Talk the Line

Mykki Blanco on cafe culture

Talk the Line

Show Notes

In Talk The Line, our resident artist and curious interviewer Emmeline Armitage speaks to brilliant people about their unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. In this week's episode, rapper, performance artist, writer, poet and activist Mykki Blanco talks about cafe culture, the inspiration for his new record Cafe Paradiso. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater, with music by Seams.

More from Talk the Line

Oct 16, 2026

It’s tossed salad and scrambled eggs time on Talk The Line this week as Elly Jackson - better known as La Roux - joins host Emmeline Armitage to explore her Frasier fandom.Jackson drops Old Flames, the fourth La Roux studio album - and her first in six years - on 6 November, with live dates in North America and to follow throughout February and March next year. On ⁠⁠Talk The Line⁠⁠ we speak to brilliant people about the beautiful detours that make a creative life interesting – those unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. New episodes drop every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater with music by Seams.

Oct 9, 2026

A rising force in the new era of interviewing, Iona Bielby is host of Stargazer, where her musical guests lie down side-by-side inside a homemade blanket fort decorated with fairy lights and paper-cut stars for candid and unscripted conversations. An Art History graduate, Bielby was also the founder of New Fine Art Exchange, a platform which allows artists from around the world to publicise and sell their art – and today she's talking about one of her favourite artists, American painter James McNeill Whistler! On ⁠⁠Talk The Line⁠⁠ we speak to brilliant people about the beautiful detours that make a creative life interesting – those unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. New episodes drop every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater, with music by Seams.

Oct 2, 2026

Under the name Skinshape, the incredibly prolific British songwriter, producer and former Palace bandmember William Dorey has crafted a sonic universe of sun-dappled, lo-fi dreamscapes across ten records but for this episode of Talk the Line he's going in deep on his passion for mushroom foraging. Dorey kicks off a short European tour this November, following the release of the eleventh Skinshape album Chapman's Pool on 30 October. On ⁠Talk The Line⁠ we speak to brilliant people about the beautiful detours that make a creative life interesting – those unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. New episodes drop every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater, with music by Seams.

Sep 25, 2026

Halifax-born singer/songwriter Ella McNamara – better known as Ellur – reveals her fascination with fellow West Yorkshire writers and poets Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. Ellur tours the UK throughout October with Antony Szmierek and plays a series of headline shows in November, with dates in Manchester, Leeds and London. Find out more at ellur.biz. On Talk The Line we speak to brilliant people about the beautiful detours that make a creative life interesting – those unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. New episodes drop every Friday wherever you get your podcasts. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater, with music by Seams.

Sep 18, 2026

Singer and songwriter Bella Latham's childhood and adolescence in South Africa is the jumping off point for her discussion with host Emmeline Armitage for this episode of Talk The Line as Latham guides us through her memories of avian wildlife in her birth country. The new Baby Queen record ⁠I Hope You Don’t Remember Me⁠ was released back in July and see Latham moving away from the broad generational commentary of her 2023 debut Quarter Life Crisis for a more introspective and self-interrogative through line. In Talk The Line, our resident artist and curious interviewer Emmeline Armitage speaks to brilliant people about their unusual fascinations and obsessions that sometimes lie far away from their day job as musicians, directors, comedians and actors. Talk The Line is a podcast from UK music magazine ⁠⁠⁠The Line of Best Fit ⁠⁠⁠and is co-produced by Emmeline Armitage and Paul Bridgewater, with music by Seams.

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