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Full collection of written interview articles with music artists, spanning the industry, dating from 2023 to current day.

Kate Nash Music Fans' Voice Survey

First-ever Music Fans’ Voice Survey: We hear from Kate Nash, “We are in crisis”

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Introduction

For the first time ever, a Music Fans’ Voice Survey has officially launched and with it, a call to action. A call to action to support and protect our live music spaces across the UK. This survey urges participants to spend only 15 minutes to complete and shape the future of live music. I spoke to singer-songwriter Kate Nash in collaboration with the campaign, & the SMN about the state of grassroots venues, the importance of the survey itself and what they aim to do with the data collected. 

Data will be used to help inform decision making within the government, the music industry and various city regions. As you can tell this data will be incredibly important when it comes to the future of the industry. 

A large part of the live music scene here in the UK has become unethical and unsustainable; below is a video of a protest led by Kate at various important locations, with more details, and context.

The Interview

TTM: What are the challenges that grassroots venues are facing?

KATE NASH: Massive challenges. I mean, we are in crisis. We’re definitely in crisis. We’re seeing closures of a ton of venues. We’re seeing bands canceling tours. So, that means we’re giving less access to lot’s of areas in the UK to actually see and experience live music, and it also means we’re cutting off who can make music and tour and make a career out of music.

TTM: What can we do to support local venues? 

Kate Nash: The most important thing is this survey right now, Music Fans’ Voice UK is where you can take 15 minutes out of your day, fill in a survey. As boring as it sounds, it’s data collection. And as we know, in 2025 data is extremely valuable.

If we can collect this data, there is so much that we can do. This is basically what they did in the football industry, and they made the biggest changes to football in 25 years. So I cannot stress how important this survey is. From getting my ass out and starting an Only Fans and causing a media frenzy to make a point of how much money you actually lose if you go on tour, to like, now handing the microphone over to the fans and saying, for the first time in history, have your say, because you’re also being exploited.

"We're going to implement change. We're going to take this to government. We're going to change legislation."

KATE NASH: You’re being overcharged for tickets, you’re being restricted, you’re not going to be able to see diversity in the arts, and loads of venues are going to close. Fill the survey, Music Fans’ Voice, 15 minutes.

TTM: What are you hoping for the future of the live music scene? What are you hoping will come into place after this survey?

KATE NASH:  I want things to be fairer. I want things to be more ethical. I think our industry is so amazing because, it’s soul work, it’s emotion work, it’s fun, it’s like joy. It’s giving people an escape, serious or non serious, and it’s people expressing themselves. That’s one of the most beautiful things that we have in the world, right? Creativity. And the moment that we shut the door on that and say, ‘this is only for a certain group of people’. That’s a devastating moment. 

I’m not going to allow that to happen, because I don’t know how ‘Kate Nash’ now, would get started. I find that there’s so much pressure on young people, but there’s also so much talent, so I want to basically make the music industry a bit of a fairer place, because right now, it’s built on total exploitation. I think the music industry has failed. It’s failed artists. And they’re becoming , richer and richer. To the industry, many people, it’s just… we’re pebbles on a beach. You pick one up, you play with it, and you throw it away from for a while…  I believe the Head of Interscope said that in like, 2008 or 2009, because my mum read it in a magazine and was, like, really scared about what would happen to me in my career. Understandably so. 

"I want young people to feel supported, and I want them to earn more money from the hard work and from their music that they should have more rights over."

TTM: What advice would you pass forward to new artists, just starting out in the industry?

KATE NASH: Don’t give up and have hope, because we are at a point I think, where things are going to break. They have to. They’ve almost gotten so bad that it has to be better. So don’t lose hope, and just know that there is a ton of people fighting to make things better for you. So, like, I’m not here to say everything’s rubbish. We are not allowing them to destroy things that so many people care about so much. So just have some faith and believe in yourself and take risks. Don’t sign crazy contracts! That’s my main advice.

