Author Archive
Ali Pugh
Ali Pugh was catapulted unknowingly into the lost provinces of the mighty Norwich in 1979. A dreamy youth spent in the bleak lowlands of East Anglia, he skewered most days by escaping into the backwoods and writing messages in the soil to people he knew wouldn’t be walking by any time soon. In time he moved indoors, found John Peel on the dial and fell in love with the frazzling ‘Hot Wire My Heart’ by a band called Sonic Youth. An unhealthy obsession with music was born and the trouser pocket emptied of beans. Ali graduated from the BA in Communication at Bournemouth University in 2000 and went to live and work in Minnesota for five months. On return he pursued a career in publishing in London before deciding it was a can of worms that should be left alone to wriggle. He now looks to the MA in Radio Production to develop his enthusiasm for music, writing, drama, literature and a story with some teeth – genre isn’t particularly important, he hopes to produce programmes that grapple with the imagination and raise questions for the listener. Enthusiasms that will fire Ali up include The Velvet Underground, new music radio, 12 Angry Men, Graham Swift, fun in the snow and a few jars of Bombay Sapphire. Current favourite thought: “The first word you think of is usually a pale imitation of the meaning you’ll charm from the second word you think of.”
The Embryologist
The Embryologist is a dramatic monologue documenting the concerns of a doctor dying from hypothermia in a laboratory freezer. The role of an embryologist is arguably one that works towards forming a new life from separate parts and this appeared a decent concept to build a new soundscape around. Music samples from existing tracks and stereo recordings are reinterpreted and weave in an out of the speech in an attempt to convey a sense of contemplation, realisation and isolation.
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Governors On Sominex
An aural iterpretation of a poem by the poet and songwriter David Berman that incorporates recorded sound and music from David’s band, Silver Jews and The Olivia Tremor Control.
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This Charming Man
A lively and topical exploration of the role of an estate agent, This Charming Man incorporates a candid interview with Pete from the industry and frank public perceptions of the estate agency business and the personalities that operate within it.
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Canada 22
Featuring the voice and recollections of Lesley Taylor, Canada 22 looks to explore the truisms and comic absurdities of war and the human sprit during impossibly trying times.
This programme acts as a ‘4 minute life’ focusing on flight experiences, romance and friendship. It is an example of what a full, larger programme would sound like. Such a programme would intertwine anecdotes and stories from Lesley’s time in the air force in Canada with excerpts and ideas from the impossibly funny anti-war novel Catch 22.