Skip to content
Under the Radar Podcast podcast artwork

PODCAST · music

Under the Radar Podcast

by Celine Teo-Blockey

A monthly podcast that dives into memories of childhood, musical inspirations and milestones that have shaped artists—and informed their most recent albums. Hosted and produced by Celine Teo-Blockey. Presented by Under the Radar, a print magazine and website founded in 2001 by Mark and Wendy Redfern. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Mar 31, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. Spacey Jane

    Being hailed as the poster child for a Covid generation might sit uncomfortably with some indie bands but Caleb Harper, frontman of Spacey Jane—a four-piece from Perth, Australia—takes it in his stride. Their 2020 debut Sunlight is defined by intimate lyrics often rooted in Caleb's strict,...

  2. Tim Burgess

    "Typically, music heals," says Tim Burgess, the hyperactive multi-talent whose career encompasses three decades as The Charlatans frontman, sixth diverse solo albums, three memoirs, his own O Genesis record label, and more than 1000 installments of the now-beloved Tim’s Twitter Listening Party....

  3. Phoenix - Thomas Mars

    Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars subscribes to Ed Ruscha's philosophy on art—that it should prompt bewilderment or even disgust before appreciation. And not the reverse. This can be applied to the French band's music. Consider their latest album Alpha Zulu, the title seems odd but dig a little and it...

  4. Bloc Party - Kele Okereke

    One of the biggest British post-punk revival bands Bloc Party returned this year with Alpha Games, their sixth album. Frontman, Kele Okereke discusses how new band members, drummer Louise Bartle and bassist Justin Harris (replacing Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes who left in 2013 and 2015…

    more
  5. Marlon Williams

    As a child, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams believed that if he could nail the songs at iwi or tribe gatherings then surely everything in the world would be ok. Nevermind that elders were discussing big issues such as Maori land rights, water rights and education, Marlon had an…

    more
  6. Seratones - A.J. Haynes

    Seratones frontwoman A.J. Haynes and her Shreveport, Louisiana-based band (bassist, Travis Stewart and drummer, Jesse Gabriel) released their disco-inspired, third album Love & Algorhythms, earlier this year. At the time of writing the album, A.J. was also working full-time as an Abortion…

    more
  7. Warpaint

    Warpaint are back after six years with Radiate Like This, their excellent fourth album after 2016's Heads Up. According to drummer Stella Mozgawa, completing the album while isolated from bandmates Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman and Jenny Lee Lindberg was challenging. Theirs is a band that have…

    more
  8. Teenhood, Wolves and that Right Path

    In our final episode for Season 2, we listen to some raw tape that didn't make the Julien Baker episode. And we're joined by not one but two fans. Allison, a teenage fan, from Louisiana, shares how Julien's music helped her through her own bouts of depresson during the pandemic. And Azin Samari…

    more
  9. Unpleasantness is Necessary for Art?

    We listen to some raw tape of Jamie Stewart—from experimental, art-pop band Xiu Xiu—that didn't make it to the main episode. And we're joined by a Xiu Xiu fan, Bay Area-electronic musician Alex Olive who shares how elements that we might ordinarily find off-putting in Xiu Xiu's more discordant,...

  10. A Music Podcast With Music

    We listen to some raw tape of Courtney Barnett before she pressed record for our interview. We are also joined by a true fan of her music—Paul Kondo, of The Podcast Gumbo Newsletter. Not too long ago we were "hotsauce" in that newsletter. Paul recommends three podcasts in each gumbo newsletter,...

  11. Julien Baker

    Memphis-bred singer/songwriter Julien Baker's third album Little Oblivions revisits familiar themes in her confessional writing — faith, addiction, mental health and her sense of isolation. However, in the process of writing the album, Julien had to undergo more transformation than ever before.…

    more
  12. Jamie Stewart - Xiu Xiu

    Experimental art-pop and noize band Xiu Xiu's single "Rumpus Room" found me on a particular low day in early 2021. I remember puttng it on, cranking the volume up and jumping around like a sugar-ed up toddler in a boucy castle. There's hints that the song is about more serious things but in that...

  13. Royal Blood

    English rock duo, Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher are Royal Blood. When they burst on the scene with their eponymous, debut album in 2014—boasting an old school rock sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they were immediately hailed the saviors of guitar rock. Their sophomore album, How...

  14. Courtney Barnett

    Australian indie rocker Courtney Barnett's latest album Things Take Time, Take Time is an attempt to be kinder to herself. To not worry about the big picture of how to stay successful or even sane after achieving then sustaining global stardom against the backdrop of a world that seemed to be...

  15. Transgenerational Trauma in Music

    We listen to some tape that didn't make the main SPELLLING episode. And are joined by podcaster Alexandra Cohl of The Pod Broads who discusses the different pieces that she thinks an artist like SPELLLING brings to her music. From the lasting effects of transgenerational trauma that manifests...

