MusicSociety & CultureExplicit

No Tags

Chal Ravens & Tom Lea

No Tags is a podcast and newsletter from Chal Ravens and Tom Lea chronicling underground music culture.

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Wednesday · 2 hr 3 min
71: Second quarter report – the best music of 2026 so far
Closing a hectic summer, we’re back with our regular report on the best music of the last three months. We’re joined as always by No Tags third Beatle and zillennial savant Henry Bruce-Jones to talk us through the more fried corners of his musical diet. Can he sell these stubborn uncs on DMV crime-rap, Ivorian plugg and people who simply refuse to rap on beat? Or will we just have to find our middle ground at the altar of Kwengletarianism? We’ve listed all the music that we discuss on the show below – so if one particular corner’s not your thing, it’s easy to skip along. Get the full details from notagspodcast.substack.com Pop Corner (3:00): Kelela, Chanel Beads, Charli XCX, M.I.A., Qendresa Home Listening (24:20): DJ Plead, K Wata, Leo, Lifted, Dance Fountain, Lilen, Amil Raja Dance Corner (50:00): Yushh, LWS, Will Hofbauer, Jenny Sparks, Rustie Rap Corner (1:10:02): Jeune Morty, Twentythree, Jaeychino, RealYungPhil, Tony Bontana, Kibo Real Music (1:40:10): Nirosta Steel, Father Dionysios Tabakis, Horse Lords, feeble little horse Experimental Coda (1:53:48): Laurie Anderson, Rabit Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
July 22 · 1 hr 45 min
70: The true story of real dubstep
“Is this dubstep?” There was a time in the 2010s when approximately 23% of all YouTube comments were a variation of this question. One of the UK’s most influential yet misunderstood dance exports, dubstep is also one of those rare genres that can trace its origins to a handful of people working in a few rooms. That unusual origin story is definitively told in a new book, Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews by journalist Lauren Martin, it weaves together testimony from the main players (including Benny Ill, Skream, Hatcha, Loefah, Mala, Coki, Youngsta, Plastician, Sgt Pokes, Kode9, Shackleton, Pinch, Joker and Rusko) with thoughtful framing from the likes of Martin Clark and Ammunition’s Neil Jolliffe, plus stacks of of flyers, ephemera and unseen photos. We had a blast going through the archives in preparation for this conversation with Lauren, where we talked about Croydon in the early 2000s, the school-age crew that formed around Big Apple Records, the closed loop of creativity that allowed the nascent genre to develop, the particular magic of FWD>> at Plastic People, the impact of Radio 1’s Dubstep Warz broadcast, and the competing explanations for dubstep’s demise in the 2010s, among many other things. Before the episode’s big drop into dubstep, Tom and Chal compare notes on a very ‘Merican month in the stunned afterglow of the World Cup half-time show, UFC on the White House lawn, a pretty decent Madonna album and Tom’s trip to the sunshine state. We do No Tags for the love of the game, but you can support the podcast in material ways by buying our latest book or subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
June 4 · 1 hr 29 min
69: Your favourite DJ is a psyop
Keep honking, piggies: I’m listening to whatever rockslop the algorithm just sicked up for me! So we’ve been circling a certain topic for a while now – in order to be fashionably off-cycle rather than just late to the party, of course – and we’ve finally done enough muck-raking to present you with our red-hot take. It’s verifiable: your favourite DJ is a psyop. We jest, mildly. But why is it so satisfying to point to popular things and call them a psyop? And it’s not just Geese, the perfectly solid rock band that launched a thousand hysterical thinkpieces. Angine de Poitrine? Évidemment. Rita Ora? Innit. But what about the current numerical titans of dance music? Your Josh Bakers, Kettamas, Silva Bumpas and, of course, your Freds Again? What does it take to reach the premier league in the age of algorithm? In this episode we break down the tectonic shifts underway in the game of selling yourself, and how video clips, vlogging, ‘content seeding’ and engineered virality are becoming standard promo tools from the mainstream to the underground. Is your favourite DJ paying low four-figure sums to have someone manufacture a viral moment during their next set? Honestly, they might be. Should No Tags join the party?* Let us know! — *If you do think we should join the party, these things don’t come cheap. You can support the podcast by buying our latest book, or by subscribing to our paid tier for a mere £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
May 21 · 1 hr 46 min
68: Djrum or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Clang
