Featuring new Australian music from Ed Seven, Faux Pas, and some favourites from earlier this century. The Uncanny Valley is a name for the emotional reaction humans have when encountering a simulacra, a robot with a human traits. Often the response has been noted as a feeling of being "creeped out" or repulsed. It will most likely take a while before humans get used to living in the Uncanny Valley, so to soften the transition, here is a readymade soundtrack to the new frontier.

“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us, and though distant, is close to us in spirit - this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden” 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Spring is a time of renewal and revitalisation, but for many Spring is also a time for sneezing, hayfever, and allergies. It's a time when nature goes into a flurry of activity after the morbidity of winter, announcing itself through the expression of flowers, pollen, and scent thereby causing intense human reactions. In Jeff Noon's novel "Pollen", the characters are fighting a losing battle against the forces of John Barleycorn, who tries to reclaim the city of Manchester from the clutches of humans by using the power of fecundity in plants to produce pollen. This week's podcast is a tribute to Spring in all its forms, the pleasure of the sweet scent of jasmine, and the teary eyes and sniffly noses, the moment that marks the end of Winter and the promise of something new.

I am also struck by the notion that while in Australia we are having our Spring renewal, that over the other side of the world, the Autumnal Equinox is in full swing. Somehow these two states although opposite, seem to hold a similar notion of activity, preparation, and state of flux that bring the two seasons together in a remarkable way. Thus this week's podcast was created. Happy sneezing!

Take 15 cutting edge music producers, and instrumentalists, and stick them in a studio for 10 days, feed them an array of quality analogue goodies, good food and some tasty german bier, and what will happen? Red Bull Music Academy just attempted such a feat in their newly built Yadastar studios in Cologne, Germany. I was lucky enough to be invited to be a part of the experiment, aptly named "A Class of Its Own".

The results were astounding, with over 30 tracks completed and many new sonic connections forged. Amongst the artists involved were The Mizell Brothers, Andreya Triana, Steve Spacek, Theo Parrish, Om'Mas Keith from Sa Ra Creative Partners and Mark Pritchard. This podcast features some hand picked tracks from the participants of A Class of Its Own blended with some subliminal audio moments and sonic snapshots recorded around the studios during those 10 days.

For more information on what went down, and what will happen to the results, visit http://redbullmusicacademy.com, and sofieloizou.com for more insights into the experience.