MUSIC FANS' VOICE SURVEY WEBSITE
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Marshsa Swanson Like An Angel Website Featured Image

Marsha Swanson shares the emotional journey behind her new single “Like an Angel”

Introduction

Could this single be Marsha Swanson’s greatest song to date? Maybe. But it’s a difficult question to consider casting an eye back on such a successful and long career, full of differing themes, inspiration’s, styles and influences. Catching up with Marsha for the release was a truly reflective experience, much like our first meeting back at the beginning of 2024, for hugely successful album, ‘Near life Experience’.

There were two focuses for our interview, the impact of her music, and the exploration into the emotional journey guiding the creation of ‘Like An Angel’: taking inspiration from a personal loss, and its evolution from a ghost track and later becoming a standalone release. 

The Interview

TTM: Marsha, how have you been? How has this year been for you?

MARSHA: It does feel like I haven’t quite had time to sort of take stock yet. And I’m sure it will come. I think it’s probably, I’m guessing, it’s coming in six months. I don’t know why I’m saying this, I’m guessing it’s going to be in six months where there will be that proper pause to kind of really see, and I know that Henry, who’s the producer that I’ve been working with, we keep saying we need to to meet up to just take stock of the journey that we’ve been on together so far. And you know, we haven’t been able to yet because, because we’re still in it. You have to be slightly out of it, I think, to get your reflective hat on. 

TTM: It was really nice when I put the interview together this time last year. I felt like almost I was reflecting on your career. It gave me the opportunity to go through and flow through the years of albums and get to Near Life Experience. It was really amazing.

MARSHA: Love the way you say that “…get to Near Life Experience?”, because that is the thing, isn’t it? How do you get to Near Life Experience? How do you live, always with, a Nearer Life Experience mentality?”

TTM: What’s the story behind ‘Like an Angel’?

MARSHA: It was the loss of somebody very, very, very close to me in my life, and it was not planned. It came about during the making of this album, which touches on those similar themes from previous losses in life.

You can be writing about one thing, and then something else comes up that completely changes everything yet again, and I at the beginning, when I wrote it, I felt it didn’t feel the right place for it to be on the album as a main titled track because I hadn’t processed enough at that time, I do find that creativity is often ahead of cognitive processing. So you might intuitively be able to write something that’s got deep understanding in it, but your brain hasn’t caught up with that yet.

I felt that it, it was still very much part of the album, but in the Ether. So the idea of the ghost track felt really comfortable to me. It may be discovered, it may not be discovered, but it’s there.

TTM: You can really feel the story that you’ve just told us come through the single, what a fitting tribute.

MARSHA: I was thinking about the track and I realised…  have you ever seen a film called ‘The Blue Bird”?… It’s a beautiful film. There’s this moment where Shirley Temple, who’s this child, sees her grandparents who died a long time ago, and she sees them for the first time, and she’s says “Wow, it’s so great to see you. I haven’t seen you in ages.” And they said, “Well, it’s because you thought about me, dear.” And it was this beautiful sort of realisation that when you think about someone, that’s when they come to life again.

‘The Blue Bird’ 1940 Film Cover

TTM: How did the connection with Sam Chegini come about?

MARSHA: I think that it’s been another game changer working with Sam. So I met him originally because I had done the lyrics to some songs for a keyboard player called Benjamin Croft, and he had worked with Sam on one of his videos. When I saw the video, I suddenly could see how this person had used all the lyrics that I’d done and timed the music in the exact nuances, like in parallel with the story, and in the most sort of deeply resonant way. 

TTM: How do you stay inspired Marsha?

MARSHA: I think the inspiration part is never the difficult part for me. I think the difficult part would be the practicalities of what’s involved in doing justice to any one of those inspirations. But on an inspiration level, I think that it’s about living.

TTM: What’s next for you Marsha? 

MARSHA: ‘Near Life Experience’ isn’t quite finished yet, even though it might seem like it has twice, already been finished. So there are some more things still to come in the coming months.

There is a whole other project that I’ve been very deeply invested in, in parallel to this, which is, an album. It’s similar to what I’ve tried to do with my adult work. A whole collection of songs for children, with the idea of developing emotional literacy. Children of this generation have gone through so much, obviously, with the pandemic, with what’s going on in the world, and anxiety mental health has been at an all time high.

