Attention Engineer: Artists on creativity, grit & determination

An artist of enduring international acclaim and a justly revered lyricist, Thea Gilmore’s musical settings have taken many ingenious detours in the 22 years since the release of her debut album, Burning Dorothy. Uncategorisable, whip smart and unafraid to speak her mind, her Twitter bio reads “Singer. Songwriter. Tall bird. Corruptor of words”..Visit penfriend.rocks/thea for the posh show notes with links to explore her work, and get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growth with no reward. Finding strength in your less desirable traits. Coming up with the perfect comeback hours later in bed, glaring at the ceiling. Asking yourself: am I improving, or am I just changing into something unrecognizable? Chicago quartet Ganser probe the futility of striving for self-growth during the chaos of our times for dark comedy and jagged sounds on their potent new album Just Look at That Sky, released July 31st on Felte..Welcome to my conversation with bassist, vocalist and award-winning art director Alicia Gaines. Visit penfriend.rocks/alicia for the posh show notes with links to explore her work, and visit speakpipe.com/penfriend to contribute to a future episode..Get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Propelled by the Manic Street Preachers’ lyric “libraries gave us power”, The Anchoress(aka Welsh producer and multi-instrumentalist, Catherine Anne Davies) is a voracious devourer of words and music. From her early roots as a classically-trained flautist, to her current obsession with vintage synthesizers, Davies has spent much of the last four years developing her writing and engineering skills to become one of the most interesting up-and-coming songwriters and producers in the UK and has collaborated with a variety of artists including the London Philharmonic, Nitin Sawhney, Ed Harcourt, Bernard Butler, Liam Howe and Paul Statham..Visit penfriend.rocks/catherine for the posh show notes with links to explore Catherine's work, and visit speakpipe.com/penfriend to contribute to a future episode..Get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bernard Butler is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, noted as one of Britain’s most original and influential guitarists.Beginning his long and varied music career as a founding member of Suede, Butler is well known for wildly successful collaborations with David McAlmont, Duffy and supergroup The Tears (with former Suede bandmate Brett Anderson)..Visit penfriend.rocks/bernard for the posh show notes with links to explore Bernard's work, and visit speakpipe.com/penfriend to contribute to a future episode..Get two free Penfriend songs immediately when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Hung is a musician based in London, England. First coming into prominence as a founder of Fuck Buttons, the ecstatic noise group who garnered a rabid cult following, Hung continues to work both on his solo music, as a film composer and as a collaborator (with artists including Beth Orton).Visit penfriend.rocks/andrew for the posh show notes with links to explore Andrew's work, and visit speakpipe.com/penfriend to contribute to a future episode.Get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Jim Bob had 14 top 40 singles, 4 top ten albums (including a number one), sold over a million records, toured the world and headlined Glastonbury. Outside of Carter Jim Bob has had a long and varied career as a solo artist and writer. He has released 11 solo albums, two autobiographies and six novels.Visit penfriend.rocks/jimbob for the posh show notes with links to explore Jim Bob's brilliant work, and visit speakpipe.com/penfriend to contribute to a future episode.Get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lemn Sissay MBE on the importance of kindness in a long-lasting career, how poetry really is for everyone and staying away from unproductive negativity - how to take better care of ourselves.Visit penfriend.rocks/lemn for the posh show notes with links to explore his brilliant work. Get two free Penfriend songs when you sign up to my mailing list. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit the deluxe show notes page: http://penfriend.rocks/milesRead the text version: http://penfriend.rocks/miles-ts.About my guest: Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff) on how Covid-19 dashed his hopes of leaving the music business and becoming a truck driver (and why he wanted to quit in the first place), how writing your autobiography can help mend relationships that went bad and why we should probably just turn the internet off..About your host: I'm Laura Kidd, a music producer and solo artist releasing music as Penfriend. Come and grab two free songs plus letters about art and music from http://penfriend.rocks/hello..My new album “Exotic Monsters” is out now: http://penfriend.rocks/exoticmonsterSponsor the podcast here: https://penfriend.rocks/sponsorship.Have a fab day! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet "The Only Way Out Is Through", the second single from my solo project Penfriend. Get this song for free along with debut Penfriend single "Everything Looks Normal In The Sunshine" when you visit http://penfriend.rocks - thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney) on finding your own power, the importance of art in making sense of a world crisis or three and why you should always watch your support bands.Visit http://penfriend.rocks/corin for the fancy show notes with links to Corin's music, and you can grab two free Penfriend songs while you're there. Thanks for listening! xo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit the deluxe show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/novatwins for links to Nova Twins' music and everything we discussed in this episode.