In this episode, I’m dedicating the show to Nathaniel Dye — musician, music teacher, brass band obsessive, ultramarathon runner, and one of the most quietly extraordinary people I’ve met. We begin with Nat performing his song “Public Service Announcement” (recorded live at my Wilton’s Music Hall show in November 2024) — a funny, furious, razor-sharp call to take bowel cancer symptoms seriously.

Nat sadly died recently from complications related to bowel cancer. This episode is part tribute, part replay, part attempt to hold onto the actual substance of what he stood for: making things, teaching people, and choosing music — not as escapism, but as a meaningful way to use the time you’ve got.

You’ll also hear excerpts from my “Listen like a musician” series, and then a replay of my earlier interview with Nat (from Episode 10), where he talks about his diagnosis, his fundraising, his trombone marathon plans, and what music became for him after everything changed.

• Nat’s live performance of “Public Service Announcement”
• Why he threw himself back into teaching and music-making after treatment
• The story behind Bowel Cancer Bucket List and the fundraising work
• A replay of our earlier chat: music, mortality, and doing the thing anyway
• The episode outro: Nat’s music, accompanied by bass/tuba greats Guy Pratt and Theon Cross

• Bowel Cancer Bucket List (Nat’s site + donation links): bowelcancerbucketlist.com
• Matters of Life and Death (album page): Bowel Cancer Bucket List – album page
• Matters of Life and Death (Spotify): Spotify album link
• “Public Service Announcement” (Spotify track): Spotify track link
• Donate to Macmillan Cancer Support: Macmillan donation page
• Guy Pratt: guypratt.com
• Theon Cross who appears in Nat's closing song too: theoncross.com

Stay musically curious.

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What actually is musical time? In this episode, Steve kicks off 2026 with the first four days of his “12 Days of Listening” mini-series — all about pulse, groove, and how our brains latch onto patterns (sometimes to our advantage, sometimes not).

Then we jump to Wilton’s Music Hall (January 2025) for a live guest spot from Aluá Nascimento — Brazilian percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and former STOMP cast member — starting with a trumpet + pandeiro duet on “Brazil” and expanding into body percussion, Afro-Brazilian rhythm traditions, and the wonderfully low-tech joy of making music out of whatever’s around.

Along the way, Aluá talks about growing up around capoeira, how culture and history shaped these sounds, and demonstrates instruments including berimbau (musical bow), caxixi (shaker), and pandeiro — with a bit of audience participation thrown in too.

• A practical listening upgrade: pulse vs rhythm (try it while walking)
• “The pocket”: groove as micro-timing, not just the pattern
• Why your brain is basically a pattern-hunting drummer
• Shared time / entrainment: why humans sync up (and why it matters in music)
• Live at Wilton’s: trumpet + pandeiro on “Brazil”
• Aluá’s story: capoeira roots, Afro-Brazilian traditions, and the STOMP years
• Instruments you’ll hear: body percussion, pandeiro, berimbau, caxixi (and more)

• Instagram
• Beat Goes On (bio + workshops)
• Watch: Aluá Nascimento & Helene Jank – Body Music (YouTube)

• Steve mentions Episode 36 (breaking down how the My Friend Maisy theme was made)
• Wilton’s Music Hall shows: 24th January — kids/family show at 2pm, evening show at 7pm

• Explore episodes, transcripts, and more: originofthepieces.com
• Join the Patreon: patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces
• If you enjoyed this one, share it with a musically curious human (it helps more than you’d think)

Stay musically curious!

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From Addis to the Barbican and back again, this episode dives into the sound-world shaped by Mulatu Astatke — the father of Ethio jazz. With Mulatu having recently completed his farewell tour, Steve goes back to a long, previously-unreleased interview he recorded with him during the making of Hackney Colliery Band’s Collaborations: Volume One. What emerges is a portrait of a true pioneer: a composer trained in London and at Berklee, a collaborator with Duke Ellington, and the architect of a style heard across film soundtracks, samples and stages worldwide.

