WE… ARE … BACK! Hello, It’s been a while! 18 months to be precise.   After 4 years of never missing a beat and recording an episode of the podcast every single week…We suddenly disappeared.   Why?   It’s a big question and it deserves a big answer.   In this podcast, I will share with you the reason why I and the podcast disappeared.   Fair warning: it may be unsettling for you. It is a dark story.   But I believe it is important to share it because there are powerful lessons...

Discover how to escape being stuck with the same cycling thought patterns that keep you living in the past so that you can set yourself up for success in music and every other area of your life. The reason why people use time as an excuse.  ‘I don’t have enough time’, ‘I’ve wasted to much time and I’m running out of time’  - and how to dispel the lies that we tell ourselves in order to create an abundance of time to achieve the goals that matter most to us.  Brad’s recipe for overcoming...

Today we are going to be talking about tearing holes in the fabric of reality and collapsing time.   Nope, it’s not sci-fi.    This is something you have access to. And easy access to.   Changing your reality and collapsing your own personal timeline.   So that you get to achieve what you want in your life and your music in a fraction of the time you think possible…   …by taking shortcuts that you’re sure can’t possibly exist!   As Mark Twain famously said:    “It ain’t what you...

In today's episode we have a controversial conversation that I would love to have your input on.   Rob from Team FMM is convinced that hardware has been knocked off it’s perch…    …and that the future lies in the box and therefore we should all focus on software going forwards.   I threw my best shots at him during this session in support of hardware and he ducked, weaved, countered and even hit me with a few hooks.   So dive in, have a listen and let us know which side of the...

Today we welcome Ambient and Electronica producer John Hayes to the show.   John is currently signed on a three-album deal to the excellent Nettwerk label alongside artists such as Sasha and il:lo.   His music is supported on radio stations worldwide, including the iconic BBC, and his track Sleep Song has over 2 million streams on Spotify.   In this conversation, we discover John’s approach to album writing, how his music guides him to the finish line, how he was discovered by promotors...

  Are you open to exploring something a bit leftfield?   We all know that there are ways to get into a creative headspace at the start of a writing session that will help us to be more productive in that session…   And maybe you are already making good use of many of them…   DAW Templates…Creating a tidy studio space…Having a plan of what you want to achieve…Even meditation.   But what if I told you there was another way?   A way that while at first might sound a bit bonkers, has...

In this episode, we’re asking the question - has it all been done before?   Have we reached the frontier of music and there are no new genres, sounds, or musical directions to pursue?   Given the amount of music in the world and the hundreds of genres and subgenres that exist, it would be easy to conclude that the answer is yes…   …Our lot now is to simply refine what exists and there’s nothing fundamentally new to discover.   So is it true?   Or is there another way of thinking?...

In today’s episode, we’re going to be exploring that question.   Said another way:   Just because a particular genre lights you up to hear it in a club or on your phone, does that mean it’s the music you were put on this planet to make?   …or could it be that holding on to the belief that you must make the genre that’s your favourite to listen to is dragging you down and sapping your enjoyment of making music in the studio?   There’s something very interesting at play here, so without...

Today we’re meeting a familiar foe but in a surprising new way.   The enemy in front of us is distraction, and we’ve uncovered some new research that shows that everything we thought we knew about distractions and their impact on creatives is actually way worse.    And some of the things we didn’t know were distractions… to our minds, actually are.   Distractions cause us to react, and when we react we have no control…   …and when we have no control, then who is running our lives?  ...

No matter how organised and self-disciplined you are, change is inevitable.    And, as a result, that will shake up your routine.   This episode is all about the inevitable breaks that from time to time we are forced to take away from our regular creative sessions.   Whether it’s an illness, life events, vacations, work, or perhaps you’ve simply fallen off the wagon and stopped writing music…   Nobody wants to come back from a break and struggle to get started with their...

Nobody wants their art to be a stressful frustrating anxiety-inducing experience.   And yet I’ve noticed so many creatives bring this upon themselves by creating their own studio paralysis.   In this episode, we’re going to be exploring a strange phenomenon that will hamper your ability to make progress with the piece of music you are writing.   In fact, if left unchecked this way of operating has been proven to lead creatives into stress, fatigue, frustration and a state of zero...