-Get two free Penfriend tracks immediately when you sign up at http://penfriend.rocks-Nova Twins are bassist Georgia South and guitarist and vocalist Amy Love. Fast becoming trailblazers in their own right, Nova Twins use their platform to champion inclusivity and diversity with a high-octane, genre-warping approach; one that is present in every song they write and every performance they deliver. Turning heads in all of their endeavours, the duo creates a remarkable depth of sound via a myriad of bass and guitar pedals - a secret recipe they have tweaked and refined over the years, whilst dogmatically avoiding any synthesizers in the process. Innovative in not only their musical output but in every element of what they do as artists, from designing and making their own outfits for all photoshoots and stage-wear, to the art direction of their music videos. The band are above all, strong, independent and inspiring women of colour. Their modus operandi is to take socio-political experiences from their day-to-day and turn it into something their fans can get lost in.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read the deluxe show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/estella for links to everything we discussed in this episode.-Get two free Penfriend tracks immediately when you sign up at http://penfriend.rocks-Estella Adeyeri is a performing musician and multi-instrumentalist. She plays bass guitar in Black feminist punk band Big Joanie, and lead guitar in anarcho-pop punk outfit Charmpit. Estella has toured extensively and has shared stages with artists such as Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill and Gossip. Estella is a member of the organising team behind Decolonise Fest, an annual London-based music festival run by punks of colour for punks of colour. She is also a board member of the Good Night Out Campaign, which seeks to create safer nightlife spaces. She has volunteered with Girls Rock London since 2017 as a band coach, instrument tutor, and year-round organiser.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club. Grab two months of free Skillshare classes on me - visit http://penfriend.rocks/skillshare for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read the deluxe show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/sadie to listen to Sadie's brilliant music and get links to everything else we discussed in this episode.-Get two free Penfriend tracks immediately when you sign up at http://penfriend.rocks-For nearly a decade, poet and multi-instrumentalist producer Sadie Dupuis has been celebrated for her literary lyrics, accomplished guitar playing, and embodied ethos of empowerment, whether with rock band Speedy Ortiz or the pop-oriented solo project Sad13, which debuted in 2016 with Lizzo co-feature “Basement Queens.” Self-produced debut album “Slugger” was released that same year, and followup “Haunted Painting” will be released on 25th September 2020.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club. Grab two months of free Skillshare classes on me - visit http://penfriend.rocks/skillshare for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read the deluxe show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/psb to listen to Public Service Broadcasting's brilliant music and get links to everything else we discussed in this episode.-Get two free Penfriend tracks immediately when you sign up at http://penfriend.rocks-Public Service Broadcasting is the corduroy-clad brainchild of London-based J. Willgoose, Esq. who, along with drumming companion Wrigglesworth and multi instrumentalist JFAbraham, is on a quest to inform, educate and entertain audiences around the globe. PSB’s uniquely spell-binding live AV transmissions see them weave samples from old public information films, archive footage and propaganda material around live drums, guitar, banjo and electronics as they teach the lessons of the past through the music of the future – beaming our past back at us through vintage tv sets and state of the art modern video projection devices.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club. Grab two months of free Skillshare classes on me - visit http://penfriend.rocks/skillshare for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit the deluxe show notes with links to Rod's music and his artist recommendations at http://penfriend.rocks/brightlightbrightlight and get two free Penfriend tracks when you sign up.-Bright Light Bright Light is the moniker of Welsh-born, NYC living Rod Thomas, a singer, songwriter, producer, DJ and fully independent artist. A pop culture geek, his songs are inspired by 80's/90's cinema (hence the name), video games, TV moments and dance sequences. He's worked with Sir Elton John, Scissor Sisters, Alan Cumming and Erasure, and toured with Cher. His forthcoming album "Fun City" is a love letter to the LGBTQ+ community and features a long list of incredible LGBTQ+ collaborators including Andy Bell, Jake Shears, Justin Vivian Bond and Madonna's iconic backing singers Niki Haris and Donna De Lory.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks. Grab two months of free Skillshare classes on me - visit http://penfriend.rocks/skillshare for more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.