The Contemplative Podcast

Welcome back to the fourth episode (in our third season) of The Contemplative Podcast with your host, Matt Emery. On today’s episode, Matt chats with Daniel Inzani and Alex Hobbis of the Hidden Notes music festival, which will take place this year in Stroud, Gloucestershire (UK) on the 23rd and 24th of September, featuring an amazing roster of live performances (see full line-up here). We’ll also get a chance to learn about their Hidden Notes record label, Straud, brewing organic pale ale and releasing music in various exciting medium formats. As always, there will be music along the way showcasing the artists from the festival and the imprint. If you’re new to this podcast, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes and catch up on the past seasons. You can find us directly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app using the links on the sidebar. Enjoy!

Welcome back to our third episode of The Contemplative Podcast with your host, Matt Emery. On today's episode, Matt chats with Adam Wiltzie of the one and only A Winged Victory For The Sullen about the beginnings of this magnificent duo (with Dustin O'Halloran), their albums, The Undivided Five (Ninja Tune, 2019) and Atomos (Erased Tapes, 2014), their long-term collaboration with Francesco Donadello, playing at the BBC Proms, the upcoming shows at The Barbican (May 13-14, 2023), and so much more. As always, there will be music along the way, with snippets from various AWVFTS releases. If you’re new to this podcast, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes and catch up on the past seasons. You can find us directly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app using the links on the sidebar. Enjoy!

Welcome back to a second episode of a brand new season of The Contemplative Podcast. On today's instalment, Matt Emery chats with Clarice Jensen, an American (NYC-based) cellist, a graduate of the Julliard School, and an artistic director of ACME (the American Contemporary Music Ensemble). As an instrumentalist, collaborator, and in her role in ACME, Jensen has recorded and performed alongside many of my all-time favourite modern classical composers, including Jóhann Jóhannsson, Max Richter, Björk, Stars of the Lid, Nico Muhly, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich. As a solo composer, she has been celebrated on these pages for her albums on FatCat's 130701 imprint - see the writeup on the debut, For This From That Will Be Filled (2018, Miasmah), a track premiere from the album The Experience Of Repetition As Death (2020, 130701), and the review of her latest, Esthesis (2022, 130701), with many ending up on my Best of the Year selections. I have also previously published this In the studio with Clarice Jensen. In this episode, Matt talks with Clarice about her recent tour with Dustin O'Halloran, the ACME string ensemble, performing Max Richter's SLEEP, her live set-up, and of course, the new album. And as always, there will be music along the way, with snippets from her past releases. If you’re new to this podcast, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes and catch up on the past seasons. You can find us directly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app using the links on the sidebar. Enjoy!

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Contemplative Podcast! In fact, welcome back to a whole brand new season! In 2022, Matt Emery interviewed eight amazing composers, artists and labels (see the full list here), and today we're kicking off the third season's entry for this year with Brian Fennel, aka SYML, with a chat about his new record on Nettwerk, his recent session for KEXP radio, numerous collaborations, sound and genre explorations, and a lot more! Of course, there will be music along the way, taken from SYML's various albums and EPs released throughout the years. If you’re new to this series, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes and catch up on the past seasons. You can find us directly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app using the links on the sidebar. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Contemplative Podcast! As you may be already aware, we’ve taken a small break, but we’re very happy to announce our return with many exciting new guests in the upcoming episodes over the course of this year. If you’re new to this series, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes, and catch up on the past entries and seasons, in which we’ve covered many of your favourite composers and labels! You can find us on directly Spotify and Apple Podcasts or use your favourite app to subscribe using the links on the sidebar. In today’s episode, Matt Emery, had the privilege of chatting with the talented Australian composer and pianist, Sophie Hutchings, in which they talk about making music from a very young age, the creative process behind her latest release, Echoes In The Valley, working with various labels, in many studios, reading books, and so much more! As always, there is music along the way to guide us on this journey. We hope that you enjoy it!

Happy holidays and welcome back to another episode of The Contemplative Podcast! If you’re new to this series, please subscribe to keep up to date with the latest episodes, and catch up to past entries and seasons, in which we’ve covered many of your favourite composers and labels! You can find us on directly Spotify and Apple Podcasts or use your favourite app to subscribe using the links on the sidebar. In today’s episode, Matt Emery chats with the Icelandic composer, Eydís Evensen, who has released her debut album, Bylur, on XXIM Records earlier this year. You will learn all about the making of her album, working with the label, performing live, favourite current albums and much more! As always, there will be music along the way with snippets taken from Evensen's album plus a stunning remix from Slow Meadow. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome back to another episode of The Contemplative Podcast! In today’s episode, Matt Emery chats with Alex Buhr about his new label, XXIM Records (pronounced “twenty-one M”). Alex talks us through his musical background, setting up Mercury KX, and the vision behind his latest imprint. As always, there is music along the way from all of the artists on the label’s roster plus two tracks at the very end from the XXIM:EXPO project featuring Paddy Mulcahy and ABBOTT.