I know from the work that I do in schools, on a personal level, how powerful music can be as a way to get through to children. So that’s going to be very big that’s going to take up a chunk of my investment this year as well.

TTM: Are you proud of this year?

MARSHA: I am, definitely, I am. And I think it’s important to allow yourself to feel pleased. I think what I feel proudest about is probably that I’ve seen this all through to conclusion, with the help of these people that I’ve been working very closely to. I feel proud of us as a team.

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John Blaylock Featured Image

Rising Artist John Blaylock Releases New Single ‘Temples’: The Interview

John Blaylock's Return To Music

John Blaylock is a once again, rising musician, returning to the industry with a brand new single and debut album, in his own right. Blaylock has plenty of experience in the industry. Since the age of just twelve, he picked up a guitar and formed a band, which saw success throughout the nineties, including plays from Zane Lowe across Radio 1. This taste for the industry and genuine love for both music and people, has propelled him to where he is as an artist today. 

This newfound artistry, fuelled by heartfelt songs and gritty lyricism, really is a new journey for Blaylock. Our interview together really explores his journey, a brief reflection on his many experiences, inspirations and travels, and a glimpse into the new album, with a star studded production team. Citing names such as, Freddy Sheed, Guy Massey, and Helen Boulding. It’s a very exciting time to be fan of John Blaylock!

The Interview

TTM: The new single is such a success for you, such a great debut, what does the release mean to you? 

JOHN: Yeah, so it’s definitely a song about oneness and being connected to everybody and believing that we’re all the same. We’ve just got these structures that divide us where, society tries to put us in boxes and say, ”if you’re in that box, you shouldn’t like that person in that box, or that sort of thing.”. I’m saying, when the temples fall and the idols, egos, societal structures are gone, we’re really just the same as each other.

And my favourite line in the song is, ”If you take away the judgment, we’re just love.”. And I really believe that, man, people are fantastic. I’ve traveled the world and met the most amazing people all over on a community level, people will give you the shirt off the backs. They’re just fantastic people all over the world. We don’t need to be divided. We are humanity together.

TTM: What’s your relationship like with Manchester?

JOHN: Manchester, it means a hell of lot to me. It’s where I grew up. I’ve got so many good friends. I’ve spent a long time away from Manchester. I’ve lived in different places around the world. And so it’s always such an amazing place to come back to, to Manchester and see everyone here.

''We don't need to be divided. We are humanity together.'' John Blaylock

TTM: We know that a debut album is in the pipeline, and we’re so excited for it, what can we expect? 

JOHN: Honest, authenticity in lyrics and songwriting, but with some much bigger productions, which I’m really excited for. 

‘Temples’ is quite a stripped back, acoustic number, but the next single on February 13th is big. There’s a gospel choir. There’s full live strings, amazing drummer on it as well. So yeah, a lot of the tech. The forthcoming singles are much bigger productions, but proud to say, still have that acoustic guitar, finger picking, style as the core.

TTM: You’ve had such a great journey. So many great experiences, so many wonderful travels, as you briefly mentioned towards the start, how have those experiences and those travels inspired you today?

JOHN: In terms of inspiration for songwriting, traveling is great. The actual experience of just meeting people and having so many encounters. I love to write songs about real life situations. And people are inspiring. I meet so many amazing people, and I have met so many amazing people in different places around the world. 

It also gives me a huge sense of positivity, because if you turn on the news, you think everyone in the world is a psychopath and a killer, but in reality, if you go traveling, I mean, I traveled all through COVID. I was in like so many red list countries. They were fine, no problem at all, and I met so many good people in those places. And yeah, honestly, I think the way the world is portrayed to us is not accurate, and really there’s just the world’s full of fantastic people.

TTM: Are you a spiritual person John? I noticed the ‘Om’ symbol, on your t-shirt in the video!

JOHN: I completely believe in spirituality. Completely believe in God or source energy, whatever you want to label it as. And I do genuinely believe that I’m an eternal soul. I’m in a temporary experience as a human being, as ‘John Blaylock’, and let’s just have as much fun with it as I can.