Why be seamless when you can go KLANGGG? This week’s guest is living proof that doing things wrong, backwards, upside-down or simply not at all can reap creative dividends. We speak, of course, about Djrum. Recorded at our book launch at London’s ICA last December, our conversation with the Oxford-dwelling DJ-producer followed up on the wild acclaim for his 2025 maybe-opus, Under Tangled Silence. The interview starts at 48:00, but before that we debrief on some new music from old favourites. Is the spirit of 2011 still haunting dance music? We couldn’t possibly say. Look out for our third listening session at 180 Studios, to be announced soon! Our second book, No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture Vol. 1 is out now. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
April 30 · 1 hr 55 min
67: Sheffield, Synth City
Sheffield punches well above its weight when it comes to tunes. From #1 synth-pop hits to underground techno classics, clattering industrial funk to accidental Britpop icons, the Steel City might have produced more brilliant music per capita than any other world metropolis. And yet, no one has published the definitive book on the subject – until now! Daniel Dylan Wray is one of the UK’s best music writers, and his new book Groovy, Laidback and Nasty: The History of Independent Music in Sheffield chronicles the maverick artists, chart invaders, parties, labels, venues and even Christian cults that shaped the city’s musical history. We talked to Dan about why Sheffield wasn’t swept away by punk rock but instead loved Kraftwerk and Wendy Carlos, how Peter Stringfellow became a crucial early mover in Sheffield’s club scene, and why there are no murals of Jarvis Cocker in the city centre. We also heard about the unlikely chain of events that birthed Warp Records, and one of the most important yet undersung ‘80s club nights, Jive Turkey. We also unveil a major expansion of our Rockufiction canon of ‘music films that bend reality’, including Frank Zappa, Daft Punk, Macca and S Club 7. That’ll probably be the final update on Rockufiction, but if you have any burning additions then get them in quick… As ever, if you like what we do on No Tags, please do consider signing up to our paid tier for a mere £5 per month! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
April 16 · 1 hr 15 min
66: First Quarter Report – the best music of the last three months
The Q1 report is here and the charts are clear: buy underscores. 📈 On this episode of No Tags, we talk through our favourite releases of 2026 so far – not to mention some music that we’re more mixed on but felt like it was worthy of discussion regardless. Before we get into it, on 5th May we’ll be returning to 180 Studios for our second session at their audiophile listening room. Following March’s session with Call Super and Parris, this time we’ll be joined by Al Wootton and Valentina Magaletti, collaborators in Holy Tongue and live bandmates in Moin, to play records from their collections and explore where their musical tastes meet. Tickets are on sale now, it should be a treat! If you discover something you love on this episode, why not send us a tip? We have a paid tier which allows you to support No Tags for £5 a month, and also gives you a discount on our book – which is out now. Discussed on this episode, in order: Maara – Ultra Villain (Naff) Zora Jones – Angel Crisis (Bellyfat) Kim Gordon – PLAY ME (Matador) Mandy, Indiana – URGH (Sacred Bones) Fcukers – Ö (Ninja Tune) 2charm – star scum city (self-released) Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA (Columbia) Charli XCX – Wuthering Heights (Atlantic) underscores – U (Mom+Pop) Sade Olutola – Arrow Heart (Rogue Collective) Shy One – Mali (Touching Bass) PACH – The Wake-Up Call (Peach Discs) SY3 – 梦游 Sleepwalker (Music from Memory) Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy – Dying is the Internet (Dekmantel UFO) Egg Meat – The most Pathetic poem is small people on fire (Mutualism) Mammo – Lateral (Short Span) Crespi Drum Syndicate – Colada Talk (Cinnamon Disc) Valentina Magaletti & Upsammy - Seismo (PAN) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
April 1 · 1 hr 55 min
65: The indies fight back! Damon Krukowski on the value of sound
We all know what sound is, but are we any good at describing it? This week’s guest is a musician, writer and one of independent music’s wisest observers. Damon Krukowski has been playing in bands since the ‘80s, drumming for dreampop originals Galaxie 500 and, for the past 30 years, fronting Damon & Naomi with his partner Naomi Yang. He’s also written three books about sound and its strange, intangible properties (most recently Why Sound Matters) and he's a proud member of UMAW, a cool young labour union for music workers. It was a privilege to talk to Damon about the full spectrum of sound – from noise pollution and sodcasting to the merch table, from the ‘red herring’ of intellectual property to the hidden value of hanging out backstage. Unsurprisingly he had several excellent movies to recommend to us, including one for all you Coen Brothers fans out there. Before that, we debrief our recent nights out and the last ever weekend at Corsica Studios, which could still be going as far as we know. We also hear your Rockufiction feedback and offer a hot new entry to the canon: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
