The Milk Train

This week Danni is flying solo with a real treat for musicians and producers! He chats with Simon Lyon from Ableton - songwriter, producer, and parent! What a combination.'How do we do it? Do we fail? Do we try out best? Or are we just somewhere in the middle?' 'Somewhere in the middle' says Simon! And here we go...enjoy!

After a little break we're back with one of our ALL time favourite guests and people - photographer, musician, and (in our opinion!) the Woman who Started Britpop. You may know her from being lucky enough to have her take your picture (as we have), or seen her photography, or know her as Debbie Turner of Sister Lovers who, if you've watched the Supersonic documentary more times than is healthy, along with her Sister Lovers band mates was responsible for taking the Gallaghers and co up to King Tut's in Glasgow where they were seen by Alan McGee...and the rest is history. This is such a fascinating chat about Debbie's life a a rock star, photographer and mum, about walking away from alcohol, and Liam Gallagher's boyhood trainers - and we can't wait for you to listen! Find Debbie @asupremeshot or debbieellis_photography or @https://www.debbieellisphotography.com/ Enjoy!

A very special insight this week into Danni's past as 'wax' lyrical (that will make more sense once you listen!) with one of his oldest friends: illustrator, hand-lettering specialist, author, and host of The Creative Condition Podcast Ben Tallon. Ben's organic, energetic brand of image-making for Channel 4, The Guardian, World Wrestling Entertainment, The New York Times, Bloomsbury Books, and The Premier League is hand-made and digitally composed for speed and flexibility across all media. Ben also works live, on camera, and large scale. His passion for creativity led to his debut book, Champagne and Wax Crayons, described by Designersblock's Piers Roberts as "the book the creative industry needed'. The Creative Condition book is due out this month and you can pre-order your copy now!  ‘In The Creative Condition, Ben shares an intimate and timely insight into the pivotal role of creativity, serving not only as a reflection of our identity but also as our guiding light during tumultuous times. In an era where hope might seem fleeting, he champions the wonder of our imagination, emphasising its profound ability to uplift our spirit and inspire transformative change in the world around us.’ – Katy Cowan, Founding Editor of Creative Boom

"Somebody once said to me and I think it’s so true; men create the space and women apologise for being there, it’s a constant undercurrent and it needs to change" - https://jamsessionmagazine.com/article/read/27303/27321 We couldn't agree more! This week's guest is the incredibly inspiring producer, recording artist, songwriter, arranger and mum Yvonne Ellis. 2018's 'Manchester Women Digital Archives Rebel Women In Music', Yvonne is the indisputable queen of music production and smashing glass ceilings for the women who came in her wake. She's produced and written for some huge names at the same time bringing up her daughter (the hugely talented singer-songwriter Mali Hayes). We loved chatting with Yvonne and you can follow her work @d_alchemiss on Instagram. Enjoy!

