Mad Tunes: Music, Emotions & Mental Health Rai Waddingham

In this week’s episode I’m trying something a little different. Rather than invite a guest to share their tunes, I’m marking my fifth episode by reflecting on my own songwriting journey. I explore how writing a cappella songs to the rhythm of my footsteps helped me process some of the traumas I had survived whilst allowing the deeper meanings to remain hidden in plain sight. I simply didn’t, fully, know what I was writing about. I talk about how this world has, often, been painful to live in … whilst the connections I have found (in activism and in my relationships) are something that grounds me and helps me keep breathing. Throughout it all, I keep coming back to a sense of strength and vulnerability - and how music allows me to show both sides at once.
Songs featured in this episode written and performed by Rai Waddingham
Breathe Tonight
Spiders
Feels Like Home
Hear more from Rai
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/raiwaddingham
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/raiwaddingham

Website: https://www.behindthelabel.co.uk
Mad Tunes on twitter: https://twitter.com/madtunespodcast 

In this week’s episode I’m joined by Gemma Kirk as we listen to songs from her indie-folk band - Lost Chimes. Having first met in Sheffield, we talk about how she got in to songwriting and found her voice. We explore how, sometimes, painful (and, sometimes, abusive) relationships can weave in and around more upbeat songs and how - ultimately - life is messy and all we can do is live it and try to learn as we go. We talk life, death and growing confidence. We share thoughts on how it is to find oneself as a woman in rock music and some of the people who touch our lives and how we are richer for it. Gemma describes her album as a big hug and, having spoken with her, I can see why.
Songs featured in this episode:
All songs from Lost Chimes, released May 3, 2021. Recorded with long-term collaborator and engineer, the late John Hannon, (Understand, Liberez, No Recording) in Rayleigh, Essex. 
Island:
Gemma Kirk - music, lyrics
Nicky Kirk - music
Richard Nicholls - bass guitar
Didn’t I Say:
Gemma Kirk - music, lyrics
Nicky Kirk - music, lyrics
Voices:
Gemma Kirk - music, lyrics
Nicky Kirk - music
John Hannon - violin
Richard Nicholls - bass guitar
Hear more from Lost Chimes:

Bandcamp: https://lostchimes.bandcamp.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LostChimes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lostchimes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lostchimes/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LBVhlkJs8uoMUqkGzrbSz 
Find out more about Rai:
Website: https://www.behindthelabel.co.uk 
Mad Tunes on twitter: https://twitter.com/madtunespodcast 

In this week’s episode I’m joined by Kevin Hewick as we listen to songs from his albums ‘Never Give Up On A Song’ and “Driven by Love, Driven by Hate’. Together, we explore the disconnection of depression and the emotional impact of performing songs that are connected with specific memories. We talk about grief, loss and how these painful and traumatic experiences impacted on his songwriting - moving him to dig deeper. We talk about the joy of writing and performing songs, of entertaining people, and the impact Covid-19 has had on this.
Songs featured in this episode:
A Frozen Tear in a Frozen Pool:
From Never Give Up On A Song on Burning Shed
Lyrics and Music by Kevin Hewick © 2021 
Recorded, Mixed, Edited and Mastered by Adam Ellis 
Kevin Hewick - Guitars and Vocals
David Anderson - Drums
Memory Coma
From Driven By Love, Driven By Hate on Burning Shed

Lyrics and Music by Kevin Hewick © 2017 
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Adam Ellis at Deadline Studios
Kevin Hewick - Guitars and Vocals
Adam Ellis - Mellotron
Jonathan Read - Piano & Trumpet
Hear more from Kevin Hewick:
Bandcamp: https://kevinhewick.bandcamp.com
Burning Shed: https://burningshed.com/store/kevinhewick
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinhewick 
Find out more about Rai:
Website: https://www.behindthelabel.co.uk 
Mad Tunes on twitter: https://twitter.com/madtunespodcast 