  16. SPELLLING

    Bay Area-based experimental artist Chrystia Cabral started making Gothic-inspired music as SPELLLING, in 2017. The dabbling and experimenting of her first two albums were instructive but have now given way to something more intentional. The bewitching vocals and haunting soundscapes of Pantheon…

    more
  17. Let's Talk About Class, Pop Music and Tom Waits

    We hear a bit of tape from Sleaford Mods singer Jason Williamson that did't make it to the main episode. Our guest is musician, producer and award-winning podcaster Martin Zaltz Austwick. He shares some of his thoughts on the class warfare endemic to the music of Sleaford Mods and why he sets a...

  18. Sleaford Mods

    On Sleaford Mods latest album Spare Ribs the Nottingam duo keep their aim firmly at the ruling political class and their mishandling of the pandemic. As the U.K. reels from further economic unraveling thanks to the harsh realities from the Tory push for Brexit, coupled with a decade of austerity...

  19. Why Do We Have To Talk About Race?

    We hear two pieces of tape that didn't make it to the main Adrian Younge episode. Both speak to these awkward and sometimes very difficult conversations on race that we should all be having, especially in the aftermath of George Floyd and this country's race reckoning. We also speak to a…

    more
  20. Adrian Younge

    The cover art of Adrian Younge's album The American Negro depicts the shocking image of a man hanging from a tree. Flip the cover over and the other image reveals that on his back is a note which reads 'This n***** voter." You may ask "Why, do we need an image so offensive? Or an album like this...

  21. The Stories We Tell

    We hear some tape that didn't make it to main episode featuring Lucy Dacus. And speak to Under the Radar Magazine's Television Editor, Lily Moayeri—a long time music journalist and teacher-librarian—on her thoughts about whether we need permission to tell our stories. Lily also shares her…

    more
  22. Lucy Dacus

    Lucy Dacus has gone from strength to strength with her music career. Her stunning 2015 debut No Burden, highlighted her poetic lyricism and gift for melody. Her follow up Historian honed in on her ability to tell us a compelling story. Her most recent Home Video is brutally direct and personal.…

    more
  23. London Grammar - Hannah Reid

    After more than a decade of functioning as a democracy, Hannah Reid has stepped into the offical role of band leader in London Grammar. And her bandmates Dot Major and Dan Rothman are more than happy for her to steer the ship on a more female-centric course, for their latest album Californian…

    more
  24. Why Do Artists Struggle?

    We hear some tape that didn't make it to the James Yorkston & The Second Hand Orchestra episode. And speak to Lily Sloane, an artist and therapist who we thought could speak uniquely to the relationship between art and mental health. What we weren't expecting was the deeper significance that…

    more
  25. James Yorkston & The Second Hand Orchestra

    Scottish singer/songwriter James Yorkston released his 10th studio album The Wide, Wide River as James Yorkston & The Second Hand Orchestra earlier this year. After almost 20 years playing with band members who were often friends (The Athletes, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan and the Fence Collective among...

  26. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

    This is a Bonus episode to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down's latest album Temple opens with a chunky Vietnamese rock riff, the kind that Thao Nguyen's mother would have grown up dancing to—in the Vietnam of her youth, before war came to define the country. The title...

  27. Can you sing in your Mother Tongue?

    We hear some tape that didn't make it to the main episode featuring Emmy the Great. To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we speak to a new fan of Emmy the Great, food writer Jenny Liao. She talks about her Chinese American heritage and her efforts to re-learn her mother tongue of Cantonese by...

  28. Emmy The Great

    Emmy the Great is the moniker of Hong Kong-born, British singer-songwriter, Emma-Lee Moss. Her latest album April was written four years ago, after a British Council residency to China and a trip back to Hong Kong. For most of her adulthood, Emma felt she had transcended living in the former...

  29. Memories of The Flaming Lips

    We hear some tape that didn't make it to the main episode featuring The Flaming Lips. And we also speak to an early fan about the memories he had as he listened to the episode. Write us an Apple Podcast review or if you prefer to share your thoughts with us via email, please drop us a line at...

  30. The Flaming Lips - Wayne Coyne

    The Flaming Lips are one of the most beloved psych-pop bands. They've managed to achieve commercial success and win multiple Grammy awards without having to sacrifice their instinct for the wierd and wonderful. Led by Wayne Coyne, an unconventional but committed frontman, this once band of…

    more
  31. Coming Soon: Season 2 of Under the Radar

    Listen for a teaser to our Season 2 launch episode and other upcoming guests. Follow us on Apple Podcast so you don't miss our first episode with The Flaming Lips, out next Thursday, April 8. Send us your thoughts at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for…

    more
  32. UnEdited: Hanif Abdurraqib

    Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist and cultural critic. His book Go Ahead in the Rain blended criticism, history, memoir, and poetry to pay tribute to A Tribe Called Quest, and the upcoming A Little Devil in America (March 30) explores how Black performance is woven into American culture. His...

