WEBVTT 00:00:01.550 --> 00:00:05.990 And now here they are, Nick and Sue on Chatterbox. 00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:09.470 When the stars talk, they talk to Nick and Sue. 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.060 to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with Sue and 00:00:36.060 --> 00:00:40.579 Nick and today our special guest is IJ Swannypool 00:00:40.579 --> 00:01:03.340 aka Stephen Gawkin aka the nuclear lyricist We're 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:06.280 Chatterbox giving you all you need to know about 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:28.849 musical entertainment. Oh yeah! Chatterbox! And 00:01:28.849 --> 00:01:31.950 now on Chatterbox UK, we're lucky enough to welcome 00:01:31.950 --> 00:01:36.049 Jay, aka Stephen Gorkin, the nuclear lyricist. 00:01:36.390 --> 00:01:38.629 Stephen, welcome. How are you, sir? Good evening, 00:01:38.849 --> 00:01:43.730 Jay. Good evening. Thank you for having me. Yeah, 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:45.469 we're all good. Thank you. And thank you for 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:49.719 coming on Chatterbox. As I said off air, I got 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.260 to know you through the late Dussie Clayton, 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:54.640 through his excellent podcast. I've heard you 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:56.980 on there two or three times, and that's why I 00:01:56.980 --> 00:01:59.200 sent you a friend request and a request to come 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.379 on to Chatterbox. The production, the stuff you 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:04.200 come out with is first class. So I thought, yeah, 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:06.939 it'd be great for the British audience to hear 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.479 your stuff and to have an interview with you. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.409 So there we go. How did it all start? Let's talk 00:02:14.409 --> 00:02:19.870 about perhaps your... the personal aspects of 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:21.789 your life, like the disability, because obviously 00:02:21.789 --> 00:02:26.629 that's been a major part. So I believe it's Spinal 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:30.530 Muscular Astrophy Type 2. Tell us all about that 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:33.129 and was it from birth? How old were you? Give 00:02:33.129 --> 00:02:35.370 us that and then we'll talk about how it affected 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:37.449 you as a kid and how you developed into the music 00:02:37.449 --> 00:02:42.280 through it. Yeah, so I was basically... diagnosed 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:46.620 at the age of one and spinal muscular atrophy 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.840 it's very similar to what Stephen Hawking had 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:55.199 MND but it's much less progressive so it takes 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:58.819 much longer to you know to take effect on your 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.819 body so yeah so I've been living with it my whole 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:06.539 life I'm 33 years old now and yeah so it has 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:11.389 taken quite a toll on my body still hopeful and 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:14.530 positive and now we keep fighting the good fight. 00:03:30.750 --> 00:03:41.960 I wouldn't say it was more of a passion than 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:45.620 anyone else as I feel about music. Music has 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:50.120 always just been around and on a separate capacity. 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.080 I always liked playing around with words and 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.060 writing lyrics and stuff like that, but I never 00:03:57.060 --> 00:04:01.219 really thought of doing anything with it. And 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:06.400 around 2018, around there, I decided maybe I 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.310 should produce two what you call it, passion, 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:13.229 homies together, and let's see what comes of 00:04:13.229 --> 00:04:17.670 it, you know? And, yeah. So, it's next to a legacy 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:20.750 project now, you know, it gives me, gives me 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:24.860 a sense of purpose, and, yeah, yeah. Well, it's 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:28.379 some really great stuff as well because We've 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:32.759 got a wonderful thing called bubblegum milkshake 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:35.560 Featuring Eva Morgan now that is quite quite 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:38.860 fantastic. That is so I mean, how did you you 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:40.600 meet Eva? How do you meet the people you work 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:42.600 with? I mean, is it just social media through 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.019 does he was it or or how did that all come because 00:04:45.019 --> 00:04:47.079 you seem to have a You know a group of people 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.500 you've been working with anyway, it seems. Yeah. 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:53.389 No, you know, we were fortunate to live in a 00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:56.310 technological area, you know. So, you know, we 00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:58.769 can connect with people right around the world. 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:02.850 So, but yeah, I got in contact with a producer 00:05:02.850 --> 00:05:07.529 called Bobby Johnson and he's like my co -producer. 