Happy Friday and welcome back to the Contemplative Podcast. In this episode, Matt Emery meets up with award-winning producer and composer Robert Koch (aka Robot Koch) to talk about his early influences, his progression into music production, his two most recent albums, The Next Billion Years (Modern Recordings, 2020) and Sphere (Trees & Cyborgs, 2018), touring planetariums, working with an orchestra, his very own label, his brand new project, and much more! As always, there is plenty of music along the way, so please join us for this interesting discussion!

Good morning and welcome back to the Contemplative Podcast. In this episode, Matt Emery meets up with Sebastian Plano (one of my personal favourite composers!) to chat about his latest album, Save Me Not (now out on Mercury KX), growing up in a musical family, working with Ben Lukas Boysen on the soundtrack for the game Everything, his recent favourite records, and much more! Be sure to also check out Headphone Commute’s In the studio with Sebastian Plano, and of course, subscribe to the podcast!

In this episode of The Contemplative Podcast, Matt Emery chats with Rutger Hoedemaekers, who has recently released a new album on FatCat's 130701 imprint, titled The Age Of Oddities (check out "The Invention Of The Moon" track premiere). In this episode, you'll learn about the making of the album, the musicians who played on it, Rutger's new studio in Brussels, the process of translating the music into a live show, his film and TV work, including collaborations with Hildur Guðnadóttir and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson. This, and much more, coming right up! Be sure to also check out this In the studio with Rutger Hoedemaekers feature, published on Headphone Commute back in March.

We’re back with the second episode (of the second series) of Contemplative Podcast in which Matt Emery chats with Matthew Halsall, a Manchester-based jazz musician, trumpet player, and founder of the independent Gondwana Records. Learn all about his new album, Salute to the Sun, his new band, living in Japan, and of course, his very own label. Be sure to also check out the previous episode, where Matt speaks with Hannah Peel.

In case you did not know this, let me restate. In September of last year, a Contemplative Classical community founded by Michael Price said its farewell. It has been active for three years, gathering a strong following for its expertly curated Spotify Playlist and a podcast where Matt Emery has interviewed contemporary musicians across thirteen (now archived) episodes. I quickly swept in to save this vessel, and in November declared the takeover and the revival of Contemplative Classical anew. Today, I am happy to announce the continuation of my commitment to this wonderful endeavour, with the official Series Two of The Contemplative Podcast. But, of course, I can’t take all the credit here myself. This would not be possible without the perseverance of Matt Emery, who is the key to all the magic that is behind this show. I am only a publisher. In this new season, Emery has already put together an amazing lineup for the entire year, and today we kick off with the first episode, featuring Hannah Peel. This Irish London-based Emmy-nominated composer, singer, and arranger has worked on everything from documentaries (on “Game of Thrones”) to Netflix Special TV Series (“Kiss Me First”) to music for theatre adaptations (“Brighton Rock”), and the score for The Deceived. She’s also collaborated with Spitfire Audio on creating the Music Box free Labs plugin. But I’m getting ahead of myself, and really should let Matt do the introductions. So here it is, without further ado, the first episode of Series Two!

Matt Emery chats to composer Dmitry Evgrafov about his new album 'Surrender', how he came to work with Fat Cat's 130701 record label, dream collaborations with Nigel Godrich, his modest studio setup, his app Endel which creates personalised sound environments to help you focus and relax, hiring a copyrighter to name 500 of his tracks and much more. Dmitrys 3rd album 'Surrender' is out now on 130701.

Matt Emery meets Siné Buyuka of Injazero Records to chat about the label's beginnings, vinyl, psychical releases and the environment, the importance of artwork, her own music that she releases under the name Villette, an important look at the imbalance of women in the music industry and organisations helping and supporting women in music. We also have some non Injazero music recommendations as well as a look at the artists on Injazero's roster. There is also music throughout from C. Diab, Steve Gibbs, Heinali, Hinako Omori, Pétra, LTO, Villette and Matt Emery.

Matt Emery meets composer extraordinaire Carly Paradis in her studio to chat about her new album Nothing Is Something and collaborations with the likes of Douglas Dare, London Contemporary Orchestra, EERA, Jonas Bjerre and Polar Bear. We also discuss performing at The Royal Albert Hall, working with Michael Stein and Clint Mansell, her soundtrack work for Line Of Duty, The Innocents and Much More.

This week Matt Emery shares a coffee and chat with composer and producer Ed Carlsen at a windy Barbican Centre. The conversation entails the recording process to his latest album Morning Hour, working with Moderna Records, favourite records of 2019, well being, selecting artwork and much more.

Matt Emery meets the brilliant Nainita Desai in her studio to chat about her journey into writing music for film and TV, experimenting with sounds and instruments, her recent scores for the game Telling Lies and award winning documentary film For Sama and lots more.

Matt Emery meets music virtuosos Anna Phoebe and Aisling Brouwer of AVA to chat about their debut album 'Waves', the recording process, working with One Little Indian Records, favourite recent albums and podcasts and what they get up to when not doing music.

Matt Emery Meets Nico Casal to chat about his debut album 'Alone', dream collaborations, albums that have inspired him, his approach to performing live, writing for the Oscar winning short film 'The Stutterer' and much more.

Matt Emery meets composer Joep Beving to chat about his new album Henosis, collaborations, composing for The Drone Ballet, the story behind his beloved Schimmel upright piano and much more.