Music journalist, writer, broadcaster and all round nice guy Pete Paphides has been an outspoken fan of unsung British music for more than 30 years. We joined him for a few hours in his house in North London to talk about the impact of Sound Techniques on his own life and on the industry way back in the mid 60s and early 70s. His brain is filled full of references, history, liner notes, stories and beautifully crafted thoughts on anything that has ever been pressed into analog existence.
Encyclopaedic knowledge aside Pete gave us a very English warmth and a passion for the tunes of Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Fotheringay, Pentangle, Vashti Bunyan and John and Beverly Martyn among many others. A true lover of music, he recalled being intrigued by the very name Sound Techniques. He talked about the Sound Techniques house band, about John Wood and Jerry Boys and about the day he was astounded when Auntie Aviator was blasting from his daughter’s bedroom. He also filled us up with background for many of our interviews, artists and beyond.
Pete Paphides has written about music for Melody Maker, The Guardian, The Times, The Observer, Q, Mojo and Time Out as well as producing many shows for BBC Radio 4. He also helmed the fantastic Vinyl Revival for BBC 6 Music. Not to mention he has one of the greatest record collections we’ve seen so far while filming The Parts You Don’t Hear. We’re proud to have such a great, passionate voice discuss the records made at Sound Techniques. You can listen to his show here on Soho Radio.
