Barbican Contemporary Podcast

Meet eleven-time DownBeat Male Vocalist of the Year and Grammy Award winner, Kurt Elling, as we approach his imminent Barbican appearance with Richard Galliano and the Scottish Natinal Jazz Orchestra on Mon 14 Mar. Van Der Graaf Generator founding member Peter Hammill talks about the origins of the 'coolest, strangest band in prog' (Uncut) and the new material part of their second album as a trio, A Grounding in Numbers. Plus Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan stars in the Motown hits-packed musical The Sapphires, coming to the Barbican Theatre from 2 - 12 Mar.

Patterson Hood from alt-country band Drive-By Truckers introduces the documentary about the band and their deep American South, The Secret To A Happy Ending. Joan Wasser reveals the reason behind her music persona's peculiar name, Joan as Police Woman, and talks about her fantastic collaborations and New York. Plus, Brinsley Forde from legendary reggae group Aswad introduces Reggae Britannia and tells us about making reggae music in the UK in the 1970s. And last but not least, Gabby Young on her circus-swing, her training as an Opera singer and a live acoustic performance of 'Male version of Me'!

NME Album of the Year 2010 winners These New Puritans feature in our recap of the year 2010 in podcasts. From legendary revolutionary artist Emory Douglas and his Black Panthers, to the charismatic Kid Creole, plus Scandinavian duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums and AfroCubism producer Nick Gold, this has been a very eclectic year - as always - and featuring some of the biggest events in music. To listen to the full interviews, check out the set with all the 2010 podcasts at http://snd.sc/frOblm. Thank you for listening and see you in 2011!!

World Circuit producer Nick Gold on Afrocubism - the original idea which became Buena Vista Social Club in a first instance. Plus Paloma Faith and Guy Barker (courtesy of BBC Radio 2 and Cheltenham Jazz Festival) talk about their sold out concert in December, Down at the End of Lonely Street; and the incredibly talented China Moses talks about the opening gala concert of the 2011 London Jazz Festival.

Metronomy open the celebrations for the 10th Bicycle Film Festival on October 14th. Ben Eshmade chats with Jack Barnett from These New Puritans about their music influences, the making of their ambitious album Hidden, and their live performance @ the Barbican on 23 Oct with the Britten Sinfonia. Plus, Michael Rother from the legendary German group NEU!, which influenced and have been lauded by David Bowie, Hawkwind, Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, U2, Wilco, Primal Scream, and many others. He explains how NEU!'s sound didn't actually involve any synthesizers at the beginning, and talks about their "action painting" approach to creating music.

Exclusive interview with Emory Douglas - the revolutionary artist who was Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1967 until the late 1970s - in this month's podcast. The iconic visuals of Emory Douglas feature in the tribute concert to the Black Panthers on Sat 11 Sep, which sees the legendary hip-hop band The Roots join forces with The Last Poets, members of Living Colour and Doctor L, directed by free jazz saxophonist David Murray. Plus a new feature about our Transcender festival (15-17 Sep), with Jeff Buckley collaborator, Grammy-nominated guitarist (and amateur magician...) Gary Lucas interviewed by Ben Eshmade together with Najma Akhtar about their new album and live set Rishte (17 Sep, LSO St Luke's); and producer/Iceland's Bedroom Community label boss Valgeir Sigurdsson talks about The Whale Watching Tour at the Barbican on 27 September.

In the last edition of this year's Blaze festival podcasts, we catch up with alt country troubadour Howe Gelb from Tucson, Arizona - performing in the Barbican Hall on 22 Jul with Giant Sand, featuring Kristin Hersh and Howe Gelb and A Band Of Gypsies. Plus a preview of our Autumn series of transcendental and spiritual music from across the globe, Transcender, with Songlines Magazine's Editor, Simon Broughton; and a short chat with New York based Asphalt Orchestra, who played at Dance Nations Dalston on 4 Jul.

Reggae legend Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert talks with Ben Eshmade about life on the road and his beginnings. Plus Brazil's brightest new star, CeU, and Bogota's Bomba Estereo show us what to expect from their double-bill concert at Hackney Empire on 15 Jul. Blaze is in full swing, so why don't you let us know if you have enjoyed the Blaze gigs so far, sending us comments, photos and videos through the "Tell us what you think" page on www.barbican.org.uk/blaze. Don't miss the chance to win a pair of tickets to see CeU and Bomba Estereo at Hackney Empire! Listen to the podcast, and get involved with the competition. Plus music, music, music!

Munich-based Out|Here Records founder Jay Rutledge talks about Mali's dazzling ngoni virtuoso - and recently signed by Sub Pop Records for his critically acclaimed album 'I Speak Fula' ('A contender for African album of the year.' Uncut), Bassekou Kouyate and the ancestors of banjo and blues. Plus one of the most sought after drummers of his generation, Seb Rochford, presents his jazz ensemble Polar Bear, playing a free gig in East London's Gillett Square on 3 Jul as part of Blaze's Dance Nations Dalston weekend.

Win tickets to see Quantic on 24 Jun and find out more about genre-bending contemporary classical ensemble Alarm Will Sound and Will "Quantic" Holland and his new Colombian project rich of deep funk and soul. Find out more at www.barbican.org.uk/blaze.

Featuring Toumani Diabaté, Vinicius Cantuaria, Guy Barker, Wildbrids & Peacedrums and Head of Creative Learning at the Barbican, Sean Gregory, on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the Barbican and Hackney Empire in June - and how you can get involved with the best jazz on the planet.

Spring is here! And what's hotter than La Linea – The London Latin Music Festival? The Barbican hosts two events part of La Linea (Kid Creole and The Coconuts on 21 Apr followed by Horse Meat Disco on the Clubstage and Viva El Mariachi! on 26 Apr) – plus Grammy-winning artist Angelique Kidjo (16 May) and Nancy Elizabeth talks about her special collaboration with Hauschka and James Blackshaw for Kept Impulses on 10 May.

A star-studded podcast this month, with Lady Day's world-class jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater on her tribute to Billie Holiday at the Barbican, Nico Muhly and the Icelandic whales, Laurie Anderson on her new multimedia performance in the Barbican Theatre opening April 14th and Australian cult-band The Triffids. Plus exclusive snapshots of London and tweets directly from Songs in the Key of London on March 9th - the legendary Elvis Costello was the secret special guest on the night!

Ben Eshmade meets Nitin Sawhney in his new studio in Brixton, before moving to Clapton to talk with Portico Quartet about their Barbican debut. Plus Chris Difford introduces his Songs in the Key of London and talks about his favourite places, smells and memories in London.

Ben Eshmade meets Nitin Sawhney in his new studio in Brixton, before moving to Clapton to talk with Portico Quartet about their Barbican debut. Plus Chris Difford introduces his Songs in the Key of London and talks about his favourite places, smells and memories in London.