00:05:07.910 --> 00:05:12.170 He has a studio in Bloomfontein Field Study in 00:05:12.170 --> 00:05:17.689 South Africa. So we... got in contact and i told 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:20.129 him you know i'm gonna do this this is a concept 00:05:20.129 --> 00:05:22.990 what do you think and he said yeah i know he 00:05:22.990 --> 00:05:26.050 loves the idea let's see where it goes yeah and 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:30.050 that's how it all started so and then yeah every 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:35.310 song we produce and write together we then decide 00:05:35.310 --> 00:05:39.389 okay who are we going to get on as a vocalist 00:05:39.389 --> 00:05:42.870 let's try someone new let's try you know a different 00:05:42.870 --> 00:05:46.199 angle and stuff like that, so we're not like 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:50.120 limited, like I would say, you know, your ordinary 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.160 or typical band or group or artist, you know, 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.160 we play around the sounds and female, male, you 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.600 know, depends, you know, so we are not limited 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.800 in terms of creativity, we just go with the flow 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.480 and, you know, where the sound takes us and we 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:17.910 go with it. Sure in your press release The demographic 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:22.290 music sent me a lovely lovely thing from you 00:06:22.290 --> 00:06:26.610 and it says My life is a portrait and I hold 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:29.970 the paintbrush. I got dealt a bad hand, but I 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:32.629 play it like a royal flush Oh, that's amazing. 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:37.920 So it says it all Growing up, I mean, how did 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.100 you find things growing up? Was it a normal school? 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:43.819 Were the kids okay? Or were they cruel like kids 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:47.220 can be? How did life treat you as you were growing 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:50.100 up? Yeah, look, it always comes to the theatre, 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:53.100 you know. People always, you know, treat you 00:06:53.100 --> 00:06:56.420 differently in a certain way. But I wouldn't 00:06:56.420 --> 00:07:00.360 say more cruel or anything like that. It's just... 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:02.220 you will always have that, you know, it comes 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:04.879 with the territory. Like I say, you know, people 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:08.439 will always treat you differently until you earn 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.459 a sense of, how can I say, I don't want to say 00:07:11.459 --> 00:07:15.259 earn a sense of respect, but you have to put 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:17.620 yourself out there in a way. And then when people 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:20.540 get to know you, then, you know, it kind of equals 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:24.740 the, how can I say, the playing ground, if that 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:27.800 makes sense, you know? So you just have to, I 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.860 mean, The world is religious, you know, and we 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.379 have to face it as it is, and it's just religious. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:38.379 I mean, I don't play the victim card ever. Like 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:41.819 with Dero, who is my PR manager, you know, the 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:44.720 first thing I told him is like, you know, we 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.180 never play the victim card. We don't do that. 00:07:47.579 --> 00:07:50.319 We just carry on and do what we do and try to 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:54.660 inspire other people in doing what we do. Yeah, 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:58.220 so that's how we go with it. Yeah, yeah. I'm 00:07:58.220 --> 00:07:59.980 asking these questions mainly for other people 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:02.459 at home that might be needing the... I mean, 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.920 you're the great ambassador. You get on and you 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:06.339 do your music and you believe in your music and 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:08.639 that's really what you are. You're the musician 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.220 and producer and everything else. I'm asking 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:13.240 these questions just for people at home, maybe 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.779 alone, may not have your outlook in life and 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:17.199 just hoping it might help them a little bit. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.980 That's where I was going with it. Sue would like 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:23.420 to ask you a question. Jay, who inspires you? 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.360 Yeah, no, it looks great. That's a difficult 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.699 question to answer. I can't really explain it. 