The Soundsphere Magazine Podcast

Dr Simon A. Morrison On The Music Journalism North-South Divide

Is London still the centre for music journalism? 
Music journalism is an extremely competitive field.  A platform for creatives to show off their talents from creative writing to cultural analysis on an array of multimedia platforms. On the surface, it may seem there is equal opportunity to kickstart a music journalism career in the UK – the constant emergence of up-and-coming bands to underground gigs and all between. However, is there a divide in the North and South of England regarding opportunity?  
More here: https://www.soundspheremag.com/news/dr-simon-a-morrison-on-the-music-journalism-north-south-divide/

Lyra Valkyria talks AAA dream matches, the John Cena classic and SYMPHONIC METAL!

There’s a moment, tucked away in Lyra Valkyria’s story, that says more about her journey than any championship ever could. It doesn’t happen under the bright lights of WrestleMania, or with a title belt raised high. It happens in a small venue in Bray, Ireland, when she’s just starting out, waiting for her cue to step through the ropes. “I’ll never forget doing matches in Bray in Ireland, and the fear that I had of, like, I’m getting in next, you know, when I was just starting out, and honestly, that fear was way scarier than standing behind the curtain at WrestleMania.”
 
More at: https://www.soundspheremag.com/

Jason Perry talks A's return after 20 years with 'PRANG'

#90salternative #00srock #a ‘
A’ have just announced details of their first studio album in over 20 years, PRANG. The alt.rock faves will follow-up 2005’s Teen Dance Ordinance on May 22 via Cooking Vinyl, with vocalist Jason Perry explaining of their mindset in putting it together: “There’s a messiness to it that allows our personality to come through — which is where the magic really happens. I don’t want anyone to put on an ‘A’ record and think it sounds like it was hard work making it. Life’s hard enough – there has to be fun in making music.” Get your limited-edition hand-signed copy of PRANG with K! x ‘A’ sticker Jason adds that, “By the end of ‘A’ in 2005, I felt like we didn’t have anything to say anymore. Now, I really do. We had to go and live a life. We’ve seen massive lows that we’ve helped each other through. This album is gratitude – gratitude for friendship, for still making music, for still being alive.” 

WWE NXT's Lizzy Rain talks her favourite bands, Mason Rook and TARGETING Tatum Paxley after debut

When Lizzy Rain hit WWE NXT, she didn’t arrive like a polished pop act. She came in like a riff: loud, raw, and unapologetically herself. A product of the UK indie wrestling scene—where she was known as Rayne Leverkusen—and a lifelong devotee of ’80s heavy metal, Lizzy has fused grit, theatre, and emotion into one of NXT’s most compelling new characters.
Now, with a North American Championship challenge in her sights and a potential rivalry with Tatum Paxley looming, she stands at the centre of a new British wave crashing onto WWE’s US shores, alongside names like Mason Rook and Tristan Angels. For Lizzy, it’s not just about success—it’s about staying true to the outsider spirit that got her here in the first place.
For more visit:  https://www.soundspheremag.com/

Progress Women's World Champion Alexxis Falcon on tribalism and flying the flag for Hull

#progresswrestling #aewdynamite #hull
Alexxis Falcon is the current Progress Wrestling Women's World Champion and is set to defend her title against the winner of the Super Strong Style 16 Tournament.
Soundsphere sat down with Alexxis Falcon to discuss her time as champion, her journey to becoming a professional wrestler, and her pride in representing the city of Hull each time she walks to the ring.
For more visit: https://www.soundspheremag.com/news/alexxis-falcon-on-progress-wrestling-hull/

Interview: Full Circle Moment For Zach Braff and Scrubs’ Cast

#zachbraff #scrubs
Zach Braff couldn’t be happier that his goofy “Scrubs” character, J.D. Dorian, has sprung back to life –the heartwarming comedy series has returned after 16 years. The sitcom’s original cast members, Donald Faison (who plays Christopher Turk), Sarah Chalke (Dr. Elliot Reid), John C. McGinley (Dr. Perry Cox) and Judy Reyes (head nurse Carla Espinosa) are also in the reboot.
More here: https://www.soundspheremag.com/

The Jesus And Mary Chain's Mark Crozer talks creating Bray Wyatt's OG theme and 'Homecoming'

