No Tags

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

And they said music journalism was dead. It’s list time, losers!When it comes to round-up episodes we like to draft in No Tags’ very own fifth Beatle, Henry Bruce-Jones. Minimal intro required here: we discuss our favourite music of 2025 so far, from the new wave of weird UK rappers to the changing faces of mainstream pop – plus rap oldheads, surveillance electro, minimal techno reboots and more. We didn’t include any of the records already discussed on the pod this year – including aya’s hexed and FKA twigs’ Eusexua – but they’re all still in the running for AOTY, of course.Below is a time-stamped rundown of everything we discussed, so feel free to skip ahead if certain corners aren’t your bag. We like to see No Tags as a conversation between us and you, so let us know your own most loved (and most hated) releases and trends of the year in the comments below, or maybe drop us a reply on Insta or send an email?If you like what we’re doing on No Tags (over 50 episodes deep now!), a really helpful way to support is by leaving us a rating on your podcast app of choice, or leaving us a 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. Thanks to this month’s new subscribers!Running orderPop Corner (07:40)Rap Corner (38:25)The UK ‘Underground’ (1:05:22)Dance Music Corner (1:27:04)Percies (1:41:42) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of pop?That’s the question of the week. After welcoming Jeff Weiss back to London for a live show about his tremendous novel-slash-memoir, Waiting For Britney Spears, we got to thinking about our own pop album percies. 2007’s Blackout is certainly up there – ‘a lost weekend of one-more-gram indulgence’ that ‘embodied the hedonistic sleaze of the late Bush years,’ as Jeff sums it up in the book.Waiting For Britney… is a celebrity biography like no other – a gonzo account of Jeff’s time as a rookie in the world of Hollywood gossip rags, back when celebrities still had mystique and Brit still had a full head of hair. There is scandal and there are laughs, but never at the expense of its stricken central character. The words ‘leave Britney alone!’ never sounded more reasonable.At the end of June, Jeff blessed us with his presence at Young Space in East London, where we talked to him about paparazzi, poptimism, fedoras, K-Fed, and the chaotic energy of LA in the early 2000s, the era that feminism forgot. Plus, a working theory: why Britney, Kanye and Trump are the quintessential 21st century Americans. If you like what we’re doing on No Tags, please forward this email to someone else who’d like it, subscribe on your podcast app of choice – or better yet, leave us a nice review. And if you’re really into what we’re doing, please consider subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

It’s Glastonbury weekend, and we’re back with the Big Questions.Not a sentence we expected to be saying on No Tags, but we kick off by talking about Will Smith – specifically his recent appearance with London streamer du jour DJ AG. The Fresh Prince is in the middle of a generationally cringe promo run and we’ve been wanting to discuss AG’s streams for a while now, so these two forces colliding over a dubstep remix of the Men in Black theme felt like the perfect opportunity.If you’re looking for something more high-brow, well, you still have to get through Tom’s full review of the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll – aka Final Destination: Cotswolds. Once we’re through that, it’s onto higher ground, debriefing recent experiences at Polyphonic Eating with Yu Su, Warp Records’ ‘happening’ at The Barbican and a No Tags night out at Corsica for Hodge and Peverelist. Music writers who still go to clubs? Perish the thought!We always say it, but if you like what we’re doing on No Tags, please do rate and subscribe on your podcast app of choice – or better yet, leave us a review. This stuff really does help. And if you’re really into what we’re doing, please consider subscribing to our paid tier for £5 per month. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We talk about festivals a lot on No Tags, and usually the negative stuff: monopolisation, bad owners, overpriced cheesy chips. But good can still prevail, and are hopes are pinned on Field Maneuvers: an LED beacon of hope in the darkness, and an event that puts the comfort and enjoyment of ravers first. Perish the thought!In this episode, FM organisers Henry, Ele and Leon explain how they’ve just about stayed afloat for 12 years – or is it 13? They can’t quite remember. We talk about building a rave utopia from scratch, the influence of free party culture on FM, adapting to festival life as new parents, and the momentum behind the current boycott of KKR-owned festivals. There’s also a story about duck poo.Before that, Chal and Tom talk about the lack of muckracking journalists in the music industry, following on from the latest First Floor newsletter, and get into a stack of listener emails on side-of-stage access, babushka hoods, Afrohouse and Keinemusik. We’ve had some golden feedback emails lately – please keep them coming!If you’re a fan of No Tags and want to show us some love, please do drop us a like and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Substack. And if you really like what we’re doing, please do consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 per month. Planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts is a pleasure but it’s also a lot of work, and your support truly does make a difference. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