TTM: You’re performing and supporting Wet Wet Wet, which is such a great collaboration for you really, really brilliant stuff. How did that come about? 

JOHN: So, that’s really thanks to the team that they’ve got me on the Wet Wet Wet Tour. And the tour starts this Sunday, and I’ve been checking out some of the venues, and they’re just some of the most beautiful theatres up and down the country. I mean, the one nearest you guys, Stoke, like that, Victoria Hall in Stoke. Wow. What a venue that is!

TTM: What’s keeping you motivated today? 

JOHN: It’s the determination to enjoy the journey, The most important thing is to enjoy the journey. Because, you know, the only moment is now and right now. If you’re not unhappy with what you’re doing, then something’s going wrong. Don’t get hung up on the negative stuff. Just enjoy the journey and live in the moment.

TTM: John, you have so much experience in the industry, do you have any advice for new artists, just beginning their journey?

JOHN: My biggest piece of advice would be to collaborate. I mean, I’ve learned so much as a songwriter, from writing with other people. Collaborate, get out there, make music with people. 

''The most important thing is to enjoy the journey.'' John Blaylock

TTM: If you had to pinpoint the proudest moment of your career what would it be?

JOHN: I used to be in a band when I was younger, and we were signed to a record label, and they weren’t a very good record label. We ended up a quarter million pound of debt to them, but that’s another story. The best thing that happened, though, during that time was I got a phone call once, and totally random. The head of the record label, says, ”Desmond Tutu wants you to write a song for Nelson Mandela.” I was like sounds a bit of a windup, but it wasn’t,  it was a legit thing. Desmond Tutu did actually commission me to write a song to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela, and that was given to him as a gift on his 90th birthday, and I’ve now got a lovely letter from Desmond Tutu hanging on my bathroom wall back in Manchester.

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Roisin Murphy Website Featured Image - TRi THIS Music

Róisín Murphy releases new album “Hit Parade” in collaboration with DJ Koze

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Introduction

We sat down with music legend, Róisín Murphy to talk all about her brand new album “Hit Parade” – her sixth solo venture, produced in collaboration with DJ Koze. The album could very much be Róisín’s best solo work to date and stood as one of the best albums of last year. Now in 2024, Murphy is getting ready to embark on live shows, and a new remix album, “Hit Parade” Remixes on the way in May of this year. 

Interview

TTM: We saw you recently singing, “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”  in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From such a young age, singing a massive show tune like that, to then being where you are now,  selling out stadiums and performing  all across the world, that must feel amazing.

Róisín Murphy: Yeah, it was really good to get across South America last year, and to America, which I don’t always do on every album tour. And I’ve never, I’ve never played in Argentina, and so that was special. You know, as the years go by, my fan base kind of spreads, and they’re always ever so lovely. And my shows are always really exuberant and joyful because of who’s there just as much as what’s on the stage. 

TTM: What’s it like being a woman in the industry today? How have you found it? How have you found navigating in the industry in comparison to the past?

Róisín Murphy: I don’t really think about that. Don’t tend to look for misogyny in people. I try to avoid becoming a victim of anything. I grew up with a lot of very interesting men around me, so I’m well able for men. Starting with my father, who was terrible ladies man, and very charismatic and probably a bit sexist, but not when it came to me. He always thought I could do anything, and so I don’t judge people that harshly.

Maybe I’m the wrong person to ask, but I was very safe and secure in Sheffield for all those years in Moloko too. We were quite far away from the industry. We had our own studio. We had our own setup, up there, and we didn’t really have to intermingle too much with the industry, industry. We’d actually make our records and deliver them finished, and I’m kind of still that way now. And so I don’t have any interference with the creative side. I have a great female assistant with me all the time these days, but most of the people around me are men that work in this business. I try not to think about that too much. I just take people as they are.

TTM: One of the big releases from this album was “Freewill”, what were the inspirations going behind this single?

