Life In Scents

In this episode, legendary electronic music-producer Martyn Ware talks us though some of the most memorable smells from his life. He tells us about the industrial odours he remembers from growing up in working-class Sheffield, before heading to Italy, where he takes us on a journey stopping at road-side cafes and aromatic lemon groves. Martyn's experience touring the world has given him  insights into how our relationship to the world of smell is beginning to change.Martyn is a founding member of both The Human League and Heaven 17. He has featured on recordings totaling over 50 million sales worldwide, working with musicians including Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Erasure, Marc Almond and Mavis Staples.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the third interview for Life in Scents, playwright and screenwriter Marcella Evaristi speaks to Jo Barratt and Odette Toilette about some of the smells that have punctuated her life. From fish suppers on wet winter evenings to the metaphysical joys of turpentine, her sensory experiences are divided between the 'electric greyness' of her home city Glasgow, to the vivifying scents of her ancestral Italy where choosing the perfect white peach marked a poignant ritual for father and daughter. We hear about being chased by Vicks VaporRub, the magic of sofrito, and why Marcella can't walk past an art shop without sticking her head in and having a good sniff.

As a special addition to our regular monthly interviews, we are pleased to offer you this portrait of James Craven, the resident archivist at Les Senteurs, London's original specialist perfumery shop, and a world authority on fragrance.In many ways this piece was the starting point for Life in Scents. After...  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the second edition of Life in Scents, comedian, writer and broadcaster Amy Lamé speaks passionately about the perfumes and smells that mean something to her. She explains why some perfumes were banned at school, the attraction of the barnyard, how she identified the body parts of Debbie Harry though smell and why an open sewer will always hold a place close to her heart, and nose. We also hear how smell can tell the story of Amy’s understanding of her sexuality, from teenage snogging by the sea to finding true love.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first edition of Life in Scents, Jo Barratt and Odette Toilette speak to the writer Lavinia Greenlaw about the smells and scents that have been significant in her life. The poet recalls the comforting English smells of bonfire, rain and bread which evoke memories of her parents and children. She shares the experiences of growing up though the exaggerated synthetic smells of the 1970s disco scene, into the cigarettes and jumble sales of punk. We hear about dockside warehouses haunted by the smells of clove and cinnamon, and of the scents that as a writer, Lavinia has now lost as digital replaces the analogue.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.