BPM Pod
Giving a voice to unsung musical talent. Join musicians and music lovers Ashley Scrace Wendel and Chris Weinhardt as they discover the lessons, inspirations and tips behind great musicianship. Plus, you‘ll hear some of the latest music reviews, of music both famed and not, plus you‘ll have a few laughs along the way down various deep rabbit holes (which, quite frankly, don‘t always relate to music).
Episodes

7 hours ago
7 hours ago
Solo Chris episode this time where he breaks down all of thought, energy, and confusion that goes into creating a jingle - a few seconds of audio takes a tonne of time, indeed.

Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
The boys catch up on a bunch of varied musical topics on this episode, including: Dreamtheater live in Berlin review Reflecting on Devin Townsend, and aiming to get him on the pod Drive-By Truckers live in Copenhagen review Musing on Wilco's new album, Cruel Country What is a pro musician? What is an amateur musician? What is a musician these days?! We discuss. Beginner guitar mistakes around reading tabs Music theory and why it rules Vanda Essay interview, where we talk about her latest single 'Tonight', what she's studying at Goldsmiths University, the ambitions for her music career, and we talk about the pros and cons of in-ear monitors. Find out more on Facebook and Instagram @BPMPOD Music used in this episode DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - March Of The Poozers (Lyric Video) - YouTube Drive-By Truckers - The Driver (Official Video) - YouTube "Tired of Taking It Out On You" by Wilco | Cruel Country - YouTube Vanda Essay - Tonight (feat. Joni Saksala, Camilla Meisterjahn, Simon Löschke, Livia Thauer & Theo Hartmann) - YouTube Vanda Essay - Waste of Love - YouTube

Thursday Jun 09, 2022
Thursday Jun 09, 2022
US-Italian singer, songwriter, voice artist, and vocal coach Annalisa Lombardo swings by the podcast to talk all things American politics, songwriting process, and musical ambitions. Check out Annalisa's music on her website, or wherever you listen to your tunes. The new single 'American Fascist' is out soon. Home | Annalisa Lombardo

Friday Jun 03, 2022
Friday Jun 03, 2022
For the longest time we've wanted to interview this sublime Swedish singer-songwriter. And now, we're pleased to welcome Emma Elisabeth along to the podcast. Emma talks about her latest album 'Some Kind of Paradise', the influence of 70s and 80s rock and pop, what's on her pedalboard, and what's coming up next. Keep up to date with Emma Elisabeth: HOME | emma-elisabeth Emma Elisabeth (@emmaelisabethmusic) • Instagram photos and videos

Sunday May 22, 2022
Sunday May 22, 2022
There's a lot more to come from BPM Pod, albeit in its own time. Here's a quick word on what's going on behind the scenes.

Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
On this episode, the boys dedicate half the runtime to the Behringer Vintage Time Machine - a guitar pedal they adore, despite it being a copy of my a more expensive Electro Harmonix one. Chris teaches you a bit about how delay works, and how it can add to your overall sound, no matter what instrument you play. Plus they review new music from Emma Elisabeth, Bon Iver, and Son of a Pixel, as well as catching up with the funky 'Superbloom' by Misterwives. There's a tonne of fun in the Fact or Fiction segment too, this week focusing on classic rock myths. Got any Fact or Fiction questions for the guys? Send them in via Instagram or Facebook. Oh, and there's a bit of talk about dildos and sponsorship. It's weird, but it passes within a few minutes. Music on this episode MisterWives - SUPERBLOOM (Official Visualizer) Tessa Violet & MisterWives - Bored (Official Quarantine Video) Bon Iver - Second Nature (From 'Don’t Look Up') (Official Audio) Son of a Pixel - DIGIHELL (Official Video, 2022) - YouTube Emma Elisabeth - Some Kind Of Paradise (Official Music Video)

