Time for a chuckle. Mark "MJ" Hibbett is one of the most unique, funny and intelligent figures on the British indie pop scene. The man knows how to write a tune and, what's more, get a crowd going.
He's been making music since forming his first band on the way home from a school art trip in 1981 and, along with his troupe the Validators, has been gigging for years. His list of accolades include releasing the first ever internet single and getting loads of recognition from the likes of the BBC and Rolling Stone.
He's got a great new album out, Still Valid, and here we chat about that, gigging, footy, his ambitions to become a doctor (oh yes) and how he turns a room of people sceptical about him into a room who love him. Stream above, listen to it on Mixcloud here or you can download the podcast through the Acast app or by typical Desert Isolation Discs into iTunes. Please do subscribe.
Nick Helm is a man so rock'n'roll the discipline is not even big enough for him.
A fine musician - in fact his latest album, Nick Helm is Fucking Amazing is out this month - he's also made his name as a comedian and actor, providing heavy entertainment to the masses. His star has shone brightest in hit comedy Uncle, in which he plays a layabout musician trying to make it big and he discusses how nerves could've killed the whole show off.
Ahead of his All Killer Some Filler live show at the Kentish Town Forum in London, I quizzed him on the music he couldn't live without. A massive film buff, Nick tells of his love of Kevin Cosner and what his most dubious video shop rental was as we meet at the Pleasance Theatre. 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.
Broadcaster Ruth Barnes is a certified selector. After a career spent largely in music radio – she knows how to pick a tracklist. With an all-female playlist on her Amazing Radio show The Other Woman and through work with everyone from BBC 6Music to Resonance FM, Ruth has adeptly curated choice cuts for years.
She’s achieved an absolute shedload – working as a continuity announcer for BBC One and Two, voicing long reads for the Guardian and Economist and creating documentaries for Radio 4. She’s also worked hard to further the cause of women in the male-dominated radio industry. The Independent described her as a "pop pioneer who knows what women want".
Over a pint of Guinness, she talks women in radio, her most interesting interviewees and what she wants to do next. And all with a special guest – her daughter Roisin! Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Acast or stream it on Mixcloud.
Mr Tom Whalley is used to making difficult choices where music is concerned. As producer of The Huey Show, fronted by Huey Morgan of the Fun Lovin' Criminals, on BBC Radio 6 Music, Nottingham's finest flatcap wearer is a master selector. A London resident, he is also known for lecturing in radio at the University of Westminster, tutoring for youth station Reprezent 107.3FM and co-founding his record label, Hello Thor. His masterful features - including the eponymous Where's Whalley? - which made his name at BBC Radio Nottingham and the Not in Nottingham podcast have also caught the ear.
Here Tom talks us through the eight tunes he couldn't live without, explains the allure of lycra wearing and handles some surprise interruptions. Stream the show via Mixcloud below, download it here and subscribe to the podcast here or by typing 'shadowplayboys' into iTunes or equivalent.
