Radio LBB: Generations of Felt

For my instalment of our ‘Generation Of Felt’ series I wanted to go way back to the start to find my early musical influences and how they’ve effected my tastes today. Like most people my first musical influences came from my mum and dad, but both had quite different tastes which provided a wide spectrum of sounds in the house and on car journeys from my childhood. The first two songs are particularly special as I was literally born to ‘Lay Lady Lay’ and then sang to sleep as a baby with the tune of ‘The Wanderer’ - both have stuck in the bones ever since. As a kid growing up my mum played me Bob Dylan and all sorts of folk music as well as local heros Dire Straits (I’m a Geordie). Dad played his West Coast psychedelia from the late '60s and early '70s with bands like Love. What got me most was his love of blues, jazz and reggae and of course Bob Marley (hence two of my favourites on here). 

Being a '90s teenager I had to have a brief fling with Indie! The Stone Roses 'Turns Into Stone' was the first cassette album I bought so ‘Fools Gold’ will always remind me of those early rebellious days. Then through mates came my love of all things hip hop, getting my first turn tables at 16. Although I was rubbish and couldn’t DJ to save my life it kick-started my exploration into all new avenues of music, constantly digging through old records of funk, soul and rare groove at friends' houses which is definitely reflected in the middle of the playlist. I’d always looked to the US as influence but first felt inspired to create music when I discovered UK hip hop, with people like Roots Manuva and Jehst, playing them on repeat. I rarely listen to as much hip hop these days but the new wave of exciting artists such as Kendrick Lamar still keep me hungry for more. The end of the playlist is from more recent times where I’m influenced by anything from Floating Points to Jon Hopkins and the amazing Matthew Halsall. And last but not least is Aphex Twin’s beautiful Avril 14th to reflect and sum it all up. Thanks for listening and hope you enjoy!

Sam MacNamara, Music Supervisor, Felt Music