Music Not Diving with Scuba

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

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Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

Sister Bliss is the musical driving force behind one of the biggest dance acts of all time - Faithless.

We discuss her early period as a DJ, linking up with Rollo and launching Cheeky Records from home, meeting the late, great Maxi Jazz and forming Faithless. And of course we get into the hits and the differing process of music making over the years.

This is a great conversation with a true legend of UK music!

00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
03:00 Sister Bliss
05:10 Releasing music now vs then
07:05 Champion sound & the double-album idea
09:15 Invisible gatekeepers
10:35 Forever Free, Maxi & the meaning of freedom
12:10 Vinyl culture & record-shop life
23:30 Early musical influences
29:45 The cassette demo that changed everything
31:10 Camden studios, sushi & late nights
33:00 Meeting Maxi
36:40 DJing, dropping out & taking the leap
41:10 Cheeky Records
48:00 Making the first album
55:30 Making music now: tools, plugins & overload
01:00:40 The future of creativity
01:02:45 Memory, archives & coming full circle

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If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
03:00 Sister Bliss
05:10 Releasing music now vs then
07:05 Champion sound & the double-album idea
09:15 Invisible gatekeepers
10:35 Forever Free, Maxi & the meaning of freedom
12:10 Vinyl culture & record-shop life
23:30 Early musical influences
29:45 The cassette demo that changed everything
31:10 Camden studios, sushi & late nights
33:00 Meeting Maxi
36:40 DJing, dropping out & taking the leap
41:10 Cheeky Records
48:00 Making the first album
55:30 Making music now: tools, plugins & overload
01:00:40 The future of creativity
01:02:45 Memory, archives & coming full circle
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

--
Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

Bugged Out is one of the UK's best-loved and most enduring club brands. From humble beginnings in Manchester, through Sankeys, Cream in Liverpool, fabric and The End in London, right the way through to their enormous 30th birthday at the 15k capacity Drumsheds in London, this is a promotion that has consistently done things right in terms of the music and the vibe.

Johnno Burgess is one of the co-founders, and also the former editor of the legendary Jockey Slut magazine which originally launched the night that became Bugged Out.
We discuss the history of the event with its many successes and occasional failures, the changing landscape over the last 30 years, how they booked Daft Punk for free, and we also get into the golden era of the dance press and how it looks in the current era.

This is a great conversation with a relatively unsung hero of UK dance culture. Get involved!

Grab the new Bugged Out book here

--
If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
02:13 Episode start
02:50 Bugged Out at 30
04:54 Changing fashion on the floor
07:28 The golden age of dance music journalism
12:45 Influencers are the new fanzines
18:08 The birth of Jockey Slut
24:00 From magazine to club night
27:30 The Manchester club scene
30:49 Closure of clubs and pop-up spaces
36:10 Trust and curation
44:12 Nation, Cream and Liverpool
47:20 First Bugged Out Weekender
52:30 Festival curation
55:00 Moving away from Liverpool
59:05 The End - 8 defining years
01:02:00 When clubs started disappearing
01:03:30 Drumsheds, Printworks and mega-rooms
01:05:50 The role of private equity
01:13:00 Highs and lows
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

--
Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

The Sabres Of Paradise were formed in 1992 by Andrew Weatherall, Gary Burns, and our guest on today's episode Jagz Kooner. They burned brightly but briefly, initially disbanding in 1995, but have now reformed (without the late Weatherall) for what Jagz says will be a limited time.

We discuss the story of the Sabres, but also Jagz' wider career which covers a lot of ground as a remixer and producer. And we also get into his thoughts on today's scene, and the changes in music making he's witnessed in four decades making tunes.

This is a good one!

--
If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
02:13 Episode start
02:44 Sabres reunion
08:45 Playing Sydney Opera House
11:38 From seated silence to dancing chaos
13:05 This song changed lives
15:58 Post-Sabres life
17:06 Early DJ roots
21:36 Machines over bands
25:45 A very Jagz birthday
29:24 This machine will change the world
36:02 The bootleg that changed everything
37:30 Andrew Weatherall
45:00 Touring and burnout
47:30 After the split
50:00 Producing for others
59:30 Legacy and influence
01:03:00 The meaning of the reunion
01:07:00 Honouring Andrew Weatherall
01:11:00 Looking forward
01:15:00 Advice for young producers
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

--
Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

This is a re-up of a podcast we released in mid-2023 which sought to set the table for what was then the coming debate on AI in music and the wider socio-economic world.
It's worth returning to because it covers the big issues that I anticipate will be covered on the podcast this coming year, and takes a look at some of the initial intuitions coming into this highly weird period of human history.

This stuff isn't going anywhere, and it poses serious questions for what the music industry is for. What are musicians doing making music in this environment? What's the purpose of music in of itself?

These are questions I have been asking myself over the last few weeks, and there are no easy answers...

--
If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
02:30 AI in music and art
12:20 Possible developments
17:13 Ethics in art
22:21 Music's cultural decline
27:06 The capitalist bogeyman
29:35 Identity vs music
43:21 Is all this just moaning?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!

--
Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving

A review of some of the stuff that happened in the Year of Our Lord, 2025.

Percy Digs instagram as mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/percydigs?igsh=MXM3OGJ0OW9rZDMzbA==

All other links and more info on this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/best-of-2025-147063099

--
If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
02:50 Track of the year
04:45 Conclusions of the year
15:20 Album of the year
18:46 Book (fiction)
22:00 Book (nonfiction)
25:14 Podcast episode
26:47 Nightclub
30:02 Forgotten Hard Rock album
33:06 Best gig
36:56 Streaming platform
40:25 Worst album of the year
41:23 Worst track of the year
42:00 Coming up in 2026
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.