Friday Apr 08, 2022
Friday Apr 08, 2022
Packed episode with the guys this time, touching on a bunch of stuff in quick succession. What we've been listening to The delightful Tonight from Vanda Essay gets a spin and a bit of chat We cover other artists we've loved recently, including Son of a Pixel, Poor Man's Poison, and Pluralone 8 Bit Wonderland We look at some of the computer game soundtracks we love, with the featured soundtracks this time being the 2016 DOOM soundtrack by Mike Gordan, and the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack by Kow Otani. Plus, Zelda gets more than a quick mention, by way of Half Life (you'll see how). Chris's drum mixing education Long chunk of the episode is dedicated to drum mixing tips, from minimising mic bleed, to determining the space you record in, to how samples are created, to how music is a constant fight in balancing frequencies. Really interesting deep dive into an area of expertise that is not talked about enough (and a big shout out to Chance Bair of HEAVY HEAVY for bringing this one up). Music featured in this episode Vanda Essay - Tonight (feat. Joni Saksala, Camilla Meisterjahn, Simon Löschke, Livia Thauer & Theo Hartmann) Providence - YouTube Shadow of the Colossus Remake FULL Soundtrack - YouTube DOOM - Original Game Soundtrack - Mick Gordon & id Software - YouTube Son of a Pixel - BUGFIX (Official Video, 2022) - YouTube Feeder - Come Back Around - Official Video - YouTube Rihanna - Umbrella (Orange Version) (Official Music Video) ft. JAY-Z - YouTube Forest Temple - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time - YouTube

Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Ben talks about learning a new recording process during the pandemic, on the influences of David Byrne and how underrated Byrne is as a lyricist, and how honoured Ben is to work with the wonderful Josephine Stephenson on an upcoming opera. Check out more of Ben's music at http://ben-osborn.com/ And put 15 April in your diary for the new EP. We'll review it on the show in the future.

Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
A bunch of stuff on this packed episode with the guys. Yes, while this is a music podcast, none of us can avoid what's going on in the world at the moment, so Ashley and Chris spend a bit of time in the beginning talking about that and the sadness of it all. Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine. But to try and celebrate Ukraine a bit, Ashley mentions some of the wonderful Ukrainian music he's been listening to including Postman, Me'Leron, Poweder Echo, Mandarinaduck, House of Flowers, and Jinjer (by Chris' request). Big shout out to The Quietus for their excellent article around Ukrainian music, and to Rolling Stone for their feature. Check them out. The special guest this week is Chris himself, who talks about getting out gigging again, the energy he's gotten from as we emerge from COVID lockdowns, and where we can check out Weinhardt going forward. Plus, we mention the latest music news of Epic Games acquiring Bandcamp (read more here), and the tracks that have caught our attention including Ed Sheeran, xxxtenacion, and Sabaton Music featured on the episode this week: Powder Echo - https://powderecho.bandcamp.com/album/bung Mandarinaduck - https://mandarinaduck.bandcamp.com/album/long-life Me'Leron - https://meleron.bandcamp.com/album/r Postman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXlPVhm4HDI House of Flowers - https://hofbandukraine.bandcamp.com/releases Jinjer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU Stormtroopers - YouTube Ed Sheeran - Overpass Graffiti [Official Video] - YouTube what are you so afraid of - YouTube

Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
In this bonus edition of BPM Pod, Chris reviews, comments on the use of, and demos the Line 6 HX Stomp XL - a multi-effects guitar pedal, which is the smaller version of the Line 6 Helix unit. Say goodbye to ridiculous amps, hundreds of pedals, and a bunch of cables and potential gig issues. Say hello to everything combined in one small, handy, sturdy box. Find out more here: https://www.thomann.de/gb/line6_hx_stomp_xl.htm

About Ashley & Chris
Ashley is a communications professional, voiceover artist, and (sometimes) a musician, based these days in Malmö, Sweden.
Chris is the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist with the band Weinhardt. Chris is also a guitar tutor and video maker, baased just outside of Berlin, Germany.