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Talk the Line

Talk the Line

By The Line of Best Fit

In Talk the Line our favourite bands and celebs talk about their secret - and not so secret - fascinations, passions and obsessions with host Jen Long. The podcast is brought to you by The Line of Best Fit - the UK's biggest independent website for music discovery.
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Shura on time, space and the movie Interstellar

Talk the LineApr 18, 2017

00:00
53:12
Beverly Glenn-Copeland on singing the day

Beverly Glenn-Copeland on singing the day

Beverly Glenn-Copeland talks to Jen Long about how singing the day helps him through the pandemic.

The reissue of Glenn-Copeland's 1986 masterpiece, Keyboard Fantasies is out now via Transgressive, marking the 35th anniversary of its original release and features restored original artwork and liner notes by Robyn.

Apr 30, 202120:35
Dodie on knitting

Dodie on knitting

Dodie talks to Jen Long about how knitting helped her through the lockdowns. Her debut album Build A Problem is released on 7 May 2021.

Apr 23, 202123:49
Royal Blood's Mike Kerr on finding a path to wellbeing during lockdown

Royal Blood's Mike Kerr on finding a path to wellbeing during lockdown

Two years sober, Royal Blood vocalist talks to Jen Long about a cleaner way of living during the pandemic. The band's new album Typhoons is released on 30 April 20201.

Apr 16, 202127:09
RAYE on jigsaw puzzles

RAYE on jigsaw puzzles

23-year-old South London-born singer and songwriter Raye talks about discovering a passion for jigsaw puzzles during the pandemic. RAYE's new mini-album Euphoric Sad Songs is out now and her new single with Joel Corry and David Guetta "Bed" has just hit gone top five in the UK Official Charts.

Apr 09, 202125:25
Alex the Astronaut on the joys of TV shows

Alex the Astronaut on the joys of TV shows

Australian singer/songwriter Alexandra Lynn - better known to her fans as Alex the Astronaut speaks to Jen Long about losing herself in tv shows during the pandemic for this episode of Talk The Line. Alex's debut album The Theory of Absolutely Nothing was released summer.

Apr 02, 202129:20
Fran Healy on directing

Fran Healy on directing

Travis frontman Fran Healy speaks to Jen Long from his LA home about leaning into his love of directing videos during lockdown for this episode of Talk The Line. Travis’ new album 10 Songs is out now on BMG and their debut album Good Feeling is being reissued on vinyl for the first time on  2 April.

Mar 26, 202121:22
JP Saxe on Bananagrams

JP Saxe on Bananagrams

Grammy-nominated Canadian musician and singer-songwriter tells Jen Long how Bananagrams helped him survive the pandemic.

Mar 19, 202125:01
Julien Baker on trail running

Julien Baker on trail running

Tennessee-born 25-year-old singer/songwriter Julien Baker just dropped her third album Little Oblivions and on this episode she talks to Jen Long about trail running.

Mar 11, 202130:43
Lava La Rue on visual arts

Lava La Rue on visual arts

As the founding member of the NiNE8 collective, musician, singer and artist Lava La Rue has curated incredible projects across the worlds of art, music and fashion, as well as establishing her own solo career with debut single "Widdit", and this year's Butter-Fly EP. She joins host Jen Long on this episode of Talk the Line to talk about creating art during the pandemic.

Mar 05, 202123:22
Tom Jones and the art of reimagination

Tom Jones and the art of reimagination

Sir Tom Jones talks to Jen Long about the artists and songs that inspired him on new record Surrounded By Time, and his approach to re-imagining those tracks for a whole new audience.

Feb 25, 202129:59
Tancred's Jess on her passion for Harry Potter

Tancred's Jess on her passion for Harry Potter

In the final episode of our first season, Jess Abbott from Tancred talks to host Jen Long about a shared passion: the world of Harry Potter.

Dec 24, 201832:08
The Sugarcubes's Einar Örn talks about whispers

The Sugarcubes's Einar Örn talks about whispers

Einar Örn has been famously described as the first punk in Iceland. He played alongside Björk in in the early 80s anarcho-punk outfit Kukl before joining her as a founding member of The Sugarcubes. In recent years he's collaborated with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz as well as making music under his Ghostigital project, and he's also a renowned artist. We talk to him in a special episode recorded in Reykjaviík about....whispers!

