No Tags

Chal Ravens & Tom Lea
  • 4.7 (24)
  • MUSIC
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

No Tags is a podcast and newsletter from Chal Ravens and Tom Lea chronicling underground music culture. notagspodcast.substack.com

  1. 22H AGO

    59: The best music of 2025

    Sneaking in at the last possible moment, it's the No Tags best of 2025 show! As is tradition, we’re joined by Henry Bruce-Jones to look back on the year in tunes and spotlight some lesser-feted records that you need to hear. We tried to avoid going over the same releases that we covered on the Best Music of 2025 So Far episode from July, so if you’re wondering where the love is for Smerz, aya, Jim Legxacy or numerous other albums from the first half of the year, we probably talked about them back then. Scroll down for a time-stamped rundown of the episode – the full version is available on Substack, along with our personal Best of 2025 lists. But we want to hear your highlights as well! Tell us your most loved (and hated) releases, films or trends of the year, and let us know if we missed anything crucial via the comments. In case you forgot, our second book is out now. We’ve been running No Tags for over two years now. We do it around other jobs, we have no corporate backing, no sponsorship and we don’t even run ads on the podcast. If you’d like to show your thanks, it really helps if you leave us a positive review over at Apple Podcasts. You can also like or share this post on Substack, which makes a big difference – and if you really love the pod, you can subscribe to our paid tier for £5 per month. Happy new year! Running order: People Making Music In A Room: feeo, The Necks, Water From Your Eyes, Kelela, Shell Company & Older Brother, Rat Heart, Blawan, DJ Travella, Dijon, Alex G Dance Corner (33:16): Slikback - 'Data', Beatrice M - ‘Midnight Swim’, Facta - ‘Jets’, K-Lone - ‘Someone Else’, Anthony Naples - ‘Compact’, Efdemin - ‘Signal to Noise’, Car Culture - ‘Nothingburger’, Jump Source - ‘On’ (ft. Martyn Bootyspoon), Minor Science - ‘Mortals’, Ploy - ‘It’s Later Than You Think’, Hodge - ‘Tom’s Tweaks’, Nikki Nair - ‘Sheeps’, Slikback and Skrillex - ‘Kixa’, Debba - ‘Electrolyte’ (Wordcolour Remix) Rap Corner (1:09:18): EsDeeKid, Jawnino & Surf Gang, Rooster Pop Corner (1:31:44) Lily Allen, Addison Rae, Underscores No Rules! (1:42:12) Los Thuthanaka, Coldsteel, Camille Keller, ear, weed420, d.silvestre, Oli XL, Jennifer Walton Ambient afters (2:00:03) Oneohtrix Point Never, Klein, 7038634357, Begena Songs from Ethiopia. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    2h 14m
  2. 58: Deepfake Jorja and the biggest bangers of the 21st century

    12/05/2025

    58: Deepfake Jorja and the biggest bangers of the 21st century

    First off, we’re plugging. The second No Tags book is here – and it looks great. ‘Conversations on underground music culture, Volume 2’ compiles the best interviews and conversations we’ve had on the second year of No Tags, plus five exclusive pieces with Emma Garland, Shaad D’Souza, Mattie Colquhoun, Nono Gigsta and Yu Su. You can order it here, and it will ship from the 10th December. Speaking of plugging, No Tags live at the ICA on 11th December is almost sold out! There are around 25 tickets left. As well as live conversations with Djrum and Anjali Prashar-Savoie and a DJ set from Finn, we’ll have copies of the book on sale – plus some predictably stupid stickers. Keep honking! From plugging to yapping, there’s a pod this week. We compile some of our listeners’ best war stories from Bloc 2012 (who’d have thought so many future Taganistas were in attendance?), before getting into some big questions: is it too far for artists to market themselves via Black Friday sales? And has graffiti run its course? We also dig into the strange story of ‘I Run’, the dance mega-hit of the moment that has been accused of using AI to plagiarise Jorja Smith. Depending on what happens now, this could represent a line-in-the-sand moment for AI and copyright, so we get into the background of the track, where the case currently stands and what might happen from here. Also: what are your top five dancefloor bangers of the 21st century? Chal submitted hers to this rundown for The Quietus, but we’d like to know what our listeners would pick. Tell us in the comments! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 19m

  3. 11/26/2025

    57: The second No Tags book is here!

