Pianist and Ninja Tune champion: James Heather

Whether it's tinkling the ivories or tapping the keyboard, James Heather is a master in his endeavours. By day, he promotes some of Britain's most innovative artists as head of communications at record label Ninja Tune. By night he works on his own fantastic compositions. 

It's a pleasure to turn the spotlight around on the man who has spent the last 14 years bigging up the likes of Bonobo, Cinematic Orchestra, Kate Tempest, Wiley and Young Fathers to talk about his own life. We discuss the secret to promotion, the joys of touring, his football fever, being posted on lookout for the threat of Somali pirates and overcoming a life threatening accident. 

We also pontificate over his own music - originally inspired by listening to Beethoven under the bed covers. It can be found on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. The podcast can be downloaded via iTunes or Acast (where it has loads of lovely photos to accompany it) by typing in Desert Isolation Discs, streamed above or on Mixcloud.