Under The Spotlight

My guest in this episode is Joseph Pogson, AKA Musketeer. A talented singer-songwriter from Australia, Joe now resides in Hamburg and has released his latest EP "The North Sea", available everywhere now. A truly magnificent artist, he holds up the mirror to mankind with his poetry. Taking inspiration from the likes of Nick Cave, Musketeer has crafted his sound and mood as much as he has his image, as if he had walked out of a Victorian novel. Intellectual and very well read, he ponders through the relationship between man and myth in his songs, between beasts and mystery like something you'd hear from the traveling storyteller. 

For this very first Spotlight Special, I’m talking with Chasing Tales, a.k.a Heiko Ritt. This singer songwriter based in Hamburg, put this piece together over a three year period. We’ll be listening to an exclusive clip of his single in the break about halfway through and my initial reaction to this piece was that it evokes expressionist colourful emotion, with clashing and cascading drums, celebrating a change in his personal life and a redirecting of focus, ending on euphoria as the horns blast in. Originally stated to be touring in April, Heiko has been promoting his single over social media where you can find the track now. We talked about the single and his journey to the release as well as cutting a little deeper into the black denim to see how he thinks. We will be taking a little peep into the single during the interview so watch out for a very special clip amidst the trains of thought. I met up with Heiko in the park where we both brought microphones, so excuse the slight changes in quality, I seemed to pick up the incessant sound of a crow party and of course, we were 6 feet apart during the conversation. Music and mastering provided by Heiko Ritt and additional music by Youtube Free Library. To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

My guest this month is Kinga Angelys. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, she now lives in Germany with her family. A mother, health scientist, teacher and musician, Kinga has a wide array of talents but we’ll be focussing on the latter for this episode.  We start off talking about her background and musical endeavours, and take a deep dive into everything from parenthood to mental health, from Elvis to stage presence, from periscope to future projects. I should note that Kinga is a very private person for sake of keeping music and work separate, so I’ll be respecting those lines in this episode.  Side note: this recording was taken in her kitchen on a very creaky table so apologies for those sounds as we shift and lean. Music provided by Kinga Angelys and Youtube Free Library. To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

My guest this month is multi-instrumentalist Oshín Morris from the band, Proof Reading Your Mind. A German musician based in Hamburg with Irish roots, his daytime job couldn’t be more different to his nightly musical endeavours. Working as a judge, Oshín often crosses paths with those suffering mental and physical trauma, which as he says is channeled into his music as a sort of processing for him to get through the heavier days. Forming the band around 2014, he joins Tammo Ballantyne on drums, Ben Christian on bass and second guitarist Cesar Osorio and after nearly 50 gigs together, they released their first album “Not Even Tryin” in January 2019, the first four tracks of that album feature in this episode.

We talk about his background and musical journey with some interesting discoveries along the way. After we finished the interview we spoke for another hour or so about our mutual love of boxing and even managed to have a little jam on one of his many guitars.

Music provided by Oshín Morris and Youtube Free Library.

To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

My guest’s for this month’s episode are Janika Thomas und Philip Görres, also known by their stage-name as JaniPhil. Two artists in their early 30’s living in the vibrant heart of Hamburg, they have dedicated their lives to performance, art, music and theatre and have an extensive repertoire, which you can see for yourself at JaniPhil.com. We take a walk trough their art studio at the beginning then delve into the backgrounds of the two, their musical unity and whats next.

Thankyou to Jani and Phil for taking time to speak with me and Jules for helping me translate.

Music provided by JaniPhil and Youtube Free Library.

To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

My guest this month is David Ost, a german-born singer songwriter, whom I first met in Pony Bar, where most of my podcast guests have played. He’s a somewhat reserved fellow, handsome and always well dressed sporting a wooly hat, with an accent that is somewhere between Glaswegian and German. David and I talk about his travels, his adventures to Ireland, Scotland and the Caribbean and ultimately his arrival in the music scene.

Music provided by David Ost and Youtube Free Library.

To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

For this month’s episode, I spoke with the Maclean brothers, three young lads from my hometown of Edinburgh in Scotland. Growing up, the three brothers would take adventures in Nedd, a small nook in north-west Scotland and quickly became seasoned in sailing and other outdoor activities. Earlier this year it was announced that they would be taking up the enormous challenge of rowing across the Atlantic, from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean, that’s around 3,000 miles, for two charities, Feedback Madagascar and Children 1st, as part of the Talisker Whiskey Challenge this December. Their aim, which is described on their website, is “to become the first three brothers and the youngest trio to row across the Atlantic Ocean.” This episode was created and released in October, which for them, was already two months away from the beginning of what could be the toughest challenge of their lives. This episode contains many anecdotes and recordings over a period of two days, So I will be creating two parts. The first half will explore the fund-raising event called Tradlantic, in association with Pickerings Gin, which took place at Summerhall in Edinburgh on the 5th October, and the second part will cover the morning after, where the main interview took place, featuring bacon sandwiches and hangover tea. Massive thanks to everyone who I interviewed in the making of this episode including the Maclean Family, my family and Jules, Robert McDowell (Director of Summerhall), Sam Nicholson, Tony McHugh, Hannah Fisher, Sorren Maclean, everyone at the event, Jamie Spencer (Director of Feedback Madagascar), and Hans and Becky Offringa. Music provided by Youtube Free Library. To support the podcast, please visit: Paypal.me/hughburgessgermany

My guest for this month’s podcast is Jana Hansmann, AKA Harbour Violet. Born in the small village of Bremervörde, she grew up in Meckelstedt and was surrounded by the love for music from her grandparents. Around 2002 she took up the guitar after a surprising musical influence, and developed her identity through the years, weaving and winding between classical, rock and soul, picking up many traits along the way. Today you can find her in Hamburg where she’s a regular at several music venues. She developed an aptly named genre for herself which she calls “Soul Folk”. A good friend ladies and gents, Harbour Violet. Permission granted by Harbour Violet for the songs featured and were recorded at Osterbrookplatz and Pony Bar, Hamburg. Support the podcast: PayPal.me/hughburgessgermany

This month my guest is Byren Sawell, also known as simply Byren, an Australian singer songwriter currently travelling and touring in Europe, his shy manner off stage is a complete contrast to his incredible presence and voice on stage, which puts him ahead of his time at the age of just 23. He talks about the early years with his friend Jerry and their collaboration as “Jez and Biz” in his hometown of Newcastle, Australia.  We go on to discuss his ongoing solo project starting off with his adventures into Melbourne and the observations he channeled into a song, and onto our mutual appreciation for Bon Iver, one of his musical influences, who’s song Perth helped him cope with the passing of his grandfather. We discuss his most popular song, Woman, recorded live at Pony Bar in Hamburg where we initially met and finally tells us what’s next in his journey. “Melbourne” and “Perth” were both recorded live at Mobile Blues Club here in Hamburg. Big thanks to Byren for permission to use his songs and Tom Klose for the Pony Bar recording.

I spoke with Anthony Pederson A.K.A Octopus/Caveman. He talks about his adventures into his project #ArtHunt and other aspects of his life.  If you'd like to give feedback please DM me at @HughBurgess Check out OC on Twitter at @OctopusCaveman Contains profanity.