Digging with Flo

This week Flo is in the picturesque town of Wivenhoe, Essex for a slightly different take on Digging. She’s meeting one of the UK’s most quietly remarkable musical figures: Martin Newell. Singer-songwriter, poet, columnist and author - as well as the man behind cult guitar pop outfit Cleaners from Venus (whose song The Artichoke That Loved Me has heralded the start of this podcast since launch back in 2023) - Martin is a hero of the DIY music scene. In the episode, Flo and Martin chat about Martin’s career as both cult musician, gardener and pot washer, and the art of the perfect pop song. The pair start by pruning an apple tree then take us on a little tour of Wivenhoe. Digging with Flo will be taking a pause after this episode, thanks for watching and listening along the way. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is in the greenhouse today with avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson. Laurie is an enduring creative force who has been at the forefront of innovations in music and technology since the 1970s, including her creation of the Talking Stick and voice filters. As the pair plant out crocus sativa bulbs they compare strange counting habits, their very different takes on AI, and Laurie’s time hanging out with Andy Kaufman. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is in the polytunnel today with venerated British musician, producer and composer Dev Hynes. Previously part of dance punk outfit Test Icicles, he ventured into solo music as Lightspeed Champion before evolving into Blood Orange, which he releases music under today. As Flo and Dev plant out spring bulbs, they discuss the British county of Essex and its complicated reputation, as well as how his early life on the edge of London and the recent death of Dev’s mother fed into the creation of his most recent celebrated studio album, Essex Honey. Musical and football icons including Philip Glass and Paul Ince form part of this ranging conversation as Flo & Dev dwell on grief and the cycle of life, along with the impact that teenage music and memories have in processing these powerful feelings. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Chantal Adams, Sound Recording - Connor Gani, Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s officially autumn on the allotment, and Flo is joined by beloved contemporary art critics The White Pube, aka Zarina Muhammad and Gabrielle De La Puente. Raised on Tumblr and MySpace, the duo met at art school, and began publishing reviews, criticism and essays on their website under their collective name The White Pube. Over the last 10 years they have become a vital voice in the contemporary art world, and their project has evolved to include reviews of video games, a podcast, a discord community, and most recently a book: Poor Artists. On the allotment Zarina, Gabrielle and Flo chat about the impossibilities of life as an artist in 2025, the stories behind their book, and the compulsion that we all feel for space and joy. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTubeMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.You can pick up a copy of The White Pube's book, Poor Artists, here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455873/poor-artists-by-pube-gabrielle-de-la-puente-and-zarina-muhammad-aka-the-white/9780241633762Check out the world of White Pube here: https://thewhitepube.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is back on the allotment today with a packed-out interview featuring a beguilingly down-to-earth star.Hayley Williams, co-founder and lead vocalist of Paramore, the pop-punk band that defined the lives of 2000s teens and beyond, signed a “360 deal” with Atlantic Records in 2003 at just 14 years old. Today, she joins Flo on the allotment to celebrate the release of her new record, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, which she’s putting out independently on her own label, Post Atlantic.As they plant cabbages, Flo and Hayley talk about the making of the album, day-to-day life in her hometown of Nashville, growing up in a Southern Baptist church community, and her perspective on US culture today. They also delve into the important topic of the Twilight soundtrack and Hayley’s recent collaboration with David Byrne for the upcoming Twits film. As she says on the plot: she’s lived a hundred lives, but it feels like she’s only just getting started.This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is off the plot today and in the garden of British cultural icon, Bez. Bez found fame as the exuberant dancer/maraca player for the legendary Madchester band Happy Mondays. Since his days at the centre of the Hacienda club scene, he’s become something of a national treasure - going on to win Celebrity Big Brother and is now a regular on Celebrity Googlebox. On Bez’s patch, the pair plant out brassicas (kale and broccoli to you and me). Whilst they dig they chat about Bez’s honey addiction, his various brushes with death, some dalliances with the Welsh tribes and permaculture. It’s as wild as it sounds. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is in the greenhouse today with Clairo, an American musician whose music encompasses elements of  lo-fi pop, soul and introspective folk. She grew up on the internet, with her viral hit Pretty Girl landing on YouTube in 2017. Three albums later, Clairo’s work feels like it’s maturing with her, but still maintains the raw intimacy and emotional clarity that her growing fanbase know her for. In the greenhouse, Flo and Clairo pot on sweetcorn while they avoid a London rainstorm. During this meditative task they talk about growing up on the internet, their mutual love of the band Broadcast, the euphoric joy of soul music and how this is inspiring Clairo’s new work. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is off the plot today and in the London garden of English musician, filmmaker, painter and feminist icon, Gina Birch.Gina’s career spans the late 1970s and 80s when, alongside Ana De Silva, she formed The Raincoats. Through the 80s and 90s she continued to make music with Red Crayola and toured with Nirvana, as well as making music videos for the likes of New Order. Constantly evolving, her more contemporary work is in paint, film and more music. Her new album, Trouble, is just out on Third Man Records. Flo and Gina got so lost in conversation that the gardening barely gets a look in. Some green beans did eventually get planted whilst they talk about feminist icons, the Women In Revolt show, life in 1970s London and Gina's occasional wish to be a bus conductor. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Connor Gani, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie Ellison, Exec Producer - Lizzy KingA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flo is back on the allotment for another dig with pop star (and fellow NTS host) Olivia Dean. Olivia Dean is a British singer-songwriter, celebrated for her soulful blend of neo-soul, pop and jazz. Though she has many talents, it turns out digging isn’t one of them - but what she lacks in technical skill she makes up for with enthusiasm. As they plants out some butternut squash, Olivia & Flo discuss song writing influences, her time at Brit School, the process of creating her next album and the art of being vulnerable. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Connor Gani, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie Ellison, Exec Producer - Lizzy KingA video version of this episode is also available on YouTubeMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If anyone can make weeding (a mundane but necessary part of allotment life) exciting, it’s Detroit party starters, HiTech. HiTech are a Detroit-based trio redefining the sound and spirit of the city. King Milo, Milf Melly, and 47Chops fuse ghettotech, footwork, techno, and hip-hop into a high-octane, genre-blurring style that’s both futuristic and deeply rooted in Detroit’s musical DNA. Their live sets, where they turn dancefloors into full-blown parties, have given them a cult following.They join Flo on the plot today to prepare the ground for future planting, whilst they talk about their origin story, the Beach Boys, why Milo will never do stand up comedy and their dream collaborators. This episode of Digging is sponsored by Niwaki: the go to destination for functional, durable Japanese gardening gear. For 10% off your Niwaki purchase, head to Niwaki.com and enter the code DIGGINGWITHFLO at the checkout. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Connor Gani, Editing - Omar Serge, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie Ellison, Exec Producer - Lizzy KingA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.