Welcome to my seven part end of year series! New episodes will be released each weekday between Dec 13-21. Inspired by the Black radical tradition of the harmony between the lyrical and visual, I am joined by friends (artists, dancers, musicians) to explore the musical influences that inspire their work. We also look to the people, real and imagined, familial and ancestral who guide them. Get ready to be inspired!

Today I am delighted to introduce my friend, Axel Kacoutié - the multi-award-winning creator who's been crafting sound, music, and words to challenge the familiar and revive a magic in the mundane. Previously the Creative Director of Sound at The Guardian, their work has featured on the BBC, Spotify and in physical spaces like the Barbican, Tate Modern & Sundance Film Festival. They’ve received British Podcast Awards, ARIAs, Third Coast awards and many, many more. Some of you may know Axel from our work together Black Balloons for Tate Modern, Interludes podcast series on art and healing and Wandering where we walk with creatives through art spaces. We start by hearing Axel talk about their work A Mother Tongue which is a personal essay reflecting on language, created for the BBC. They also mention Gatekeeper where Axel discovers a new sense of self in the cosmologies, concepts and realities of queer and indigenous folks. In this piece we hear Axel say "Somewhere between the narrow entry of Who I am and What I seem to be, lies a vast and nameless place.” It is this vast and nameless place that Axel and I visit in todays conversation.

ENJOY! Please review & share!

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Gatekeeper by Axel Kacoutié

A Mother Tongue by Axel Kacoutié

V & A East The Music is Black Film sound designed by Axel Kacoutié

Axel Kacoutié Instagram

This series was produced and hosted by Lou Mensah

Music King Henry IV for Shade Podcast by Brian Jackson

Mixing by Tess Davidson

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