Drowned in Sound

Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
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Music's least apolitical podcast. We meet musicians and campaigners to discover how the music industry shapes society and how fans, artists, and workers can organise for systemic change. Hosted by Sean Adams and Helena Wadia, DiS decodes streaming economics, sustainable touring, climate and tech, workers’ rights, and collective solutions with musicians, researchers, and changemakers. Reminder: Music is upstream from politics.

  1. 18h ago

    How music plays a role in US elections | Emily White, #iVoted Concerts | HMCSTW Episode 2

    Can a gig change who turns up to vote? In the second episode of How Music Can Save the World, a new podcast from Drowned in Sound, Shain Shapiro talks to Emily White, co-founder of the nonprofit #iVoted Concerts, partner at Collective Entertainment and a fellow at the Johns Hopkins SNF Agora Institute. Emily explains why she thinks that grounding in how a show really works is the only reason she was able to bring concert promoters on board when she launched #iVoted in 2018... with no money and an intern. Fans get into an #iVoted show by showing a selfie from outside their polling place, or by checking their voter registration, and the artists are booked from data on who low-propensity voters are actually listening to, town by town. The conversation gets into why this has to be local, whether it could work with any art form other than music, shows that fans enter for free by learning about clean energy jobs, whether it could create future candidates, and why the work itself keeps Emily hopeful. Emily is also the author of How to Build a Sustainable Music Career and Collect All Revenue Streams, and of the podcast of the same name. We talk about how the book became a podcast, why season two was recorded in Milwaukee, and where she would take it next. Afterwards, Sean Adams, who produced the episode, joins Shain to reflect on local listening, free gigs, why free is expensive, Bobi Wine, the Colombian concerts that Shain writes about in the book, and the risks of booking the wrong artist. Emily White and #iVoted Concerts: https://www.ivotedconcerts.org Emily's book, How to Build a Sustainable Music Career and Collect All Revenue Streams: https://www.collectiveentinc.com/book2 Emily's podcast of the same name: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fsLPVRMhI9EIMVH0PsNYt Shain runs Sound Diplomacy and the Center for Music Ecosystems. His book of the same name is out on 9 February 2027 from Duncan Baird Publishing, part of Penguin Random House. Pre-order it here: https://www.shainshapiro.com/how-music-can-save-the-world The intro and outro were recorded at The Shure Experience Centre, London. How Music Can Save the World is part of the Drowned in Sound Podcast Network: https://thesounding.org Sign up to the DiS newsletter: http://drownedinsound.org

    How music plays a role in US elections | Emily White, #iVoted Concerts | HMCSTW Episode 2

  2. 2d ago

    Enter Shikari exclusive: Rou Reynolds on why the band goes dormant on 31 December 2027. And what comes next.