Expect discussions of Ethio jazz’s roots in traditional modes and tribal instruments; a journey through pentatonic and diminished scales; and Mulatu’s deep reflections on African musical heritage and collaboration. There’s even a live extract of Derashe from HCB’s Barbican show — the tune he discusses in the interview.

In this episode:

• How Mulatu fused Ethiopian pentatonic traditions with jazz harmony and improvisation.

• Why some Ethiopian tribes use diminished (whole–half) scales, and how that changes the emotional palette.

• The story of Duke Ellington’s Jazz Ambassadors tour — and how Ellington ended up performing one of Mulatu’s arrangements in Addis.

• The embilta, washint and other Ethiopian wind instruments that parallel trumpets, trombones and baritone sax.

• The link between African “bush” instruments, mbira/“African piano” traditions, and Western harmonic thinking.

• A rare 2018 interview captured at Livingston Studios during the HCB/Mulatu recording sessions.

• A live performance of Derashe from the Barbican, featuring Hackney Colliery Band and Mulatu Astatke.

Also in this episode, Steve welcomes listeners from the New Scientist Podcast and explores the science–music crossover behind shell acoustics, underwater sound, and the physics of musical evolution. Plus a reminder that the new Origin of the Pieces website now includes full transcripts, an interactive world-map archive of every episode, and a growing library of extras.

And don’t miss the upcoming Wilton’s Music Hall shows on 24th January 2026, including the first ever Origin KIDS matinee at 2pm and the evening performance at 7pm. TICKETS.

🎧 Listen, rate and share to help more musically curious ears find the show.

💻 More episodes and extras at originofthepieces.com

🪶 Patreon: https://patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

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From the high lonesome sound of Appalachia to the flow of a Bronx cipher, this episode explores what happens when two traditions of storytelling and rhythm collide. Recorded at the WOMEX 2024 world-music gathering in Finland, Steve talks with Gangstagrass — the trailblazing American group fusing bluegrass instrumentation with hip-hop lyricism and beats.

Expect fiddles, banjo and beats; live sessions that blur the line between folk jam and freestyle; and a conversation about community, curiosity and the shared language of groove. There’s even a spontaneous rap about Origin of the Pieces and a bus-ride performance that somehow turned into a cipher on wheels.

In this episode:

• How Gangstagrass blend banjo, fiddle and MCs without losing the soul of either style.
• Why hip-hop ciphers and bluegrass picks are closer than you might think.
• The jam session as a universal language — connecting folk musicians, rappers and improvisers worldwide.
• How genre boundaries were drawn by history, and how artists can redraw them.
• A stripped-back version of Do Better plus a freestyle that plugs their UK tour entirely in rhyme.

Gangstagrass UK Tour — November 2025

Also in this episode, Steve launches the new Origin of the Pieces website — featuring full transcripts, an interactive world-map archive, the Darwin-trumpet T-shirt shop, and exclusive extras via Patreon.

And don’t miss the upcoming Wilton’s Music Hall shows on 24 January 2026, including the first ever Origin KIDS matinee and an evening performance featuring new guests and experiments in sound.

🎧 Listen, rate and share to help more musically curious ears find the show.

💻 More episodes and extras at originofthepieces.com

🪶 Patreon: patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From living-room experiments to Malawian street stages — and a brief stop-off in Transylvania.

This week, Steve explores what it means to sing what you see: making music that’s spontaneous, handmade and gloriously human. There’s a Halloween detour into his live Nosferatu score, a new Clip n Mix, and a look at the brilliant Madalitso Band from Malawi — two musicians whose home-built instruments and hypnotic grooves turn simplicity into joy.

Plus: the mystery of a slightly windy theme tune proves that accidents can be the best kind of inspiration.

👇 Full timestamps + links below!