What connects Adonis resident Grace Sands, the free party explosion of summer '91, Deleuzian dancefloor philosophy, and the annual Gloucestershire cheese-rolling competition?It's this episode of No Tags, obviously, but the connecting tissue goes much deeper, we promise. The last third of the show contains our recent conversation with Grace Sands – house DJ, free party originator, icon of London's queer underground – live in Sheffield on 9th May. In a compact Q&A before a screening of Free Party: A Folk History hosted by No Tags and local heroes Gut Level, she set out some of the early ideals of a scene which changed the course of British dance music.We talk about our own reactions to the film, a superb documentary charting the UK’s free party movement in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, featuring members of UK soundsystems like Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Grace's alma mater DiY.Before all that, for the first hour of the show we respond to some excellent listener feedback on recent pod topics, including who exactly goes to see Keinemusik and what makes the perfect night out. Inspired by one Taganista in particular, Chal expands her recent theory of rave with an important third axis from wiggy theorist Gilles Deleuze. Show us another podcast whose listeners write in about Plato and Love Island!As ever, if you want to support what we’re doing on No Tags, please do drop us a like and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Substack. You can also subscribe to our paid tier, which costs £5 per month. Planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts is a pleasure but it’s also a lot of work, and your support truly does make a difference. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Rave royalty on No Tags this week as we’re joined by Paul Woolford.We’re both drawn to artists who are driven by a compulsion to put art into the world at all costs – and 25 years into his career, Woolford (AKA Special Request) seems to be more driven than ever. In the last six years he’s released six albums and countless singles and remixes, and he still tours relentlessly – from seasons in Ibiza to grubby late-nighters at the White Hotel.He’s also constantly collaborating – who else can you name who’s worked with Novelist, Diplo, Alison Goldfrapp and MK? And that’s how we introduced him on stage at the British Library earlier this year, where he joined us for a live conversation as part of AVA London.Housekeeping! If you’re into No Tags, you can show your support by liking our posts on Substack. Or why not forward this email to a friend who’d enjoy it? You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or chuck us a like on Spotify. Or if you’re feeling particularly generous (or just flash – we’ll take either), consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs less than a pint per month and gives us the financial and spiritual fuel to keep planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Tom and Chal emerge from a proper-large-’avin-it May bank holiday weekend with a desire to explain the perfect clubbing experience. Borrowing a few ideas from Friedrich Nietzsche, we sketch out two divergent tendencies in club culture and talk about the countless variables that accelerate our rave engines. Got feedback? Obviously please write in, DM or voicenote us with critiques of our emergent theory and your Most Transcendental Rave Experiences.After that we’ve got our film corner in its usual place, including a moment for Danny Dyer’s Marching Powder. And it's your last chance to grab a ticket for No Tags live in Sheffield this Friday, 9th May! We’ll be screening Free Party: A Folk History at the Showroom cinema before interviewing Adonis resident DJ Grace Sands, followed by a party at Gut Level.Drop us a like and a review on Apple and Spotify. If you get a kick of what we’re doing here on No Tags, consider throwing us a fiver a month – or spread the gospel to your friends. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We’re back! And booting off a busy season of No Tags content by speaking to 'professional music fan' Derrick Gee. You’ve likely come across Derrick on your feeds already. He’s a beacon of sophistication in the murky waters of social video, and a true enthusiast for music of all kinds – from audiophile sound systems to viral TikTok trends to his favourite bossa nova recordings. He’s racked up millions of views, toured Japan and America, lured huge names onto his YouTube show – and done it all by focusing almost exclusively on music outside the mainstream. So is he a music journo? A critic? A content creator? Derrick dialled in from Sydney to talk to us about his curious content niche and how he earns a living from loving music.If you continue to get a kick of what we’re doing on No Tags, consider throwing us a fiver a month – or spread the gospel to your friends. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

