Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.

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In this episode:

Experimental composer, improviser, and educator Si Paton joins Jessica Schwartz for a live conversation with UCLA students exploring listening, neurodivergence, improvisation, and the creative intersections of punk, noise, jazz, and DIY music cultures. Together, they discuss how musical communities emerge through collaboration, experimentation, and shared practices of listening, while reflecting on improvisation as both a creative process and a way of navigating the world.

The conversation also explores graphic notation, theatrical performance, ensemble composition, and Paton's research on developing shared musical languages across diverse musical traditions. Throughout, Paton reflects on the value of embracing uncertainty, making mistakes, and creating spaces where experimentation can thrive.

Si Paton is a composer, bassist, academic, and promoter. He completed his PhD at Birmingham Conservatoire under the supervision of Ed Bennett and Seán Clancy, researching composition for improvising large ensembles and the development of shared musical languages across different stylistic traditions. He previously studied electric bass and jazz composition at the University of West London with Paul Westwood and Eddie Harvey. Past projects include the prog-jazz group Selectric, punk-funk big band Pack of Wolves Arkestra, and the acoustic-grindcore suite Gillberg Variations. As an improviser, he has performed with Nils Økland, Steve Tromans, Chris Sharkey, Maria Chiara Argirò, Cath Roberts, and Apocalypse Jazz Unit. He is also the curator of Thinking/Not Thinking Fest, a three-day festival celebrating musical juxtapositions.

This conversation includes questions and contributions from students in a UCLA musicology course facilitated by Jessica Schwartz and was recorded in January 2024.

Links + References:

Si Paton - Instagram

Si Paton Bandcamp

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (Bandcamp)

Sound and Music (composer profile)

Apocalypse Jazz Unit (Bandcamp)

Credits:

Punkast is hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz.

Editorial support: Arrow Avalon.

Transcript:

Audio-synced transcript

Theme Music:

Lady Bits, "Bitch-a-thon," Lady Bits.

Related:

Jessica Schwartz co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast. 

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Erscheinungs­datum: 26.6.2026, 22:11:02