Best Matthew Belleghem Podcasts (2024)

1
MFSA119: A Long Way From Home 4:02:43

1M ago4:02:43

4:02:43

I have recently returned from a fair bit of solo travel that included time with friends, family, and some study. There is something special about travelling alone that is uniquely thought provoking. I am reminded of a quote that I’m not able to determine the provenance of but that has long rattled around my head – ‘there is no loneliness quite like…

1
MFSA118: Somewhere Along The Way 4:02:33

4M ago4:02:33

4:02:33

I played a really fun house party gig in the inner west last night, sharing the controls with two very good friends. We’ve played a lot of gigs together over the years, from sharing residencies here in Melbourne nearly twenty years ago through to countless club gigs, parties and get-togethers in all sorts of interesting places with many lovely peop…

1
MFSA117: We Still Here 3:33

5M ago3:33

3:33

I celebrated a milestone recently. To mark the occasion, we spent a few days in sunny Brisbane. While it wasn’t a long trip, it was a relaxing trip, and an inspiring one, too. In such a context it is hard not to reflect with some depth on one’s mortality and one’s time and place in the world. Thankfully, the trip involved plenty of walking, plenty …

1
MFSA116: Now The Hard Work Starts 3:39

8M ago3:39

3:39

Sometimes it’s important to play to your strengths. Sometimes it’s important to work on your weaknesses. For some reason the former always sounds much more appealing than the latter. After a nearly ten year break, I have returned to study. I am hoping some of the topics covered will be within my existing areas of knowledge. At the same time, I both…

1
MFSA115: A Thought Indoors 3:38:56

10M ago3:38:56

3:38:56

Never trust a thought that occurs indoors, the saying goes. We are into the final third of summer here in Australia, and at the risk of tempting the sun gods, I daresay the weather has started to stabilise – as far as Melbourne weather ever does, anyways. The combination of pleasant weather and still-long-enough evenings makes for plenty of time to…

1
MFSA114: The Present Future Dynamic 5:04:31

11M ago5:04:31

5:04:31

As the year comes to a close, it seems natural to reflect on the year that has passed, and where it has taken us. Are we where we intended to be? Where we wanted to be? Or are we somewhere else, somewhere better defined as the logical destination given the decisions we made over the course of the year? So I suppose too that it’s natural to cast a c…

1
MFSA113: Live At The Candy Factory 4:36:28

1y ago4:36:28

4:36:28

I have recently returned from a few weeks in Canada. The trip included a weekend with some very good friends, during which I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to play an extended set on what is probably my favourite pair of speakers in the world. Set up well in a great sounding loft conversion in Toronto’s inner west, it was a chance to …

1
MFSA112: Subclinical 4:29:23

1y ago4:29:23

4:29:23

I’ve long been intrigued by the end user experience of modern medicine, and what can at times feel to the layperson like a focus on only fixing what is broken. If we are unwell past a certain arbitrary threshold, we receive medical intervention until we are back to baseline. We heal, we rehabilitate, we repair, and we focus on eliminating the negat…

1
MFSA111: Leaving The Right Things Undone 5:11:28

1+ y ago5:11:28

5:11:28

Much has been said about the importance of time management. When time is tight and competing priorities overlap, it can be easy to succumb to a sense of guilt that things may be missed or not prioritised appropriately. I had a bit of an epiphany from an article I read a few years ago – a lightbulb moment after years of reflecting on how to best man…

1
MFSA110: What If It All Works Out 2:35:21

1+ y ago2:35:21

2:35:21

Negativity can be seductive. As we get older, our awareness seems to build about just how much can go wrong at any given moment – personally, professionally, geopolitically, economically, and physically. It’s easy to be fearful, and the more acutely aware we are of the worst case scenario, the more tempting it can be to jump at shadows or assume th…

1
MFSA109: Frame Of Reference 5:17:01

1+ y ago5:17:01

5:17:01

We all have our idiosyncrasies. Two of mine are closely related, in that I love a good quotation, and I am a sucker for a good cliché. In both cases, I like to think of them as bits of distilled wisdom that have stood the test of time. But as Abraham Lincoln once dryly noted, the problem with looking up old quotes on the internet is that you can ne…

1
MFSA108: Why Not Both 2:18:54

1+ y ago2:18:54

2:18:54

A commonly accepted definition of sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. So how then to make a future worth waiting for, without shortchanging our ability to fully seize the present moment? There are many tradeoffs and worse in daily life as we try to ensure that today is OK whil…

