The Vinyl District: Radar - The Podcast with Dylan Hundley

I recently spoke with Jez Kerr and Martin Moscrop of A Certain Ratio. Jez and Martin talked about the new recordings, becoming A Certain Ratio and the early Hacienda days along with Joy Division plus future plans. And while they came up through Factory Records alongside all the classic acts that emerged in the late 70’s they built a sound out of funk bass, Afrobeat drums, brass, dub, and Latin percussion along with the angula...

I recently spoke with Stephen “Mal” Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire, the Sheffield group that helped invent the sound of British electronic and industrial music. Formed in 1973 with Chris Watson and the late Richard H. Kirk, Cabaret Voltaire stands alongside Throbbing Gristle and Clock DVA as a pioneer of the late-70s and 80s experimental underground, fusing tape manipulation, found sound, early synthesizers, and confront...

I recently spoke with Robyn Hitchcock, a songwriter who has spent nearly five decades treating the surreal as ordinary and the ordinary as suspect. He came up with The Soft Boys in Cambridge in the late seventies, out of step with punk and closer to the Doors and Syd Barrett than anything happening around them. Underwater Moonlight went nowhere at the time and became one of the most influential records of its era. He has been proli...

I recently spoke with Sally Timms, co-lead singer of The Mekons since 1985, the year she stepped into the band on their breakthrough album "Fear and Whiskey." The Mekons formed in Leeds in 1976 under Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh and have outlasted nearly every other band to emerge from that same British punk explosion, shapeshifting through country, folk, dub, and art-punk without ever settling into one shape for long. Before jo...

Adi Newton is a founding figure of British experimental music whose work has shaped the genre for nearly five decades. Before founding Clock DVA and TAGC/The Anti Group in 1978, he was one of the original members of The Future, the project that evolved into The Human League. Clock DVA stands alongside Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire as a pioneer of late-70s and 80s experimental sound, with releases like the 1980 debut "Thirs...

I recently spoke with Dave W. and Ego Sensation of White Hills. For nearly two decades, White Hills have been gifting us with a unique mix of neo-psychedelia, art rock, and post-punk. Their first release was shepherded by Julian Cope, you've seen them in Jim Jarmusch's sultry vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive as the band in the Detroit club, and they've collaborated with Martin Bisi often. They are both consummately New York w...

I recently spoke with Linda Perry, frontwoman of 4 Non Blondes and one of the most prolific songwriters and producers of the past three decades. After "What's Up?" became an era-defining hit in 1993, Linda stepped behind the boards and wrote and produced some of the biggest songs in pop music: Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," Pink's "Get the Party Started," Alicia Keys' "Superwoman," plus work with Dolly Parton, Adele, Miley Cyrus...

Today on Radar - I recently spoke with Genre is Death, an uncompromising noise duo made up of Ty Varesi (guitar, vox) and Tayler Lee (bass, vox). They moved to NYC in 2023 looking for something beyond what small town Georgia had to offer. They hit the ground running. A chance encounter with 80s underground stalwarts Live Skull pulled them into the city's noise scene and into orbit with Lydia Lunch and The Art Gray Noizz Quintet. In...

Midge Ure is one of the architects of the sound that defined a generation. As the frontman and creative co-architect of Ultravox, co-writer of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and the producer behind some of the most enduring records of the new wave era -- including "Fade to Grey" and "Vienna" -- he shaped synth-pop and post-punk at the moment both genres were finding their footing. His fingerprints are all over many eras.

On this e...

I recently spoke with Martin Bisi, the founder of BC Studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn — one of the most storied independent recording spaces in New York history. Martin engineered and produced records for Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Afrika Bambaataa, and countless others across the no-wave and post-punk underground. We got into Martin’s life views, the relevance of New York culture, and the perils of capitalism. 

I e...

I recently spoke with Sergio Rotman. Composer, and saxophonist best known for his work with Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, the influential Argentine ska/rock band. With the Cadillacs he won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance for Fabulosos Calavera in 1998 — the first time an Argentine band received a Grammy.

Outside the Cadillacs, Sergio led the long-running punk-rock group Cienfuegos.  He’s als...

I recently spoke with Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods—frontman, social commentator, author, and actor. Alongside the band’s thirteen albums, Jason has appeared in Peaky Blinders and stars in the new rave-era thriller Game, directed by John Minton and produced by Geoff Barrow (Portishead).

We talk about drugs, therapy, breaking free from addiction, the birth of Sleaford Mods, artistic perspective, live performance, and...

I recently spoke with Godlis — the photographer whose images defined CBGB’s, the Bowery, and downtown New York in the ’70s punk scene. His iconic photographs of the Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie, Talking Heads, Richard Hell, and many more offered a window into that world that stays with us today. It’s an astonishing record.

We talk about his college years in Boston and when he first picked up a c...

I recently spoke with Martin Glover, AKA Youth — founding member and bassist of the legendary post-punk band Killing Joke, a pioneering producer, and one of the most influential sonic architects of the last four decades. Beyond his work with the band, he’s shaped the sound of artists across genres — from The Orb, The Verve, and Paul McCartney to Kate Bush, Crowded House, Gina Birch, and Pink Floyd’s David Gi...

I recently caught up with Tytti Roto, who’s been a big part of the Helsinki underground for years — you might know her from Rosettes, Modem, Plastic Tones, or Ty Roxy.

I met Tytti back in September when we played the same Synthicide night, and I was completely blown away by her and her band Modem. They’re a synth-pop duo she started with Ville Valavuo in 2020, drawing on their shared love of the electronic sounds ...

Lene Lovich is an American-born, British-based new wave artist whose wild originality helped define the late-’70s post-punk sound. After moving from Detroit to London, she immersed herself in the art scene, writing lyrics for Cerrone’s “Supernature” before breaking out with her 1978 debut Stateless. Its single “Lucky Number” became an instant classic—off-kilter, infectious, and unlike anyth...

I recently spoke with Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker. Raised in a film family (his mother is Hayley Mills), Crispian grew up on music and cinema where he has spent his life as an artist & filmaker. He formed Kula Shaker in 1996; the debut, K, became one of the UK’s fastest-selling debuts of the ’90s. The band's sound mixes 60s psychedelia with elements of Indian music. The name, suggested by Mills after his first tri...

I recently spoke with Daniel Ash, musician, songwriter and singer. A founding member of Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets. 

Daniel and I talk about his electromagnetic tendencies, the formation of Bauhaus, his love of solitude & city, chrome, gear, how he first discovered the EBow, music he loves and the Ashes and Diamonds album.

The new band consists of Daniel in his usual roles bringing his signature post-punk...

Bob Bert is a musician, photographer, and zine publisher known for his drumming in influential bands such as Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Bewitched, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Jon Spencer and the Hitmakers, and Lydia Lunch Retrovirus.

 Bob, also an artist, zine publisher, and photographer, spent many years working for Andy Warhol, producing silk screens until his death. He has been a passionate member of New York’s ar...