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:37.960 It's like, I guess, you know, I came to the realization 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:43.620 that I have this fire inside of me that is ultimately 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:47.500 given to me by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:51.320 you know, and ultimately that has just kept me 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.299 going in my own life. I can't explain, like... 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:58.169 that like a certain thing keeps me going. I just, 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:01.070 you get up, you go on, and you carry on. But 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:05.149 in terms of inspiration for my art, you know, 00:09:05.330 --> 00:09:10.250 I get inspiration, especially even from TV, film, 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:14.149 it doesn't matter, you know, artists can inspire 00:09:14.149 --> 00:09:17.289 other artists ultimately, and that's what art 00:09:17.289 --> 00:09:20.269 is, you know, it's a reflection of the human 00:09:20.269 --> 00:09:23.620 soul. And yeah, at the end of the day, I see 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:27.519 myself mostly as a storyteller and I just chose 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:32.580 the medium of music to tell my stories at the 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:35.379 moment, you know? So yeah, I hope that answers 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:39.759 your question. Perfectly. Now you said you got 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.779 into this in about 2018, so of course COVID -19 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:52.240 came along effectively we say early 2020. So 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.539 would you say, I mean it was a very, what should 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:57.980 we say, creative time for a lot of people, so 00:09:57.980 --> 00:10:01.220 would you say, that's just really bad wording 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:03.179 saying it came at the right time, would you say 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:07.990 that, you know... it got you it was the right 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:10.110 it was the right time to get your creative juices 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:14.570 flowing because 2018 2019 early 2020 was say 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:16.830 uh of course that's when all the lockdowns started 00:10:16.830 --> 00:10:20.490 coming in around the world so uh what what did 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:22.730 you do during the lockdowns i mean was it creative 00:10:22.730 --> 00:10:25.289 for you did you did you just escalate for you 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:27.789 and that's how you ended up being the person 00:10:27.789 --> 00:10:32.710 we see today yeah ultimately like even like our 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:37.639 business model or creative model you know that 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:40.600 no effect on us you know like I said previously 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:43.940 you know fortunately we live in a technological 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:48.279 age so we could just carry on you know the same 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:53.399 it really had no effect on us personally so but 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:58.039 you know you see social media and people get 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.980 you know they're getting down and frustrated 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:05.320 with life and in in that sense it inspired me 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:12.159 to try to be a shining light of hope in a dark 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:16.700 time, I guess. We just carried on doing what 00:11:16.700 --> 00:11:24.100 we do. Hopefully, for us, it was not as bad as 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:27.740 other artists that use a different business model 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:33.509 like they do live performances. tour at the county 00:11:33.509 --> 00:11:36.850 or whatever you know so it doesn't have effect 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:41.230 on us but other artists really really fronted 00:11:41.230 --> 00:11:44.429 and they still you know they still struggle with 00:11:44.429 --> 00:11:47.889 the aftermath of the launch. Well yeah because 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:52.350 some people uh some artists of course were reliant 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:57.149 100 % on uh uh on their income from concerts 00:11:57.149 --> 00:11:59.669 and gigging and things like that so yeah that 00:11:59.669 --> 00:12:02.700 is the number that's the number one uh business 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.500 model in South Africa for an artist you know 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:10.399 in terms of streams and technological sales I 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.259 guess you won't make your living you know so 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:17.740 you have to do you have to do a gig here and 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:21.440 there and do what you do so yeah for us you know 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:25.919 we are fortunate and I'm in a privileged position 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:29.580 with family and loved ones you know always supporting 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:36.500 me so I can't complain. Yeah. Great. Fantastic. 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:39.159 I see obviously we've come out of the lockdown. 