1
MFSA107: Some Colours Have No Names 4:33:26

2y ago4:33:26

4:33:26

The summer holiday period is drawing to a close here in Australia, and we have just come back from a few weeks travelling through New Zealand’s South Island. The landscape is extraordinary to the point of being mind expanding, and every day was a reminder of just how beautiful the world can be. We were fortunate to have had excellent weather, meani…

1
MFSA106: That Little Bit Further 4:55:29

2y ago4:55:29

4:55:29

There is something exciting about covering new ground. The transition from known to unknown brings with it a sense of renewal and energy, and it can be quite fun to explore that little bit further, and to cover a little bit of new ground at the edge of a previously understood boundary. One of the things I quite like about Melbourne is the quiet sen…

1
MFSA105: Tin Roof Rusted 4:22:36

2y ago4:22:36

4:22:36

It has been an unusual weekend. It has been an unusual year. Springtime in Melbourne often brings a bit of rain. With another La Nina apparently on the horizon, we have seen quite a bit of rain already. So much so, in fact, that it has exposed the failings of our second story roof drainage system. Not a fun way to spend the weekend. While there is …

1
MFSA104: Days Go By 3:16:56

2+ y ago3:16:56

3:16:56

Winter has arrived in Melbourne. To me that means short days, falling leaves, and the occasional smell of a wood stove across the city at night. It can be easy at this time of year to withdraw a little bit, to bunker down and count the days off until warmer weather returns. Of course winter here means summer somewhere else. As is the case with many…

1
MFSA103: Your Call Is Important To Us

2+ y ago

—

Coordinating travel, as with coordinating a lot of things these days, involves a lot of time waiting on hold on the telephone. As such, I am becoming something of a hold music aficionado. On many recent calls the music has been punctuated with a repetitive series of apologies explaining that, due to the pandemic, hold times are longer than they mig…

1
MFSA102: The Spirit Of Radio

2+ y ago

—

As I grew up my two older sisters were a constant source of musical guidance and inspiration, taking me to concerts, bringing me records from overseas school trips and keeping me up to speed on the hottest bands across the genre that was then called New Wave. Throughout our early years growing up in suburban Toronto, one radio station in particular…

1
MFSA101: A Soft Landing 3:51:18

3y ago3:51:18

3:51:18

Ah yes, life in a pandemic. I suppose every now and then life throws up a bit of turbulence, and so this is our time. But what is the difference between flying and falling, really? There are some parallels shared with the difference between drowning and waving. Beyond that, falling also carries with it a sense of inevitability, of a ballistic traje…

1
MFSA100: Gudaseya 5:55:58

3y ago5:55:58

5:55:58

As I write this I am just over three hundred kilometres from home. May not sound like much, but after an extended pandemic and all of the restrictions that come with, even a little bit of travel is a really big deal. The past few weeks have been a reawakening of sorts. Social reconnections, the relaxation of restrictions, and a new sense of freedom…

1
MFSA099: Too Late To Leave 3:01:16

3y ago3:01:16

3:01:16

Whether we are talking about social gatherings or impending natural disasters, there comes a point at which leaving is no longer an option. A point when, to paraphrase an old movie quote, there can be no turning back, and there is no choice but to ride it out. Whether bunkering down or busting a move, once the decision to stay is made, the die has …

1
MFSA098: Second Shot 2:23:35

3+ y ago2:23:35

2:23:35

I love a good World War II documentary. While the world is today a very different place, there is still so much from that era that rings true, including the misplaced optimism in 1939 that suggested ‘the boys will be home by Christmas’. Similarly, when the global pandemic started here in the twenty-first century, there was a sense that things would…

1
MFSA097: Dark And Long 3:11:43

3+ y ago3:11:43

3:11:43

It is the start of the longest night of the year here in Melbourne as I write this. As you may infer from the titles of my podcast episodes over the years, I have a recurring interest in the pivot points, the transitions, the turning points, the fulcrums, the thresholds, the apexes, the zeniths and the nadirs, and the point at which ebb becomes flo…

1
MFSA096: Push Hard But Go Easy On Yourself 2:18:07

3+ y ago2:18:07

2:18:07

I am not a fast runner, but I like to run. After so many cancelled events it was great to again run in an organised event last weekend. It was a road run along the Great Ocean Road on the southern coast of Australia. The weather was wet but not rainy, with the run highlighted by an improbable number of seaside rainbows. Fittingly, the pub in which …

1
MFSA095: Get The Balance Right 3:05:57

3+ y ago3:05:57

3:05:57

While the whole world may be going through a global pandemic, the experience of every country and every individual has been different. As my good friend Dan has put it, we may all be riding out the same storm, but we are definitely not all in the same boat. We have each had our own unique difficulties and quiet victories over the course of the past…