    In this week's episode, the first of season seven, Sean sits down with Rou Reynolds, the vocalist of Enter Shikari, for an exclusive conversation recorded weeks after the band announced that they will fall dormant as a recording and performing entity on 31 December 2027. Why is a band with a UK number one album, and a sold out night at Alexandra Palace, choosing to go quiet? And what do decades of touring do to your mental health? Those are the two questions Sean starts from. The band's statement says the dormancy may end with an eruption back into activity, or with extinction, and that they have no idea which. It also floats the possibility that they might be like Fugazi and get together to rehearse for fun without feeling the need to make anyone else listen. Rou is clear that this tour is not a goodbye tour, and that they want to mark the anniversaries of Take To The Skies, A Flash Flood Of Colour and The Spark next year. Rou is open about what the first half of 2026 was like, including anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks on stage and OCD, and about how he has found his footing again. This is not only a conversation about struggle. There are practical things in it, from the experiment Rou is running on stage with giving 50% instead of 100%, to what has helped him and Sean when the thinking mind takes over. The conversation also gets into how Enter Shikari started at a local youth club, why Rou calls the band "a hobby that got out of hand", and how it felt to be on stage in Leicester at a recent warm up show and feel free again. Enter Shikari were the first artist to give £1 from every UK ticket sold to Music Venue Trust, a scheme since taken up by artists including Ed Sheeran and Coldplay, and this tour does the same: https://www.musicvenuetrust.com/ As with every episode, Sean ends by asking Rou what he would do with £500m, roughly what Spotify has put into Joe Rogan. His answer is fantastic. Enter Shikari's European and UK tour runs from 3 November to 4 December. Tickets and full details are at https://www.entershikari.com/shows In Europe they play Sporthalle in Hamburg on 3 November, Zenith in Munich on 4 November, Haus Auensee in Leipzig on 5 November, Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf on 6 November, Columbiahalle in Berlin on 7 November, Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on 9 November, La Laiterie in Strasbourg on 10 November and 013 in Tilburg on 11 November. The UK and Ireland dates are Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on 13 November, Utilita Arena in Cardiff on 14 November, Connexin Live in Hull on 15 November, the Hydro in Glasgow on 18 November, Co-op Live in Manchester on 19 November, Alexandra Palace in London on 20 and 21 November (the 21st is sold out), The Telegraph Building in Belfast on 2 December and The Academy in Dublin on 3 and 4 December (the 4th is sold out). This episode includes frank conversation about anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and insomnia. If any of it lands close to home, here are some places to start. Different things work for different people, which comes up more than once in the conversation, so treat this as a starting point rather than a full list. If there is something you think we have missed, email sean@drownedinsound.org and we will add it to these notes. In the UK, Samaritans are there at any time on 116 123, free from any phone: https://www.samaritans.org If you would rather text, Shout is on 85258: https://giveusashout.org Mind's Infoline on 0300 123 3393 can help you find specialist services near you: https://www.mind.org.uk If you work in music, Music Support is a charity founded by people from inside the industry. Its helpline on 0800 030 6789 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, bank holidays excluded) is staffed by trained peers who have worked in music and live events: https://musicsupport.org/helpline/ Help Musicians, which comes up in the conversation, BAPAM and CALM also offer support: https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk https://www.bapam.org.uk https://www.thecalmzone.net For OCD, OCD Action runs a free and confidential helpline and email service for people affected by OCD and related conditions: https://ocdaction.org.uk OCD UK has an advice line and information too: https://www.ocduk.org Anxiety UK supports people living with anxiety conditions: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk Rou and Sean both talk about how the type of therapy matters, and that a standard approach does not suit everyone. In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP first: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/ If you are listening in Ireland, Samaritans are on 116 123, Pieta is on 1800 247 247, Aware is on 1800 80 48 48 and you can text HELLO to 50808 for Text About It. The full list is here: https://www.hse.ie/mental-health/services-support/supports-services/ Elsewhere in the world, Find A Helpline lists services by country: https://findahelpline.com Sean mentions Tamsin Embleton, whose book Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual is a guide for people working in live music. Her an earlier conversation om the pod here: https://drownedinsound.podbean.com/e/dis008-live-music-and-mental-health and the book is here: https://touringmanual.com The Drowned in Sound Patreon has behind the scenes extras and a place to recommend guests for the new series: https://www.patreon.com/cw/drownedinsound The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show. Visit https://drownedinsound.org/playlists/ to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at https://qobuz.com/dis. Produced and edited by Sean Adams. Enter Shikari: https://www.entershikari.com The band's statement about the future: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd83ELPDd4m/?img_index=1 Rou's mental health update: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddg-K78sK-M/ Recorded, engineered and hosted by Sean Adams (seaninsound.com). Sign up to the DiS newsletter: http://drownedinsound.org

    Enter Shikari exclusive: Rou Reynolds on why the band goes dormant on 31 December 2027. And what comes next.

