The Strange Brew - artist stories behind the greatest music ever recorded
Aug 14, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 12 segments
Robin Scott’s career spans from acoustic songs on the 1960s folk circuit to the sequenced synth-pop of ‘Pop Muzik’ – the 1979 hit single that took him to number one under the moniker M. On this…
Robin ScottGuest
Jason BarnardHost
The nature of pop music is that certain aspects of it, certainly in the short term, can be ephemeral, but ironically, after that initial burst, it lasts, certainly the good stuff, including yours, and then lives on.
It's a, a strange thing, where there is like a bubble, but then the cream then rises back to the top.
It could be a... [laughs] I could see the paperback, you know, the tragedies of pop music, per se.
There have been moments where, you know, okay, they've drifted into drugs or whatever, or at worst, you know, some lunatic has blown somebody's brains out.
You know, they're, they're not nice stories, are they? And there are so many of them.
And we've discussed today all the paths that you followed and didn't follow, but then your musical journey, which out of almost any artist, is one of the most diverse, is there a through line? [laughs] Is there something that you see as connects all your, your art and your projects? Or is it just yourself and your interests and following your muse?
I think, you know, curiosity is, um, paramount, and wanting to, well, you know, sort of if you like, in a cultural or cerebral way, go into territories where I'm exploring and at some point feeling a little uncomfortable, but then persevering and, and coming through with something which surprises myself and hopefully other, others.
And that, that's still really my premise as I'm, you know, working from day to day now.
If it doesn't trigger my imagination or, or surprise me, then I can't really expect anybody else to be interested.
And one of the quotes was, um, basically he was being challenged at one point as to how is he arriving at this extraordinary universe that he's created as his legacy for all of us? And basically, he- they are conversations with himself.
He's not writing specifically about others, and, you know, he's not weaving through other people's lives and narratives and turning it into something as a writer of his own making.
They are conversations with himself, and I thought, "God, that's pretty amazing." Yeah, that, that's probably the, [laughs] the safest route to go, [laughs] 'cause you're not really dependent on getting an answer from anybody else.
The nature of pop music is that certain aspects of it, certainly in the short term, can be ephemeral, but ironically, after that initial burst, it lasts, certainly the good stuff, including yours, and then lives on.
It's a, a strange thing, where there is like a bubble, but then the cream then rises back to the top.
It could be a... [laughs] I could see the paperback, you know, the tragedies of pop music, per se.
There have been moments where, you know, okay, they've drifted into drugs or whatever, or at worst, you know, some lunatic has blown somebody's brains out.
You know, they're, they're not nice stories, are they? And there are so many of them.
And we've discussed today all the paths that you followed and didn't follow, but then your musical journey, which out of almost any artist, is one of the most diverse, is there a through line? [laughs] Is there something that you see as connects all your, your art and your projects? Or is it just yourself and your interests and following your muse?
I think, you know, curiosity is, um, paramount, and wanting to, well, you know, sort of if you like, in a cultural or cerebral way, go into territories where I'm exploring and at some point feeling a little uncomfortable, but then persevering and, and coming through with something which surprises myself and hopefully other, others.
And that, that's still really my premise as I'm, you know, working from day to day now.
If it doesn't trigger my imagination or, or surprise me, then I can't really expect anybody else to be interested.
And one of the quotes was, um, basically he was being challenged at one point as to how is he arriving at this extraordinary universe that he's created as his legacy for all of us? And basically, he- they are conversations with himself.
He's not writing specifically about others, and, you know, he's not weaving through other people's lives and narratives and turning it into something as a writer of his own making.
They are conversations with himself, and I thought, "God, that's pretty amazing." Yeah, that, that's probably the, [laughs] the safest route to go, [laughs] 'cause you're not really dependent on getting an answer from anybody else.
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