Breaking up, falling in love again, upsetting French people with same-sex snogging… Third-time Mercury nominee Anna talks to Matt Everitt about the backdrop to her latest record.

NAO - Saturn

Sep 12th, 2019 22m 6s

Self-confessed overthinker NAO describes how Saturn documents her second coming of age: a break-up, a reinvention and correcting the mistakes of her 20s.

Black Midi - Schlagenheim

Sep 12th, 2019 11m 12s

Geordie and Morgan talk meeting at the BRIT school, three-hour jams, birds’ teeth and sweating landlords.

Cate Le Bon - Reward

Sep 12th, 2019 24m 50s

Cate describes her “tempestuous relationship” with this record. Which might have something to do with making it while training to be a furniture-maker in the Lake District.

IDLES - Joy As An Act Of Resistance

Sep 12th, 2019 18m 29s

Violence, energy and purpose: IDLES’ Joe Talbot talks about killing fascism with empathy, and his mission to start something better with the power of music.

Dave - Psychodrama

Sep 12th, 2019 11m 10s

The man behind Psychodrama chats with Dotty from 1Xtra about one of the most searing, honest, dramatic and talked-about debut albums in recent memory.

slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain

Sep 12th, 2019 11m 43s

slowthai slept on leaky beanbags for a year while making his debut album. But his priceless reaction to hearing about his Mercury nomination shows it was 100% worth it.

Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1

Sep 12th, 2019 18m 32s

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis talks climate catastrophe, information overload, quagmires and wormholes – just some of the preoccupations that went into making this record.

Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel

Sep 12th, 2019 20m 4s

Fontaines guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley talk us through how Dogrel’s ferocious sound of the record came about. Just don’t ask them about Dublin.