  3. 6d ago

    Maggie Baird on How Music Can Save The World | Episode 1

    In the first episode of How Music Can Save the World, a new podcast from Drowned in Sound, Shain Shapiro meets Maggie Baird, the mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas and founder of Support + Feed. They start with her musical childhood, from falling asleep to Guys and Dolls to Quadrophenia at Christmas, and how music, as an instrument for change, amplifies ideas. Shain finds out how Support + Feed began during COVID as a way to feed people, plant-based of course, and how it has since gone on tour with Billie, Finneas and other artists such as Hayley Williams. They also discuss how it has changed how stadiums and arenas deal with waste, food and water. The conversation gets into why a musician has a direct line to their fans that no actor or director has, the storm that cancelled and rescheduled a show in Mexico City, and a letter Maggie wrote when she was about eight asking a drive-in to keep Cat Ballou for one more week. Maggie quotes Joan Baez, "Action is the antidote to despair", and that is where her hope starts. Afterwards, DiS founder Sean Adams, who produced the episode, joins Shain to reflect on access, ticket prices and The Ticket Bank, a food bank for culture that has now given out more than a million tickets. We spoke to Jack from Tickets for Good about how it works here: https://youtu.be/nHT-5nGNtok and you can find out more or sign up at https://www.ticketsforgood.com/uk/the-ticket-bank Shain runs Sound Diplomacy and the Center for Music Ecosystems. His book of the same name is out on 9 February 2027 from Duncan Baird Publishing, part of Penguin Random House. Pre-order it here: https://www.shainshapiro.com/how-music-can-save-the-world Support + Feed: https://supportandfeed.org The intro and outro were recorded at The Shure Experience Centre, London. How Music Can Save the World is part of the Drowned in Sound Podcast Network: https://thesounding.org Sign up to the DiS newsletter: http://drownedinsound.org

    Maggie Baird on How Music Can Save The World | Episode 1

  4. Season 8 Trailer

    Introducing... How Music Can Save The World

    Drowned in Sound is thrilled to introduce a new series which will be appearing in this feed. How Music Can Save the World is hosted by Shain Shapiro and produced by DiS founder Sean Adams, who pops up at the end of each episode. Before Shain found himself speaking at the UN, developing music policy for mayors like Sadiq Khan, and organising his own conference, he was a contributor to Drowned in Sound, so it feels like a wonderful full circle moment to be creating this podcast together. The season is a companion to Shain's forthcoming second book by the same name. He explains: "It's my case for using music to help tackle five big issues: economic and international development, healthcare, the climate emergency, crisis and recovery, and our collective morality. It's the book I've wanted to write for years. Deliberately optimistic, grounded in data and evidence, it shows what music can do if we listen to it differently." Shain introduces the series in this little 5min explainer trailer ahead of the first episode arriving later this week. Pre-order How Music Can Save the World Fill in the form Shain mentions in this episode Follow this podcast's new Instagram Follow Shain on LinkedIn Follow Shain on Substack

    Introducing... How Music Can Save The World

  5. Sep 8

    Meet The AI Rapper Beloved By The Far-Right - Part 2

    In part two of our conversation with journalists Effie Webb and Harriet Williamson, we move beyond who created Danny Bones and ask what his existence means for music itself. We discuss the irony of a far-right AI rapper borrowing from Black music, the response from musicians, and what happens when technology can imitate creative work at scale with little to no consequence. We get into copyright, the devaluing of human creative labour, Spotify’s response to AI artists, whether Danny Bones is an outlier or an early sign of what’s coming, and finally, what music fans can do to help musicians, songwriters and artists to remain at the centre of music. The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show. Visit drownedinsound.org/playlists to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz. This week's playlist is songs that give you a bit of pride in where you are from. Amongst the picks, Harriet chose 'White Man in Hammersmith Palais' by The Clash and Effie chose 'LDN' by Lily Allen, two London songs, one of them about race and punk and reggae and the other about what the city actually looks like underneath, which is a fairly pointed answer to a record trading on national pride.  What would you add? You can email us on podcasts@drownedinsound.org Referenced In This Episode: More than a third of new uploads to Apple Music are now AI-generated, reported by Music Ally: More than a third of Apple Music uploads are now AI music Australia banning fully AI-generated songs from the ARIA charts, announced two days before we recorded: AI-generated music to be banned from the ARIA charts Spotify’s AI persona labelling, announced this month: Spotify introduces an AI persona label and keeps AI-generated artists out of recommendations by default ‘Harbu Darbu’ by Ness and Stilla, the track mentioned in the episode, which calls for the deaths of Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa and Mia Khalifa and topped the Israeli streaming charts: Harbu Darbu Effie Webb, Bureau of Investigative Journalism Effie Webb’s profile Harriet Williamson, Novara Media Novara Media Recorded at The Shure Experience Centre, London. Sign up to the DiS newsletter: Drowned in Sound Produced by Georgia Mooney.