March 18 · 1 hr 12 min
64: A new film canon! Rockufiction
So we had another idea for a movie canon. After blinking our way through The Moment – the recent mockumentary about Charli XCX by director Aidan Zamiri – we got thinking about a certain kind of music film that exists between the margins of biopic and rockdoc. Not real, not exactly fake… and all the more incisive for it. We came up with a handful of movies – some of them HIGHLY recommended! – which dramatise rather than document the artist’s status as a ‘star’: their negotiations with fame and celebrity, their discomfort with being the centre of attention, their feelings of being trapped inside the machine. In our conversation about these films – including Pavements, The Nowhere Inn, Spice World, A Hard Day’s Night and Slade in Flame – we think about the irreversible vibe shift that marks 21st century humour, and identify the influence of film and TV comedy, from the Goon Show to Charlie Brooker. The canon is a slim one so far – at least compared to our adventures in Big Beat Cinema, the made-up movie niche coined by Finn and mapped out over two NT episodes and a list last year. But we’ve built a Rockufiction Letterboxd list nonetheless and are all ears for your suggestions. A reminder of the criteria: A film about a musician or band in which they play themselves, generally to comic effect. A blurring of reality and fiction. Not a biopic. Not a documentary. This episode contains some spoilers but not too many. If you need to skip the Charli chat for any reason, it’s from 17:00–29:00. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
March 9 · 1 hr 35 min
63: ⁠Baltimore is still the engine room of US club music
Some of the most exciting dance music around right now is coming out of Baltimore. Reenergised by a younger generation of artists putting a fresh spin on the Baltimore Club sound, the city is producing stacks of great new records – and we keep hearing dazzled on-the-ground reports from our cool DJ friends (yes, we have them!) about the shows they’ve played there. Kade Young and JIALING are two of the central figures in the city’s new school, known for running events and releasing a stream of club bangers via their label WOE. They had plenty to tell us about why Baltimore is the real engine room of US dance music right now, and why its importance remains undersung. As well as clueing us into the local scene in 2026, they offered an insider perspective on the last 20 years of Baltimore Club. We also managed to record the entire episode without making a joke about The Wire, so well done us. (Come at JIALING, you best not miss.) Before that, for this show’s intro, we offer our recent scene reports: Tom’s trip to see Tony Njoku’s All Our Knives are Always Sharp at the Southbank Centre, and Chal mucking in at the SMUT Press night at the Distillery. We also tackle the elephant in the big room: Fred Again and Thomas Bangalter’s back-to-back at Alexandra Palace. Was this an event for the ages? Should the man behind ‘Club Soda’ be lowering himself to making mash-ups with a bloke with eight hyperlinked family members on Wikipedia? Or are they both in fact nepo baby posh men? Find out inside! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
February 18 · 1 hr 33 min
62: Lil Internet changed our minds about AI music
Taganistas may know Lil Internet from his music videos (Beyoncé, Diplo), his high-concept DJ mixes, or his ever-present voice on Twitter. Since 2017 his main focus has been New Models – a website, podcast and active Discord. But the reason we asked Lil Internet to join us on No Tags is his latest music project – a brand new, rule-based genre he’s calling gencore. Showcased across two mixes released in 2024 and 2025, gencore is completely AI-generated from Udio. More controversially, Lil Internet proposes that gencore marks an evolution – or maybe even the endstate – of the hardcore continuum. Obviously this was catnip to us. We spent a great hour with Lil Internet talking about the AI music landscape, how Udio’s quirks give AI music ‘soul’, moral boundaries and Bandcamp’s AI ban. And for the first 30 minutes of the show, we each pick a Winter Olympics sport, compare our gunmanship, and offer some recommendations – including Otto Benson, 6amsunset and They Are Gutting a Body of Water. We do No Tags for the love, but if you enjoy the show and want to show a little love back, you can do so for £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
February 5 · 1 hr 15 min
61: Is clubbing really in decline? We asked Ed Gillett
