Line Noise

Ben Cardew spoke to Krautrock / kosmische hero Michael Rother about Neu!, Harmonia, Kraftwerk and his solo career, taking in creative explosions, musical freedom, the perverse advantage of not having gear, the Neu "!" and whether he is a fan of Stereolab. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

Ben Cardew spoke to Ed Wynne, the leading light behind British psych? prog? ambient? space rock? band Ozric Tentacles, about Todd Rundgren, 43 years of the band, getting advice from George Harrison, a nice shimmery afterglow and more. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

On this week’s Line Noise, Ben Cardew spoke to Mancunian extraordinaire Mike Pickering, a man whose musical history makes ordinary people quake. They spoke about Quando Quango, Factory Records (where Mike signed James), being the resident DJ at the Haçienda in the glory years of rave, making the first British house record (perhaps), forming M People and winning the Mercury Prize, A&Ring Calvin Harris and - most of all - Mike’s new book Manchester Must Dance: A Life of Music, Madness and Moving On Up. is he the best connected man in Manchester? Quite possibly. Line Noise comes to you with the support of Cupra.

The wonderful Olof Dreijer visited the RPS studios to talk about his solo debut album, Loud Bloom, a record of colour, joy and bustling life. We talked about living in Barcelona, aquatic synths, the shadow of The Knife, jazz, click consonants, sci-fi and getting away from the macho forces in dance music. Loud Bloom is released on May 4 and Olof plays Primavera A La Ciutat on June 3. Line Noise is brought to you by Cupra.

Myd returned to Line Noise ahead of his recent Barcelona gig to talk the joys of playing live, tour bus life, his recent album Mydnight and the pain of losing a hard drive. Plus, prepare yourselves for some severe Todd Edwards-spotting. Line Noise comes with the support of Cupra. Photo by Alice Moitié.