00:00 – A suspiciously familiar theme

02:30 – Living-room experiments & musical accidents

06:40 – Clip n Mix – turning everyday sounds into music

10:45 – Vampire Vamps: Nosferatu score (watch)

16:30 – Introducing Madalitso Band (Malawi)

22:00 – Homemade instruments & street recordings

32:00 – Singing what you see

44:30 – Finding beauty in simple sounds

55:20 – Wilton’s shows, Patreon & Universe of Music tour

🎧 Listen / Watch

YouTube | Apple Podcasts | More platforms

🎬 Nosferatu live score → Full video

🎛 Support / Extras → Patreon

🪐 Universe of Music Tour (with Chris Lintott)

Corsham (20 Nov) | Cambridge (27 Nov) | Shoreham-by-Sea (15 Jan)

🎟 Full info → universeofmusic.co.uk

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24 Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 KIDS matinee (2 pm) – interactive family show

🌙 Evening show (7 pm) – live podcast with guests & musical surprises

💸 Code SPRETTY15 = £15 best available seats

Book Kids | Book Evening

💬 Got a weird sound you’d like Steve to turn into music? Email podcast@stevepretty.com or comment with #ClipnMix.

🙌 Like, subscribe & stay musically curious.

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This week, I finally tackle a long-overdue Genre Tombola pick: Tonás, one of the oldest and most intense styles in flamenco — unaccompanied, emotional, and steeped in centuries of cultural history.

To explore it, I chat with the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who sheds light on the roots of Tonás, its tragic themes, and how flamenco works as a live, collaborative, improvisational artform.

But first… I hit a firepit with a stick. And turn it into music.

Using only my phone and the Ableton Note app, I record a metallic firepit in Dorset with my son, and turn it into a playable instrument. The result? A crunchy little beat made entirely from campsite sounds — and the launch of a brand-new segment: Clip n Mix.

Video versions available on Spotify and YouTube.

00:00 – Intro + podcast updates

03:00 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset

10:45 – Tonás and flamenco intro

11:10 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai

35:30 – Post-interview: why I didn’t make a Tonás track

36:30 – Turning the firepit samples into a beat in the studio

56:00 – Outro, Patreon, live shows, and how to send in your own samples

🎬 Watch the Tonás video Josie mentions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A

👣 Follow Josie:

Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/

Instagram: @josie_sinna

📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note

🎧 Get the firepit samples + Ableton Note project file:

https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kids show (2pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/

🌙 Evening show (7:30pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/

🌍 More info: https://www.originofthepieces.com

👉 Like the show? Please subscribe, rate, and share — and send your own weird/beautiful samples for future Clip n Mix segments to podcast@stevepretty.com or @stevepretty on social.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The original episode was taken down due to a copyright strike on the theme tune — even though I wrote and produced it myself. While I sort that out, you’re treated to a gloriously bad placeholder version.

Also, I’ve trimmed down the Clip n Mix segment — I was clearly having too much fun with firepits last time, and it got a bit… indulgent. This one gets to the good stuff faster.

And what is Tonás — the raw, unaccompanied flamenco style with roots in secrecy, survival, and soul?

In this episode, I launch a new segment called Clip n Mix, where I turn everyday sounds into music. This time? A campsite firepit. My son and I hit it with sticks, sample it using Ableton Note, and turn it into a crunchy little beat — which you’ll hear later in the episode.

Then we dive into one of flamenco’s most haunting styles: Tonás. My guest is the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who helps unpack the history, sound, and emotional depth of this unaccompanied vocal tradition.

👇 Full chapters and links below!

00:00 – Intro + why the theme tune sounds different

02:20 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset

09:45 – What is Tonás?

10:20 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai

34:50 – Why I didn’t make a Tonás track

35:20 – Turning firepit samples into music

49:15 – Sound, play, and curiosity

54:25 – Live shows + Patreon + sign-off

🎬 Watch the Tonás video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A

👣 Follow Josie Sinnadurai:

Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/

Instagram: @josie_sinna

📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note

🎧 Download the firepit samples + Ableton Note session:

https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kids show (2pm):

https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/

🌙 Evening show (7pm):

https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/

💬 Got a weird sound you’d like me to turn into music?

Drop it in the comments or email podcast@stevepretty.com

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