1
MFSA094: Have To Get To 2:01:40

3+ y ago2:01:40

2:01:40

Fun means different things to different people. An activity that one person sees as an exciting adventure – say free solo rock climbing, slam poetry or building a ship in a bottle – another is just as likely to see as profoundly terrifying, unpleasantly fiddly, or excruciatingly boring, with each the others nightmare. The extent to which a given co…

1
MFSA093: A Place That May Not Exist 2:09:10

4y ago2:09:10

2:09:10

While the events of the past twelve months have provided plenty of reasons to be pensive, persnickety and petulant, I am feeling optimistic and inspired at the moment. It has been a year of limitations, worries, uncertainty and introspection, but as the calendar year ticks over and we try to imagine a new post-pandemic normal, I cannot help but fee…

1
MFSA092: Out And Back 3:09:07

4y ago3:09:07

3:09:07

I enjoy long distance running with good music as a physical and psychological release. In particular I like the out-and-back style run, heading out to a distant point and then turning around to head home. Running out, there is a sense of adventure and commitment, knowing that every km out is a km that will need to be covered again on the way back h…

1
MFSA091: Renormalisation 2:04:18

4y ago2:04:18

2:04:18

In audio editing terms, normalisation is something you do to a recorded signal in order to proportionally recalibrate it, so that the loudest peak in the program material corresponds to the highest signal intensity possible without distortion. You do not actually lose anything in the process. It is just that the levels are reset to a new standard. …

1
MFSA090: Inbetween Days 2:52:00

4y ago2:52:00

2:52:00

Early November 2020. Not quite summer in Melbourne, but certainly not winter. Yesterday I wore a scarf over my sunburn. We are not quite free of restrictions here, but certainly not as held back either. We have spent more quality time with friends over the past week than we did during the six months prior, but while things are improving they are fa…

1
MFSA089: It Happens Quickly 3:16:49

4y ago3:16:49

3:16:49

Hemingway once said that big things happen slowly at first, but then suddenly. Time itself has felt a little weird in recent weeks, a mix of slow and sudden that has felt more than a bit bananas. Hard to believe that our city has been in some stage of restriction or lockdown for seven months now. Thankfully, daylight savings changes have bought us …

1
MFSA088: Symbolism 3:08:04

4y ago3:08:04

3:08:04

The first few days of spring have arrived here in Melbourne, and with it has come a sense of renewal and energy. The days are getting longer, minute by minute. Slowly but surely the weather is warming. The trees are starting to blossom. The birds are busily staking out their territory for the coming summer, while the city itself starts to slowly aw…

1
MFSA087: Of Limitation And Possibility 2:45:18

4+ y ago2:45:18

2:45:18

Melbourne is in to a Stage 4 lockdown as I write this. This includes the closure of all nonessential businesses, an evening curfew, a heavy police presence and serious penalties for being anywhere other than home without a valid reason. It seems to be making the news worldwide, based on the condolences and words of support that are coming through. …

1
MFSA086: Fool Me Twice 3:17:07

4+ y ago3:17:07

3:17:07

I keep a lot of lists. One of them is called Things I Already Know. It is reserved for things that I have very clearly learned, the hard way, and then seemingly forgotten, only to be reminded all over again the next time it happens. Nobody likes to step on a rake or slip on a banana peel twice. I have recently made a new addition to the list as a r…

1
MFSA085: A Welcome Distraction 2:02:03

4+ y ago2:02:03

2:02:03

The reticular activating system is a short, pencil-sized piece of the brain located just above where the spinal cord is attached to the brain. It acts as the gatekeeper of information between most sensory systems and the conscious mind. It decides what needs our attention and what can be safely ignored, and highlights the things in our universe tha…

1
MFSA084: Tomorrow Is For A Lot Of Things 2:59:55

4+ y ago2:59:55

2:59:55

It has been a few months now that social engagement has been curtailed. Australia has managed things well by the look of things, with intergovernmental cooperation sustained, and policy decisions driven by science and fact, rather than ideology or ignorance. For the moment, we remain in a state of suspended in home animation, ready to take flight w…

1
MFSA083: Stronger Where It Was Broken 2:58:06

4+ y ago2:58:06

2:58:06

After a bone breaks, there is a short period of time during the reparative stage of the healing process where the area around the fracture is stronger than it was before the injury. Having broken a few bones over the years, this period of extended staying at home feels a bit like a period of recovery after an injury. There is reduced movement, a fo…