In this week’s episode I’m joined by Kenton Hall as we listen to songs from his former band - ist - and his solo project Kenton Hall & The Necessary Measures. We talk about the highs and lows of being a touring musician, filmmaker and human being. We explore songwriting; processing grief; bipolar; hitting rock bottom and finding a way through. Oh, and how the right song can save someone’s life one night - so it’s worth putting the effort in. Art matters. Now living and working without the highs, Kenton challenges the myth of the necessarily tormented creative genius and talks about how he’s finding a sense of balance.
Songs featured in this episode:
The Boy’s Not Right: https://istianity.bandcamp.com/track/the-boys-not-right
Fom Toothpick Bridge, by ist
Kenton Hall 
John McCourt 
Brett Richardson 
Flash 
Produced and Engineered by Jay Burnett 
****
Apologia: https://istianity.bandcamp.com/track/apologia
From King Martha, by ist
Kenton Hall - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals 
John McCourt - Bass, Vocals 
Flash - Drums, Vocals 
Brett Richardson - Bassoon, Conductor, String Arrangements, Vocals 
Jack Bomb - Guitar, Vocals 
Paul Swannell - Piano, Organ 
Kevin Hewick - Vocals 
Gaz Birtles - Sax 
John Barrow - Sax 
Drew Stansall - Sax 
Jon Read - Trumpet 
James Lindsay - Trombone 
Anna Jordan - Piano, Organ 
The Filthmongers' Choir - Vocals 
Na'im Cortazzi - Vocals 
Liam Dullaghan - Guitar, Vocals 
Sophia Marshall - Vocals 
Sarah Louise Collins - Clarinet 
Jody Moore - French Horn 
Strung Out Sisters - String Trio 
Howard Smith - Lap Steel
***
Careful How You Go: https://kentonhallthenecessarymeasures.bandcamp.com/track/careful-how-you-go
By Kenton Hall & The Necessary Measures
Kenton Hall - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Glockenspiel, Percussion, Digital Erhu
Scarlet Hall - Backing Vocals 
John McCourt - Bass 
Brett Richardson - Guitars, Production, Kenton-fixing 
Alan Jenkins - Organ, Backing Vocals 
Chris Ilett - Late night advice and additional vocal arrangements
Song produced by Brett Richardson and Kenton Hall 
Hear more from Kenton Hall:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentonhall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kentonhallauthor 
Blog: https://kentonhall.wordpress.com 
Bisection - A more or less accurate account of bipolar parenting and twin wrangling: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bisection-accurate-account-parenting-wrangling/dp/1913256065 
A Dozen Summers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3533254/ 
Kenton Hall & The Necessary Measures: https://kentonhallthenecessarymeasures.bandcamp.com/
Find out more about Rai:
Website: https://www.behindthelabel.co.uk 

In this week's episode I'm joined by Doll Normal as we listen to tunes from her album 'Dreams' and explore the different ways she has processed a difficult time in her life through songwriting. From the quirky and fun 'Take My Picture' to the intensity of 'That Night', we talk about how songwriting can capture a moment or slice in time ... crystallising both the precious and the painful aspects of our memories. We talk about how choices around the style of the song can make it more or less easy to perform and how - with collaborators - it's possible to hear one's songs differently and fall in love with them all over again. In amongst all this we explore the role of perfectionism and how to tame it, making space to appreciate aspects of a song that bring us pure joy.

Songs featured in this episode:

Take My Picture: https://youtu.be/GSrzuP8MQK4
The Party: https://youtu.be/EjeEcJ8VMmc
That Night: https://youtu.be/g0ZNW5ILaos

Music and Lyrics by Erica Lee Martin (aka Doll Normal)
Mixed + Mastered by Björn Wennerborg for BLR Studios

Hear more from Doll Normal:

Website: https://www.dollnormal.com
Instagram: @doll.normal
Tiktok: @doll.normal
Facebook: @dollnormal
Twitter: @dollnormal

Find out more about Rai:

Website: https://www.behindthelabel.co.uk