Taste the Vibe.

A podcast, put simply, is an audio file. It's an hour-or-so of someone talking about a subject or a variety of subjects. Nothing more, nothing less.

Except it is.

Being someone who harbours many irrational fears, including being in a quiet house on my own (because guys, when the house is quiet you can hear all the ghosts and monsters walking about - am I right?!) I almost always have a podcast or some music on the go. First thing in the morning and last thing at night I open my podcast app and hit play. Despite subscribing to many podcasts I always listen to the same two or three. 

Like porridge and peanut butter or black jeans and a jumper - hearing Elis James and John Robins on their Radio X podcast is enormously comforting to me. Knowing that despite whatever else is going on in the world that I'm guaranteed to hear a game of Potato Potato, an anecdote about Wales/Miners/Communists/or being shot at on a bus from Elis and another Queen/Oxford fact from John makes me feel like I'm wrapped up in a small protective cocoon of badinage.

I first began listening to EJ + JR when I was graduating from University, starting a new job and moving to a new city. A lot was happening, but I knew every Saturday (or Sunday in the early days) that before it was time to get into bed there would be a new podcast to listen to.

John’s Partridge-esq turn of phrase and honesty about his ongoing dealings with ‘the darkness’ made him feel instantly familiar and warm. Rarely do you find someone who is so open and honest about their mental state – that includes both men and women. I think many of us have dealt with/are dealing with some form of ‘darkness’, not depression necessarily but rather just a feeling of ‘meh’. John’s blunt honesty when asked how he is feeling by Elis at the top of the show acted as, for me at least, permission to answer honestly when it comes to the way I was and am feeling. The fact that mental health chat is sandwiched between an Oasis and Foo Fighters track normalises it. Robins has even brought shame to the forefront of popular culture with the very funny and sometimes toe-curling feature ‘John’s Shame Well’.

Despite broadcasting on commercial indie radio with the likes of Chris Moyles and Johnny Vaughan, Elis and John do not hold back on discussing topics that they are genuinely interested in/ obsessed with. I can’t think of any other programme or station where a Liam Gallagher song is followed by a discussion on communism, Queen, bushcraft, Welsh football and an anecdote about eating a bag of Space Raiders while sat on a toilet. This I love.

Elis’ use of the Welsh language on the podcast in features such as ‘Welsh Word of the Week’ is more than just a funny 3 minutes of radio. I am a first language Welsh speaker and am, like most, exhausted by articles and opinion pieces written more often than not by non-Welsh speakers about how terrible/irrelevant/silly our language is. Seeing Elis use his first language in a way that shows how it is popularly used by many people in Wales, including young people, is doing so much for the language’s image. Rather than male voice choirs and Eisteddfodites, Elis promotes the language through his love for Gorky Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals. He shows that it’s a language that can discuss cool music, football, politics and a language that has a ridiculous amount of words and phrases for rain and a word for something that is ‘un-chip like’.

My brother and I have been to see both Elis and John’s individual stand-up shows many times although I only managed to see ‘The Darkness of Robins’ while it was a work in progress in Machynlleth Comedy Festival (my brother and many of our friends have said that it is the best stand up show they have ever seen). We’ve also seen a few shows with both Elis and John together and they are always great, 

Last week the pair released their first book, the fantastically named ‘The Holy Vible’. Currently, at time of writing, I am over 60% through the audio book and I’ve got to say it is superb. From chapters on Ronnie O’Sullivan, Carmarthen, How to be Normal and Queen, the book highlights the genuine love and friendship shared between both comedians as well as being very funny.

Having been to their book tour show on Wednesday night at the Glee Club in Cardiff with someone who has never listened to the podcast before I can safely say that the book is accessible to those who have yet to taste the podcast vibe. So there is nothing stoping anyone from jumping on the vibe train (except maybe for the guy who thought Elis' voice was gross and the other guy who thought their radio show was narcissistic as they spoke about themseslves between songs. Maybe they won't want to join the vibe). 

L x