Robert Wyatt has been recognised as a prog-rock drummer, jazz composer, avant-garde cornet player, artist and activist in a wheelchair. But, above all else, he has been known by one of the most instantly recognisable and distinctive voices of the last fifty years.
Forever associated with Shipbuilding, Elvis Costello's song written in reaction to the Falklands War, Wyatt's voice and the causes he gives voice to are intricately entwined.
This intimate radio portrait, in his own words, traces Wyatt's journey from the psychedelic excesses of Soft Machine (appearing both with Jimi Hendrix and at the BBC Proms), through the life-changing accident that has confined him to a wheelchair for almost forty years, to recent celebrated musical projects that are reaching new audiences.
Produced by Alan Hall.
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
10 Sept 2014
Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Boardroom
Ten years ago rap superstar Jay-Z was struggling to get a record deal after being spurned by every major label - so he started his own. A decade on, with 20 million CD sales under his belt, he is now a major music industry player, and currently reigns as president of the legendary Def Jam records.
He built on his success with lucrative sidelines in the fashion industry, a chain of bars, his own brand of vodka, and is also part-owner of a professional basketball team. Now some of America's biggest brands are hiring him in hope his business savvy can help them, too.
Finance guru Alvin Hall meets Shawn Carter a.k.a Jay-Z for an in-depth discussion charting the birth of his business empire and rise from the notorious Marcy Projects in Brooklyn to C.E.O’s office, revealing the story of a man who has become a brand in his own right.
This programme was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 2, 2006.
Presenter: Alvin Hall
Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Editor: Tony Phillips
3 Sept 2014
Beat Mining with the Vinyl Hoover
Broadcaster Toby Amies digs into the archives to discover the value and significance of old vinyl.
He uncovers a network of dealers and buyers, supplying a community of 'crate diggers' and 'beat miners' and a world in which samples from records bought for a few pence in a car boot sale can provide the basis for a million-selling hit.
Inside a recent episode
Nina Simone
Published 27 Nov 2013 · Transcript excerpt
[…] She said this, critics started to talk about what sort of music I was playing and try to find a neat slot to file it away in. It was difficult for them because I was playing popular songs in a classical style with a classical piano technique influenced by cocktail jazz. On top of that, I included spirituals and children's songs in my performances. So, saying what sort of music I played gave the critics problems, you must identify with it. Yes, it's wonderful that. It's difficult to place. Well, that's what you need to be. I mean, I think the best artists are very difficult to categorise and they always stay step ahead as well. […]
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