From living-room experiments to Malawian street stages — and a brief stop-off in Transylvania.

This week, Steve explores what it means to sing what you see: making music that’s spontaneous, handmade and gloriously human. There’s a Halloween detour into his live Nosferatu score, a new Clip n Mix, and a look at the brilliant Madalitso Band from Malawi — two musicians whose home-built instruments and hypnotic grooves turn simplicity into joy.

Plus: the mystery of a slightly windy theme tune proves that accidents can be the best kind of inspiration.

👇 Full timestamps + links below!

00:00 – A suspiciously familiar theme

02:30 – Living-room experiments & musical accidents

06:40 – Clip n Mix – turning everyday sounds into music

10:45 – Vampire Vamps: Nosferatu score (watch)

16:30 – Introducing Madalitso Band (Malawi)

22:00 – Homemade instruments & street recordings

32:00 – Singing what you see

44:30 – Finding beauty in simple sounds

55:20 – Wilton’s shows, Patreon & Universe of Music tour

🎧 Listen / Watch

YouTube | Apple Podcasts | More platforms

🎬 Nosferatu live score → Full video

🎛 Support / Extras → Patreon

🪐 Universe of Music Tour (with Chris Lintott)

Corsham (20 Nov) | Cambridge (27 Nov) | Shoreham-by-Sea (15 Jan)

🎟 Full info → universeofmusic.co.uk

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24 Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 KIDS matinee (2 pm) – interactive family show

🌙 Evening show (7 pm) – live podcast with guests & musical surprises

💸 Code SPRETTY15 = £15 best available seats

Book Kids | Book Evening

💬 Got a weird sound you’d like Steve to turn into music? Email podcast@stevepretty.com or comment with #ClipnMix.

🙌 Like, subscribe & stay musically curious.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I finally tackle a long-overdue Genre Tombola pick: Tonás, one of the oldest and most intense styles in flamenco — unaccompanied, emotional, and steeped in centuries of cultural history.

To explore it, I chat with the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who sheds light on the roots of Tonás, its tragic themes, and how flamenco works as a live, collaborative, improvisational artform.

But first… I hit a firepit with a stick. And turn it into music.

Using only my phone and the Ableton Note app, I record a metallic firepit in Dorset with my son, and turn it into a playable instrument. The result? A crunchy little beat made entirely from campsite sounds — and the launch of a brand-new segment: Clip n Mix.

Video versions available on Spotify and YouTube.

00:00 – Intro + podcast updates

03:00 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset

10:45 – Tonás and flamenco intro

11:10 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai

35:30 – Post-interview: why I didn’t make a Tonás track

36:30 – Turning the firepit samples into a beat in the studio

56:00 – Outro, Patreon, live shows, and how to send in your own samples

🎬 Watch the Tonás video Josie mentions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A

👣 Follow Josie:

Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/

Instagram: @josie_sinna

📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note

🎧 Get the firepit samples + Ableton Note project file:

https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kids show (2pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/

🌙 Evening show (7:30pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/

🌍 More info: https://www.originofthepieces.com

👉 Like the show? Please subscribe, rate, and share — and send your own weird/beautiful samples for future Clip n Mix segments to podcast@stevepretty.com or @stevepretty on social.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can a lump of whale earwax tell us about human history?

What does the end of the universe sound like?

And how do you play the sea like a synthesiser?

This episode of Steve Pretty On The Origin of the Pieces goes from marine mammal physiology to cosmological heat death, taking in hydrophones, cultural transmission in humpbacks, the physics of underwater sound, and an improvised trumpet elegy for the end of everything.

My guests are:

• Chris Lintott – astrophysicist, broadcaster, and co‑host of The Sky at Night. We open with a live extract from our Universe of Music show, performed at Gresham College — exploring what sound and music can tell us about the ultimate fate of the cosmos.
• Richard Sabin – whale expert and lead curator of mammals at the Natural History Museum, who shares sonic insights from the deep — including how 150 years of whale earwax is helping scientists track stress in marine life.

We also:

• Hear vintage 78 rpm whale recordings, played on a £60k system at Audio Gold
• Use filters to “play the sea” like a scale
• Drop a hydrophone into a water tank and see how sound behaves
• Discuss echolocation, underwater acoustic pollution, and whale “culture”
• Recreate underwater acoustic effects via processing and pitch shifting
• Reflect on what it means to really listen — to whales or the cosmos

Recorded live at the brilliant First Light Festival in a sweltering tent by the sea (thanks again to them for hosting us).

🎥 The full, uncut interview with Richard Sabin — including audience Q&A and extended hydrophone demos — is available on Patreon.

• Sonic Collaborations – project by Colin Riley & team
• Audio Gold – London hi‑fi / vinyl emporium
• Natural History Museum
• First Light Festival
• Chris Lintott

• Join the mailing list: www.originofthepieces.com
• Become a patron: patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces
• Share with a musically curious friend
• Rate & review on Apple or Spotify — it genuinely helps 🎧

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I speak to Kassandra e’Silva, a saxophonist, improviser and NHS music therapist. We caught up just before a gig at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival to talk about the power of music in care settings — from dementia wards and mental health clinics to the BBQ playlist at home.

