On Episode 4 of The State I Am In I talk to Elly Lucas. As well as being a professional photographer and musician Elly has recently launched ThinkMakePlayCreate, a website which aims to explore the positive impact of creativity on mental wellbeing and to encourage communication around it. We talked about the influence of nature, the role of art in processing grief and depression, Elly’s incredible self awareness around her own wellbeing, identity, Haiku Salut and much more! Please engage with the ThinkMakePlayCreate project! https://thinkmakeplaycreate.com Elly Lucas’ photography: http://www.ellylucas.co.uk Facebook: @ellylucasphoto Instagram: @elly_lucas Twitter: @ellylucas I forgot to take the obligatory podcast selfie for this episode, so this episode’s image is a self portrait by Elly Lucas, the very one we talk about during the conversation. Music used in the episode: First song: Elly Lucas, ‘My Brain is Full of Fog Today’ Second song: Elly Lucas, ‘My Heart Is Heavy Today’ TSIAI theme music: Alex and the Christopher Hale Band, ‘The Worst Way to Die’ CONTACT ME! If you have any feedback or comments about this podcast I would love to hear from you! Please email me: [email protected]

For Episode 3 of The State I Am In I spoke to Maria Machin. Maria is the front person of the band Grawl!x and performs solo under the name ( ( M A R I A ) ). We talked about the problem with Morrissey, British repression, art as therapy, overcoming stage fright and much, much more! Buy Maria’s music! Grawl!x, http://grawlix.bandcamp.com/ ( ( M A R I A ) ), https://mariamariamaria.bandcamp.com Facebook: @grawlixmusic / @MariainParenthesis Instagram: @mariagrawlix Twitter: @GrawlixBand Music used in the episode: First song: Grawl!x, ‘Apophenia’ Second song: Grawlix, ‘In’ TSIAI theme music: Alex and the Christopher Hale Band, ‘The Worst Way to Die’

My guest for Episode 2 of The State I Am In is Mathias Kom, frontman and songwriter of The Burning Hell. The Burning Hell are an indie band hailing from Canada. I spoke to Mathias the day after their New Years Eve show in Ramsgate. Things we talked about include collaboration, Leonard Cohen, capitalism and the importance of failure in art. Buy The Burning Hell's music! https://theburninghell.bandcamp.com Songs played in Podcast…  Theme Music: Alex and the Christopher Hale Band, 'The Worst Way to Die' First Song: The Burning Hell, 'My Name is Mathias' Second Song: Ariel Sharratt & Mathias Kom, 'In the Future' The Burning Hell website: http://www.wearetheburninghell.com Twitter: @theburninghell Instagram: @theburninghellband Facebook: @theburninghell

For the first episode of The State I Am In I sat down with the poet Sophie Sparham. We talked about politics and poetry, Bruce Springsteen, how she came to be a poet and so much more. Sophie's website: http://www.sophiesparham.co.uk Sophie's Twitter: @sophiesparham Instagram: @sophie.sparham Facebook: @sophiesparhamwriter THEME MUSIC: The Worst Way to Die by Alex and the Christopher Hale Band… please buy the song from https://achband.bandcamp.com