Digging with Flo

Off the allotment and into a city garden today with musician and composer Rufus Wainwright. Rufus joined Flo fresh from a run of shows and special events, including the performance of his Dream Requiem in Paris, performed by Anna Prohaska, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, and narrated by Meryl Streep.  In this episode of Digging, Flo and Rufus - with the assistance of Siegfried the dog - plant out tomatoes. Whilst they set about the task they discuss Rufus’ discovery of opera as a young gay teenager during the peak of the AIDS crisis, his musical lineage, the bruising experience of launching a cutting edge musical on the West End and his new found love of Britney Spears. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

Back on the allotment today with Lias Saoudi, best known as the frontman of the heavily mythologised South London band Fat White Family. For the uninitiated, FWF are a controversial band born out of a Peckham squat in 2011: they became known initially for their riotous, electric live shows, as well as their unapologetic attitudes - depending on who you talk to, FWF are post punk heroes or “horrible little scrotes”. Now in 2024, the band sit at an interesting juncture, with a new album out but with certain members absent, decades of excessive drug use having taken their toll. During today’s episode Lias talks about his experience of growing up in Cookstown Northern Ireland and troubling family ties, as well as new found health and semi-sobriety. Flo and Lias’s mutual disdain for musician-turned-cheese magnate, Alex James also comes up, as they successfully plant out butternut squash, which it turns out is Lias’ least favourite vegetable. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

Off the plot today and into the Suffolk garden of writer, critic and lifelong gardener Olivia Laing. Laing's diverse career began with their involvement in road protests in the 1980s & 1990s where they lived completely off grid: this led to training as a herbalist, before moving into the literary world. As the deputy books editor of The Observer they wrote extensively on arts and culture, before authoring award winning auto-fiction novel Crudo, and several celebrated works of non-fiction - the most recent of which, The Garden Against Time, uses today’s Suffolk garden setting as a lens through which to explore the concept of paradise and the varied, surprising stories of gardens. Whilst Flo and Olivia pot up geraniums they discuss the concept of the gardens as a queer haven for artists like Derek Jarman, Cedric Morris, Vita Sackville-West and the ladies of Llangollen. Flo has her first go at worm harvesting and Flo and Olivia reflect on the growing urgency for public gardens that provide a refuge from urban stressors as well as the climate crisis. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording & Mastering - Sophie EllisonMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

Today on the plot Flo’s joined by multidisciplinary artist and musician Duval Timothy. Duval’s work blends his musical and cultural influences with the piano at the centre of his practice. His work spans food, painting, sculpture, textiles and more. Recent collaborators include fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner and rapper Kendrick Lamar.Flo and Duval talk about fatherhood, Lewisham’s Mr Pink, Duval’s commitment to the colour blue, his early experiences of making art, and some of his more recent music. Duval proves himself to be a fantastic digger and planter of courgettes, which was today’s task.  Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording and Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTubeMusic - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

This week Flo is joined by artist, activist and founder of Sports Banger, Jonny Banger. Jonny has taken the art of the bootleg and used it to deliver searing take downs of the status quo: his work is subversive and accessible, and encompasses themes of pop culture, politics and fashion, all undercut by a spirit of rave. In this episode Flo and Jonny talk about Jonny's long standing connection to pigeons, the KLF and the buzz he gets when he receives a cease and desist letter: all whilst planting out climbing beans. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording & Mastering - Sophie EllisonA video version of this episode is also available on YouTube.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

Flo and her guests are back on the allotment for the summer. In this first episode she’s joined by NYC based Molly Lewis, who is probably the world’s most famous whistler. In this episode of Digging, Flo and Molly will be planting potatoes whilst chatting about cane toads, the weird and wonderful world of competitive whistling - and Flo gets a whistling lesson. Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Editing - Femi Oriogun-Williams, Sound Recording - Sophie Ellison, Mastering - Felix Stock.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.

This week, in the final episode of Digging Season 2, Flo is with fellow NTS host Shy One. Shy is a producer and DJ who started aged 13 making grime instrumentals for this emerging London scene. Now a celebrated DJ and musician, she’s played in clubs and festivals across the world, and is loved for her musically deep, eclectic sets.In this episode Flo and Shy One plant out tiny baby leeks and discuss their very different experiences in the seminal internet chat community MSN, Shy’s classy musical upbringing, and her early years watching classic British comedy Smack the Pony with her mum.Presenter - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Sound Recording - Jennifer Walton, Audio production - Felix Stock. Special thanks to Dimitris Mylonas.Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.You can hear Shy One on NTS every Wednesday on Soup To Nuts

Not only are we off the plot today, we aren’t really gardening either. In this special edition of Digging, Flo is spending time with Penny Rimbaud in his garden. Penny is a founding member of the anarcho-punk band Crass and performance group EXIT, as well as a poet, writer and philosopher. In this episode Penny gives Flo a tour of the garden and ‘sheds’ at Dial House, the radical open house he established in the 1960s. They discuss his approach to meditation and philosophy as well as Penny’s various tattoos. They talk about the formative power of Paul Rep’s book on Zen, the early influence of the film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness and the fact that Valerie Solanas’s Scum Manifesto was the book most often stolen by Dial House guests. Featured track - The Casimir Connection - Forgiveness from the as yet unreleased Caliban Sounds album 'REFLECTION'. Credit to Dianne McLoughlin/soprano sax. Alcyona Mick/piano. Kit Massey/violin. Tim Fairhall/bass. Written and arranged by Diane McLoughlin. Produced by Dianne McLoughlin and Penny Rimbaud.Presenter & editor - Flo Dill, Producer - Lizzy King, Sound Recording - Giulia Campanella,  Audio production - Felix Stock. Music - Cleaners from Venus - The Artichoke That Loved Me, courtesy of Martin Newell & Captured Tracks.