Sending Signals

The last time Genesis keyboard player extraordinaire Tony Banks came on the show was a few years ago, and we discussed a box set of his solo albums. Since then there has been a final Genesis tour, “The Last Domino?”, which I got to see the opening and closing nights of, and Tony now has a new boxset compiling his three classical albums “7”, “6”, and “5”.

The first half of the interview we take a deep dive into that process which I hope you’ll find interesting. Creating classical music isn’t something we’ve really explored on the podcast before. In the second half of the interview Tony shares details of an upcoming boxset of “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”, and he also confirms details of a reissue of their 60’s debut album “From Genesis To Revelation”, which in the past has been ignored from official Genesis reissue campaigns. We talk about how he feels he is perceived by Genesis fans, and whether he’s tempted to emulate the very successful touring approach of former Genesis bandmate Steve Hackett, who incidentally he also clarifies his feeling about during our chat. I think this conversation is quite something.

Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

X: @signalspodcast

Phil Manzanera has had a remarkable life. Best known as the lead guitarist in Roxy Music, he’s also worked as a writer, producer and/or performer with the likes of David Gilmour, Steve Winwood, Nico, Brian Eno and many more. He’s just released a mammoth box set of his solo work which dates back to 1975’s “Diamond Head” album.

The box, entitled “50 Years Of Music”, comes at a time of reflection for Manzanera. He recently released a memoir, in which he detailed his childhood in Cuba at the time of Batista’s overthrow in 1959, and his suspicion that his Dad, who ostensibly worked for BOAC airlines, was actually a spy. Manzanera lived in different parts of the Americas as a child and later went to boarding school at Dulwich College in London. Phil went on to explore his Latin American roots in his music, and another bizarre twist occurred in 2011 when Kanye West and Jay-Z sampled a guitar part from his 1978 “K-Scope” album for their track “No Church In The Wild”. Manzanera has claimed this one sample earned him more money than his entire time in Roxy Music.

Anyway, I was sure Phil would have great stories to share and I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Visit Manzanera.com for more information on the box set.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

Putting last week behind us, this was genuinely one of my favourite conversations I’ve had for the show.

Like many, I was first aware of Isobel as member of Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian. I found her such a compelling figure. She looked like she had stepped out of a French new wave movie. She was a cello player in an indie rock band. And when she sang, she had this enigmatic, whisper-quiet vocal style.

While still a member of Belle and Sebastian she made a couple of solo albums under the name The Gentle Waves, the second of which, “Swansong For You”, is particularly lovely and one I listened to a lot when I was younger. It was recently reissued for Record Store Day.

She left Belle and Sebastian in the middle of a US tour in 2002. Things were somewhat complicated by her romantic entanglement with the bands frontman Stuart Murdoch, and the unravelling of that relationship clearly ramped up the tension for Isobel.

We get into it in our chat, and I reference some comments she made in a recent Uncut magazine feature, I think it was in the December 2023 issue. If you have access to it, it’s definitely worth reading in the light of our conversation. It was a reminder to me, that for as much as we can get fascinated and a degree of entertainment out of the interpersonal relationships and fallouts in the history of bands we love, on the other side of it are real people and real feelings, and I was certainly reminded of that during out chat.

Isobel also made 3 well-received albums with the late Mark Lanegan, and clearly Mark’s well-documented erratic behaviour also took a toll on Isobel, and that bleeds into our chat as well.

We also talk about her recent single 4316. We delve into her fascinating childhood. It’s a “life, the universe and everything” chat this week. I hope you enjoy it.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

X: @signalspodcast

Gemma Hayes is a singer-songwriter from Ireland, and after a 10 year gap she is about to release her 7th album “Blind Faith” and, spoiler alert, it’s really, really good.

We discuss the album’s long gestation, balancing motherhood and creativity, and I was also keen to dig into her debut album, the Dave Friedman produced “Night On My Side” from 2002, which made such a deep impression on me as a teenager.

It was such a lovely, unhurried conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast

It’s been five years! Yes, it’s 5th anniversary extravaganza episode of Sending Signals!

I’m delighted that Dan Wilson agreed to come back on for a catch-up. He’s one of my favourite ever guests on the show and he didn’t disappoint. We talk about his recent Grammy win, the role of embarrassment in songwriter, as well as the story behind the Semisonic classic “Singing In My Sleep”. Chris has written songs with the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele, Mitski, Chris Stapleton and on and on...

British singer-songwriter Sheila Lord also joins me for a chat and a heart-stopping live performance.

I’m also happy that Rhys Edwards, AKA Astrel K, joined me from Stockholm to talk about his new album “The Foreign Department”, which is one of the loveliest albums of the year.

As if that wasn’t enough, I’m joined by my friend, podcaster Luke Bligh who co-hosts “Star Wars Sessions” amongst other things. You can hear some of our conversation peppered throughout the episode.

Wow. What a packed episode! It was a lot to put together, and I really hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all the guests on this episode, and indeed, over the past 5 years, and thank YOU for listening. It really means a lot.

Matt

X: @signalspodcast

Insta: @sendingsignalspodcast