It's not every day that a chart-topping, Ivor Novello award-winning artist stands casually chatting at the back of your gig in a tiny Manchester venue, kindly asking you about your music and not mentioning anything about themselves. But such was the scenario for Caffs (flying solo this week as Danni faces down a school strike-based childcare emergency) when none other than singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson came down to support friend and songwriting buddy Ed Cosens (Reverend and the Makers) at a gig Caffs was supporting as Test Card Girl. Jamie is a fantastically inspiring example of how things have drastically changed for musicians over the last 10-15 years, and how to survive in the industry, however successful a record has been, you have to adapt to new audiences and new ways of consuming music all the time to survive. Jamie released back-to-back records, Happy Accidents (2017) and The Years In Between (2019) preceded by Jamie Lawson (2015), his self-titled third album, which entered the UK charts at Number One and gave the world Wasn’t Expecting That. That breakout classic scooped the then-largely-unknown artist the 2016 Ivor Novello for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. And now, finally, he's back with a glorious new album Little Weaknesses. It’s 14 tracks of concise, emotive, painterly beauty. Only one song crests the four-minute mark, four of them say what they need to say in less than three minutes, six are blessed with strings arranged by multi-genre violinist Isabella Baker, and all of them were crafted in Lawson’s music room in his family residence in Manchester and recorded by producer-collaborator Tim Ross at his home studio in Twickenham. But, say it again: it’s four years since The Years In Between, which was his third record for Sheeran's Gingerbread Man imprint. What took him so long?  “Yeah, that's a good point!” Lawson answers with a rueful laugh. “In fairness, it wasn't four years ago in normal years! But I would stick to that statement: I don't think it should take four years. The fact that it has taken me four years is another matter. Obviously, we had a pandemic where things couldn't happen. But the main thing for me, as is quite obvious across the record, is that we had a boy in 2020. Originally, I had intended to take six months off when he came along. And then the pandemic hit, and I had what felt like three years off.” We don't think Jamie should beat himself up - after all - this podcast is all about how we cope trying to hold down a creative career with children. Throw in a pandemic and you have a perfect storm! We've had Little Weaknesses on repeat and if you're someone who maybe had a gap in your creative output (or are currently in one - hello Caffs!) this is a fascinating and honest account of the highs and lows of a creative career and how to adapt and change. We recorded this episode a little while ago but Jamie is now on tour so catch him in your home town from April! https://linktr.ee/jamielawson We loved chatting to Jamie and we hope you enjoy our latest episode. As always, if you want to tell us more about your creative projects, how your coping with the family juggle or to suggest a guest get in touch!

"Interesting people walk on carpets" This week Dee and Caffs chat with mutual friend, legend, author, BBC Presenter, Musician , Poet, Podcaster (and Dad)… David Scott. David's career path was anything but traditional. Escaping the clutches of mundane jobs, he took a leap into an artist's life. As a BBC Presenter, her got to interview icons like David Chase, the mastermind behind "The Sopranos," a true highpoint as a show's fanatic. Equally rewarding was co-creating the Scotty and Motty YouTube channel with friend Jay Motty. Overcoming their pasts , they promote mental health through this venture. In April 2023, a lifelong dream came true when he released his debut book, "Mancunians: where do we start, where do I begin?" As a poet (also known as ARGH KiD), sharing the stage with Sir Alex Ferguson after singing in the stands for Manchester United was a surreal transition. This episode also features a brief cameo via Cameo from the one and only West Wing legend Richard Schiff aka Toby Ziegler (once Caffs can make the tech work!). A conversation between friends.

This week Danni and Caffs welcome their first ever guest and what a spectacular one she turned out to be. Appearing alongside her fantastically patient toddler, Anna lets us into her world and quite frankly we didn't want to leave it. Anna FC Smith is a Wigan (UK) based multimedia artist. She studied Critical Fine Art Practice at the University of Brighton, graduating in 2007 and has exhibited internationally. Smith explores social history, folk culture and ritual through historical and anthropological research. Creating sculpture, installation, performance, and group actions her works emerge as symbolic collages spanning eras, and forms of material culture. Touching on politics and performative space, she examines power and community, juxtaposing the ‘low culture’ and irreverence of communal tradition with the pageantry and ceremony of governance. Seeking links contemporary society has to its predecessors, she sees history and ritual as means to interpret the present. Enjoy and check out Anna's upcoming projects: Anna has a collaborative installation made with Helen Mather as part of Creating Place II at Turnpike Gallery, Leigh on until 30th March. @theturnpikegallery She is part of the artist led exhibition Seeing Things at The Edge, Wigan 20th Feb - 29th Feb @seeing_things_   She runs TERM art classes with fellow artist Klaire Doyle, they deliver life drawing and art history classes online, to get involved visit @artdiscussterm https://term.ticketlight.co.uk/

'I've gotta lot of lists, but not a lotta ticks'. With Danni still hungover from touring in New York, and Caffs attempting to stay awake while walking her 22 week-old through the park in Manchester, the Milk Train team discuss where they've come from, where they are, where they want to be and what list system they attend to use to achieve their dreams.