New podcast series features queer musicians

In the key of Q is a new podcast series featuring music and conversations with queer musicians from around the world. Presented and produced by London-based Dan Hall, the show aims to celebrate these musicians, their lives and their music.

“Music has always been how I sought to find a sense of belonging, I grew up in a house where music still played. Music is my go-to art form for discovering how the world or my soul works.

Asked about the motivations behind the podcast, Hall said, “This really stems from the lockdown for me. I had lost a job and I’m not very good at sitting around doing nothing.

However, the lockdown wasn’t the only reason Hall felt pressured to present a podcast.

“I remember a really traumatic experience at school where we had a playground, and the boys were on one side and the girls on the other. I didn’t want to play football with the boys, but the teachers wouldn’t let me play with the girls. Hall said, thinking back to his childhood. “It was a moment that really made me feel, as an adult, that I wanted to do things that keep people from feeling lonely.”

Hall explains that he was pressured to set up the podcast as a way to make peace with the teenage version of himself.

“When I was a teenager I never had a problem with my own queer identity, but what was difficult was other people’s attitudes. What I looked for as a teenager were spaces I could go to in my bedroom, where I could celebrate my queer identity and hear queer stories reflected in my music, but there were very few of them.

“It’s also a way for me to discover new queer musicians and to get their names known so that others can find refuge and solace in music.

“The podcast is also about allowing artists to just take the stage, talk about happy things or sad things, where I come in is just to shape the conversation a bit. The show will never be all about attracting big names, for me someone who has 10 subscribers is as important as someone who has 20,000. ”

In The Key Of Q is released every Tuesday, or “Quesday,” as Hall calls it, and is available on inthekeyofq.com and most podcast platforms.