The Clientele Podcast

Episode 10: Alasdair on Songwriting

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Episode notes

In the final episode of The Clientele Podcast, host Robin Allender talks to singer and guitarist Alasdair MacLean again, this time focussing on songwriting. It's a chance for Alasdair to look back at the early days of the band and talk about learning to play the guitar and write music. It's a very Beatles-heavy episode, but Robin and Alasdair also talk about Madness, Boards of Canada, Burial and Subway Sect, and many other musicians who helped Alasdair to develop and expand his songwriting. There is also some chat about music theory, particularly relating to chord progressions, and the idea of songwriting being a combination of technical understanding and instinct.

Also, what connects The Clientele and The Great British Bake Off? Have a listen to find out!

For more Beatles chat, here's Alasdair on Your Own Personal Beatles:

https://play.acast.com/s/personalbeatles/alasdsair-maclean

Some other songs and albums that are mentioned in this episode...

Red Deer by Tom James Scott:

https://tomjamesscott.bandcamp.com/album/red-deer

The Cloud of Unknowing by James Blackshaw:

https://youtu.be/aWhLctzLD9g?si=BIuWs1dA8daGI8ZZ

Phantom Brickworks by Bibio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WbHLIm8kDs

Robin here (I don't know why I write these in the third person): Just wanted to say thank you so much for listening to this podcast series, and thanks to The Clientele for asking me to make it! Thanks also to Johnny White, Dave Collingwood, Max Tundra and Ruth Tebby for their help and support.

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