Line Noise Podcast

Has anyone had a more interesting life in music than Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy, aka System 7? They were both in Gong in the 1970s, recorded the classic album Rainbow Dome Musick in 1979, gravitated towards acid house in the 80s and eventually formed System 7 in 1989. 27 years later, they are about to release their 15th (ish) album, the excellent Flower of Life, which includes collaborations with Coldcut’s Matt Black and The Orb, and have a new live tour planned.

We speak about all that, as well as Miquette’s work on the “heroin ‘n’ hippies” film More in 1969, talking guitars with Mike Banks, Steve playing with Sham 69, birthing dance music at Glastonbury and vintage synths. Plus, we discover their secret to a healthy working and sentimental relationship. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

Our guest on Line Noise this week is Matt Black, half of epochal British electronic music duo Coldcut alongside Jonathan More. The reason for our talk was the 20th anniversary edition of their fifth album, Sound Mirrors, which is being reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day. And we did talk about this; but we also went gloriously all over the shop, from Top of the Pops to AI; Coldcut’s working relationship to the role that musical genre plays; and I even asked about the possibility of a new Coldcut album some day. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra. Photo by Hayley Louisa Brown.

Terrence Dixon doesn’t do many interviews. So when the enigmatic Detroit producer agreed to speak to Line Noise around the release of his new EP for Tresor, When Stars Remember, we jumped at the chance.

In a very sweet interview, we talked about his history with Tresor, the power of extreme repetition, falling asleep to your music, his grandmother’s love for Kraftwerk, Juan Atkins, Mike Banks, not reading manuals and so much more.

Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra. Picture by Evan Zott.

My guest on Line Noise this week is Dominick Martin, AKA Calibre, a hugely renowned producer from Belfast best known for drum & bass but who has also made everything from jazzy folk to deep house. We were talking ahead of the release of his new Calibre record, Tricklemore Sea (released on May 1), an album of elegant and often elegiac downtempo beats on which Martin’s voice features heavily. Over the course of an hour, we spoke about everything from Martin's lack of confidence in his voice to his upbringing in 80s Belfast, passing by Lankum, Sun Ra, Swerve, perfect pitch, bringing his parents to gigs and what his daughter thinks of his music. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra. Photo by JakeDavis_@jakephilipdavis_@khromacollective-9772

Ben Cardew spoke to French producer Malibu (a.k.a. Barbara Braccini) ahead of her gigs in Barcelona (April 14) and Madrid (April 15) about the profound impact of her live shows, music as a diary, growing up in a small town and the loneliness of LA. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.