#braywyatt #thejesusandmarychain #markcrozer
There’s a moment, somewhere between Coachella and WrestleMania, between Oxford and Brooklyn, between a Brooklyn library job and a stage in front of 80,000 people, where Mark Crozer will look up and think: How the hell did I get here? He says it with a kind of gentle disbelief, the same way he talks about almost everything – from playing bass in The Jesus and Mary Chain to accidentally soundtracking one of WWE’s most iconic modern characters, to making the most honest record of his life in Homecoming. “I still can’t really believe that’s what I do,” he admits of his life as a touring musician. “Just flying around the world… it sometimes seems ridiculous. You spend 22, 23 hours getting to somewhere like Singapore, you play for an hour, and then you leave. And even that hour is uncertain – it can be incredible, or it can be a total mess. But that’s the job.” For a man who doesn’t consider himself a rock star – “I just work with people who are in that business,” he laughs – his story is stacked with the kind of moments most musicians secretly rehearse in their heads as teenagers. Only for Crozer, they didn’t arrive until his mid‑30s, when a certain cult Scottish shoegazing alt-rock band came calling. For more visit: https://www.soundspheremag.com/

“I Was Never a Gimmick”: Vampiro on His Final JCW Match, Punk, Occultism and Rhea Ripley

#vampiro #jcwlunacy #wcw
When I connect with Vampiro over Zoom, we’re already on brand before the interview even begins. His camera won’t work. Settings are broken, logo showing, no face. The man who spent decades wrapping himself in darkness, ritual and theatricality is now literally a disembodied voice. Somehow, it fits. We’re speaking ahead of what’s being billed as his final match at JCW StrangleMania – a farewell wrapped in Juggalo chaos, underground mythology and punk spirit. It’s happening in Las Vegas, at a casino, with a crowd that has followed him through generations, evolutions and reinventions. Physically, he’s hurting. Mentally, he’s buzzing. “My body is kind of a mess,” he admits. “I’m extremely limited on what I can do now, physically, I just can’t really, really do much, but my mind, I’m so excited.” [0:01:51] That tension – between a battered body and a still-burning mind – runs through his entire story. As we talk, it becomes clear that this last match isn’t just about one more pop from the crowd. It’s about loyalty, ritual, culture and, maybe most of all, authenticity.
For more visit: https://www.soundspheremag.com/

Not Richard and Her Majesty: How Rich Fownes Found Freedom After Ruin

As we catch up in 2026, Rich Fownes looks almost disarmingly at ease. No grimy backstage, no dim corridor outside a venue, no chaos humming just off-screen. For a man whose life has been built on high-volume, high-impact noise – Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Bad For Lazarus, a surreal spell inside the Nine Inch Nails universe – it’s strangely fitting that the most honest version of him so far emerges from a quiet domestic setting. “I am simply very content and happy right now,” he says, half-smiling. “And that feels like something I don’t even want to say, because it makes me feel so insecure… contrary to all the lyrics.”
For more visit: https://www.soundspheremag.com/

One Piece star David Dastmalchian on Grave Conversations, THERAPY and his new comic, Through

There’s a particular kind of artist who always seems to stand at the threshold – between mainstream and underground, horror and heart, performance and confession. Over the last decade, David Dastmalchian has quietly become one of those figures: a shape‑shifting actor, writer and creative force who can slip from billion‑dollar blockbusters to deeply personal indie work, without ever losing sight of who he is or who he’s speaking to.
Now, as he steps into one of pop culture’s most iconic villain roles – M. Bison in the upcoming Street Fighter film – Dastmalchian does so carrying a lifetime’s worth of darkness, recovery, curiosity and compassion. It’s the same emotional DNA that runs through his haunting new comic Through, and the same energy that’s made him, however reluctantly, a kind of modern horror icon. Someone put it to me recently that David is “the actor that brought goth to the mainstream and gave hope to millions of weirdos to find success and confidence within themselves.”
He laughs when I repeat that to him. There’s gratitude there, but also a palpable discomfort. “It’s humbling. I don’t know if I agree,” he says. “I’m just a guy out here trying to do what he’s done, and I don’t want really anyone looking at me for any sense of example, because I make so many mistakes…” Still, as we talk, it becomes clear that underneath all the genre trappings and iconic roles, there’s something very simple driving him: the hope that a story, told honestly enough, might make someone feel less alone.
 
For more, visit: https://www.soundspheremag.com/features/interview-street-fighter-star-david-dastmalchian-finds-inspiration-to-move-through/