Joe Boyd in conversation with Laura Barton

Joe Boyd is the legendary producer of Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, R.E.M., Fairport Convention, ¡Cubanismo!, Toots and the Maytals, Toumani Diabaté, Taj Mahal and numerous others. He founded and ran the Hannibal label for twenty years. His film productions include Jimi Hendrix and Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace. His memoir, White Bicyles: Making Music in the 1960s, was published in 2006 to wide critical-acclaim. Boyd’s latest work, And The Roots of Rhythm Remain: The Story of Global Music, is a definitive study of the genre, a culmination of a lifetime travelling the globe and immersing himself in music. It reveals how personalities, events and politics in places such as Havana, Lagos, Budapest, Kingston and Rio are as colourful and momentous as anything that took place in New Orleans, Harlem, Laurel Canyon or Liverpool. And, moreover, how jazz, rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll would never have happened if it weren’t for the notes and rhythms emanating from over the horizon. Laura Barton is a writer and broadcaster, specialising in music. She writes for a range of publications including The Guardian, Uncut and Prospect, and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4, where alongside her series’ Notes on Music and Notes on a Musical Island, she has written and presented documentaries on everything from Shakespeare to confidence, via rivers, roadtrips and reproductive rights. She runs the Talking Shop stage at Green Man festival, and moonlights in A&R, signing artists such as Self Esteem, Let’s Eat Grandma, and Cigarettes After Sex. Her next book, Sad Songs, is a memoir of music and sadness.