Róisín Murphy: 

TTM: You also got to collaborate with Jessie Ware, I would say you’re pretty much kindred spirits, how was that experience?

Róisín Murphy:  I met her on her podcast. She invited me onto her podcast. So I met her with her mommy, and they fed me. And that was lovely. Then she asked me to do something on this track, and it was really quite simple to do. She sent me the fully formed track and it just had a gap in it, and she said, “fill the gap”. Which I did here remotely, and sent it over and it all fit together perfectly. What we did do together was shoot that lovely pop video, and it was quite chaotic because we arrived on the day and there was like, literally, two mountains of clothes. We had to work that one out together. But it was fun. It was nice to do it with someone else for a change, to be honest.

TTM: Where would you say you get your sense of style from?

Róisín Murphy: Well I wouldn’t call it a sense of style… it’s a sense of fun, a sense of adventure. It’s really frivolous and pointless. It’s not necessary. You know? What is necessary is that the music’s great, and I can kind of do anything visual after I’ve got good music, I can throw any old visual on it, and it’ll sing. You know, the music’s the main thing. But as long as I’m enjoying it, I’ll be doing it and it is fun to me, you know, I’ve been like that since I was a child. I used to dress up as things, I suppose you call it cosplay. Now, my daughter’s the very same and she’s goes out into the world, as characters and or dressed completely from a specific era or whatever. My mom was an antique dealer, so I spent a lot of time on car boot sales and jumble sales and charity shops as a teenager. I loved it.

I’m an entertainer. I’m an exhibitionist. Sounds bad, doesn’t it, being an exhibitionist, but I think the real meaning of being an exhibitionist is that you put an exhibition on, for the delight of other people. And I’ve sort of born to that. I tried to use clothes to accentuate the performance rather than cover it up. You know, I’m not pretending to be anything. I’m not, as far as I’m concerned, anyway, it’s just like an accentuation of the performance. It’s supposed to amplify the meaning of the song and the truth of the performance. And I say the biggest influence for me on that has to be Grace Jones. She accentuates the truth. She’s not hiding. And once it becomes too much hiding, then I think it gets bit boring.

TTM: Have you enjoyed making social media content on Tik Tok and Instagram?

Róisín Murphy: Oh god. It was a whole new world for me and a whole new way of expressing. Initially on Instagram, it’s a great place to experiment visually and make little films and think about different ways of doing performances that go direct to the audience. Particularly over the period of the pandemic, I made all these little performances that were very simple to do, but quite intimate and a different way of seeing me and a different way to perform. And I made a full length performance film with the band called the Róisín Machine film. And that’s on YouTube. That was actually streamed during the pandemic and it’s a beautiful thing. Also, I get to connect with people through social media. So I connect with fashion designers, they can connect with me. And I might find a graphic designer or a lighting man or woman in that way, and you cut out a lot of middlemen. So I tried to use it in as creative a way as possible.

TTM: What can we expect from a Róisín Murphy performance today?

Róisín Murphy: I’m a born performer. I throw myself completely into it. No holds barred. I’m utterly committed to my performance. I’m very lucky in that I’ve worked with the same musical director for all these years. I make these electronic records, or studio based records, and it’s not easy to translate it into something live. It’ll be all the lights, it’ll be all the content. It’ll be all the costumes. It’ll be all the band, be all the songs. It’ll be all the fun dancing, lots of dancing and personal with my wonderful fan base.

TTM: What would you say is your proudest moment so far? 

Róisín Murphy: It might be when I get to stand on that stage at Ally Pally, because that’s the biggest show that I’ve ever sold with my own name. And do you know it’s like 10,000 people? And I still have to pinch myself. It sold out few weeks ago, and I could not believe it. So it might very well be that, but overall, it’s looking back at the entire catalogue that makes me the most proud, not in a super big headed way, because I’m actually, genuinely super surprised that I can look at it and go, “well pretty much all those records are good in one way or another.” I’m very proud of that, and I’ve done the way I’ve done that is by treating it all like a big adventure rather than a very ambitious sort of job. It’s really been a massive adventure. I’ve allowed it to happen to me, in a sense.