question of politics in music and the specific example of Kneecap.


    Strap in for some expert opinion!


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 19 mins
  • #011 Baltra on Lo-Fi House, making an album, and working on Wall St during the GFC
    May 13 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    What does the short-lived Lo-FI House trend of the late 2010s have in common with the subprime mortgage crisis of the previous decade?


    On this episode with one of the biggest names to emerge from the aforementioned scene we find out.


    Lo-Fi was very much a 21st Century style of breakout, via Facebook groups and tunes posted to YouTube months before getting signed. But the wiser participants in the scene, including DJ Seinfeld and Ross From Friends, got out early and almost without exception carved out successful careers for themselves.


    Baltra, a Philly native who got into music after a move to NYC, epitomised that trend. His 2019 album Ted - a tribute to to his late father - was a step outside of the parameters of the scene that had got him noticed, and since then he's established himself as a fixture on the global DJ circuit and one of house music's most interesting producers.


    We discuss all of that, plus his previous, slightly inauspicious career on Wall Street and his experience working in the sector during the biggest crisis in the industry since the 1929 crash.


    Get involved!


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 20 mins
  • #010 Emma Marshall on repetitive beats, wellness, and the science behind banning phones from clubs
    May 6 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!


    And for artists and labels... use the code Scuba6 for six months free use of the platform!!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    What's the link between repetitive beats, wellness, neuroscience, and phones in nightclubs?


    We discover on this week's episode with someone who has written a very interesting book, 'Music Is Medicine', covering these topics and a lot more besides.


    Emma Marshall's career in the industry was initially in roles at giants such as CAA & Sony, but the wider story told in the book led her to found Movement is Medicine, a groundbreaking education and research platform that explores how rhythm, BPM, and tempo influence the body and mind.


    As well as discussing her personal journey, we cover topics including the reimagining of nightclubs, the significance of repetitive rhythms in societies throughout history, music therapy, as well as the cost of those cameras intruding into the rave.


    This is a really interesting one... get involved!


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 39 mins
  • #009 Richard Fearless on Death In Vegas, Daniel Avery, and getting dropped by a major
    Apr 29 2025

    Music Not Diving is supported by AC55ID... head over to www.ac55id.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

    --

    Watch the full video version of this episode over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving


    Death In Vegas broke through in the late 90s with a run of albums beginning with 'Dead Elvis', a classic of the era that brought together many of the sonic trends of the not-quite-dancefloor, back to mine side of the dance scene. The new album, Death Mask, is out soon.


    As a DJ, Richard Fearless has remained a crucial figure throughout. A resident at the Heavenly Social in that late 90s era, he has more recently been running the 'Goo' parties with Daniel Avery in London and across the world.


    In this conversation we cover Richard's leadup to the point of breaking through with debut single 'Opium Shuffle', growing up in apartheid-era Africa, as well as the classic period of hedonism at clubs like Turnmills and across the world.


    And we also get the positive case for dance music in 2025.


    Richard is a highly engaging guy with some great stories... you're going to love this one!


    --

    If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.


    You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.


    Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.


    Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 29 mins
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