1
MFSA082: Bon Voyage 3:05:00

4+ y ago3:05:00

3:05:00

What an extraordinary time we are living through. With a global pandemic raging, it seems the whole world is focused precisely on a single little organic particle. I have high hopes that the collective undivided attention of the best and brightest minds on earth will bring us through the current storm of uncertainty, despite what feels at the momen…

1
MFSA081: Mud From The Mallee 1:55:32

5y ago1:55:32

1:55:32

Melbourne summers seem to go on forever, with plenty of sunshine and long warm evenings. Unfortunately, the winters seem to go on forever too. Even before coming to Australia, I often thought that the length of a year felt like exactly the amount of time one can remember what a season feels like, so that when each one comes it feels like a distant …

1
MFSA080: Introduced Species 3:34:06

5y ago3:34:06

3:34:06

And so it is now 2020. It has been an interesting few weeks here in Melbourne. Australia has been making headlines around the world due to a particularly severe bushfire season, and there have been a few days of smoke across the city that made things all feel a bit surreal. On a personal level, multiple overseas visitors have helped see the local s…

1
MFSA079: And Yet Somehow 2:00:04

5y ago2:00:04

2:00:04

Recent weeks have shown me just how much things can change quickly. From moves across the globe to changes in fortune and circumstance, it seems that for many people close to me, recent events have served up a decidedly different state of affairs. From flights to fights to crashes and funerals, these events, while unconnected, seem to collectively …

1
MFSA078: What To Compare It To 2:01:28

5y ago2:01:28

2:01:28

In recent weeks we have been watching a thought provoking TV series focused on time travel, and how the choices we make set us on certain paths. Having finished the second season of the series, one line in particular sticks out – the observation that every choice for something is a choice against something else. When in the thick of things with a g…

1
MFSA077: Where Things Are 3:21:21

5y ago3:21:21

3:21:21

I read once that being organised means that where things are suits what those things mean, so that each thing takes as little psychic energy as possible to find when it is needed, while not being in the way. With spring arriving to Melbourne, the days are getting longer and the weather more variable. As such it feels like a great time to get a bit …

1
MFSA076: Portland Street Friday Night 2:28:40

5y ago2:28:40

2:28:40

We recently returned from a very special overseas trip that included a weekend stop in Toronto. For a trip full of highlights, one of the absolute standout evenings of the entire adventure was a Friday evening spent downtown in the Toronto Fashion District. It was a pleasantly warm summer evening, with great music, great food, great company, a spla…

1
MFSA075: Finding A Local 2:20:30

5+ y ago2:20:30

2:20:30

For the four years we lived in Richmond, we lived in the shadow of the London Tavern, an old school pub full of character and charm. Great beers, decent food, a lovely beer garden, and just a few steps down the street from where we lived. We got to know it very well. Settling in to South Yarra, we have yet to settle on a place that we can call our …

1
MFSA074: The Cost Of Comfort 2:00:10

5+ y ago2:00:10

2:00:10

It is the winter solstice here in Australia as I write this, which means short, cold days and a lot less sunshine than one might like. Cold weather often leads to contemplation, and having moved into a new home earlier this year, we are now assessing how to balance heating levels, taking into account comfort on one hand and the cost of energy on th…

1
MFSA073: For A Future Road Trip 2:55:49

5+ y ago2:55:49

2:55:49

I have many fond memories of road trips over the years. Some were with family, some were with friends, and some by myself. Whether flying solo or with a copilot alongside, a journey by road can be a transformative experience. For every road trip I can remember, music was a big part of the experience. There is nothing like a big chunk of seat time w…

1
MFSA072: The Future In Detail 3:12:05

5+ y ago3:12:05

3:12:05

Funny how the future keeps showing up. There are a handful of books I buy and shove into the hands of anyone who will take a copy. One of these is by Daniel Gilbert, and it is called Stumbling On Happiness. One of the key themes throughout the book is how we imperfectly perceive the future, and by extension how we imperfectly relate to our future s…

1
MFSA071: Cool Change 2:06:05

6y ago2:06:05

2:06:05

The weather can change quickly in Melbourne, particularly when a cool change comes through. So it was on the day this mix was recorded. It was a Friday evening in early January 2019, after a day spent at the beach (Jan Juc). The mix itself was recorded live in the hours after an obscenely hot summer day quickly transposed into a mild evening, thank…

1
MFSA070: Westside 1:47:02

6y ago1:47:02

1:47:02

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to play some house music for a housewarming party celebrating the newly expanded home of two very good friends. Located in the inner west, this groovy pad was once two separate residences, which through some creative design work now works as a beautiful single home. The party was fantastic, and the setu…

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