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.840 I see 2023 as the release of a single. Do excuse 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.200 my pronunciation in case I make a big zero of 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:52.519 it. Chesley and Colby in an office... Cubisil 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:57.740 featuring Hemel, Bessam, Luffy, Gazelle and Vickers 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:01.399 Visser, is it? A powerful hip -hop pop anthem, 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:06.460 champions perseverance in the face of doubt, 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:10.039 echoing the ethos. Rather try and fail than fail 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:13.259 to try the song embodies and potentially. So 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:20.570 yeah, that was 2023. also in 2023 i see here 00:13:20.570 --> 00:13:23.029 this is very race and what was an incredible 00:13:23.029 --> 00:13:28.629 year uh your late sister andrea she she passed 00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:33.129 i believe from spinal muscular astrophy type 00:13:33.129 --> 00:13:36.789 one yes the age of just five so we're really 00:13:36.789 --> 00:13:38.990 sorry to hear about that but thank you for for 00:13:38.990 --> 00:13:41.710 sharing that so this has been so you did a collaboration 00:13:41.710 --> 00:13:46.440 with uh edwin cat and kulaks and the single release 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:50.919 was Andrea the angelic yeah yeah yeah that's 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:54.399 absolutely beautiful yeah yeah she passed away 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:59.519 in uh 1994 oh sorry i see you did the you did 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.100 the you did the song in that year sorry i've 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:05.620 got you yeah it's a story to tell and i should 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:13.720 uh do something with it and yeah it takes two 00:14:13.710 --> 00:14:21.850 to tangle and to to present a radio show so here's 00:14:21.850 --> 00:14:29.269 Nick and Sue your musical duo this is Nick and 00:14:29.269 --> 00:14:31.529 Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to 00:14:31.529 --> 00:14:38.220 know about musical entertainment Shadowbox, Shadowbox, 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:43.019 Shadowbox, Shadowbox 2024, your musical journey 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.399 took a profound turn with Demons and Disorders 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:50.740 featuring Nathan Blur and then we've also got, 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:53.820 let's have a look, Remember the Dream also again 00:14:53.820 --> 00:14:57.529 featuring Nathan Blur And then we take us to 00:14:57.529 --> 00:15:02.309 2025. We've already mentioned the fantastic Bubblegum 00:15:02.309 --> 00:15:04.830 Milkshake, which Sue's not had the pleasure of 00:15:04.830 --> 00:15:07.450 hearing yet, but she will do later. Had we not 00:15:07.450 --> 00:15:08.889 got stuck in the traffic jam, she would have 00:15:08.889 --> 00:15:11.950 heard it before. I just love the name. It's an 00:15:11.950 --> 00:15:16.870 amazing effort, that one. Also in 2025, with 00:15:16.870 --> 00:15:19.389 Clint Brink, you did a thing called The Way. 00:15:21.070 --> 00:15:23.830 And you remember the dream we've mentioned now, 00:15:23.830 --> 00:15:30.110 yeah. What have we got? Now we're in 2026, Jay. 00:15:30.230 --> 00:15:33.149 What have we got coming out in 2026? What are 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:35.789 your plans for this year? What can we expect 00:15:35.789 --> 00:15:57.399 to hear from you? and you know it's a threat 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:01.600 to creativity but there's also a side to it where 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:06.399 we ultimately must embrace it you know i mean 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.519 it's not going anywhere and at the end of the 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:14.559 day true creativity comes from the human soul 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:18.360 and that's what the title manna you know it's 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:20.720 it's we don't really know where it comes from 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:25.429 or what it is but creativity comes from human. 00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:30.309 So, you know, it will be genetic and all that, 00:16:30.330 --> 00:16:33.610 but it will never tell a story like a human can 00:16:33.610 --> 00:16:38.470 tell a story. So that will, that will situation 00:16:38.470 --> 00:16:43.870 we find ourselves in and yeah. As you say, embrace 00:16:43.870 --> 00:16:47.710 it. I mean, AI, there's no points. In my opinion, 00:16:47.830 --> 00:16:50.149 someone bringing out something that's 100 % AI. 00:16:51.989 --> 00:16:55.850 singing or, you know, music production. However, 00:16:56.070 --> 00:16:59.529 it can be useful. It can be helpful. But like 00:16:59.529 --> 00:17:01.789 I say, as you say, embrace it is a great way 00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:04.730 of looking at it. However, we did have this thing 00:17:04.730 --> 00:17:07.809 in the in the 80s when the drum machines come 00:17:07.809 --> 00:17:10.390 out and everybody thought it was going to be 00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:12.329 the end of a drummer. Now there's plenty of groups 00:17:12.329 --> 00:17:15.509 out there still with drum drummers. So possibly 00:17:15.509 --> 00:17:18.269 not. I think people are panicking a bit, but 00:17:18.269 --> 00:17:20.910 no. it's not going to replace it embrace it as 00:17:20.910 --> 00:17:23.769 you say technically we didn't use the word embrace 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:26.069 the drum machine back in the day but that's what 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:27.769 happened and there's plenty of drummers out there 00:17:27.769 --> 00:17:29.829 as you know yourself so hopefully it's going 00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:32.210 to be something similar to that hopefully yeah 00:17:32.210 --> 00:17:35.609 i mean even if you