    …And we’re back! Yes, first episode of No Tags for a few weeks, and while we do appreciate the concern, it’s just the two of us running this show, we both have jobs that we do it around, and sometimes we get really busy. Also Tom was in Asia for three weeks and most importantly, we were making a book. That’s right: the second No Tags book is here! Titled ‘Conversations on underground music culture, Volume 2’, it’s essentially a sequel to our first book: a compendium of the best interviews and conversations we’ve had on the second year of No Tags, with five exclusive pieces to boot. You can order it now over on our Shopify store! We’ll be launching the book on 11th December at the ICA, where we’ll be joined by Djrum, Anjali Prashar-Savoie and Finn. We’re down to the last 50 tickets for the show, and we’ll have the new book on sale on the night plus some other treats. We’re excited to see you there – get your tickets from the ICA website. Finally, there’s a pod this week! We’ve spent the last month sucking up culture like the sponges we are – and we’re not just talking about Tom’s late night ramen adventures in Tokyo. We debrief recent trips to Bang Face Weekender and Simple Things, as well as live shows from Smerz and Model/Actriz. We also share our memories (not to mention some potentially spurious speculation) about the great Bloc Weekend debacle of 2012. If you know you know. It’s a loose episode that’s heavy on the yapping, but hey – we were making a book! It’s good to be back. See you at the ICA. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    48 min
  4. 56: Burial whisperer Dan Hancox on grime reunions, the power of crowds and sodcasting

    10/30/2025

    56: Burial whisperer Dan Hancox on grime reunions, the power of crowds and sodcasting

    First, news: our new book is almost at the printers ahead of launching it at the No Tags live show in London on 11th December! We’ll be announcing our guests very soon, and you can grab tickets now from the ICA website. This week’s guest is a revered member of the UK blognoscenti: Dan Hancox. Dan has written extensively on grime (including its definitive history, Inner City Pressure), crowds, the politics of public space and his beloved Spain, while interviewing icons from Skepta to Wiley to Barcelona’s socialist mayor. He’s also the co-host of the Cursed Objects podcast, where he and Dr Kasia Tee try to make sense of this mad world through tat such as Jamie Oliver’s mix CD. In September, Dan broke the internet by sharing the transcript of his 2007 interview with Burial on his Substack. With that excitement, plus the paperback publication of his book Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World, we realised it was time to get Dan pon pod. Join us in the smoking area as we discuss: releasing the Burial tapes; Dizzee and Wiley’s on-stage reunion; the power of crowds and why the state is so scared of them; the future of Notting Hill Carnival; what Dan makes of DJ AG’s livestream empire; the return of sodcasting; Van Gogh bucket hats and other cursed objects; and his favourite films. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 37m
  5. 55: One monoculture after another

    10/09/2025

    55: One monoculture after another

    First, a plug: tickets are now on general sale for No Tags live at the ICA in London on 11th December! There will be special guests, and there will be a new book for sale: Vol 2 is in production now. On this week’s episode we drive headfirst – Modelos in hand – into the discourse around One Battle After Another, the designated cinema event of the year. Is it PTA’s masterpiece, or has he bitten off more than he can chew? OBAA’s ubiquity got us thinking: what was the last album that felt like a monocultural event? Do albums have the power to do this anymore, or were the early 2010s our last hurrah? Finally we debrief on the news that Corsica Studios – the club that Chal and Tom have spent more time in than any other – is closing. We share some Corsica memories but also wonder: should great clubs stay open forever? If you’re a longtime enjoyer No Tags, perhaps you'd consider subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Thanks to everyone who’s signed up so far. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    46 min
  6. 54: Flags, football shirts and indie nationalism