There was only one topic we could tackle this week. The argument boiling over around Boiler Room and the BDS movement is one of the most divisive and emotionally charged intra-scene disputes we’ve seen in a long time.There’s a lot being said in public and in the comments, with much of it relegated to Instagram Stories with a 24-hour timer. So in the spirit of our mission statement – chronicling underground music culture – we’ve attempted to document what’s been going on, provide some vital additional context, and offer our own thoughts on what’s at stake.In this episode we look at the relationship between Boiler Room and its owners – the global events company Superstruct and the private equity giant KKR – and their connections to Israeli tech firms and the Palestinian-led boycott movement. We talk about Boiler Room’s recent statement of solidarity with Palestine and the resulting backlash from fans, DJs and former BR employees, as well as Ben UFO’s defence of the platform, which triggered its own, unusually fierce backlash.Can Boiler Room consider itself part of the boycott on Israel? What’s the right way for DJs, fans and BR employees to show solidarity with Palestine? Why has BR received so much flak compared to the 70-odd other brands and festivals in Superstruct’s portfolio? Can dance music be mobilised into a force for change? And what can Boiler Room – or any of us – practically do in a landscape where private equity firms have their claws in everything?If you’re enjoying No Tags, thanks – we really enjoy making it. But we’d love you to help us out by leaving a review on your go-to podcast app, which really does help visibility. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue planning, recording and editing these regular podcasts. It also gives you a discount on our book. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We’re pretty confident about slapping the “AOTY contender” badge on this one: aya’s second album hexed! is out on Hyperdub next week, and it has blown our tiny minds to pieces.The South London artiste joined us in the No Tags “studio” to reveal the pills, thrills and bellyaches behind the phenomenal follow-up to 2021’s im hole. We talked about shaking off the curse of drink and drugs, embracing her teen metalcore past, putting worms in your mouth in the name of Art, and just who is the best aya on Discogs?We also debated donk as worship music, her plans to be the next Prince, and of course her favourite film.Dive in – but before you do, final call for No Tags with Paul Woolford at AVA London tomorrow! We’ll be joined by AKA Special Request for a conversation at 1pm in the British Library’s Knowledge Centre. Taganistas get a 20% off code. Skive work and pop down? We’ll have a few No Tags books for sale too.If you’re enjoying No Tags, that’s just GREAT. We really love making it. Why not rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice? We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue bringing you these regular podcasts (and it gives you a discount on our book.) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

No guest this week, but plenty of meat as we take our previous episode with Spotify chronicler Liz Pelly as a jumping off point to talk about the idea of independence.We use the word ‘independence’ a lot on No Tags without really investigating what we mean by it. In a era when the major labels are all stake-holders in the biggest streaming platform on Earth, and are hoovering up indie labels and distributors like never before, how feasible is it to operate as a truly independent artist – whatever that means? And how can the term ‘independent’ apply to indie labels with multiple offices and millions in the bank as well as one-person DIY operations?To explain, we think about the important history of independent distribution, catch up with the latest music biz headlines affecting independent artists, and ask ourselves… have the major labels simply won at this point?It’s a little lighter elsewhere, as we talk ghosts (4:15) and debrief Anora’s Oscar sweep (49:52), followed by some thoughts on The Brutalist, Nosferatu and 1971’s The Working Class Goes to Heaven.If you’re enjoying No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue bringing you these regular podcasts (plus it gives you a discount on our book.) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