    Meet The AI Rapper Beloved By The Far-Right - Part 2

  6. Sep 1

    Meet The AI Rapper Beloved By The Far-Right - Part 1

    What does it take to rack up five million YouTube views in ten months? In this case: a rapper who doesn’t exist, a political party paying thousands for AI-generated videos, and algorithms remarkably good at turning anger into attention. This week, Sean is joined by Effie Webb of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Harriet Williamson of Novara Media, who have spent months investigating Danny Bones. So, who is Danny Bones? An AI-generated British rapper created by the Node Project, whose songs and videos mix nationalism, immigration politics and visions of a broken Britain. He’s amassed millions of views and streams and "performed" at a Tommy Robinson rally. This manufactured persona has begun bleeding into real-world politics. In part one, Effie and Harriet explain how they uncovered the Node Project’s links to far-right party Advance UK, and ultimately discovered the real people behind it: a music producer and a video producer working in the arts. We discuss what far right actually means, why those described that way reject the term, and Harriet’s theory that the Danny Bones aesthetic looks like somebody watched This Is England, thought it looked cool and missed everything else about it. We also get into Danny Bones’ extraordinary algorithmic growth, whether reporting on him risks boosting his platform, the economics of streams versus political commissions, and what happens when an entirely fictional "artist" starts intervening in real elections.  The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show. Visit drownedinsound.org/playlists to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz. This week's playlist is songs that give you a bit of pride in where you are from. Amongst the picks, Harriet chose 'White Man in Hammersmith Palais' by The Clash and Effie chose 'LDN' by Lily Allen, two London songs, one of them about race and punk and reggae and the other about what the city actually looks like underneath, which is a fairly pointed answer to a record trading on national pride. What would you add? You can email us on podcasts@drownedinsound.org Referenced In This Episode: The first investigation, the AI rapper funded by a far-right party, by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Meet the AI rapper funded by a far-right party And Novara Media's version of the same story: Meet the AI Rapper Working for the Far-Right How the project turned the coverage into membership tiers and a crypto wallet within days: The hate economy in action: how an AI rapper tried to cash in on our coverage Effie's day at Tommy Robinson's rally, QR codes, crypto and an AI rapper: A day at Tommy Robinson's rally: QR codes, crypto and an AI rapper The story that named the two men behind it: Revealed: the music producer and animator behind far-right AI rapper Danny Bones And at Novara Media: Revealed: The Chart-Topping Music Producer and Animator Behind a Far-Right AI Rapper The Daily Mail's collaboration with the Bureau, which is where the platform responses live: Read the archived article Ben Habib winding up Advance UK to clear the way for Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain: Ben Habib winds up Advance UK to clear the way for Restore Britain The Gorton and Denton by-election result in full: UK Parliament election results   Effie Webb, Bureau of Investigative Journalism Effie Webb’s profile Harriet Williamson, Novara Media Novara Media Recorded at The Shure Experience Centre, London. Sign up to the DiS newsletter: Drowned in Sound Produced by Georgia Mooney.

