Brian D’Souza on DJing, wellness, and the future of audio experiences

Brian D’Souza has spent his life exploring the power of sound—from late-night radio discoveries and Glasgow club culture to pioneering sound design for wellbeing, workplaces, and psychedelic therapy. In this episode, Brian shares how music and psychology came together in his work, from building Open Ear, a platform that reimagined how businesses use sound, to founding Swell Studio, which creates soundscapes for health, creativity, and connection with nature. We dive into active listening, rhythmic entrainment, sound therapy, and the role of music in transformative experiences. This is an invitation to tune in more deeply to how sound shapes our lives.Episode Chapters0:00 – Early Influences & Discovering Music5:00 – Psychology, Rhythm & Flow States12:00 – Active vs. Passive Listening18:00 – Sound Design in Hospitality & Workplaces27:00 – Business Lessons from Open Ear34:00 – From DJing to Sound Therapy45:00 – Redefining Music as Function, Not Just Entertainment53:00 – Swell Studio & Nature-Based Soundscapes59:00 – Sound, Psychedelics & Healing1:08:00 – Creativity, Bio-Sonification & What’s NextBio and LinksBrian d’Souza is the founder and CEO of Swell Studio, a London-based creative agency working between the intersection of sound, music and well-being. Brian is also an award-winning sound artist, DJ, music producer performing under the alias Auntie Flo, and successful entrepreneur, notably as founder of leading music consultancy Open Ear Music from which he exited in 2023.Swell Studio delivers creative projects that use sound to positively benefit the listener, and is based on three principals: biophilic sound, sound therapy and generative music composition. Its clients include IHG, Imperial College, Muuto, Farfetch, Hotpod Yoga and more. It has been featured in GQ, Forbes, The Times, BBC, Discovery Channel and more.As Auntie Flo,  Brian is a DJ renowned for ‘taking World Music into the future’ (The Guardian). Over a career spanning ten years, he’s played everywhere from Panorama Bar to Glastonbury, making his name as one of the most adventurous DJs around: performing in Cuba, Latin America, Asia, Africa and even the Arctic Circle. He has released four critically acclaimed albums, most notably Radio Highlife (Brownswood, 2018), which won the SAY award for Scottish Album of the Year. His fourth studio album ‘In My Dreams (I’m a Bird and I’m Free) in November 2024. It was awarded Global Album of the Month in the Guardian and Single of the Year by Disco Pogo and DJ History.He currently runs A State of Flo records and blog, which is home to his dancefloor tracks, global collaborations and nature-based sound art and writing on music and the environment. His work most often centres around the creation of bioelectrical music from living things: plants, fungi and humans. His Plants Can Dance event series uses biodata to trigger notes on his specially built modular synthesizer in a process called bionsonification, with the intention of bridging the gap between the natural world and electronic music realm. This work has been commissioned by the likes of Art Angel, National Trust, Het Hem, V&A etc and featured in New Scientist, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 4, Tate Modern, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 1 and more.www.swellstudio.iowww.astateofflo.comwww.briandsouza.in ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★