In the final episode of Season One of The MP3.WAV Podcast, Seán sits down with Nicholas Sonuga, co-founder of Qube, one of London’s most influential creative studio platforms.

Nicholas reflects on his musical origins, taking us from his early years immersed in UK underground scenes as a DJ and producer, through studying music technology and renting studios, to eventually co-founding Qube alongside Amin Hamzianpour, an ex-banker and fellow producer who shared the same frustrations with the traditional studio model.

Together, they unpack how Qube evolved from a single basement studio into a multi-site creative ecosystem, including its upcoming location, set to launch next year.

This conversation is a deep dive into creativity, resilience, culture, and scale, touching on risk-taking, community-building, navigating COVID, and what it means to stay creator-first while growing a serious business.

🎧 Listen for lessons on betting on yourself, building for creators, and protecting culture as you scale.

This week Seán chats to Phonk producer and Purple Posse co-founder Backwhen for a deep dive into his journey from discovering wave music all the way to watching phonk explode into a global movement.

The two revisit some of the questions they covered from their B2B last year for Stay Cool #081 including his early origins, moving from Indiana to Denver and so on, before discussing more recent topics like DJ Smokey’s hosting of Skrillex’s mixtape earlier this year, and crucially, the state of Phonk given Drift Phonk’s continually drowning out of Phonk and it’s roots.

If you’re into wave, phonk, underground culture or just love hearing artists get candid about their craft, this one’s for you.

- Seán

♬ Intro & Outro by BACKWHEN

In this episode, Seán sits down with content creator and East London’s finest gamesmaster Leoni Joyce for a deep dive into her journey as one of the UK’s most creative digital storytellers. From her early YouTube vlogging days to her currently presenting style, Leoni breaks down how she shaped her craft, found her voice and built a career rooted in creativity and cultural pride.

They cover everything from the Ugandan and Congolese music she grew up on, to the impact of the MOBO Awards on her career, her evolving editing style and even why she hopes to return to songwriting. The pair also play the podcasts’s first ever games, revisiting her chaotic old “Vogue” interview and guessing outrageous celebrity tweets.

Leoni shares her love of Disneyland, gives honest thoughts on the current state of Afrobeats, and even shares whether her classic vlogs might return.

Funny, thoughtful and packed with nostalgia, culture and creative insight — this is Leoni Joyce like you’ve never seen her before.