No journalist has contributed more to our understanding of the streaming era than Liz Pelly.A contributing editor at The Baffler and a lifelong DIY scene participant, she’s been investigating the inner workings of Spotify since 2016, writing a series of increasingly alarming stories that exposed the streaming giant’s black box of profit-seeking operations: mood-based playlists filled with mysterious fake artists, lean-back listening, algorithmic curation and ‘streambait pop’.Her journalism has provided us with an arsenal of terms to better understand Daniel Ek’s dismal vision of context-free listening. And now she’s expanded her work into a new book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist.It’s essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we came to live in a world where ‘coastal grandma’ is a genre and where ambient electronica playlists are filled with cheap stock music by unknown artists.We asked Liz to explain the pivotal moments in this decade-long transition, whether Spotify has changed the sound of the underground too, and what Daniel Ek’s endgame might be. Get your hard hat on.Elsewhere in this week’s episode, Chal runs down the best music she saw on a trip to Ljubljana’s MENT festival (3:49), we talk the films that could potentially tank a new relationship (9:47), Tom highlights a new release on CDR’s Pathways programme (13:00) and we even briefly discuss get-rich-quick schemes. Niche music recs and iffy financial advice? It could only be No Tags.As ever, if you’re enjoying No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and offers you nothing but the warm glow of philanthropy and a discount on our book – the second pressing of which is finally out now!  Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Still high off the fumes of January’s first Big Beat Cinema episode, we return to the scene of the crime this week for a follow-up film special with Finn, Manchester’s very own pope of trash.In this episode, we start by diving into your feedback, ranging from literary theory to eyewitness accounts from big beat OGs. We expand the official BBC canon with even more movies, including Go, Twin Town and The Bourne Identity.We then go deeper, asking what Big Beat Cinema tells us about life in the ‘90s and ’00s, how class fantasies and lad’s mags shaped the subgenre, and whether that UK government anti-piracy ad is a forgotten classic of the movement. Finally, we try to locate the last gasp of BBC and explain why Moby and Fatboy Slim fell out of favour with Hollywood.If you’re enjoying No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue braving some of history’s greatest slop to bring you these regular podcasts – not to mention honing our amateur Photoshop skills. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

A jam-packed episode of No Tags this week, but we had a lot to catch up on. Central Cee’s debut album Can’t Rush Greatness is out (02:56) and it’s UK drill’s biggest album to date, almost by default. Eusexua (10:07) might be the record that finally sells us on FKA twigs? And we talk about the grey zones of desire in Babygirl over in film corner (18:32).But then onto the main event: we’re joined this week by NYC DJ and virtual pop architect umru (30:09). A key member of SoundCloud’s class of the mid-2010s, umru officially graduated to the hyperpop top tier in 2017 with his work on Charli XCX’s game-changing Pop 2 mixtape. He’s since worked with the likes of Hannah Diamond, Tommy Cash, Hyd, Dorian Electra and more while releasing his own music on PC Music and, this year, LuckyMe. He’s also one of our favourite DJs, with an anything-goes approach that feels firmly in the legacy of faves like Total Freedom, Evian Christ and Ryan Hemsworth. We also talked about his past life running parties on Minecraft, leak culture, pop’s Splice era, and the link between PC Music and Pirates of the Caribbean.A little housekeeping: after a small delay the second pressing of No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture should be arriving in the next week, so if you missed out the first time, head to Shopify to place your order.In the meantime, if you’re enjoying No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue planning, recording, editing and transcribing podcasts like this one. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This week we kick off the first ever No Tags film season! Based on an original idea by DJ and NTS host Finn, Big Beat Cinema is our attempt to identify and decode a much-loved and entirely made-up micro-genre.We begin by outlining the core canon and basic tropes of BBC, paying particular attention to the ultra-stylish heist movies of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s – think Ocean’s Eleven, Mark Wahlberg’s The Italian Job, Snatch and even The Matrix.We also try to explain why big beat – the sample-flipping, chart-dominating, Hawaiian shirt-wearing sound of the millennium – became so integral to these movies’ portrayal of cool guys pulling off implausible heists.From zany editing to Junkie XL, from Paul Oakenfold to the politics of cool, and from Skint Records to the correct shade of denim, this first episode lays out the core principles of BBC.Let us know what you think in the comments – including on our Letterboxd list, where you can check out the full selection of BBC contenders, from Shallow Grave to Kneecap. Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Heaving ourselves into 2025 like a rebuilt BILLY with half its dowels missing, No Tags returns to its usual schedule.We kick off with a journey to the North Circular, where London’s biggest club is under investigation following two drug-related deaths and an alleged stabbing. Following the recent revelations about Drumsheds in Jim Waterson’s excellent London Centric newsletter, Tom and Chal ask: why is it so hard to have a realistic conversation about safety in clubs?Next we indulge in one of our favourite anorak pastimes – arguing about arbitrary historical groupings of underground records! We contend that 2013 was the best year for album releases so far this century, with DJ Rashad, Oneohtrix Point Never, Sky Ferreira, Kanye West and Dean Blunt among the strong portfolio of evidence.Finally, an announcement! ‘Tis the season for hibernating in front of the TV and racking up those numbers on Letterboxd, and in that spirit we are proud to present – adapted from an original opinion by DJ and friend-of-the-show Finn McCorry – the first ever No Tags film season! Introducing: Big Beat Cinema. Look out for that next week.In the meantime, if you enjoyed this episode of No Tags, please do rate, review and subscribe on your podcast app of choice, as it does really help. We’d also ask you to consider subscribing to our paid tier, which costs £5 a month and helps us continue planning, recording, editing and transcribing these regular podcasts – or in the case of next week’s episode, will go towards renting some seriously ropey turn-of-the-noughties films. Swordfish, anyone? Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

