James Righton is a name you may recognise. For 10 years he was part of nu-raving London band Klaxons. They won the Mercury Prize and performed with Rihanna at The Brits during a drug-fuelled decade that, in our podcast, James jokingly described as having “highs and highs“. After the band parted ways in early 2015 Righton went through a period of reflection – the result is his choice to continue making music, this time on his own terms as part of his solo project Shock Machine. He released a EP in April, ‘Open Up The Sky’.

We took the podcast on location to speak to him as he made the final preparations for his debut live shows (starting 9 June in London) at a very hot rehearsal studio in Dalston, east London.

In a wide-ranging chat we talked about how chefs and craft brewmasters are the new rock stars, whether bands performing classic album is ever a good idea and his perspective on the influence of Klaxons a few, more sober, years down the line…

Previous guests on the podcast include Kate Jackson (formerly of The Long Blondes), Gold Panda, Cat’s Eyes, Saul Williams, Polica and The Invisible’s Dave Okumu.

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