the UK's leading spoken word record label
this year’s Black History Month special saw Salena Godden and Matt Abbott welcome Rick Dove and Tice Cin into the Soho Radio studio. originally broadcast on Saturday 22 October, it’s now available in full as a podcast.
if you can’t find it in the usual places, it’s on the Roaring 20s Radio Anchor page here!
April’s installment saw Amah Rose Abrams chatting to artist Rory Pilgrim & curator Amal Khalaf, plus Matt Abbott chatting to Nymphs & Thugs’ latest signing Stephen James Smith.
You should be able to find it wherever you usually listen to podcasts, but if not, it’s available alongside all other previous episodes on our Anchor.fm page. We’ll be back with Episode 28 on Saturday 7 May. Enjoy!
After weeks of anticipation, Stephen James Smith’s début album ‘See No Evil’ is finally out in the world for you to stream and download at your leisure. And as I type this (on 1 April), it’s another #BandcampFriday, which means that even more of the sales income goes straight to the artist.
The album was described as, “fearlessly refreshing” by Hotpress and was given 4/5 by Business Post. We think it’s an absolute beauty and urge you to check it out as soon as you can. It’s available in all of the usual places, but as always, our Bandcamp page is best.
You can catch Stephen on the road soon, with Ireland & UK tour dates on sale here. Huge thanks to everybody that’s already bought and shared the album. Please continue to spread the love! All the best and enjoy…
This month’s episode of Roaring 20s Radio was an International Women’s Day special! We were joined in the Soho Radio studio by poets Violet Malice and The Repeat Beat Poet. You should be able to find it wherever you usually listen to your podcasts, but if not, it’s on our Anchor.fm site here. Enjoy…
Last night, I was joined by Jonathan Kinsman for the 50th and final Insta session. It still hasn’t properly sunk in that there won’t be any more. And as I’ve said a few times, these sessions have been a real crutch for me since the pandemic struck.
Like most people, I disappeared into a bit of a shell when Lockdown 1.0 was first announced towards the end of March 2020. I wasn’t sure how to respond as a human being, let alone as a record label boss. But during April, I decided that we’d combine our first-ever virtual event with the label’s 5th birthday – seeing all of the acts performing on the same bill for the very first time.
The event took place on 29 April, which was supposed to be the date of our LIVEwire Colchester event. It felt so good that I decided to start a regular event off the back of it, and dreamt up the format for relaxed 30-minute weekly ‘Insta sessions’. I approached Nafeesa Hamid to do the first session, she agreed, and we were off.
This month we welcomed Gemma Rogers to be our live guest in the Soho Radio studio! You should be able to find it wherever you usually listen to podcasts, but if not, it’s available here.
Thanks as always to everybody that listened live! We’re back with Episode 21 on Saturday 31 July.
Since the beginning of May 2020, we’ve hosted (almost) weekly Insta sessions with guests from all over the UK and further afield. These relaxed 30-minute sessions have blended performance with insightful conversations from leading and emerging poets.
For our 50th and FINAL SESSION, we welcome Jonathan Kinsman! Jonathan is a trans poet from Manchester. Raised Church of England and with a background in theological study, he lives his life marrying his spirituality and their sexuality.
As well as being founding editor of Riggwelter Press and associate editor of Three Drops From a Cauldron, he is also a BBC Edinburgh Fringe Slam finalist. He received a distinction for his MA in Creative Writing at the University of Sheffield. His début pamphlet & was joint-winner of the Indigo Dreams Pamphlet Prize 2017 and his second, witness, was published by Burning Eye in 2020.
In his latest monthly spoken word column for The State of the Arts, Matt Abbott argues that poetry from Gaza would be far more beneficial in the classroom than poetry from 2018. You can read the column here.
Since the beginning of May 2020, we’ve been hosting weekly Insta sessions with guests from all over the UK and further afield. These relaxed 30-minute sessions blend performance with insightful conversations from leading and emerging poets.
Up next, we welcome Mohammed Moussa! Mohammed is the founder of Gaza Poets Society, host of the Gaza Guy podcast, and a freelance journalist.
Nymphs & Thugs 