Heavy Rotation

In this episode, we’re joined by Ian McNabb, songwriter, solo artist, and frontman of Liverpool legends The Icicle Works, for a wide-ranging conversation covering his life in music, from growing up in Liverpool to decades of songwriting, touring and recording. Ian takes us back to his earliest memories of music and discovering records through Liverpool’s shops and venues, reflecting on the city that shaped him creatively and personally. We talk about the early days of The Icicle Works, the L...

This week on the Dead Air Records podcast, we’re joined by Liverpool band A Lesser Version for a live session and conversation in the shop, following the release of their third album, 0.2 Flesh Etc. The band perform a stripped-back set featuring songs from the new record, bringing their atmospheric, emotionally heavy sound into an intimate in-store setting at Dead Air Records. After the performance, we sit down to talk about the making of 0.2 Flesh Etc., how the band’s sound has evolved acros...

Season 3 starts with chaos. Room 101 is back, and somehow the picks are even more controversial this time around. We’re once again banishing albums from our collections forever: records everyone else seems to love, records we’ve tried (and failed) to connect with, and records that we have simply ruined for each other. This episode features brutal takes on albums including Stereolab’s Dots and Loops and Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut, alongside a fresh batch of musical grievances, petty...

In this bonus episode, we’re joined by Andy McCluskey — co-founder, songwriter and creative force behind Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — for a deep, chronological conversation spanning more than four decades of music, technology and ideas. Andy takes us back to his earliest relationship with sound, growing up on the Wirral in 1970s Britain, discovering Kraftwerk, and becoming fascinated not just with songs, but with texture, machinery and the possibilities of noise itself. From The Id to...

For our first Christmas bonus episode, we’re joined by guitarist, songwriter and Liverpool icon Nasher — a key member of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Nasher takes us back to his early musical roots and the energy of Liverpool in the late 70s and early 80s, before guiding us through the formation of FGTH and the club scene that shaped the band’s sound and style. We dive into the breakthrough of Relax and Two Tribes, the cultural shockwaves of 1984, and the stories behind the bold visuals, the B...