    Meet The AI Rapper Beloved By The Far-Right - Part 1

  7. Aug 26

    Blood Red Shoes on their 7th LP, Support Bands, Crisps and Two Decades As a Band

    In this week's episode Sean sits down with Steven Ansell, the singing drummer of Blood Red Shoes. They have known each other for around twenty five years now, since Sean first saw Steven's old band Cat On Form playing to a room of skinny, topless Fugazi obsessives in Brighton. Blood Red Shoes formed in Brighton in 2004, Steven on drums and vocals, Laura-Mary Carter on guitar and vocals, and released one of their first singles on the Drowned in Sound label. Twenty years on, they're still one of the more interesting duos working in guitar music, a band whose sound has been chased by plenty of others since (Royal Blood, for one, used to come and watch them). Their songs keep finding new listeners in places that have nothing to do with the traditional music industry, the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack years ago, more recently Directive 8020, the horror game that features their track 'Dead Air'. However, delves into their seventh record. Stay Lonely, which is out 18th September on V2 Records. The record features the single 'Screams', and it's the first Blood Red Shoes album the two of them have made entirely on their own, no outside producer, no outside mixer, nobody else touching it. The conversation gets into how a band that's been almost wordlessly instinctual for two decades actually functions day to day, who sings what and why. Steven also produces for other artists, including Brighton duo Arxx and Circe, and co-runs the Jazz Life label with Laura-Mary, who records solo too (her debut album, Bye Bye Jackie, came out last year). As with every episode, Sean asks Steven the question he now puts to every guest: how would you spend five hundred million pounds to improve music? The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show. Visit https://drownedinsound.org/playlists/ to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at https://qobuz.com/dis. Produced and edited by the team at Tell Studio. Recorded, engineered and hosted by Sean Adams (seaninsound.com) at Polygon Portal, Soho. Polygon Portal's immersive listening room is back for Season Two from October, with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Pixies' Bossanova and De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising among the album playback sessions on their listings, well worth a look if you're in London. Sign up to the DiS newsletter: http://drownedinsound.org

    Blood Red Shoes on their 7th LP, Support Bands, Crisps and Two Decades As a Band

  8. Aug 15

    Gig Yap: Robyn, My Chemical Romance, Matt Berninger and Los Campesinos!, and Where to Stand

    What's the best place to stand in the Electric Ballroom if you're under five foot five and don't fancy a six foot stranger appearing in front of you two minutes before stage time? Helena Wadia has worked this out for pretty much every venue in London, and this week's episode exists mostly so Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams could catch up with his co-host to to yap about gigs. This week's episode is a bit of a format experiment for us (we'd love you to send your feedback to podcasts@drownedinsound.org) because Sean's been buried in The Anchoress album campaign and Helena's been living her best gig life. Helena co-hosts the Media Storm podcast, and normally you'll find her asking sharper questions than she gets asked here. She also, by her own admission, keeps a proper mental log of every National setlist, twenty two shows and counting, which is why she was drafted onto Gig Pigs, the podcast where comedians take a comedian to a gig, for their National episode with Stuart Laws. Worth a listen for the fuller history: S2 Ep7: The National with Stuart Laws and Helena Wadia. The conversation also gets into Los Campesinos! twenty year celebration at the Electric Ballroom,  Robyn selling out the O2 without being an obvious household name, My Chemical Romance's Black Parade in full at Wembley Stadium and the tears that came with it, and Matt Berninger's solo show with RonBoy in tow. Along the way the pair discuss obstructed view seats that turn out to be the best seats in the house, the ethics of a no-view audio-only ticket, seeing Prince, and why nobody's worked out how to tell you your friends are stood four rows in front of you. The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show. Visit https://drownedinsound.org/playlists/ to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at https://qobuz.com/dis. Produced and edited by Sean Adams. Co-hosted by Helena Wadia, who also co-hosts the Media Storm podcast: https://mediastormpodcast.com/about-us/ Recorded at The Shure Experience Centre, London. Sign up to the DiS newsletter: http://drownedinsound.org

    Gig Yap: Robyn, My Chemical Romance, Matt Berninger and Los Campesinos!, and Where to Stand
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About

Music's least apolitical podcast. We meet musicians and campaigners to discover how the music industry shapes society and how fans, artists, and workers can organise for systemic change. Hosted by Sean Adams and Helena Wadia, DiS decodes streaming economics, sustainable touring, climate and tech, workers’ rights, and collective solutions with musicians, researchers, and changemakers. Reminder: Music is upstream from politics.

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