Reports of the death of nightlife may be greatly exaggerated. In recent months we’ve heard of new clubs opening in Peckham and Brixton, an audio upgrade at Tola and plans for a DIY venue in Catford. Even the Old Blue Last is good again! Yet the official figures paint a depressing picture, with hundreds of venues lost, and thousands of jobs. So which story is right? To inspect the situation, Party Lines author Ed Gillett returns to the podcast fresh from his contribution to the London Nightlife Taskforce report. The report's 23 recommendations are the result of a year-long consultation following the axing of the night czar role previously held by Amy Lamé. Ed talks to us about noise, crime, gentrification, the closure of Corsica Studios, and his concern that the discourse of decline might be doing more harm than good. Plus, Chal reports back from the Green Party Party at Heaven, a fundraiser-slash-rally for Zack Polanski’s insurgent electoral movement. Are we really letting Lobsta B lead the green revolution? Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
January 21 · 1 hr 25 min
60: A radical vision for club culture with Anjali Prashar-Savoie
A stack of new interviews are coming down the No Tags pipes right now, but first we return to a conversation from our sold-out event at the ICA last month. If you couldn’t make it down, or if you were there but forgot to take notes, this episode is a keeper. London-based rave researcher Anjali Prashar-Savoie set out her vision of a ‘club commons’ – a radical, positive and participatory kind of nightlife, as inspired by her research into the history of queer scenes in the UK, from lesbian sound systems with a creche on the side to George Michael-themed free parties. The interview section begins at 41m. Before that we spend some time reporting on our New Year jollies, our seasonal “locking in” progress, and recent film-watching (Into The Abyss, Marty Supreme, The Smashing Machine). Then a conversation about the growing magnetism of Substack, a nine-year-old newsletter platform that’s suddenly having a moment with musicians and celebs. Does the Troye Sivan newsletter herald a new intimacy in fan-artist relations? Or is this just another example of Brands Saying Bae? (With apologies to Shawn Reynaldo, who wrote his own First Floor newsletter on this subject a few days after we recorded ours. Soz.) If you missed it, the ICA event was also a book launch for No Tags Vol 2: Conversations on underground music culture, featuring interviews from the last year of the podcast and four brand new essays. The book is available from our Shopify, and from select bookshops and record shops. In other news! Chal has written about Britney Spears and her memoir for the latest issue of the London Review of Books. (It also references Jeff Weiss’s 2024 book Waiting For Britney Spears, which we interviewed him about last summer.) And Tom has more dance music out on his label Local Action. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 31, 2025 · 2 hr 13 min
59: The best music of 2025
Sneaking in at the last possible moment, it's the No Tags best of 2025 show! As is tradition, we’re joined by Henry Bruce-Jones to look back on the year in tunes and spotlight some lesser-feted records that you need to hear. We tried to avoid going over the same releases that we covered on the Best Music of 2025 So Far episode from July, so if you’re wondering where the love is for Smerz, aya, Jim Legxacy or numerous other albums from the first half of the year, we probably talked about them back then. Scroll down for a time-stamped rundown of the episode – the full version is available on Substack, along with our personal Best of 2025 lists. But we want to hear your highlights as well! Tell us your most loved (and hated) releases, films or trends of the year, and let us know if we missed anything crucial via the comments. In case you forgot, our second book is out now. We’ve been running No Tags for over two years now. We do it around other jobs, we have no corporate backing, no sponsorship and we don’t even run ads on the podcast. If you’d like to show your thanks, it really helps if you leave us a positive review over at Apple Podcasts. You can also like or share this post on Substack, which makes a big difference – and if you really love the pod, you can subscribe to our paid tier for £5 per month. Happy new year! Running order: People Making Music In A Room: feeo, The Necks, Water From Your Eyes, Kelela, Shell Company & Older Brother, Rat Heart, Blawan, DJ Travella, Dijon, Alex G Dance Corner (33:16): Slikback - 'Data', Beatrice M - ‘Midnight Swim’, Facta - ‘Jets’, K-Lone - ‘Someone Else’, Anthony Naples - ‘Compact’, Efdemin - ‘Signal to Noise’, Car Culture - ‘Nothingburger’, Jump Source - ‘On’ (ft. Martyn Bootyspoon), Minor Science - ‘Mortals’, Ploy - ‘It’s Later Than You Think’, Hodge - ‘Tom’s Tweaks’, Nikki Nair - ‘Sheeps’, Slikback and Skrillex - ‘Kixa’, Debba - ‘Electrolyte’ (Wordcolour Remix) Rap Corner (1:09:18): EsDeeKid, Jawnino & Surf Gang, Rooster Pop Corner (1:31:44) Lily Allen, Addison Rae, Underscores No Rules! (1:42:12) Los Thuthanaka, Coldsteel, Camille Keller, ear, weed420, d.silvestre, Oli XL, Jennifer Walton Ambient afters (2:00:03) Oneohtrix Point Never, Klein, 7038634357, Begena Songs from Ethiopia. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 5, 2025 · 1 hr 19 min
58: Deepfake Jorja and the biggest bangers of the 21st century