We cover:

• Baby‑wearing during soundcheck 👶
• Pre‑verbal communication in music
• Clinical improvisation and jazz
• Whether all music is a kind of therapy
• And why rhythm might be the most important bit

—

00:00 – Intro – ALSO Festival, Nosferatu live score, and a conch bath update

03:00 – Edinburgh Jazz Festival – A tribute to The Jazz Bar and Bill Kyle

08:30 – Interview with Kassandra e’Silva – Backstage at the Spiegeltent

10:00 – What music therapy is – Presence, trauma, and non-verbal expression

13:30 – Lighting up the brain – Music as reconnection

16:00 – Music at both ends of life – Parenting and dementia

20:00 – Letting go of ‘good’ music – From jazz standards to egg shakers

23:10 – Rhythm as anchor – Repetition, stability, and mental health

25:40 – Creative expression – Instruments, blocks, and tambo-responsiveness

29:40 – Teaching vs therapy – When learning becomes part of healing

31:40 – Improvisation as diagnostic mirror – Sound as resistance

34:40 – Participation matters – Why passive listening isn’t enough

36:10 – What’s the point of music? – A beautiful closing answer

—

🎶 Check out Resounding, co-written with Nicole Cassandra Smit, on Hackney Colliery Band – Collaborations: Volume Two

👉 Listen on Bandcamp

—

Kassandra helped develop this practical guide for carers, families and practitioners.

Includes activity ideas, playlists, and real examples from NHS care.

🎵 Explore the guide

Note: Kassandra’s views are her own, not those of NHS Lothian.

—

🎧 Support the show:

💌 originofthepieces.com

☕ patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

#musictherapy #jazz #musicanddementia #improvisation #originofthepieces #kassandraesilva #stevepretty

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Steve shares a powerful, surprising, and often jaw-dropping conversation with musician, composer and activist Jono Enser.

Jono is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and a member of Nubiyan Twist, but he’s also a disabled artist whose recent experiences as an amputee have sparked a radical rethinking of performance, access, and the body as instrument — quite literally. Together, they explore:

• The challenges and realities of touring as a disabled musician
• How venue design (or lack of it) creates systemic barriers to inclusion
• The radical creativity of reclaiming trauma — including Jono’s current project turning his amputated leg bone into a working flute
• Musical ancestors: from Neanderthal bone flutes to Tibetan thighbone trumpets
• Why accessibility isn’t just a bolt-on feature — it’s a cultural responsibility
• And what it means to give your pain a voice, breath, and song

Plus, Steve shares a clip from his Ocean Songs sunrise performance at Benacre Broad — part of his work with the Blue Machine project, inspired by Dr. Helen Czerski’s oceanography book of the same name.

There’s a lot packed in here, and it’s one of the most wide-ranging and deeply personal episodes yet.

🎟 Jono’s band Nubiyan Twist are touring this summer – check them out.

🎶 His solo project Matters Unknown is also worth diving into.

🎤 Steve is performing live at ALSO Festival and on July 11th at the National Maritime Museum with Blue Machine – see originofthepieces.com for details.

—

🧡 Support the podcast and get exclusive content at:

patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

🎧 Listen, watch, share and review: it all helps the podcast grow.

📍 More info at originofthepieces.com

00:00 – Welcome back + Acid Brass recap

Steve introduces the episode and reflects on his recent chat with Jeremy Deller.

02:00 – Meet Jono Enser

Jono’s musical upbringing, his shift from trumpet to tuba, and the spiritual resonance of breath.

07:00 – Life as a touring amputee

The hidden and not-so-hidden barriers for disabled musicians on the road.

10:00 – Access is everywhere (or isn’t)

From venue layouts to door weights and bar heights — access means more than ramps.

14:00 – What artists and venues can actually do

Practical steps, responsibility, and why checking access before the gig matters.

18:00 – Ocean Songs interlude

Steve shares a clip from his beachside dawn performance as part of the Blue Machine project.

23:00 – A flute made from his own amputated leg

Jono’s extraordinary project connecting trauma, ancestry, and sonic experimentation.

28:00 – Resonance, ritual, and reclaiming space

Caves, Ambisonics, somatic practice and ecological listening.

32:00 – Music as breath and transformation

Why giving pain a voice — literally — matters.

36:00 – What’s the point of music?

Jono’s heartfelt answer to Steve’s recurring question.

40:00 – Wrap-up and upcoming gigs

Tour dates, ALSO Festival, and National Maritime Museum performance previews.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

❤️ Support the show on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

📬 Join the mailing list + explore the archive: https://www.originofthepieces.com

Welcome back to your favourite podcast for musically curious ears! This week, I’m talking to the brilliant Jeremy Deller, Turner Prize-winning artist and creator of the now-legendary Acid Brass project — a bold collision of working-class brass band tradition and squelchy late-80s acid house.

Join us as we trace the unexpected cultural connections between miners’ strikes, 303s, and knitting in the front row…

00:00 – Welcome and new format intro

Steve explains the new single-topic format and introduces today’s guest, Jeremy Deller.

