Attention Engineer: Artists on creativity, grit & determination

Visit the deluxe show notes page at http://penfriend.rocks/skatingpolly and claim your two free Penfriend songs at http://penfriend.rocks-Skating Polly is an American rock band formed in Oklahoma City, playing their own inimitable brand of “ugly pop”. Founded by multi-instrumentalist step-siblings Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse in 2009, the band later gained a third member, Kurtis, their brother, who plays drums. A spectacular live force, Skating Polly have released five endlessly creative albums to date, collaborated with rock royalty and toured the world, leaving a trail of sweaty, openmouthed onlookers in their wake.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club.-Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks for listening! Visit the deluxe show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/emma to listen to Emma's music and get links to everything we talked about.-Content warning: friendly swearing from the start and one allusion to suicide, in the context of Emma's collaboration with Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit.-Emma Pollock is a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician, and a founding member of the bands The Delgados, The Burns Unit and The Fruit Tree Foundation. As a solo artist, she has released three albums to date, as well as a plethora of collaborative work. She co-runs independent record label Chemikal Underground and the chem19 recording studio.-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.

Visit http://penfriend.rocks/nikesh for the show notes, including links to Nikesh's books and everything we talked about in this episode.-Content warning: friendly swearing.-Nikesh Shukla is an award-winning, bestselling writer of books and television. So far he’s published three novels and two books for Young Adults, co-written a short film, written columns for The Observer and hosted a podcast. Nikesh is the editor of the essay collection, The Good Immigrant, where 21 British writers of colour discuss race and immigration in the UK. The Good Immigrant USA, co-edited with Chimene Suleyman, was released to acclaim from New York Times, Kirkus, TIME Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, and more. His new book, “Brown Baby: a memoir of race, family and home” is due out in early 2021 and can be pre-ordered now from wherever you get books.-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.-Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit http://penfriend.rocks/harkin for the show notes, including links to Harkin's music and everything else we discussed.-Harkin has been touring since her teens and is one of the most prolific collaborators of her generation. Now, a lifelong collaborator steps into the singular. In addition to her own band she formed as a teen (Sky Larkin), she has been a touring member of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Beasts, Flock of Dimes, and Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, plus she performed backing vocals for Dua Lipa on Saturday Night Live. Debut solo album ‘Harkin’ is released on Hand Mirror, with publishing support from Rough Trade Publishing. Harkin and her partner, the poet and live arts organiser Kate Leah Hewett, founded Hand Mirror in 2019.-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.-Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit http://penfriend.rocks/bec for links to all the things we talked about plus a special note from Bec *and* a link for her desk tour. Yay!-Bec Hill is an Australian-born, UK-based comedian, writer, actor and presenter. She is best known for her viral flipchart videos and ridiculous social media adventures. When she's not performing stand-up around the world to both adults and kids, she is either appearing on/writing for telly, chatting on various podcasts, or winning awards. She's also been a time-traveller, the voice of several characters in Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, and most recently became a Tooth Fairy.-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.-Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

View the show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/tom-Born in Cambridge in 1950, Tom Robinson first became known in the late 1970s as a musician and LGBT activist with the Tom Robinson Band (TRB) who were early supporters of Rock Against Racism and Amnesty International. In 1977 their Top 5 debut release “2-4-6-8 Motorway” became one of the landmark singles of the UK punk era.-Other hits included “Glad To Be Gay”, “Up Against The Wall” and the band’s debut album “Power In The Darkness” which went gold in the UK and Japan. As a solo artist Tom had further solo hits in 1983 with “War Baby” and “Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio”, and co-wrote songs with Peter Gabriel, Elton John and Dan Hartman.-As a radio broadcaster, over the last 30 years Tom has hosted programmes on all eight of the BBC‘s national radio stations and won two Gold Sony Academy Radio Awards. He currently hosts three shows a week on BBC Radio 6 Music, was a member of the Ivor Novello Awards committee for ten years and in 2016 was awarded a fellowship of LIPA in recognition of his support for new music artists through BBC Introducing. His music blog at Fresh On The Net currently offers an open door to new tunes and free insider advice for independent and emerging musicians.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

View the show notes at http://penfriend.rocks/charlotte-Charlotte Hatherley is a composer, solo artist, and guitarist who initially came to prominence as guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Ash. After leaving Ash in 2006, she recorded and performed extensively with artists including Bryan Ferry, Bat For Lashes, KT Tunstall and Birdy. Most recently Charlotte has toured as musical director for critically acclaimed South African artist, Nakhane. A truly versatile artist, she has written for film and stage and inspired by her love of science fiction, her fourth solo album, True Love, was released in 2018. Her soundtrack for the powerful film ‘Imogen' was released in May 2020. -This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read the lovingly collated show notes, see the Post-it message Frank' wrote for you and get all his lockdown news at http://penfriend.rocks/frank-Frank Turner is an English punk folk songwriter from Hampshire. Starting his career in post-hardcore band Million Dead, he went solo in 2005 and has built an extensive and incredibly loyal fanbase through brilliant songwriting and sheer hard work. This conversation was recorded backstage at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre on Saturday 14th March, in the uncertain days leading up to the government's unprecedented closure of venues, theatres, pubs and restaurants on 20th March.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

View the fancypants show notes for this episode at http://penfriend.rocks/ayse-Ayse Hassan is a multi-instrumentalist who first came to prominence as the bassist in rock band Savages. She has since made music in duos Kitebase and 180DB. She’s currently focusing on her solo project ESYA.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

View the lovingly collated show notes on this special page and listen to Mark and I singing together http://penfriend.rocks/mark-Mark Chadwick is a singer, songwriter and guitarist in British folk rock band The Levellers. Formed in 1988, they take their name from The Levellers political movement, and have released 11 studio albums. Mark has also released two excellent solo albums.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a debut guest! Pause for sharp intake of breath, surprise and delight, now visit this special page to see the note Tanya wrote for you and listen to us singing together http://penfriend.rocks/tanya-Tanya Donelly is a two time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, founding member of three influential bands of the post-punk era (Belly, Throwing Muses, Breeders), and solo artist. Her upcoming album of covers recorded with The Parkington Sisters, to be released on August 14, 2020, is available now for pre-order.-This podcast is supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery and powered by my Correspondent’s Club http://penfriend.rocks-Thank you for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WTF is an attention engineer, and what does that have to do with this podcast, anyway? Laura explains... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.