The British hip-hop subgenre grime first started to bubble up in London in the early aughts. Artists like Wiley and Dizzee Rascal developed an entirely new style by rapping over lightning-fast beats inspired by UK garage, techno and jungle. Today’s guest, Stormzy is at the forefront of grime’s newest generation. He rose to prominence in 2015 after uploading a video to YouTube where he freestyled over classic grime tracks. Since then Stormzy has released three number one albums in the UK, won three Brit Awards, and become the first British rapper to headline the Glastonbury festival. Just before releasing his third album, This Is What I Mean, Stormzy met up with Rick Rubin in London for a cover story from i-d Magazine’s Royalty issue. This is the recording of that conversation. On today’s episode we’ll hear Stormzy play Rick songs from his new album, and explain why he decided to consider his audience last when recording it. And Stormzy talks about how a painful break-up and trusting God helped lead him to a new melodic, soulful sound. You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Stormzy songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If Broken Record had an all-star list, Neil Young would be at the top. He’s been on the show three times now, and his legendary body of work has been brought up by more musicians interviewed on our show than any other artist—except maybe Joni Mitchell. That’s because Neil is a true artist’s artist. His dedication to his craft is resolute. He’s been writing and singing songs since the early '60s and his creative output has been near constant for the last six decades. Neil stopped by Shangri-La following the release of Crazy Horse’s latest album, World Record. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, and on today’s episode, Neil talks to Rick about the remarkable way the new songs were conceived. Neil also reminisces about recording After The Gold Rush and Harvest. And he explains how THC changes his relationship to music. You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Neil Young songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're sharing a fun conversation with the musicians who scored another Pushkin Industries podcast—Bad Women. The first season of Bad Women focused on reconstructing the lives of the five women that Jack the Ripper murdered. Now, the second season centers around a murderer every bit terrifying as Jack the Ripper, the so-called Blackout Ripper. On today's episode, Justin Richmond speaks with sound designer Pascal Wyse and jazz guitarist Ed Gaughan about their music-rich score. They talk about how they evoked the atmosphere of war-time bars and jazz clubs in 1940's London, and we'll hear them play examples of arrangements they created for the series. Listen and subscribe to season two of Bad Women HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we have part two of Bruce Headlam’s conversation with YouTube sensation turned five-time Grammy winner Jacob Collier. We left off our last episode with Jacob talking about what it’s like to perform to an audience of thousands of people after spending years growing his fan base online. In this episode, we’ll hear Jacob play the piano and go even deeper into music theory. Jacob also talks more about his new album, Piano Ballads, and about how the song “Moon River” taught him the power of centering his avant-garde arrangements on emotions. You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Jacob Collier songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Musical genius and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier joins us today for part one of a two-part conversation. In 2011, when Jacob was only 17, he began posting videos to YouTube of himself singing and playing music. His break-out video, a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” received millions of views and praise from musical legends like Herbie Hancock, David Crosby, and Quincy Jones. Since then, he’s gone on to release five albums, including his 2016 self-produced debut In My Room, and this year's Piano Ballads, an 11-track album of  improvised piano pieces he played at various shows during a recent tour. On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam speaks to Jacob Collier about making his latest live album, his creative process, and his musical admiration for Stevie Wonder. Jacob also plays piano throughout the two episodes, and breaks down advanced musical concepts. You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Jacob Collier songs HERE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.