Music Not Diving with Scuba

This week on Music Not Diving we decouple from the Youtube feed and get into the ongoing debate around AI. Sceptics like Ed Zitron have come to prominence with their doubts about the viability of business models of the big AI firms, but in music Suno is busily destroying artistry and the effect of the general LLMs has upended other bits of the industry too.

So what does this all mean?

And we also learn about the ceiling of the Rolls Royce Phantom and what that might mean for vintage mix consoles.

Bob Lefsetz piece on the Indie Alliance: lefsetz.com/wordpress/2026/03/31/the-indie-alliance/

Shawn's referenced piece: firstfloor.substack.com/p/the-majors-are-ushering-in-an-era

Ted Gioia referenced piece: www.honest-broker.com/p/four-steps-to-hell

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Listen to the Not A Diving Club radio show: https://soundcloud.com/swufm/scuba-not-a-diving-club-14-1

You can now discuss the show on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicNotDiving/

If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

00:00 Intro
02:00 Future of the pod
06:50 The Indie Alliance
12:30 Major labels and AI
15:00 AI scepticism
20:17 New Suno model
29:20 Rolls Royce and music
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the music industry have in common with Swiss watches? Quite a lot, as we discover on this solo episode of the podcast...

The latest Morgan Stanley Swiss watch industry report can be viewed here.

--
Listen to the Not A Diving Club radio show: https://soundcloud.com/swufm/scuba-not-a-diving-club-14-1

You can now discuss the show on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicNotDiving/

If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

00:00 Intro
05:52 The current landscape
10:08 Volume vs luxury
14.07 The key players
19.11 How the successful acts do it
24.32 Can listeners pick up the slack?
27.10 The real problem
30.20 Conclusions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving touched down in Bengaluru, aka Bangalore, for the opening night of DJ El Sid's Ends & Means party, and also to record podcasts at the Bangalore International Centre with two of the most important people in the contemporary techno scene in India. This is part II...

Sanil Sudan, aka FILM, is one of the best electronic producers to come out of India. Based in New Delhi, he has been involved in all aspects of the scene over the past decade and more: DJing, promoting parties, running one of India’s first booking agencies (UnMute), as well as making beats as FILM and other aliases including the techno-focused Tyrell Dub Corp. '

We discuss his production process, differing approaches to studio techniques including classic synths and sampling, hidden resources to be found on Youtube, the challenges facing Indian producers, the development of a distinctive Indian sound, as well as his time spent in Berlin as part of the Border Movement Residency (BMR) program.

This is a great conversation with a big talent operating in a difficult environment. Get involved!

Check out El Sid mixes on Soundcloud.

--
Listen to the Not A Diving Club radio show: https://soundcloud.com/swufm/scuba-not-a-diving-club-14-1

You can now discuss the show on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicNotDiving/

If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

00:00 Intro
03:10 FILM
06:11 From pro-gamer to promoter
08:30 The "No more parties in Delhi" experiment
11:45 Learning Music Theory mid-Career
15:45 AI Slop and the value of human emotion
17:54 The cultural necessity of sampling
22:00 Studio talk
27:00 The Berlin border movement residency
32:30 Post-COVID clubbing & Spotify fatigue
37:30 The corporatisation of Boiler Room
41:45 Forging an authentic Indian sound
49:10 The global hustle for Indian DJs
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music Not Diving touched down in Bengaluru, aka Bangalore, for the opening night of DJ El Sid's Ends & Means party, and also to record podcasts at the Bangalore International Centre with two of the most important people in the contemporary techno scene in India.

Kohra is a key figure in the modern iteration of techno in India. His label, Qilla Records, has been one of the most important outposts for Indian producers since 2011. And as a DJ, he has established himself as a similarly important voice across clubs and festivals both in India and on the global circuit. He's also a very interesting guy with a lot to say on the state of the scene right now, and also the history.

We discuss the scene in India compared to Europe and the US, the development of techno culture in India, the advance of western dance music brands into Asia, today's challenges in running labels, and his history in different areas of music.

This conversation is a great insight into the workings of the scene in India... get involved!
Part II will air next week.

--
Listen to the Not A Diving Club radio show: https://soundcloud.com/swufm/scuba-not-a-diving-club-14-1

You can now discuss the show on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicNotDiving/

If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

00:00 Intro
02:45 Kohra
07:30 Local scenes
14:00 Western club brands in India
21:30 Politics and boycott culture
27:50 Kohra's journey into music
33:35 Production
42:08 Spending time in Melbourne
44:40 Jalebee Cartel
47:10 Running Qilla Records
53:30 Future of the scene in India
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the Not A Diving Club radio show: https://soundcloud.com/swufm/scuba-not-a-diving-club-14

You can now discuss the show on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicNotDiving/

Frank Wiedemann is one half of legendary German house duo Âme (he does the live shows and can probably be described as the lead producer). He's also a key figure in the Innervisions label, the Dixon/Âme axis, and also a member of other groups include Howling.

We discuss the new wave of electronic music nightlife in Berlin, the responsibilities of established acts to the wider scene, his processes in making music, and performance both as Âme and also in improvisational settings such as previous pod guest Sebastian Mullaert's Circle Of Live.

This is a good one, get involved!

--
If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - "Solidarity" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And "Musicality" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.

You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.

Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.

Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist

00:00 Intro
03:50 Berlin nightlife isn't dead
07:56 Events vs. clubbing
11:01 Should bigger artists give back?
14:18 The paradox of playing live
22:22 The new Ame album
31:30 Spotify is social media
38:14 From Jazz clubs to Robert Johnson
49:00 Innervisions at the Royal Albert Hall
55:49 The art of the 8-hour jam
01:04:52 Teaching and retreats
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.