Ghost Town: Then & Now – From The Specials to Lankum
Four decades after The Specials captured Britain’s collapse, Irish folk collective Lankum have reimagined Ghost Town transforming it into a haunting reflection of modern Ireland.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we trace Ghost Town’s journey from 1981’s Two-Tone rebellion to today’s Dublin exploring how music becomes a document of its time, from racial tension and working-class despair in Thatcher’s Britain to housing crises and far-right unrest in Ireland today.
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Rosalía “Berghain”: When Pain Becomes Art
In Berghain, Rosalía turns heartbreak into ritual. Set against the cultural backdrop of Berlin’s legendary club and her Catalan roots, this episode of The Last Mixed Tape examines how she translates loss into performance using sound, body, and movement to reclaim freedom.We look at how Berghain continues the evolution of Motomami, blending vulnerability with power, and how collaborators like Björk and Yves Tumor expand its emotional and symbolic depth. Through grief, Rosalía reinvents herself and in doing so, redefines what pop music can be.
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Róisín Murphy and the Fragility of Allyship
Róisín Murphy was once celebrated as a queer icon, a voice that echoed through the very clubs and communities that made her career. But her recent comments, and past posts, about trans people have shaken that bond to its core.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White explores how an artist so deeply embraced by queer culture could turn against it, what that says about allyship, and why this moment matters far beyond one tweet.
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Why the Right and Record Labels Want to Replace Artists with AI
AI music is about control. From record labels chasing profit to right-wing culture warriors pushing “neutral” art, this is the plan to replace real artists with machines.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White explores how the rise of AI in music is being weaponised by both corporate and political forces. Why are record labels and conservative commentators so interested in a world without artists? And what does that mean for creativity, culture, and control?
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House of Guinness: How the Soundtrack Saved It
Netflix’s new series House of Guinness has been slammed by Irish critics for its stereotypes and shallow storytelling. But there’s one part of the show that works the soundtrack. Featuring artists like Fontaines D.C., Kneecap, Lankum, Lisa O’Neill, and The Mary Wallopers, the music captures the rebellious poetry of Ireland far better than the drama itself.In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen explores how the soundtrack dismantles the very caricatures the show indulges in, and why modern Irish music has become a cultural reclamation in its own right.
Ireland