Artwork for Headliner Radio
Music

Headliner Radio

Headliner

This is a music podcast which explores the creative process. We chat to artists of all levels, from aspiring and emerging talent to international stars, to find more about how they make their music. Check us out on Insta @emergingheadliner, FB and Twitter @headlinerhub and hashtag #headlinerradio

  • 1,263 episodes
  • Updated Thursday

Episodes1263

  • March 31 · 59 min

    In The Box E29: Hildur Guðnadóttir: Scoring The Bride

    Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir went from releasing indie-classical solo cello albums, to becoming an awards-magnet film composer, with BAFTAs, GRAMMYs, and an Academy Award for her score to the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker to her name. She calls 2026 her ‘monster’ year, which has seen her score 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and the Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed The Bride. She chats to Headliner about working on these idiosyncratic films back to back, her long-awaited upcoming return to the stage this year, and why Cubase is key to her work.

  • March 30 · 41 min

    E455: Benjamin Wallfisch: Scoring Welcome to Derry

    After a musical upbringing that was staunchly classical, Benjamin Wallfisch has married his Bach-influenced skillset with a love of music technology to become one of Hollywood’s go-to composers. After a huge breakthrough working on Blade Runner: 2049 alongside a certain Hans Zimmer, huge jobs kept rolling in, including Shazam!, It and It Chapter Two, Twisters, and Alien: Romulus. The composer discusses scoring Welcome to Derry and Predator Badlands, and pivoting from pursuing orchestral conducting to making music for movies.

  • March 30 · 32 min

    Emerging Headliner E50: Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys: Pale Bloom

    Born in South Africa, Lucy Kruger relocated to Berlin to pursue her ambitions for her band, The Lost Boys, an indie art-pop outfit that is lavished with guitar feedback, violas, sparse arrangements, and haunting melodies. Releasing music since 2014, she chats to Headliner about new album Pale Bloom.

  • March 19 · 33 min

    Emerging Headliner E49: Moody Joody: Meet the trio behind OOPS!

    Moody Joody’s new single, OOPS!, is the perfect soundtrack to your next wild night out – and next morning hangxiety. The Nashville trio discuss writing OOPS!, what to expect from their forthcoming debut album, alternative band names, and why the new record will shock people from their hometown.

  • March 18 · 33 min

    E454: Ego Ella May: Making Good Intentions

    South-East London based, award-winning, British-Nigerian singer-songwriter and musician Ego Ella May opens up on being an introvert in the music industry, forging a path as an independent artist, and delves into the making of her second album, Good Intentions.

  • March 17 · 40 min

    In The Box E28: Nicolas Rebscher: Making Louis Tomlinson’s ‘How Did I Get Here?’

    German producer Nicolas Rebscher discusses producing and co-writing Louis Tomlinson’s no.1 album, How Did I Get Here?, including a behind the scene look at how hit singles, Lemonade and Imposter came together. He discusses making the record in Costa Rica, how the singer has carved out his own indie sonic identity after One Direction, why this is a lighter record than Tomlinson’s previous efforts, and how he used Steinberg’s Cubase to make the record.

  • March 2 · 45 min

    E453: JP Cooper: Making Just A Few Folk

    JP Cooper talks about keeping his head down growing up as an 'artsy type' in Manchester, duetting with Gabrielle on new single, Sad Song, and making music for connection rather than charts on his new album, Just A Few Folk.

  • March 2 · 36 min

    Aspiring Headliner E89: Salarymen: Take It Or Leave It

    Renee de la Motte and Thomas Eagleton are the duo behind Salarymen, a band making nostalgia-inducing indie songs combining an array of rock, psych, and dream pop influences. Having supported the likes of Royal Otis and touring the States, Japan, and their native Australia, the duo reveal the process behind their debut album, Take It Or Leave It.

  • February 24 · 48 min

    Headliner USA 210: Mike Sabath: Making RAYE’s WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

    Producer, songwriter, artist and musician Mike Sabath, who has collaborated with RAYE, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, Sabrina Carpenter and JADE, delves into the making of his emotionally-charged and natured-infused full-length record Album II: The Land Of The Twisted Tree, including how he produced it on the road in an RV. He also breaks down how he co-wrote and produced RAYE’s no.1 single WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

  • February 24 · 37 min

    E452: S!RENE: Silence Gives Life

    S!RENE is a Dutch-Nigerian music artist, saxophonist, DJ and producer who has built a following with his music that fuses Afro Beats, Amapiano, jazz, African funk, and more. Following performances alongside Ezra Collective and at London’s Jazz Café, he speaks to Headliner about his stunning debut album, Silence Gives Life - his latest work that fuses a plethora of genres and sounds, and speaks to the relationship between silence, music, and life.