look at autotune when it came 00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:38.670 out you know it's the same concept if you really 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:42.849 think about you know it's a set to real vocalist 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:45.720 but at the end of the day we still have good 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.440 vocalist where we are here in this day and age 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.700 so I feel like it will be a place for everyone 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:55.599 to do what they love and you know experience 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:59.640 themselves and like I said ultimately we as human 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:02.619 beings we are artists it comes from our soul 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:06.819 and yeah we can just express ourselves and whatever 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:10.680 medium we use we might just tell our stories 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.619 If that makes sense, you know? Absolutely. When 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:18.000 can we expect the new song to be out? The new 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:21.839 single to be out? Yeah, I'm aiming for around 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:26.640 end of April, May. Then I think everything will 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:32.720 be in line and we can run a solid PR campaign. 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:37.240 So yeah, we're looking at end of April, beginning 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.380 of May. Sure, no, absolutely. So I'll be getting 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:47.220 all your stuff anyway. He's going to be sending 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:49.640 me everything. So we'll be looking for that and 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:51.180 playing that. I'll be looking forward to hearing 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:53.240 from you. If there's anything up to the standard 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:55.019 of your other stuff, it's going to be fantastic 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:57.640 and worthy of some radio play. So there you go. 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:05.519 Let me ask you, what's it like having a British 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:09.799 audience listening to you on the scale of 230 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:12.420 stations and what's it like people in the UK 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.940 being interested in you? It's a massive honour 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:21.920 and it's a privilege to be on your show and to 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:27.740 tell my story. It doesn't matter. who listens 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:30.920 to my story, I just want to tell my story and 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.799 hopefully inspire people to keep fighting the 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.299 good fight. It doesn't matter what your demographic 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:45.619 or your location is. Have you got anything for 00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:49.319 Jay? Jay, what sort of music was you listening 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:52.460 to when you were growing up? Yeah, so that's 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:55.980 the thing. I was always mostly eclectic, but 00:19:55.980 --> 00:20:00.079 my favorite was hip -hop. So when we started 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.559 in 2018 -19, you know, our first few singles 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:09.660 was very much hip -hop influenced. And, you know, 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:11.900 at the end of the day, you have to listen to 00:20:11.900 --> 00:20:16.880 your audience and the people around you. So me 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:20.500 and Devo got together and we said, maybe we should 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:25.250 move into a more of a... pop commercial type 00:20:25.250 --> 00:20:30.109 of genre to reach more people and get more radio 00:20:30.109 --> 00:20:34.569 play ultimately so that's why you will see ultimately 00:20:34.569 --> 00:20:40.430 i guess from remember the dream we made that 00:20:40.430 --> 00:20:46.410 shift into a more pop So that's the way we're 00:20:46.410 --> 00:20:49.650 going forward now, you know, not limited, but 00:20:49.650 --> 00:20:53.309 we want to be as commercial as possible to reach 00:20:53.309 --> 00:20:56.849 as many people as possible. So, you know, it's 00:20:56.849 --> 00:21:00.029 not about, you know, I can be selfish and stubborn 00:21:00.029 --> 00:21:02.990 and do what I want to do, but ultimately you 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.569 have to listen to what people say around you. 00:21:06.690 --> 00:21:10.329 And, you know, you can't just let your creativity 00:21:10.329 --> 00:21:15.839 flow. uncontrollably if that makes sense so you 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.799 have to keep yourself in check and people around 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:23.059 you must keep you also in check you know so yeah 00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:25.500 stay in touch with your audience is basically 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:28.759 what I'm trying to say that's cool absolutely 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.279 you've been great chatting Jim before we let 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:34.099 you go let's look at your social media I've got 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.819 it all up here by the looks of it so it's uh 00:21:36.819 --> 