Dec 24, 201831:30
The Sugarcubes' Sigtryggur Baldursson on why climate change matters above all else

The Sugarcubes' Sigtryggur Baldursson on why climate change matters above all else

Sigtryggur Baldursson - a founding member of The Sugarcubes alongside Björk - and key figure in the Iceland music scene over four decades - tells us about his concerns for the planet in a special podcast recorded at this year's Iceland Airwaves festival.

Dec 21, 201833:07
Milkywhale's Melkorka on entrepreneurialism

Milkywhale's Melkorka on entrepreneurialism

Milkywhale was born out of a performative project for dance school and has become one of Iceland's most inventive pop artists. Today’s we’re talking to one half of the duo, Melkorka Magnusdottir, about entrepreneurialism.

Nov 29, 201829:40
Musician, visual artist and Múm vocalist Sigurlaug Gisladóttir - aka Mr. Silla - on her love of anime

Musician, visual artist and Múm vocalist Sigurlaug Gisladóttir - aka Mr. Silla - on her love of anime

Musician, visual artist and former Múm vocalist Sigurlaug Gisladóttir has been a mainstay of the tightly-knit Icelandic music scene for more than a decade - much of that as part of solo-project-come-collective Mr. Silla. In a special podcast recorded at Iceland Airwaves, she tells us about her love of anime.

Nov 16, 201826:53
Jim White on his passion for finding old things

Jim White on his passion for finding old things

DIY outlier musician Jim White tells us about his passion for finding old things in a special podcast recorded at this year's End of the Road Festival.

Oct 29, 201833:01
Alessia Cara on growing pains and the awkwardness of adolescence

Alessia Cara on growing pains and the awkwardness of adolescence

Canadian popstar and singer/songwriter Alessia Cara talks about the awkwardness of adolescence.

Oct 16, 201828:26
Japanese Breakfast's Michelle on her love of Korean food

Japanese Breakfast's Michelle on her love of Korean food

Michelle Zauner - aka Philadelphia pop experimentalist Japanese Breakfast - talks about her love of Korean food to host Jen Long.

Oct 03, 201826:03
Ritzy from The Joy Formidable talks about living in Utah

Ritzy from The Joy Formidable talks about living in Utah

Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan from Welsh rockers The Joy Formidable talks about her experiences of living in Utah. 

Sep 19, 201837:50
Samm Henshaw and his favourite comic book adaptations

Samm Henshaw and his favourite comic book adaptations

Rising R&B star and comic book obsessive Samm Henshaw chats to Jen Long about how his favourite books have made it to the big and small screens.
Sep 04, 201835:55
Interpol's Paul Banks explains the noble art of boxing

Interpol's Paul Banks explains the noble art of boxing

Interpol frontman Paul Banks explains the noble art of boxing to Jen Long. The band's sixth album Marauder is released on 24 August via Matador.

Aug 21, 201831:24
Miles Kane and his passion for WWE - American Wrestling

Miles Kane and his passion for WWE - American Wrestling

Miles Kane joins presenter Jen Long to explore his passion for WWE - American Wrestling.

With a career stretching back to his mid-teens, Kane's been one of indie rock's most prolific collaborators - notably as part of The Last Shadow Puppets, the band he formed with Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys. This year he releases Coup De Grace - only his third solo album - which is named for a wrestling move made famous by Finn Balor. Balor also appears in Kane's recent video for "Cry on My Guitar".

Aug 06, 201830:28
Mikky Ekko explains how to have lucid dreams
Jul 20, 201844:12
Alec from Clap Your Hands Say Yeh and his love of the Spanish premier football league

Alec from Clap Your Hands Say Yeh and his love of the Spanish premier football league

Alec Ounsworth is the Pennsylvania-born frontman of Clap Your Hands Say Yeh, one of the most loved US indie bands of the last decade thanks largely to their self-titled 2005 debut and its follow up Some Loud Thunder. The band’s most recent album The Tourist came together after a period of reflection and was lyrically inspired by the likes of Elvis Costello and Paul Simon. As the football World Cup comes to a close, we're talking to Alec about his love of La Liga - the Spanish premier football league.