02:00 – The story of Acid Brass

From a Turner Prize idea to a 30-year legacy: how Jeremy connected acid house and brass bands.

05:00 – Why it inspired Hackney Colliery Band

Steve reflects on how Acid Brass shaped his own journey.

07:00 – Interview Pt. 1: Backstage at rehearsal

Jeremy and Steve discuss working-class music, the politics of sound, and whether acid house is “folk.”

14:00 – What’s a 303, anyway?

Steve demos the iconic Roland TB-303 and compares it to traditional brass.

17:00 – Interview Pt. 2: Deeper dive

Jeremy reflects on his artistic intentions, early audience reactions, and the cultural fallout.

29:00 – The knitting incident

Yes, really. Knitting, brass bands and acid house. Who'd have thought?

32:00 – Musical roles and expectations

Steve discusses how Acid Brass plays with what music is for.

33:00 – The Big Question: What’s the point of music?

Jeremy shares his thoughts on connection, spirit, and why most artists are just frustrated musicians.

36:00 – Outro and rehearsal teaser

Steve wraps up and previews an exclusive clip from the Acid Brass rehearsal at EartH Hackney.

Catch Acid Brass live at EartH Hackney on 13th June 2025, followed by a late-night party with acid house pioneer A Guy Called Gerald. Limited tickets available!

🎟️ Check ticket availability

🎥 Video extras & behind-the-scenes at: Patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Eurovision-week bonus episode, Steve Pretty is joined by actor, singer, and former UK Eurovision contestant Frances Ruffelle, recorded live at Wilton’s Music Hall.

📺 Watch Frances’s Eurovision performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXtXpj2FGF8

🌐 Visit Frances Ruffelle’s website: http://www.francesruffelle.com

❤️ Support the show on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

📬 Join the mailing list + explore the archive: https://www.originofthepieces.com

00:00 – Intro from Steve

Steve explains this emergency Eurovision-themed sub episode and gives updates on the podcast relaunch, including work with the Natural History Museum and upcoming Wilton’s shows.

02:30 – Why Eurovision?

Steve admits he was a bit of a Eurovision skeptic — until diving into the history while preparing for this chat with Frances.

03:45 – Meet Frances Ruffelle

Tony Award-winning actor, West End and Broadway star, and the UK’s 1994 Eurovision entry. Frances joins Steve for a live conversation and performance at Wilton’s Music Hall.

05:55 – Opening music: Mood Indigo

Live duet of Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo.

07:00 – Am I a ‘proper’ musician?

Frances reflects on musical self-doubt, and Steve challenges the idea that you need classical training to be ‘real.’

08:40 – Storytelling through song

Frances talks about music as a storytelling tool — especially in theatre.

10:30 – Growing up with music hall

Frances shares her roots in music hall, her mum Sylvia Young’s legacy, and her first performance at age five.

14:00 – The history of Wilton’s

A deep dive into the family connection to Wilton’s Music Hall and its restoration.

17:00 – Musicals vs ‘play with music’

Frances discusses a new show she’s writing with Alan Cumming and how it blends genres.

19:00 – Eurovision 1994: Behind the Scenes

How the BBC approached her, why she initially said no, and how it all unfolded — including singing eight songs for the selection show.

21:30 – Live orchestra, no nerves

Frances recounts the Eurovision performance experience in Dublin — nerves, glam, and all.

23:00 – On music’s purpose

Steve asks: “What’s the point of music?” Frances’s answer: “Togetherness and freedom.”

24:00 – Live Eurovision performance

Frances sings her 1994 song Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free) live — her first public performance of it in 30 years.

26:00 – Outro

Steve teases upcoming content, invites contributions for Clip n Mix, and encourages sign-ups to the newsletter and Patreon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wilton's Music Hall show 30th April: use code PRETTYAPR25 for best available seats for £15

Mailing list: sign up for special offers, news and more

Patreon: sign up for FREE for all manner of bonus goodies and to be part of a growing musically-curious community

Description:

To mark World Poetry Day, Steve drops a surprise bonus episode featuring writer, comedian, and poet Robin Ince, recorded live at Wilton’s Music Hall.

Robin performs a series of poems—some whimsical, some urgent—including one inspired by Steve’s conch bath performance at ALSO Festival. That performance also makes an appearance here in audio form, with seashells and electronics combining into something… well, unusual.

The episode closes with reflections on music, abstraction, and the emotional power of sound.

Timecodes:

00:00 – Intro: why this bonus episode exists

01:04 – Robin Ince at Wilton’s: poems and reflections

02:06 – Poem: The Conch Bath (plus excerpt from Steve’s performance at ALSO Festival)

09:00 – Poem: Not All Men

12:08 – Poem: Creation Envy

13:47 – Poem: Let Me Celebrate You Now

15:24 – Robin and Steve on the point of music

Watch the video version (including Robin onstage and Steve in the lake at ALSO Festival):

📺 youtube.com/@StevePretty

Extras and support:

🎟 £15 tickets for Wilton’s show on 30 April with code PRETTYAPR25

🌐 Website, mailing list, Patreon and more: originofthepieces.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.