00:21:41.259 Stephen Gorkin the uh nuclear lyricist and uh 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:44.420 you're on facebook literally as nuclear lyricist 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:49.799 uh got x nuclear lyricist uh same as instagram 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:56.619 uh tiktok is at the nuclear lyricist uh youtube 00:21:56.619 --> 00:21:59.160 you got a channel on there Fantastic, so they 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:03.420 could be looking at you there. Spotify, you're 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:07.859 on. Apple Music, so YouTube we mentioned, and 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:09.819 you're on Deezer as well. No doubt you're on 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:12.400 a whole bunch of other stuff. Is there websites 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:15.220 or any other social media that I've missed there 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:21.400 that you'd like to mention? The website is stevengooking 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:27.920 .online. but yeah you can go to all the social 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.200 media platforms as you mentioned and all the 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:35.259 streaming platforms yeah will be uh searched 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:39.700 away so please share and search and you know 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:42.119 like and subscribe to anyone that's listening 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:46.279 we appreciate the support No, it's fantastic 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:48.700 and and and you are a great great artist great 00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:52.079 great producer and Like I say, it wasn't just 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:55.799 the interview with does he? He went a bit further 00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:57.980 there. I thought that this guy's really great 00:22:57.980 --> 00:22:59.839 I need to talk to him not only about about the 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:02.160 music but also about him as well And I thought 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:05.220 yeah the the British audience will love to meet 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:07.799 you. So that's what we've done and here you are 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.000 So thank you so much. It's been a great interview. 00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:14.839 Yeah No, thank you both for having me Are you 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:18.380 on now? Yeah, no, likewise. So Jay, Steve Gawkin, 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.960 the nuclear lyricist, thank you so much for coming 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:24.960 on Chatterbox UK and the Redux podcast, and let's 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:28.059 do it again sometime. So keep in touch and we'll 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:29.339 keep an eye on chat about something else you're 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:32.660 doing in the future. Anytime, thank you. Thank 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:34.759 you very much. Jay, thank you very much. Thanks, 00:23:34.859 --> 00:24:00.450 Jay. Thank you, thank you. You've been listening 00:24:00.450 --> 00:24:03.130 to the Chatterbox Redux podcast with Sue and 00:24:03.130 --> 00:24:06.990 Nick and today our special guest was IJ Swanipool 00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:11.289 aka Stephen Galkin aka the nuclear lyricist. 00:24:12.069 --> 00:24:14.210 If you're interested in becoming a future guest 00:24:14.210 --> 00:24:17.069 on the Chatterbox Redux podcast or the radio 00:24:17.069 --> 00:24:20.049 show Chatterbox UK you're welcome to submit songs, 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:23.450 books or whatever it is you do and send us a 00:24:23.450 --> 00:24:26.869 CV, synopsis or press release. However, we receive 00:24:26.869 --> 00:24:29.630 several thousand such press releases every week 00:24:29.630 --> 00:24:33.289 and it's impossible to reply to each one. individually. 00:24:33.589 --> 00:24:36.069 Why not email us or leave a comment because we'd 00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:38.349 love to know what you think of the podcast. Our 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:43.329 email address is nickelbum at myyahoo .com. Alternatively, 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:47.369 you could write to us at P .O. Box 26, the Old 00:24:47.369 --> 00:24:50.470 Observer Building, Telford Road, St. Leonard 00:24:50.470 --> 00:24:56.670 -on -Sea, East Sussex, England, TN 38 9LZ. And 00:24:56.670 --> 00:24:59.410 wherever it is you choose to listen to the Chatterbox 00:24:59.410 --> 00:25:02.559 Redux podcast. Don't forget to give us a like, 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.740 a follow, a favorite or whatever it is on that 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:09.039 platform just so you don't miss a future episode. 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.920 Sue, myself Nick and Twinkle the tuxedo cat, 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.740 thank you very much for your company and we look 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:17.740 forward to welcoming you again next time for 00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:21.059 another Chatterbox Redux podcast. In the meantime, 00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:23.599 take care, we thank you for your company and 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:47.869 we catch you then. Bye bye. This is Nick and 00:25:47.869 --> 00:25:50.890 Sue with Chatterbox giving you all you need to 00:25:50.890 --> 00:25:58.970 know about musical attainment. Oh yeah! Chatterbox! 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:05.700 The best news is...