Jul 13, 201840:52
Tom Grennan on the World Cup and why football's coming home

Tom Grennan on the World Cup and why football's coming home

Rising star Tom Grennan tells us why football's coming home this year as we explore the unique appeal of the World Cup.
Jul 06, 201840:38
Lucy Rose and the joys of being boring

Lucy Rose and the joys of being boring

British singer/songwriter Lucy Rose tells us about the joys of being boring.
Jun 29, 201848:22
Kevin from Two Door Cinema Club on Northern Ireland and The Troubles

Kevin from Two Door Cinema Club on Northern Ireland and The Troubles

Kevin Baird is a founding member of Two Door Cinema Club, probably the most successful rock band to ever come out of Northern Ireland. The three members of Two Door met as teenagers in Bangor and made their TV debut at the age of sixteen on a BBC TV music talent show - where they came last. 

In 2007 they conquered social media and chose music over University, releasing their debut EP Four Words to Stand On, the following year. Two Door have had massive success across the world with three massive-selling albums including their platinum-debut Tourist History.

Kevin's talking to us today about his fascination with a difficult period for his country.

Jun 22, 201853:15
Stella Donnelly explains the menstrual cycle

Stella Donnelly explains the menstrual cycle

Stella Donnelly was born and raised in Wales before moving to Australia at the age of ten. Fifteen years later she's one of her adopted country's brightest musical hopes, abandoning her plans to study social work at University in favour of signing to legendary indie label Secretly Canadian.

Stellla is an honest and confrontational lyricist, with signature track "Boys Will Be Boys" addressing victim blaming and written to the rapist of her friend. It features on Stella's debut EP -which gets a reissue this month - and was originally put out on Melbourne's Healthy Tapes label last year, selling out four cassette pressings.

We're talking to Stella today about her fascination with the menstrual cycle.

Jun 15, 201839:04
The Hold Steady's Craig Finn on why baseball is the only sport that matters

The Hold Steady's Craig Finn on why baseball is the only sport that matters

Minnesota-born Craig Finn is the frontman of The Hold Steady and as a huge baseball fan has never been shy about his support for hometown team the Minnesota Twins, even penning a fight song for them back in 2010 - and today we're talking to him about why it's the only sport that matters to him.
Jun 08, 201840:58
Chris and Keith from We Are Scientists explain the appeal of Jack Reacher

Chris and Keith from We Are Scientists explain the appeal of Jack Reacher

Chris and Keith from We Are Scientists go deep in chat on their literary obsession: Jack Reacher, the fictional character created by British author Lee Child.

Jun 01, 201859:15
Neko Case and why she's inspired by the warrior women of history

Neko Case and why she's inspired by the warrior women of history

Legendary singer and performer Neko Case tells us why she's inspired by the warrior women of history.
May 25, 201842:32
Harry from Peace on how he found a new life through meditation and yoga

Harry from Peace on how he found a new life through meditation and yoga

Harry Koisser, the frontman of Peace, used to embrace the lifestyle of a metropolitan rockstar but when Peace relocated to a farmhouse in the middle of a forest miles away from civilisation to write their new record Kindness Is the New Rock and Roll, he underwent a personal transformation. Newly sober, his creativity has been revolutionised by practising meditation and yoga and that's what we're talking about today.

May 18, 201840:29
Tove Styrke on the concept of personality

Tove Styrke on the concept of personality

Swedish pop star Tove Styrke tells us about her fascination with personality.
May 10, 201842:03
Max Richter on his fascination with Haruki Murakami

Max Richter on his fascination with Haruki Murakami

Max Richer - one of the first composers to combine classical and electronic elements with a post rock sensibility – tells us out one of his favourite writers, the Japanese-born Haruki Murakami.
May 04, 201846:12
Andrew W.K. explains why partying hard became his life philosophy

Andrew W.K. explains why partying hard became his life philosophy

Partying hard remains integral to everything California-born legendary Andrew W.K. does - he’s built a life philosophy around it – and (of course) that’s what we’re talking to Andrew about today for our fiftieth episode!
Apr 27, 201847:16
Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor and his obsession with Vuokko Nurmesniemi , the creator of Marimekko's iconic Jokapoika shirt

Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor and his obsession with Vuokko Nurmesniemi , the creator of Marimekko's iconic Jokapoika shirt

Alexis Taylor, the co-founder of the legendary Hot Chip is obsessed with Finnish-born Vuokko Nurmesniemi , the creator of Marimekko's iconic Jokapoika shirt.