December comes but once a year, and sneaking in at the very last point we could probably get away with… it’s No Tags’ 2024 round-up!Joined by regular guest Henry Bruce-Jones in what’s becoming a bit of a list-making tradition, we run down our favourite music of the year and tackle some of the year’s big consensus releases – good and bad.Minimal intro required, really, but below is a timestamped run-down of everything discussed – so if Rap Corner’s not your vibe or you simply can’t hear the B-word one more time, we’ve made it easy to skip ahead.This episode also closes the first full year of No Tags! Thanks to all of you for tuning in, especially our paid tier, those of you who came to our recent live show, and those of you who bought our book. The first edition is already sold out (!) but we’ll be printing a second edition in January 2025, and pre-orders for that are up now. It’s been a pleasure, see you in January.Running order:2024 consensus picks (04:15)Dance music corner (26:30)Something is vibing in the state of Denmark (56:54)Underrated Pop (01:02:39)Rap Corner (01:15:03)One instrument in a really big room (01:40:15)Marg.mp3 faves AKA What is this new vocal style? (01:43:32)Assorted percies (1:48:52) Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

What do The Simpsons, Dawn of the Dead and the Facebook page for Tom and Chal’s former employer have in common? They’re all overrun by zombies.Prompted by the publication of No Tags’ first physical book, in this episode we return to our long-held worry about disappearing archives. As older platforms fade away, can we be bothered to start again with the latest social media fads? Will gated micro-communities be the saviour of underground scenes, or just a cul-de-sac? And what the hell happened to The Simpsons?We take a detour into the history of the zombie in folklore and popular culture for answers, before a speed run through films, tunes and extracurricular updates, from Predator and Wild Things to Scooter, Pa Salieu and Blumitsu live.You can pre-order No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture now. Come down to the free launch party at in Dalston on 3rd December with Kode9, Flo Dill and music from Jennifer Walton! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

We trailed ‘big things coming’ on our last episode, and would you look at that – the big thing has come. Or is available for pre-order, at least.That’s right, it’s our first ever book. Titled No Tags: Conversations on underground music culture and designed by All Purpose Studio, this hefty tome (350+ pages) compiles every interview to date on No Tags, edited transcripts of the best of Chal and Tom’s non-guest conversations, and specially commissioned essays from four of our favourite writers and thinkers: Eris Drew, Chris Zaldua, Henry Bruce-Jones and Ray Philp. The book is available to pre-order now. We’ll also be launching the book with our first live show in London on 3rd December, taking over Ridley Road Market Bar. On the night we’ve got Kode9 giving his new talk on Sonic Warfare for the first time in the UK, celebrating a new release of his seismic 2009 book about acoustic force and the ecology of fear.We’ll also be recording a live episode of No Tags with everyone’s favourite breakfast host Flo Dill, morning doyenne of NTS Radio. Plus we’ll have music from Jennifer Walton – not only one of our favourite artists, but the wizard behind the No Tags theme tune. Entry is free, simply hit ‘Interested’ on the event page.There is also a podcast this week. We introduce the book before getting into some of our favourite recent releases (The Cure, mediopicky, Dubbel Dutch and Toma Kami) and dissecting the long-awaited debut album by Two Shell. There's also some film chat (Lords of Dogtown, Kneecap, The Florida Project) and a debate over the key historical entries in the Florida Film canon. We are confident that No Tags is the only podcast where Toma Kami and Wild Things get discussed in the same breath – and if that doesn’t count for something in 2024, what does? Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe