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EXPLORING MANCHESTER’S FIRST CITY CENTRE PARK IN 100 YEARS WITH JAMIE GREEN

Manchester’s first city centre park in over a century opened its gates today. Described as an urban escape, the 6.5-acre park that lies along the banks of River Medlock is now open to the public. 

In recognition of the ongoing launch of Mayfield, we teamed up with the National Lottery Heritage Fund to explore the past, present and future of the site. 

Produced by one of our very own, Jamie Green, the three-part series is now available to listen to on all streaming platforms. Get listening now and if you love it as much as we do, you can even leave a review or rating on Apple. 

We caught up with Jamie to find out more about the production process, the themes explored in each episode, as well as his journey with Reform and beyond.

Please could you introduce yourself and explain your current occupation. 

Hey, my name is Jamie Green and I am a freelance Audio Producer for Reform Radio. I work within Reform’s Podcasting team and assist with recording, editing, and producing podcasts and audio content. 

You joined Reform Radio in January 2022 as a Kickstart Studio & Podcasting Assistant. How did you hear about this opportunity and what made you decide to apply? 

I first saw the opportunity as a Studio & Podcasting Assistant posted on Reform’s Instagram page. I had decided over the coronavirus lockdown that I really wanted to pursue a career working with audio and so this role just seemed like the perfect opportunity. Having previously participated in some of Reform’s audio-based courses, I also knew what an incredible company they were and was keen to work in such a creative, inclusive environment. 

Please could you describe your responsibilities/projects that you worked on? 

I have worked on a fantastic variety of projects, from editing interviews for BBC 6 Music’s The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche to travelling around the UK recording a road trip style podcast about British vineyards. I have also led the production of our ‘Park Life’ podcast which has involved interviewing photographers, archaeologists and event organisers. My day-to-day responsibilities have included anything from recording autobiographical audiobooks for clients such as Liz Taylor to editing podcast series for ‘The Life & Death Podcast’ for Ashgate Hospice. 

After Kickstart, you continued working with Reform as a freelancer, how are you finding it now?

The transition to becoming a freelancer has been really exciting, I have loved working across numerous projects and utilising my audio skills in different ways to deliver exciting content such as the ‘Park Life’ podcast. 

Have you had any opportunities arise as a direct result of Reform? 

Definitely, I think one of the key opportunities that I have gained through my connections within Reform is being booked for regular DJ work which has really helped build my confidence as a DJ and also provided financial support. 

You have been working on the Mayfield project for some time. Please could you briefly describe what this project is and what your involvement has been? 

With Manchester building its first city centre park in over 100 years, we have produced a three-part podcast series that captures and explores the heritage of this area of Manchester known as Mayfield.

My role has been to lead the creation of this podcast, which has involved everything from interviewing archaeologists and photographers to sourcing archive recordings from the Manchester Central Library, designing soundscapes and capturing field recordings to accompany the podcast.

How has the experience been producing this podcast? Any highlights?

Producing the ‘Park Life’ podcast has been an incredible experience. I have loved discovering the forgotten stories of this unique area of Manchester through speaking with so many fascinating people. Their passion for the heritage of Mayfield has really rubbed off on me, and so I feel really fortunate to have been given the creative freedom to shape the format of this podcast and how we tell the story of this site. 

During the project, you touch on themes including The River, The Park and Culture. Can you talk a little bit about the creative process here?

The River

The first episode of the podcast is themed around The River Medlock. The episode tells the story of how the Medlock was transformed from a beautiful meandering river into an industrial sewer later covered over with concrete to make way for expanding industries. After being hidden for over 50 years the river Medlock in Mayfield has now been uncovered, so we really wanted to focus on how the river has intrinsically shaped the history of this area and reflect on the importance of protecting and valuing our waterways.

The Park

The theme of the second episode was inspired by Manchester opening its first city centre park in over 100 years this month! We wanted to learn about the site’s transformation from a derelict wasteland into a lush haven in the city centre, and also explore the importance of green spaces on our mental health and well-being. 

Culture 

The Mayfield district in Manchester is becoming a cultural hub in the city, with it being home to The Warehouse Project, Escape To Freight Island, and hosting events such MIF, Pride and numerous art exhibitions. So it only seemed natural to theme an episode around the culture surrounding the park today. However, we also wanted to dig a bit deeper and explore the unique cultural heritage of the site and investigate how this has also developed over time. 

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Take the plunge and move up to Manchester, it will be worth it! 

What do you want for the future? 

Working on the ‘Park Life’ podcast has really reinforced my desire to continue working with audio and sourcing work that integrates my passion for sound design, recording audio and producing music. In the future, I would love to continue producing audio content across different formats and using my creativity to shape the listening experience. 

Do you have anything upcoming that you would like to shout about? 

I’m super excited to have my first track released over the coming months as part of a compilation album on Martyn’s record label, 3024. Keep an eye out for that! 

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A LOOK BACK AT JULY ON THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WITH AFRODEUTSCHE

July was a busy month for us, producing The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche, and we hope you caught some of the show in the summer heat! Airing every Friday night 7-9PM.

Kicking off the month was Manchester based DJ and producer Mr Scruff, who brought us a Phones Down Finale mix dedicated to the music of his youth. This month we also heard mixes from Manchester Queer collective Kiss Me Again and Turkish DJ Nene H.

Rising East London artist Eliza Rose joined the party this month to take on the Unmixable challenge. She had to combine Blondie with Soul II Soul, and it was truly magical. LA based producer Obli, and Irish duo Le Boom, also took on the challenge this month and we were truly blown away by their creativity.

Last but not least, as part of our Fresh Magic feature, in which we bring you the freshest new artists, we had producer and DJ Junior Simba, DJ Ceri and Italian artist Stenny who chatted to us about their new music. 

Tune into the show on BBC6 Music every Friday night!

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A LOOK BACK AT JUNE ON ‘THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WITH AFRODEUTSCHE’

Welcome back to our recap of The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche, where we look back at a month of guest mixes and features from musicians across the world. 

This June, we celebrated both Pride month and our very own Afrodeutsche presenting live from Worthy Farm at Glastonbury with Tom Ravenscroft, taking listeners across the stages and acting as a live guide to the festival after dark. 

American-Icelandic songwriter and singer John Grant, joined Afrodeutsche to chat about being personally selected for a performance at Grace Jones’ Meltdown Festival that ran between the 10 – 19th of June. 

As the People’s Party Selector he offered two tracks to welcome in the show and kick things off, such as ‘Main Title’ from John Scott’s Inseminoid soundtrack album and ‘Freaks Come Out At Night’ by Brooklyn, New York-based Hip-Hop trio Whoodini.

The Huddersfield based DJ and Electronic music artist that is SDEM joined us this June for a floor-filling futuristic Phones Down Finale Mix. Playing a mix of Drum N’ Bass, featuring tracks from Manchester, Bradford, Wigan, London and Chicago that were put out between 1993 and 2022, he played the ultimate mix of classic 90s breakbeat hardcore and current dancefloor mutations.

As the first North West commissioned show by 6 Music, we love showcasing Northern talent. This month we were joined by Manchester based Matt Brewer, also known as Frameworks, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, who is known for his rich, warm compositions, pulsing bass, and haunting vocals. He played us his new track ‘NO SKIN’ in collaboration with Australian producer Mild Minds.

Keep up with our Instagram for the latest show updates or tune into the show every Friday night from 7PM – 9PM to hear the magic for yourselves. It’s a Friday night celebration you won’t regret.

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A LOOK BACK AT MAY ON ‘THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WITH AFRODEUTSCHE’

Back in October 2021, we proudly joined the BBC 6 Music family and started producing ‘The People’s Party’, hosted by Afrodeutsche. Nine months down the line and we are still loving that we get to produce this incredible show every Friday. A big thank you to everyone listening, we couldn’t have done it without you! 

This month, Locked Groove took on the ‘Unmixable Challenge’, where two tracks contrasting in musical style are selected and mixed together, resulting in a mindblowing blend of genres (or so they hope). The two tracks Locked Groove was challenged to mix this time running were Radiohead’s ‘Idioteque’ and ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ by Bombalurina. Would you take on the challenge? Listen below to see how he did. 

This May, 6 Music celebrated 25 years since the release of Radiohead’s iconic ‘OK Computer’ album. On the People’s Party, we delved into Radiohead’s electronic influence, playing the artists who have been inspired by their music. 

Electronic artist and Radiohead remixer Nathan Fake played us out with a Radiohead-inspired Phones Down Finale guest mix. 

Veronica Vasicka, musician, DJ, and founder of Minimal Wave record label brought us a Phones Down Finale mix as we celebrated Afrodeutsche’s All Points East festival (APE) curation.

Returning for the second year in a row, BBC Radio 6 will be making another appearance at Victoria Park’s well-loved APE. The line-up has been curated by Afrodeutsche, alongside Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Tom Ravenscroft, Jamz Supernova and Don Letts – the other 6 Music station presenters. With a spectacular line up of artists such as DJ Storm, Sherelle and Nia Archives joining the 6 Music stage, it’s set to be cosmic. 

In May we also welcomed duo Henry Counsell and Louis Curran, who together make Joy Anonymous. They chatted to us about their community-driven pop-up music events and took on the Unmixable Challenge.

‘The People’s Party’ is wholeheartedly, for the people. We created this show for listeners to feel connected, with each avid listener’s input adding to the inspiration of the shows to follow. So, if you’re not already tuning in every Friday, we urge you to whack on the volume – wherever you are – and tune in from 7PM – 9PM. It’s a Friday night celebration you simply won’t regret! 

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A LOOK BACK AT APRIL on ‘The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche’

The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche had another jam-packed month of guests in April.  Produced by us at Reform Radio, April saw conversations and mixes from Overmono, Elkka, Not Bad For A Girl, Elena Colombi and more.

The beginning of the month saw the team travelling down to Cardiff for the BBC 6 Music Festival. Co-hosting with Tom Ravenscroft, Afrodeutsche interviewed Electronic duo Overmono, as well as Welsh native DJ Elkka.

We had some massive unmixable attempts in April too. In this feature artists are tasked with mixing two seemingly unmixable tracks together, and you decide whether it works. In April the challenge was attempted by Italian artist Elena Colombi, electronic legend Luke Slater, and jazz-electronic artist Rebecca Vasmant who helped us to celebrate this year’s Record Store Day. We were also very excited to welcome Metronomy drummer and solo artist Anna Prior. How do you think Anna did?

Last month, The People’s Party also had some great guest mixes, including Bristol experimental producer Ploy, and local collective ‘Not Bad For A Girl’.

Means&3rd aka Ben Marsden played out the show with a ‘Phone’s Down Finale’ mix as part of Record Store Day celebrations. We heard about his journey securing a place behind the counter at Eastern Bloc Records, one of the UK’s finest record stores, for which he currently curates the House and techno sections.

The People’s Party airing every Friday night 7-9pm hosts the freshest musical guests every week. Listen back to the unmissable features on BBC Sounds now. 

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The Life and Death Podcast returns for Series 3 – and we’re going Stateside!

The Life and Death Podcast produced by Reform Radio, in collaboration with Ashgate Hospice returns for a third series. Stephen Rumford, talks to people who have experiences of death and dying to get a deeper understanding of what life and death means to them. This series welcomes guests from stateside as the charity meets guests from as far as Arizona who have experienced bereavement, death and conversations around dying.

Each episode welcomes experts, writers, doctors and people who have experienced end-of-life care to discuss their unique relationships, hospice life, and how death affects the living. 

The first episode was released on Monday 2nd May to coincide with Dying Matters Awareness Week. In the first episode, host and Senior Physiotherapist at Ashgate Hospice, Stephen Rumford, meets 45-year-old Kimberley Greaves to discuss life as a young widow and mum to two children. The pair discuss the awkward conversations Kimberley faces when she tells people her husband has died and how her children kept her going through the darkest of times. 

Among the guests featured in season three include Sunday Times best seller and journalist Clover Stroud, author of the recently released ‘The Death of My Blood’ and neuroscientist Mary-Frances O’Connor, an author and associate professor at the University of Arizona, as well as Seamus O’Mahoney, well-regarded commentator on modern medicine and healthcare systems.

Episode 1 & 2 with Kimberley Grove and Seamus O’Mahoney are available to listen below and episodes will be released fornightnightly.

To listen back to series one, two and the special one off Christmas episode you can search for ‘The Life and Death Podcast Ashgate Hospice’ or by clicking the link.

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A LOOK BACK AT MARCH on ‘The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche’

March was a busy month on The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche, broadcasting every Friday night from 7-9pm on BBC Radio 6 Music. 

Kicking off the month was musician, DJ, and Producer Quantic, AKA Will Holland. Following the release of his latest EP ‘Heaven or Hell’, Quantic stopped by to take on the Unmixable challenge, combining two listener-selected tracks that are total opposites. Watch this for a behind the scenes insight into how he mixed the tracks.

This month, BBC Radio 6 Music celebrated 20 years of broadcasting on the airwaves. In celebration, The People’s Party threw it back to 2002 for some much appreciated noughties nostalgia. We were so excited that German electronic DJ, Ellen Allien, was in the mix for The Phones Down Finale with a selection of early noughties dance tunes to get us ready for the weekend.

The 23rd March marked 18 years since the release of Madlib and MF Doom’s iconic ‘Madvillainy’ album so this month we had a samples special, celebrating the most iconic samples and the best to ever sample them. Hip Hop turntablist and samples maestro, DJ Yoda, stopped by to attempt the Unmixable challenge with two tracks that featured iconic samples. Mixing M.I.A’s ‘Paper Planes’ (sampling The Clash) and The Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rappers Delight (sampling Chic), DJ Yoda blew us away with his attempt. And all of you agreed. 

To celebrate our samples extravaganza, we were also joined by Brooklyn artist Stas Thee Boss. She selected some of the finest sampled tracks of all time for The Phones Down Finale Mix.

And finally, this month, Italian Producer and Paul Simon collaborator, Clap! Clap!, took on the Unmixable challenge. This was a hard one for you to judge since we may have slipped in a ‘Venga Boys’ track on 6 music with this challenge. Listen back to see how he got on!

Recap and listen back to all of the guests we’ve had over the month of March, and listen Fridays from 7pm!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0011g3g

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Sins and Virtues: Gratitude

Join us to listen to a brand new podcast series ‘Gratitude’ produced by Reform Radio.

Musician James Wilson launches Sins and Virtues, a podcast that brings together arts, culture and faith to explore the concept of gratitude. The Gratitude podcast forms part of Wilson’s overarching project on the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues.

The first series, hosted by academic professor and broadcaster Mona Siddiqui, explores honest conversations with four creative practitioners to explore what gratitude means to them and how it has impacted their lives and exploration of art. 

Here’s what host Mona Siddiqui had to say:

‘’Toni Morrison said that civilisations heal ‘when artists go to work.’ These podcasts reveal the struggles and hopes of four very different artists whose creativity is underpinned by the restorative practice of gratitude.’’

The four episodes originally aired weekly from 8 to 29 March 2022 at 2pm, feature Lisette Auton, Ciarán Hodgers, Ione Maria Rojas and Leon Clowes. Each guest explores how gratitude is both a virtue and can bring its own setbacks.

Artists in the series cover topics such as, being brave enough to start an art career, creative blocks and panic attacks, disability and whether the pandemic was a force for good for creative practice. 

Listen here

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BBC Radio 6 Music – The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche

We were thrilled to join the 6 Music family in October 2021, producing The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche every Friday night from 7-9pm. 

As the first ever ‘Across The UK’ commission for the network, Reform Radio are proud to produce the weekly Friday night music show on BBC Radio 6 Music; The People’s Party with Afrodeutsche.

The show concept was devised entirely by the Reform Radio team, including features, talent proposition and in response to a brief that called for audiences to be at the heart of the program.

This show is a real celebration of the listener. Every week, a different listener joins us as our People’s Party Selector and chooses two tracks, One To Warm Up To and One To Let Lose To. The rest of the selections and features are then built around those choices, building a playlist that feels full of Friday night energy, transitioning listeners from day time to more specialist programming.

Through ‘The Unmixable Challenge’ some of the biggest artists in the world are asked to mix together two completely opposite tracks, and the listeners decide if it works or not. Nina Kravitz was forced to mix Cindy Lauper and Bon Jovi in one hilarious attempt, whilst Groove Armada combined New Order with Aretha Franklin and caused quite a stir. 

With guest mixes from DJs, musicians and the freshest new sounds, there is something for everyone. 

Our production team is made from young people who have come through our outreach projects and we’re proud to have provided a pipeline for this talent into the BBC. 

Listen weekly from 7-9pm on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Listen here

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Tough Talks – Hits Radio

Reform Radio were thrilled to work on a project with Hits Radio and their new sister station Hits Radio Pride, funded by the Audio Content Fund. The series features members of the LGBTQ+ community discussing a time when they had a difficult conversation with someone surrounding their sexuality or gender identity, with the very person they had the conversation with. 

Pairs discussed uncomfortable and intimate times in their relationships including moments they had often never spoken about before. Issues ranged from trans, gay and HIV coming-out stories, to gay dads worried about not bonding with their child, to a lesbian couple struggling with one partner’s masculine identity.

Tough Talks won Gold at the 2021 British Podcast Awards for Best Sex and Relationships Podcast, and its producer, Olivia Swift, won Gold for Best New Podcast Producer at the 2021 Audio Production Awards. 

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The Life and Death Podcast

Each year since 2020, we have produced a new series of The Life and Death Podcast. The long-running podcast has contributed to Reform Radio’s wins at the much coveted Audio Production Awards and ARIAs.

The challenge

Ashgate Hospice care approached us in 2020 looking for a new way to raise awareness around the importance of good end of life care. It was clear to us that this wasn’t an immediate fundraising exercise but a wider awareness piece that would provide intimate insight into their work and in itself generate new PR and media opportunities.

The team were immensely proud of the difficult work they do and were keen to share best practice and engage other end of life providers. A podcast is the perfect why to do this and would allow them to engage and inform colleagues on a global scale as well as encourage all listeners to have better conversations around death and dying.

The response

After talking with the team during our kick off meeting, it became immediately clear how connected and caring each member of the organisation was to the patients. Through their work, they create perhaps the most intimate, open and personal connections it is possible for two humans to have and we wanted to really bring this to the forefront.

Our idea was simple, to bring together givers and receivers of end-of-life care to have an intimate conversation to discuss life, death and their unique relationship. The resulting conversations, many recorded under the added pressures of lockdown, were more powerful than we could ever had imaged.

The outcome

Following advice from our our bespoke launch and marketing plan, the podcast debuted in the top 20 of the Personal Journals category on Apple Podcasts. This brought in a huge amount of listeners and a mass of five star ratings and reviews.

As anticipated, the podcast allowed the hospice to explore new PR opportunities with in depth interviews on BBC Radio Sheffield, Imagine Radio, Hasland Magazine and Destination Chesterfield.

Currently developing its third series, The Life And Death Podcast has touched many listeners and achieved its aim of breaking down the stigma around death, dying and grief. The number of reviews and comments, a few of which we’ve shared below, showed the impact this series had on its audience.

The series has allowed the hospice to engage with colleagues across the globe and they’ve received emails from other providers to say the podcast has been used a tools within their own organisations.

Bespoke video content

In more recent series, we have been commissioned to create bespoke video content for the hospice. We have recorded interviews in person and online, and turned them into eye-catching and engaging short videos for socials.

A few reviews left on Apple Podcasts

“A gorgeous, serious, insightful, engaging and engaged podcast. One fo the most listenable and likeable hosts i’ve heard, one that’s open, genuine and interested. If you are interested in life in its most final sense…LISTEN!!!“

“This morning I watched the funeral of a dear friend being streamed. Tonight I was sent this podcast and it has helped calm my scrambled thoughts.”

“This is such a life affirming podcast. Roy’s attitude to life is inspiring. Stephen’s relationship with Roy is touching and the level of mutual respect they have for each other comes across. Roy’s mantra of Live life and the dying will take care of itself is so moving.“

“This podcast may come across hard hitting and deep however has a real heart warming feel to it too! This subject is so important and good quality terminal healthcare needs be the standard that is set. This podcast really helps to promote that!”

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XR STORIES and SIGN

XR Stories is an organisation supporting research, development and innovation in technology-led creative content, experiences, and stories. Over two series of the XR Stories and Sign Podcast 

provides access to expertise, infrastructure and facilities to help researchers, companies and creatives working in extended reality (XR) and next generation convergent media technologies unleash their full potential.

In 2021, XR Stories were part of our Audioform mentorship programme. Working with three young people on our course We have produced a ten part podcast series for XR Stories, in which extended reality and storytelling meet. The series, hosted by XR Stories Creative Producer, John Rose-Adams, takes an in depth look at interactive storytelling genres, from theatre to gaming, virtual reality escape rooms and so much more. 

Listen in to get to know the creators and innovators behind ten immersive storytelling projects. All episodes are available to download on your favourite streaming platforms.

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