INTERVIEWS

Conversations with the great, the good and the grassroots

INTERVIEW

‘There are many Bob Dylans but there's only one Lou Reed’: Emma Swift on her album of Lou Reed covers

In 2020, Emma Swift’s album of Bob Dylan covers, Blonde on the Tracks, brought her widespread acclaim and a new audience. Currently in the midst of making an album of Lou Reed covers, she talks to State of Sound about searching for the real Lou Reed, and what it was like trying on his leather pants.

21 March, 2026

INTERVIEW

Yankee Hotel Fox Dropped: The story of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot became a parable 25 years ago. Will The Golden Dregs’ Godspeed soon provide another?


By David Rea

14 March 2026

INTERVIEW

Rupert Bear with an enormous penis: how the Oz magazine obscenity trial inspired The Bookshop Band’s new EP

The Oz magazine obscenity trial of 1971 sent shockwaves across Britain. 60 years later, The Bookshop Band’s Ben Please tells us how it inspired their new EP.

28 February 2026

STATE OF SOUND

The New Independent Voice of Music

Founded by writer David Rea, State of Sound cuts through the noise with incisive music journalism, providing an analogue voice in a digital world. Free of advertising to ensure a frictionless reading experience, we cast an independent eye across a wide range of genres and eras, publishing everything from in-depth essays on legacy artists to informed reviews of the latest releases. SUBSCRIBE HERE

Photo: James Edmond / Alamy Stock Photo

INTERVIEW

‘Pete Townshend had us running around spinning the speakers’

On the release of the Bookshop Bands’ new EP Oz Sucks, Ben Please talks about the creative chaos of working with Pete Townshend.

21 February 2026

INTERVIEW

When Liam told Noel, ‘Mate, you're as good as the Beatles now!’

Legendary music writer Paolo Hewitt on the madness of touring with Oasis in 1997, Liam's reaction to one of Noel Gallagher's best songs and why the working classes have always had the best taste.

14 February 2026

INTERVIEW

Sleaford Mods: ‘The new album is gonna go over people's heads a bit’

On the eve of the release of their new album, Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson tells us about the pressure of success, letting his ego go and how Abbey Road Studios is like a knitwear factory.

Interview with David Rea

3 January 2026

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

Hungrytown: ‘I couldn’t help noticing how easy it was for us to sing together’

Hungrytown on living in Greenwich Village in the late 1960s, singing together on their first date and giving up their day jobs to follow their dreams.

Questions by David Rea

29 November 2025

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

The Red Tack: ‘This is the closest thing to flying a songwriter can experience’

The Red Tack on dancing to the rhythm of the washing machine, infiltrating the Boston scene during the time of Dinosaur Jr. and Throwing Muses, and how Diamond Dogs changed his life.

Questions by David Rea

15 November 2025

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

Balloon: ‘I know people who rate Gravity among their favourites. There was trepidation about the new LP’

Their 1992 debut, Gravity, was widely heralded and they seemed set for glory. And then years of silence. Balloon’s Ian Bickerton tells us what happened, and why it took three decades to make their follow-up.

Questions by David Rea

25 October 2025

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

Sarah McQuaid: ‘I’d call out song requests to my mum in the next room’

The singer-songwriter on her musical childhood, listening to the Beatles on her Mickey Mouse turntable and how her mother's death sent her in a new creative direction.

Questions by David Rea

11 October 2025

INTERVIEW

Emma Swift: ‘I'm an analogue baby in a digital dream’

Since the release of Blonde on the Tracks, her album of Bob Dylan covers, Emma Swift has been to hell and back. At this turning point in her career, she told State of Sound about her breakdown and the stunning new album which came out of it.

Questions by David Rea

12 September 2025

Shapes Like People: ‘I almost decapitated Kylie Minogue with a scissor kick’

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

When Kat Mann challenged husband Carl to write songs to pitch to Kylie Minogue, neither of them knew it would lead to the formation of Shapes Like People — nor a glistening debut album. David Rea spoke to them to find out more.

Questions by David Rea

6 September 2024

THE ‘ONE TO WATCH’ INTERVIEW

Paul Garside: ‘A whole new world opened up’

The London singer-songwriter on taking classical music to the school disco and how giving up set him free.

Questions by David Rea

1 September 2025