    10/01/2025

    54: Flags, football shirts and indie nationalism

    Lots to cover today, but first off: we’re going live again! We’ll be bringing No Tags live to the ICA in London – yep, that one – on the evening of 11th December. If you are based enough to subscribe to our paid tier, then you now have early access to discounted tickets via the link in this email’s header (and in the paywalled section at the bottom of the email). These early access tickets will be available for seven days before the show goes on general sale on 8th October. If you don’t subscribe to our paid tier but are considering making the leap, then you’re in luck: the discount will also be available to new subscribers who sign up in the next seven days – once you subscribe, you’ll receive an email with the link. More details for both the show and the book are imminent, but for the former: there will be guests! There will be DJs! There will be books on sale! And there may be merch! OK, on to this week’s show. With the second leg of the Oasis reunion cashgrab safely behind us, it felt like the right time to tackle something we’ve noticed building all year long – a massive surge of flag-waving, football shirts and indie tribalism across pop and political culture. Is the “Britcore” trend anything more than warmed-over nostalgia for the ‘90s? When and where is it safe to wave an England flag? How did the Ireland flag become a rallying point for right-on indie tribes and politicised youth? Why do we show support for Palestine through football shirts? And a bonus Blobby mention, as is customary. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    52 min
  7. 53: Holly Dicker will be the last hardcore raver standing

    09/11/2025

    53: Holly Dicker will be the last hardcore raver standing

    We all know that hardcore will never die – but do we really know what hardcore is? As a music journalist for 15 years and raver for much longer, Holly Dicker is no stranger to documenting dance music’s heaviest, gnarliest and speediest niches – but in Dance or Die: A History of Hardcore, she attempts to finally answer that big question. From the pioneering hardware assault developed in Frankfurt and Berlin, to London’s grubbiest squat raves, Dutch intercity gabber rivalries and Scotland’s ‘tartan techno’ explosion, Dance or Die is a historical map of hardcore in its many forms. Holly dials in from – where else? – Rotterdam to talk us through the crucial rave tales collected in her book, as well as revealing her personal history with hardcore and offering her thoughts on where the scene went wrong post-Covid. Feeling like a hardcore Taganista? Help the pod by giving us a (good!) rating on your podcast app of choice, leaving a review over at Apple Podcasts, or liking this post on Substack. You can also subscribe to our paid tier for £5 per month and become a member of our own NT Hard Crew. Thanks to this month’s new subscribers! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 47m
  8. 52: Will the AI slopwave ruin music for good?

    08/28/2025

    52: Will the AI slopwave ruin music for good?

    We all know what happened to the sorcerer’s apprentice, right? Mickey Mouse got hold of a spell book before he was smart enough to use it, conjured a broom that just wouldn’t quit, and nearly got sucked into a whirlpool. Yet, tragically, no one can remember what the moral of this story was supposed to be! This week we batten down the hatches in preparation for the #slopwave – at least, that was the plan a couple of months ago when we first started worrying about the volume of mass-produced AI gibberish coming down the pipes. Now it kinda feels too late? Like microplastics in the brain, we’re already compromised. Still, we start by tackling the current wave of AI slop infiltrating country music, the lo-fi beat scene, City Pop and faux-vintage soul before turning to deeper conundrums about AI-generated art. Could an AI music app like Suno ever produce a hit? Is Suno really so much worse than using a loop library like Splice? And will AI ever create anything as meaningful as Mr Blobby? These questions and more on a slopulent edition of No Tags. We’re not pretending to be experts here – just listen to that new No Tags theme song for proof! – so we’d love to hear from people who either work in AI or operate in a field that’s started to feel the slop. If that’s you, drop us an email or a comment. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 20m
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4.7
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About

No Tags is a podcast and newsletter from Chal Ravens and Tom Lea chronicling underground music culture. notagspodcast.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Chal Ravens & Tom Lea
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © No Tags
  • Show Website
    No Tags

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