“Eliminating attachment is a good way to drive yourself into the present, to saying, ‘ah, I'm here now’. It's not that you don't care, or that it nullifies your work or material things, but shaking off some attachment is deeply healing, humbling and helpful day to day”.

GUY buttery

musician

Guy Buttery is a South African musician and guitarist, cited as “one of South Africa’s most influential artists over the past decade" by The Sunday Independent. Buttery's distinctive acoustic style is influenced by traditional South African culture, music and instrumentation. Guy has received numerous accolades for his recorded work as well as for his live performances. He has collaborated, toured, supported and recorded with dozens of artists including Dave Matthews, Jethro Tull and Vusi Mahlasela.

With tours cancelled all around the world due to COVID-19, Buttery went into "studio mode" and released 5 albums in 2020.

In 2021 Buttery released another collaborative album with traditional Indian classical musicians Mohd Amjad Khan (tabla) and Mudassir Khan (sarangi). Recorded in a singular session in India in a largely improvised setting, "One Morning in Gurgaon" continues Guy's love affair with the music of the subcontinent. The record received critical acclaim landing up on numerous album of the year lists including NPR, New Sounds and PopMatters and also charted in the World Music Charts Europe. The record was then picked up in Japan for a vinyl release in a curated album series by Qrates.

“The most important part is not focusing on our differences, but on our response — the way we react to different situations. And our response gives us a clue as to who we are ...”.

iri di

musician

Iri Di is an Ethiopian-French self-taught musician, and in this episode she explores the role that music has played in forging identity, meaning and magic.

"Iri's music navigates between afro rhythms, polyphonic singing, pentatonic and tonal harmonies; exploring the link between intimate and universal, organic and digital... Her music demonstrates the intricate bond between the multiple origins of her music, from the traditional singing of Hamer (her birthplace) to the great musical sounds of North Africa." - musicinafrica.net

MUSIC & HEALING

“My brother was really at the bottom, and a few of the songs I dedicated to him … I wrote them to heal. We had to stop recording because I was crying in between, for my brother who is literally fighting for his soul. It definitely helped us process something, it really helped pour some kind of love ...”.

carla fonseca

musician & artist

QUIETING ANXIETY

“It’s almost like you’ve taken a little bit of speed or amphetamine. You’re just wired, you’re on. And you can’t shut off. You lie there all night until the birds start singing…”

simon attwell

MINDFULNESS

“I was out of touch with how I felt, with my feelings. I couldn’t identify what my feelings actually were. Because what I’d learnt in childhood was that it wasn’t safe to express my feelings…”

Zolani Mahola

ESCAPING trauma

“I just completely spun out. I started drinking very heavily, drinking had become a form of escape that I used. This escapism was a trope that I had developed from childhood.”

Zolani Mahola