Apr 20, 201851:33
Jamz Supernova takes up deep into the Shondaverse

Jamz Supernova takes up deep into the Shondaverse

South East London-born DJ and presenter Jamz Supernova is a TV boxset junkie and for this episode of Talk The Line we're discussing the work of Shonda Rhimes, the hugely influential television producer, screenwriter, and author who created shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Scandal - affectionally known as the Shondaverse!
Apr 13, 201842:56
The Vaccines' Justin explores the relationship between running and mental health

The Vaccines' Justin explores the relationship between running and mental health

The Vaccines singer Justin explores the relationship between running and mental health.

Apr 06, 201839:35
Kate Nash on why Buffy The Vampire Slayer is so important to her
Mar 30, 201857:54
Lissie explains the art of beekeeping
Mar 23, 201844:21
Tracey Thorn on the long walks she takes around her hometown of London

Tracey Thorn on the long walks she takes around her hometown of London

Across four decades Tracey Thorn's songs and writing have offered up a clear-eyed woman’s view of the immediate world around her; from the acerbic teen love songs of her first early-eighties band Marine Girls, through sixteen years as one half of articulate multi-million-selling duo Everything But The Girl to her recent acclaimed memoirs and journalism.

This year she released her first solo album of entirely original material for seven years, titled "Record". Tracey has described the album as "nine feminist bangers" and it includes collaborations with the likes of Warpaint, Shura and Corinne Bailey Rae. She says that "Record’ represents that sense of liberation that comes in the aftermath, from embarking on a whole new 'no fucks given' phase of life."

In this episode of Talk The Line, Tracey tells Jen Long about the long walks she takes around her hometown of London.

Mar 16, 201842:34
Spector's Fred Macpherson tells the history of Pizza Express
Mar 09, 201853:54
Emily from The Staves on fantasy fiction and His Dark Materials
Mar 02, 201855:50
Fischerspooner's Casey on the links between food and memory
Feb 23, 201838:53
JFDR and her obsession with matcha

JFDR and her obsession with matcha

Jófríður Ákadóttir - one of Iceland's most talented and productive young musicians tell us about her obsession with matcha, against the backdrop of Kumiko, a teahouse in the hip Grandi area of Reykjavík.
Feb 17, 201842:20
Káryyn on meditation

Káryyn on meditation

Multi-disciplinary artist, electronic musician, vocalist and producer Káryyn tells us about how the importance of meditation in her life. 

Feb 09, 201843:50
Kojey Radical and his passion for mixed martial arts

Kojey Radical and his passion for mixed martial arts

London-based rapper and poet Kojey Radical tells us in detail about his passion for mixed martial arts.

Feb 02, 201847:52
Dream Wife's Rakel on monsters, spirits, elves, trolls and the Icelandic art of storytelling

Dream Wife's Rakel on monsters, spirits, elves, trolls and the Icelandic art of storytelling

Punk trio Dream Wife came together while they were studying visual arts at Brighton University, with roommates Rakel and Bella roping in fellow student Alice to create a fake girl band for a course project.

Of course the fake band proved to be something of real substance and soon Dream Wife were putting on some of the best live shows around and recording tracks like their signature anthem "Somebody", inspired by the SlutWalk, the grassroots protest march that calls for an end to rape culture.

Dream Wife also collaborate with the Girls Against campaign, which was formed by three teenage girls to raise awareness of, and reduce sexual harassment at gigs and concerts. At their concerts they make sure there's an even footing between performers and audience and they on a mission to support women taking up space at shows. 

Icelandic-born and California raised Rakel Mjöll is Dream Wife's singer and was already a veteran of the Reykjavík music and arts scene before she headed to the UK to study. She's sung with bands such as Útidúr, Sykur and Halleluwah and comes from a highly creative family of that includes her uncle Ragnar Kjartansson — the famed performance artist. 

As Rakel tells us, Icelanders are incredibly protective and proud of their culture and past which is rich in tales of monsters, spirits, elves and trolls. This is shown through their passionate storytelling, which has occupied a central place in Icelandic history since the first settlers from Norway and the British Isles reached the island in the late 9th and early 10th century. 

Catch up with our earlier shows by subscribing on Apple Podcasts with this link: bestf.it/talktheline

Jan 26, 201847:16
Marika Hackman and her favourite condiments
Jan 19, 201830:51
Metronomy's Joe Mount and his fascination with architecture
Jan 12, 201837:57