  Today we are entertaining one of Spain’s finest House Music Producers, KPD.   With hundreds of releases to his name on the world's biggest labels from Defected to Toolroom AND with one of his singles reaching 25 million streams on Spotify, I was keen to understand how he maintains this output, at this quality.    And all whilst DJing around the world!   The answers to these questions are actually very different to everything we’ve heard on the show so far.   We uncover the reason...

Today we are going to be talking about mistakes…   … particularly mistakes my wife Ana has made.   And let me tell you, they’ve cost us a few quid!   But… they have also revealed a profound lesson for me and a way of thinking about mistakes that, if you find yourself holding back due to fear of making mistakes, I know you are going to love.   So If you want release from perfectionism, fear of what others think of you, or fear of failure then this episode is for you.   I just hope...

  Today we are going to be talking about sabotage!   Specifically, how we often sabotage our chances of success by worrying, avoiding, and procrastinating on the things that we really want to achieve.   Maybe you know you’re doing this regularly, maybe you can see that you are starving yourself of learning opportunities, growth and the results and outcomes that you truly want.   In this episode, we’ll get to the bottom of the cause of this and importantly what to do about it…   …so...

This is the second part of a double-header focussing on what it takes to get your music signed on the labels you love, and the shortcuts to get you there fast.   Previously we heard the perspectives of established artists in the scene learning how to get noticed, and the pitfalls they have fallen into so that you don’t fall into the same.   In this episode, we are hearing from the label owners themselves…   What criteria are they looking at?    What do they want to see in you beyond...

In this episode, we’re talking about getting your music out into the world…   …so that you get to impact and share your creativity with others.   I decided a great way to do this would be to search through our podcast interviews and curate the most powerful lessons from artists at the top of the game.    People who have experienced massive success releasing their music on established labels AND have also made every mistake in the game.   By hearing their advice you get to take...

It’s not often we have a bonafide pioneer of dance music on the podcast…   Today I’m in conversation with house music legend Jesse Saunders who holds the impressive accolade of releasing the first ever House record…   …planting the seed that sprouted into the global phenomenon that is dance music today.   In this interview, we follow his journey and learn exactly what the formative years of dance music were really like…   The scene, the people, the creativity and the vibe that...

Travis Stewart is the gift that keeps on giving…    Having left you dangling with one hell of a cliffhanger last week, now’s your chance to pick up where we left off…   …and dive into part two of our conversation with Travis Stewart aka Machinedrum aka T.Stewart.   We received amazing feedback about the first part of the interview in which Travis dove into the mindset, productivity, life skills and mental capacity required to be a professional producer.     In this second half we step...

Today we are in conversation with Travis Stewart aka Machinedrum.    Travis debuted his Machinedrum Moniker in 2001 when he was only 18 years old and has consistently pushed creative boundaries with his music for the last 2 decades.   With releases on forward-thinking, innovative labels such as Ninja Tune, Plant Mu, Lucky Me and Mercury KX, his latest album Elysian under his moniker T-Stewart once again showcased his versatility as a musician and producer.   This absolutely stunning...

In this second part of our reactions podcast, we dig into a topic that is continuously raising its ugly head…time.   This is an area that relates to all of us and brings with it all kinds of anxiety…   Are you spending more time than you need to on your music and how can you save time?   Are you focusing on the right things or in completely the wrong area?   And how do you even know what the “right” area is?   Then we have the angle of running out of time altogether - this idea of...

What is influencing your music? Are you stealing like a thief or an artist?   Has your sound found you yet?…and just what is YOUR sound?   This week’s podcast saw a return of the Team Takeover with Terra and Rob finding their way back into the podcast hot seat.   Diving back into some of the earliest episodes and the fundamental topics that all creatives face…   Innovation and originality, bringing your own sense of fun, loving what you do, and the importance of staying authentic.   ...

If you could jump back in time and share one life lesson with your younger self what would it be?   If you’re like most people, chances are you’ve caught yourself saying “if only I’d known that years ago…”   And when it comes to music production there are some impactful lessons that have the potential to save you time, money, and frustration…   …while maximising on opportunities and massively accelerating your progress.   When I started out in music production I didn’t have a clue and...

Disruption can hit our lives at any time and in many different ways, creating a world of pain.   Maybe you’re moving house, or welcoming a new family member…   Perhaps you’re changing jobs, or getting a promotion...   Or maybe it’s exams, a new course, or unexpected travel.   These situations happen to all of us throughout our creative journey, and for some people the effects last way beyond the actual period of disruption…   …creating a real mountain for them to climb before they...