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Jay Umpriz is a writer, poet, musician and one of the founders of The Loft music studio.  This is a really genuine beautiful conversation covering all sorts of topics including counterculture, racism, Jay's experiences with psychedelics and how that changed his life, masculinity and the relationship between creative expression and enlightenment and so much more. I'm humbled to be able to have conversations like these, I feel like if everyone was this open and this honest about their perspectives of the world and where they stand in it this planet would be better place. I've put links below to the black lives matter, and to the Samaritans also(being that the podcast is largely about mental health it makes sense) if you can donate anything to either of these two causes please do, there's a lot of suffering in the world right now but the best way to combat negativity is with positivity, kindness and love.  https://blacklives.help/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjJef_JHv6QIVRbDtCh08WwC7EAAYASAAEgLFJ_D_BwE https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3pXb0pLv6QIVw7TtCh0-nAk2EAAYASAAEgI-nvD_BwE https://www.facebook.com/madtruthproductions/

Dan Egan and I talk about slowly going mad in self-isolation, the power and beauty of people coming together during a difficult time, through "virtual gigs" and loads of other stuff. Aesthetics of music, why people rip apart top-40 pop music and if that's valid or not. Emotion, feeling and the opportunity for people to realise their creative potential because of having not much else to do. Check out Dan's website here: http://deganmusic.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/deganmusic/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARAvpveAOjRRzpAp9RN2boEvFBXhezG5_YzAJuk7FHK21t1Clnrk_ZYKr_Xzmbfpk8KPK2IzXjyj4sMz&hc_ref=ARQj6tQIA0sQTPJB-eS0mau-IZ43K3VCBXow2KXWhd-CVw7ov3YDu14D8azFOlBhYZ4&fref=nf

Victoria Knight is a genius and one of my closest friends. We talk about celebrity deaths and social media, the importance of kindness in life, the need everyone has for good inspiring mentors and teachers, generosity and the wider universe. We're dead deep individuals on our own so the deepness here is very deep.   

Wilted Flower is a band fronted by poet, lyricist and song-writer Micki Woods, I met Micki through Dan Egan who was kind enough to let us record in his space at Degan Music which is incredible by the way. I've been excited to have Micki on for a while because not only is she a really talented artist but she's got this beautiful way of turning her past experiences with her mental health into art, which is something I strive for myself. So joined by Dan we talk about her mental health and how it relates to her work, truth,  healing,  positivity vs negativity, growth and making sense of things and so much more. Honestly this one is so deep and there's so much wisdom packed into an hour and twenty minutes it's amazing. Some parts of the conversation are a bit difficult to listen to just because of the reality of the situations but one of the things Micki said that really struck a chord with me was the importance of being raw, honest and authentic. And thats brave and courageous and the world needs more of that.  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lPEl2oXjSBkmzAvzhb587 https://www.facebook.com/wiltedflowermusic/

EX.In is a solo music project created by singer-songwriter Joe Langley. We talk about what inspires his music,  the hidden meaning behind the name of the project, mental health and the search for perfection and lots more including ghosts and aliens, listen to this one, it's dead good. https://www.facebook.com/EXIN-335656040373100/  https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fOyTdPfhvdgZEmO0UpzZJ

Adam Zareba is a singer-songwriter based in Nottingham., We talk about politics, emotion as it relates to creativity, spirituality, how to get a crowd on your side and loads of other stuff. He brought his guitar along, which I really appreciated and would use it to demonstrate and exemplify his points. Adam's a very genuine and talented guy and I really enjoyed speaking to him. https://open.spotify.com/artist/69aqvIh81vHVkVCrOqnWz4 https://www.facebook.com/AdamZarebaMusic/

Dan Egan is a musician and professional music teacher with a 1st in music from Nottingham university. He's also a solo-artist having made some very interesting experimental albums and EP's, and works with several bands including Wilted Flower. You can tell Dan is really passionate about music, and he has this way of expressing really complicated ideas about inspiration, talent, and the creative process in a way that's very articulate, direct and for the most part on point I think. I really enjoyed recording this, hope you get something out of it too.

Connor Pearson is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and professional pineapple juice drinker. This is the best episode we've done so far I think, just because of how free flowing, raw and honest it is. We talk about everything from personal truth and integrity, performing, introversion vs extroversion, Romanian hobo's, finding direction in life and so much more.   https://www.facebook.com/connorpearsonmusic/ 

 Nick Lee is a Nottingham based photographer, we discuss photography(shockingly enough), inspiration, the importance of collaboration, attachment, growing as a person and as an artist and much more, on episode six of the Mad Truth Podcast .  https://instagram-dm.com/user/nick_p_lee  

The Young Men is a band consisting of Mitchell Belshaw(impeccable fashion sense) Adam Parkin(curly hair and good tattoo's) and James Shelton(goatee owner and producer). They make challenging experimental music, stemming from the darkness of bands like the Cure, mixed with Mr Manson screaming, mixed with hip-hop/ trap 808's and dense shoegazey walls of noise and effects. We talk about being outsiders, the origins of the band, mental health, drugs and much more.   https://www.facebook.com/theyoungmenband/    https://soundcloud.com/theyoungmen?fbclid=IwAR0zYZRykJ5DehqoQUqMgW4X1JY56u84Ec_k9Bq0m3S9571zbr-IbJr0uQg 

Harry Hume is a musician and multi instrumentalist, formerly of the Indie band junction 25. We talk about the transcendental power of music, different genres and how they relate to the modern day musical landscape. As well as the creative process and much more, all with me having had about "three minutes sleep".

 My guest today is Marc Jackson, a film maker, activist and twitter warrior. We discuss the current political landscape, creativity, Marvel movies, big budget vs low budget projects and much more. Marc worked as the cinematographer on the film scapegoat which you can see here:vimeo.com/279999540/80a1548b70…kdAARGGkKpMqyQmMcB34 

Thomas Blackburn is what I would describe as a true original, someone who doesn't just think outside the box, but rejects the concept of the box entirely and creates his own unique microcosm of a universe that you can get lost in, some go mad, some find the secrets to enlightenment. 

Episode one of the Mad truth Podcast. Reuben Gotts is a talented actor and inquisitive mind, we discuss topics ranging from the arts, surrealism, politics, power and creativity and much more.