Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

In June 2020, I released the first episode of my podcast -   Harmonious World  - and I had no idea how much delight it would bring me to share conversations with musicians from around the world. Whether you're a guest, a listener or one of the collaborators who have helped me find my guests, thank you! I now have listeners in 2, 475 cities across 129 countries, so wherever you are, welcome to our collective musical attempts to make the world more harmonious. Season 20 guests were: Chris Gall Sultan Stevenson Fotina Naumenko Quinn Sternberg Tara Minton for International Jazz Day Nicole Zuraitis Dave Keech Ute Lemper Vonn Vanier Iain Farrington Cecilie Strange Becca Wilkins Dave Handler

I headed right back to Tin Pan Alley - London’s Denmark Street - for a delightful Sunday afternoon of music with singer songwriter Hannah Brine . Hannah’s debut album Blue Sky Now  features ten songs written by the singer herself, either solo or in collaboration with some songwriting heavyweights, namely Jeff Franzel ,  Michael Garvin , Henk Pool and Emily Phillips . Produced by guitarist and bandleader Jamie McCredie , it is a genuinely beautiful collection of tracks that allows Hannah’s voice to shine - it’s more often forming part of choirs and a huge range of vocal ensembles in high-profile TV, live and recording projects. Hannah is used to directing groups of voices and it’s really lovely to hear her solo voice in her own compositions. Today’s gig at Rough Trade on Denmark Street was even more engaging, with just the singer, McCredie’s guitar and backing vocals from Imogen Halsey and Celia Crwys-Finnigan. The album itself includes an impressive selection of the UK’s best...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. For this episode, you can hear my conversation with  David Handler , who is a composer, violinist and club owner in New York City. His debut album - Life Like Violence - is out now on Cantaloupe Music. It's a fascinating collection of acoustic and electronic music that, as we discuss, is not for background listening. Thanks to David for allowing me to share clips from Life Like Violence alongside our conversation   Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and subscribe to support the show. Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a harmonious world it would be if every single person, both young and old, shared a little of what he is good at doing."

Sometimes I feel like I’m late to the party on artists that other people have long-since discovered. One such happened last night, as a packed Barbican Hall was treated to a mesmerising performance by the incredible pianist and band-leader Tigran Hamasyan . Photo (c) Daragh Drake Virtuosity a nd invention filled the stage and blasted the audience as Hamasyan and his band performed work from his latest album -   The Bird of a Thousand Voices . There’s an intensity about this music, that encompasses irregularity and rhythmic and melodic complexity that never descends into cacophony. Born from Armenian folklore - specifically in a retelling of   Hazaran Bibul  - the music tells the tale through rock, jazz, improvisation and quasi-classical virtuosity that all harks back to folk music. Perhaps the reason I haven’t encountered Hamasyan before is precisely that eclectic mix of styles and influences. But once heard, never forgotten. I missed this band at Cadogan Hall last year a...

Welcome to the latest episode of Harmonious World, in which I interview musicians about how their music helps make the world more harmonious. The sun was shining and children were playing as I interviewed vocalist  Becca Wilkins  in London's Finsbury Park just a few days before the launch of her album  Reverie . It was a delight to bump into Becca (and her drummer  Billy Pod , who I interviewed in 2022) last night at the Barbican, and we followed up this live chat about her album and all things musical and creative. Thanks to Becca for allowing me to share clips from Reverie alongside our conversation. Thank you for listening to Harmonious World. Please rate, review and share: click on the link and subscribe to support the show. Don't forget the Quincy Jones quote that sums up why I do this: "Imagine what a harmonious world it would be if every single person, both young and old, shared a little of what he is good at doing."

It was a delight to interview Ute Lemper for a recent episode of Harmonious World, and her performance at London’s Cadogan Hall gave me the chance to hear her sing live for the first time in 35 years. The first time I was aware of Ute’s voice was in the planning stages of ‘The Wall’ Berlin 1990, when I was working for the Producer, Mick Worwood. Mick had conversations with Roger Waters about the artists that would be appearing on stage and the name Ute Lemper came up very early in conversations. Even then, she was becoming renowned for her incredible voice and her performances of the work of Kurt Weill. Now, 35 years later, I heard some of those songs live, with just a piano accompaniment. Long-term collaborator Vana Gierig was more than an accompanist and clearly the musical understanding between these two consummate artists is intense. There was humour and polish in the entire show, which included personal and innovative arrangements of some much-loved Weill classics. Everything fro...