  • February 9 · 35 min

    Aspiring Headliner E87: Shao Hao: Where Is My Home

    Shao Hao is a singer-songwriter who has gone from being an unconfident music student who left China for studies in the UK, to having no.1 hit songs across South East Asia and on Netflix and anime shows. He chats to Headliner about how being a resident artist at London’s Roundhouse helped him sign his life changing publishing deals, and the latest single from his Brit pop meets K-pop solo project, Where Is My Home.

  • February 2 · 45 min

    The Mix Room E116: DJ Kato on going viral with Turn The Lights Off

    Fifteen years after the release of his dance banger, Turn The Lights Off, Danish DJ and producer Kato’s life has taken an unexpected turn. And it’s all thanks to a Jon Hamm meme. He reacts to the song going viral and breaks down the key studio production gear he used to make the track.

  • January 13 · 53 min

    E451: Hania Rani: Premiering Non Fiction & scoring Sentimental Value

    Polish composer Hania Rani discusses her ambitious new work, Non Fiction, a piano concerto, which was both released as an album and premiered at the Barbican Hall in London, and her score for Sentimental Value, winner of the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival – starring Renate Reinsveh and Stellan Skarsgård.

  • January 12 · 38 min

    E450: Henry Jackman: Scoring Battlefield 6

    Composer Henry Jackman (whose previous work includes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, its sequel Civil War, and Captain Phillips), discusses turning his hand to a huge gaming franchise with Battlefield 6. He talks about some of the similarities and differences between the two mediums, still having plenty of budget to work with, including orchestral sessions, and how nu-metal legend Fred Durst became involved in proceedings.

  • Dec 23, 2025 · 51 min

    The Mix Room E115: Justin Gray: Sony 360 Reality Audio vs Dolby Atmos

    Justin Gray, a Juno award-winning bassist, composer, engineer, producer, and educator based in Canada discusses his Grammy award-nominated project for Best Immersive Audio Album, his approach to mixing and mastering in Sony 360 Reality Audio in his Sony approved Genelec-equipped studio, and explains how the format differs from Dolby Atmos.

  • Dec 23, 2025 · 32 min

    In The Box E27: Qrion: We Are Always Under The Same Sky

    Japanese-born, US-based producer and DJ, Qrion delves into the making of her new album, We Are Always Under The Same Sky, and shares how her music production has progressed – going from experimenting with making music on her phone in high school, to mastering the intricate possibilities of Cubase. She also reflects on how overcoming personal struggles has shaped her music, and shares a glimpse of her plans for 2026.

  • Dec 16, 2025 · 28 min

    E48: Chanel Yates: Writing Big Girl Boots & Colourblind

    Rising country-pop sensation Chanel Yates opens up about making it as a UK country singer, the viral success of her single, Big Girl Boots, doing it all as an independent artist, the real stories that inspire her music, writing her brand new single, Colourblind, and what’s next for her.

  • Dec 15, 2025 · 33 min

    Aspiring Headliner E87: Kodachrome: Redefining the rock band

    Ava and Conan, twin lead singers from rising Bristol indie band, Kodachrome, discuss the band’s musical influences, building up a fan base with no industry connections, and playing sell out shows in their hometown, to UK festivals and beyond. The band delves into how they’re redefining what rock bands can look and sound like by representing the queer, trans, and neurodiverse communities, why they’ll never tire of asking Yungblud to let them play at Bludfest, and share what to expect from their debut EP.

  • Dec 8, 2025 · 44 min

    In The Box 26: Sonic Mayhem: Inside the Metal Eden soundtrack

    Berlin-born composer Sascha Dikiciyan, aka Sonic Mayhem, shares the story behind his Quake II breakthrough, the philosophy of rebellion driving the music behind new game Metal Eden, and how Cubase keeps him at the cutting edge of game music composition.

  • Dec 2, 2025 · 39 min

    The Mix Room E114: Annie Mahtani on BEAST’s concert sound system

    Annie Mahtani, electroacoustic composer, sound artist, performer and Lecturer in Music at The University of Birmingham, reveals all about BEAST, the concert sound system of the University of Birmingham’s Electroacoustic Music Studios. Also co-director of BEAST, Mahtani explains how BEAST has become one of the leading systems for the presentation of electronic music in the world thanks to its setups of 100 loudspeakers. She reveals how Genelec monitors play a crucial role, and how the system goes far beyond the capabilities of cinema surround sound systems.