First off, we’re plugging. The second No Tags book is here – and it looks great. ‘Conversations on underground music culture, Volume 2’ compiles the best interviews and conversations we’ve had on the second year of No Tags, plus five exclusive pieces with Emma Garland, Shaad D’Souza, Mattie Colquhoun, Nono Gigsta and Yu Su. You can order it here, and it will ship from the 10th December. Speaking of plugging, No Tags live at the ICA on 11th December is almost sold out! There are around 25 tickets left. As well as live conversations with Djrum and Anjali Prashar-Savoie and a DJ set from Finn, we’ll have copies of the book on sale – plus some predictably stupid stickers. Keep honking! From plugging to yapping, there’s a pod this week. We compile some of our listeners’ best war stories from Bloc 2012 (who’d have thought so many future Taganistas were in attendance?), before getting into some big questions: is it too far for artists to market themselves via Black Friday sales? And has graffiti run its course? We also dig into the strange story of ‘I Run’, the dance mega-hit of the moment that has been accused of using AI to plagiarise Jorja Smith. Depending on what happens now, this could represent a line-in-the-sand moment for AI and copyright, so we get into the background of the track, where the case currently stands and what might happen from here. Also: what are your top five dancefloor bangers of the 21st century? Chal submitted hers to this rundown for The Quietus, but we’d like to know what our listeners would pick. Tell us in the comments! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Nov 26, 2025 · 47 min
57: The second No Tags book is here!
…And we’re back! Yes, first episode of No Tags for a few weeks, and while we do appreciate the concern, it’s just the two of us running this show, we both have jobs that we do it around, and sometimes we get really busy. Also Tom was in Asia for three weeks and most importantly, we were making a book. That’s right: the second No Tags book is here! Titled ‘Conversations on underground music culture, Volume 2’, it’s essentially a sequel to our first book: a compendium of the best interviews and conversations we’ve had on the second year of No Tags, with five exclusive pieces to boot. You can order it now over on our Shopify store! We’ll be launching the book on 11th December at the ICA, where we’ll be joined by Djrum, Anjali Prashar-Savoie and Finn. We’re down to the last 50 tickets for the show, and we’ll have the new book on sale on the night plus some other treats. We’re excited to see you there – get your tickets from the ICA website. Finally, there’s a pod this week! We’ve spent the last month sucking up culture like the sponges we are – and we’re not just talking about Tom’s late night ramen adventures in Tokyo. We debrief recent trips to Bang Face Weekender and Simple Things, as well as live shows from Smerz and Model/Actriz. We also share our memories (not to mention some potentially spurious speculation) about the great Bloc Weekend debacle of 2012. If you know you know. It’s a loose episode that’s heavy on the yapping, but hey – we were making a book! It’s good to be back. See you at the ICA. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 30, 2025 · 1 hr 36 min
56: Burial whisperer Dan Hancox on grime reunions, the power of crowds and sodcasting
First, news: our new book is almost at the printers ahead of launching it at the No Tags live show in London on 11th December! We’ll be announcing our guests very soon, and you can grab tickets now from the ICA website. This week’s guest is a revered member of the UK blognoscenti: Dan Hancox. Dan has written extensively on grime (including its definitive history, Inner City Pressure), crowds, the politics of public space and his beloved Spain, while interviewing icons from Skepta to Wiley to Barcelona’s socialist mayor. He’s also the co-host of the Cursed Objects podcast, where he and Dr Kasia Tee try to make sense of this mad world through tat such as Jamie Oliver’s mix CD. In September, Dan broke the internet by sharing the transcript of his 2007 interview with Burial on his Substack. With that excitement, plus the paperback publication of his book Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World, we realised it was time to get Dan pon pod. Join us in the smoking area as we discuss: releasing the Burial tapes; Dizzee and Wiley’s on-stage reunion; the power of crowds and why the state is so scared of them; the future of Notting Hill Carnival; what Dan makes of DJ AG’s livestream empire; the return of sodcasting; Van Gogh bucket hats and other cursed objects; and his favourite films. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 9, 2025 · 45 min
55: One monoculture after another
