Inspirational conversations with personalities from the creative industry about pop culture, music, art, film, fashion, and entrepreneurship.
TRUE STORIES THAT LIGHT
THE WAY INTO THE FUTURE
"It's all about storytelling. You have to know what makes the beats of a story arc work"
Jon S. Baird
Filmmaking
From BBC Television to Hollywood Movie Director, Golden Globe nominee and BAFTA award winner, collaborations with Martin Scorsese, Danny Boyle, Jim Carrey, Mick Jagger and a host of award winning actors, to being one of Britain's most exciting directorial talents.
“The better you do your job, the more invisible you as a designer become”
Malcolm Garrett
Design
Professor Malcolm Garrett MBE RDI is a graphic designer who has mastered the art and science of creativity, as evidenced by a diverse portfolio that spans four decades creating landmark designs for musicians and bands, including Buzzcocks, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Boy George, Peter Gabriel, Oasis, and Pulp, and done numerous innovative digital projects with Apple, Virgin, Warner Brothers, Transport for London, Design Manchester, and many more.
“It’s never good to try to mimic or manufacture a style, because it needs to be authentic and develop naturally”
Anita Kunz
Art & Illustration
Anita Kunz has created iconic art that has been internationally shown and published for four decades. She is famous for her covers for the New Yorker, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine, and many others. Her work has appeared in numerous galleries and museums, and she has won many awards for it.
“The harder you work the luckier you get”
Dave Cronen
Artist & Label Management
From Virgin to Rough Trade, PIAS and Grand Royal Records, then Trust Management by guiding the careers of hundreds of revered artists that have influenced popular culture - The Beastie Boys to Johnny Marr, Ash, We Are Scientists, Dexys and Baxter Dury. Working with artists who received Ivor Novello Awards, Oscar nominations and NME Godlike Genius Awards. Mentoring the next generation of artists, producers and entrepreneurs at the Academy of Contemporary Music.
“Aspire to be as great as the things that are influencing you. Not to be like them, but to be as influential”
Roy Sharples
Creative Leadership
Founder and CEO of Unknown Origins on a mission to unlock everyone's creative potential by providing innovative solutions that build capability, drive audience engagement and brand love.
“The necessary traits are agility and the ability to pivot and adjust your thinking to fit the reality of what people actually want”
Adam Farish Entrepreneurship
From musician, producer, sound engineer, and tech entrepreneur, to a nationally touring EDM DJ with two albums, multiple EPs and several 12” singles to his credit. Co-founder of SmartAmerica Home Automation. Co-Founder and CEO of 8Stem - a new audio format and platform that allows any listener to remix music on their phone.
“Approach your work with an open mind and not to bring the baggage from previous projects”
Leticia Pettená
Brand Leadership
From building brands in Brazil and the United States to changing behavior for the better by influencing corporate cultures and societies through strategic focus, creative thinking, and technology innovation - helping the likes of Itaú, Natura, IBM, Nestlé, Rise Ventures, Beleaf*, Verde Asset Management, and Beautybox to reimagine their brands.
“Having a moral grounding as an entrepreneur provides you with an unlimited source for motivation”
Jonathan Burns
Fashion
Whilst studying for his degree at the Academy of Contemporary Music, Jonathan envisioned and brought to life an innovative venture by reimagining the sustainability and reusability challenges of the fashion industry in an ethical and respectful way.
“If you are going to do anything creative you're inevitably going to end up in places you didn't expect”
Csaba Dancshazy
Social Media
From Budapest to Harvard by blazing the trail to make sense of social media by building a social media analytic platform and practice at Microsoft, online consumer behavior at Wayfair, to founding D-Tag Consulting that provide expertise, analytics, training and custom consulting solutions that empower companies to build out and expand their ROI from social media analytics.
“You learn more from your mistakes than successes”
Ben Thornley
Filmmaking
Whilst travelling through America and stumbling upon Hollywood, taken aback and moved by the endless possibilities, it led him down the path he has since excelled in - creating inspired content for delivery over a global platform with thousands of clients from the rainforests of Madagascar to the streets of Mumbai, where his work has been viewed by over a billion people.
“Know your craft, always come prepared, and bring your own unique perspective to the character”
Cathy Murphy
Acting
Actress Cathy Murphy, who has gone from being a student at the Sylvia Young Theatre School to Allan Clarke's Made in Britain, Stars of the Roller Skate Disco, Doctor Who, EastEnders, Holby City, Family Affairs, The Phantom of the Opera, Shameless, Extras, About A Boy, Misery, Two Woman, Once A Catholic and many more.
“Fight for the art against the tensions that counter it”
Mat Bancroft
Art Direction & Curation
From Johnny Marr's Art Director to being part of the curation team that organized and realized True Faith - an exhibition of the artistic legacy and influence of Joy Division and New Order exhibit at the Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester International Festival in 2017. Spearheaded various pop culture archives including the archives of Factory Records, Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton, and his current work on Derek Jarman’s archive for Art Fund UK.
“A positive mind makes better decisions”
Doviak Musicianship & Production
From high profile commercials and films to being Johnny Marr's co-producer. Melanie Isaac, Priya Panda and Benjamin Schoos' co-writer and producer. Mixing music for multiple up and coming bands, to being an acclaimed independent artist.