  33. UnEdited: Hrishikesh Hirway

    Song Exploder's Hrishikesh Hirway has had a busy 12 months. He launched two new podcasts as the Pandemic hit last year. And by Thanksgiving had a Netflix hit when Song Exploder his longtime music podcast made the transition to a television show. I was unaware of his TV show when we spoke but we…

    more
  34. UnEdited: Roman Mars

    Roman Mars has been producing one of the most popular podcasts ever—his show, 99 Percent Invisible—for over a decade. Last year, they marked the occasion by releasing a design book called The 99 Percent Invisible City: A Field Guide to The Hidden World of Design. I was presented with the...

  35. UnEdited: Jason Bentley

    As KCRW Music Director for a decade and host of the radio show Morning Becomes Eclectic, Jason Bentley is a respected tastemaker. He has been pivotal in introducing us to artists and bands that have ascended pop charts and become permenent fixtures in the culture. He left a hole in my...

  36. Under the Radar Podcast Presents: The Show On The Road with Agnes Obel

    The Show On The Road is a great music podcast hosted by Zach Lupetin from folk rock outfit, Dustbowl Revival. I'm excited to share this episode where he speaks to Danish composer, pianist and singer/songwriter Agnes Obel. It was recorded at the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles before there...

  37. Travis - Fran Healy

    When Scottish band Travis landed their bonafide hit with "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?"—we were all taken with frontman Fran Healy's cheeky grin, affable persona and the way he seeminly wore his heart on his sleeve. After years of Brit-pop feuds and Oasis infighting, it was refreshing to have a...

  38. Fantastic Negrito

    Fantastic Negrito is the latest incarnation of Xavier Amin Dephrapaulezz. As a child, he was raised in an orthodox Muslim household in New England. His Somali-Caribbean father was an Oxford-educated immigrant who played traditional African music. Just before he hit his teens, his father relocated...

  39. Everything Everything - Jonathan Higgs

    Everything Everything frontman, Jonathan Higgs grew up in the North of England in a home filled with music. As early as six years old, he was experimenting with making music and rudimentary computer games on a free software program. By the time, he got to University he knew he wanted to be the...

  40. Caroline Rose

    Caroline Rose grew up on Long Island, New York, in a happy household where her artists-parents encouraged her creativity—she won coveted roles in musical theater productions, performed in a regional middle school band and instead of Summer jobs, she would take to the streets busking to earn her...

  41. Ezra Furman

    Ezra Furman grew up in Chicago, loving the Jewish faith as much as punk, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. While driving with a friend through their suburban streets one evening, she stumbles on the voice of Lou Reed. The car stereo is playing "Rock n Roll" by the Velvet Underground. She is…

    more
  42. Black Belt Eagle Scout

    As a young indigenous artist growing up in Northwest Washington, Katherine Paul was drawn to the noise of grunge and Bikini Kill's punk. But the rhythms of an idyllic life on her Coast Salish reservation, punctuated by her family's All My Relations gatherings—an annual powwow which coincided with...

  43. Under the Radar Teaser

    Under the Radar is a music podcast that goes deeper into the latest albums by indie artists. Each month, an artist reveals memories of childhood, musical inspirations and milestones that have helped shape them and their work. Hosted and produced by Celine Teo-Blockey. From Under the Radar…

    more

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

TOPICS IN THIS SHOW

Click any topic to search every transcript on PodParley for moments someone mentioned it.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

A monthly podcast that dives into memories of childhood, musical inspirations and milestones that have shaped artists—and informed their most recent albums. Hosted and produced by Celine Teo-Blockey. Presented by Under the Radar, a print magazine and website founded in 2001 by Mark and Wendy Redfern.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HOSTED BY

Celine Teo-Blockey

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Under the Radar Podcast have?

Under the Radar Podcast currently has 43 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Under the Radar Podcast about?

A monthly podcast that dives into memories of childhood, musical inspirations and milestones that have shaped artists—and informed their most recent albums. Hosted and produced by Celine Teo-Blockey. Presented by Under the Radar, a print magazine and website founded in 2001 by Mark and Wendy...

How often does Under the Radar Podcast release new episodes?

Under the Radar Podcast has 43 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Under the Radar Podcast?

You can listen to Under the Radar Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Under the Radar Podcast?

Under the Radar Podcast is created and hosted by Celine Teo-Blockey.
URL copied to clipboard!