First, a plug: tickets are now on general sale for No Tags live at the ICA in London on 11th December! There will be special guests, and there will be a new book for sale: Vol 2 is in production now. On this week’s episode we drive headfirst – Modelos in hand – into the discourse around One Battle After Another, the designated cinema event of the year. Is it PTA’s masterpiece, or has he bitten off more than he can chew? OBAA’s ubiquity got us thinking: what was the last album that felt like a monocultural event? Do albums have the power to do this anymore, or were the early 2010s our last hurrah? Finally we debrief on the news that Corsica Studios – the club that Chal and Tom have spent more time in than any other – is closing. We share some Corsica memories but also wonder: should great clubs stay open forever? If you’re a longtime enjoyer No Tags, perhaps you'd consider subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Thanks to everyone who’s signed up so far. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 1, 2025 · 51 min
54: Flags, football shirts and indie nationalism
Lots to cover today, but first off: we’re going live again! We’ll be bringing No Tags live to the ICA in London – yep, that one – on the evening of 11th December. If you are based enough to subscribe to our paid tier, then you now have early access to discounted tickets via the link in this email’s header (and in the paywalled section at the bottom of the email). These early access tickets will be available for seven days before the show goes on general sale on 8th October. If you don’t subscribe to our paid tier but are considering making the leap, then you’re in luck: the discount will also be available to new subscribers who sign up in the next seven days – once you subscribe, you’ll receive an email with the link. More details for both the show and the book are imminent, but for the former: there will be guests! There will be DJs! There will be books on sale! And there may be merch! OK, on to this week’s show. With the second leg of the Oasis reunion cashgrab safely behind us, it felt like the right time to tackle something we’ve noticed building all year long – a massive surge of flag-waving, football shirts and indie tribalism across pop and political culture. Is the “Britcore” trend anything more than warmed-over nostalgia for the ‘90s? When and where is it safe to wave an England flag? How did the Ireland flag become a rallying point for right-on indie tribes and politicised youth? Why do we show support for Palestine through football shirts? And a bonus Blobby mention, as is customary. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 11, 2025 · 1 hr 46 min
53: Holly Dicker will be the last hardcore raver standing
We all know that hardcore will never die – but do we really know what hardcore is? As a music journalist for 15 years and raver for much longer, Holly Dicker is no stranger to documenting dance music’s heaviest, gnarliest and speediest niches – but in Dance or Die: A History of Hardcore, she attempts to finally answer that big question. From the pioneering hardware assault developed in Frankfurt and Berlin, to London’s grubbiest squat raves, Dutch intercity gabber rivalries and Scotland’s ‘tartan techno’ explosion, Dance or Die is a historical map of hardcore in its many forms. Holly dials in from – where else? – Rotterdam to talk us through the crucial rave tales collected in her book, as well as revealing her personal history with hardcore and offering her thoughts on where the scene went wrong post-Covid. Feeling like a hardcore Taganista? Help the pod by giving us a (good!) rating on your podcast app of choice, leaving a review over at Apple Podcasts, or liking this post on Substack. You can also subscribe to our paid tier for £5 per month and become a member of our own NT Hard Crew. Thanks to this month’s new subscribers! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 28, 2025 · 1 hr 20 min
52: Will the AI slopwave ruin music for good?
We all know what happened to the sorcerer’s apprentice, right? Mickey Mouse got hold of a spell book before he was smart enough to use it, conjured a broom that just wouldn’t quit, and nearly got sucked into a whirlpool. Yet, tragically, no one can remember what the moral of this story was supposed to be! This week we batten down the hatches in preparation for the #slopwave – at least, that was the plan a couple of months ago when we first started worrying about the volume of mass-produced AI gibberish coming down the pipes. Now it kinda feels too late? Like microplastics in the brain, we’re already compromised. Still, we start by tackling the current wave of AI slop infiltrating country music, the lo-fi beat scene, City Pop and faux-vintage soul before turning to deeper conundrums about AI-generated art. Could an AI music app like Suno ever produce a hit? Is Suno really so much worse than using a loop library like Splice? And will AI ever create anything as meaningful as Mr Blobby? These questions and more on a slopulent edition of No Tags. We’re not pretending to be experts here – just listen to that new No Tags theme song for proof! – so we’d love to hear from people who either work in AI or operate in a field that’s started to feel the slop. If that’s you, drop us an email or a comment. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

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