Breaking up, falling in love again, upsetting French people with same-sex snogging… Third-time Mercury nominee Anna talks to Matt Everitt about the backdrop to her latest record.

Geordie and Morgan talk meeting at the BRIT school, three-hour jams, birds’ teeth and sweating landlords.

Cate describes her “tempestuous relationship” with this record. Which might have something to do with making it while training to be a furniture-maker in the Lake District.

The man behind Psychodrama chats with Dotty from 1Xtra about one of the most searing, honest, dramatic and talked-about debut albums in recent memory.

Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis talks climate catastrophe, information overload, quagmires and wormholes – just some of the preoccupations that went into making this record.

Fontaines guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley talk us through how Dogrel’s ferocious sound of the record came about. Just don’t ask them about Dublin.

Violence, energy and purpose: IDLES’ Joe Talbot talks about killing fascism with empathy, and his mission to start something better with the power of music.

Making mistakes, getting mad, crying: Simz talks about the battle with her inner control freak that took place during the making of Grey Area.

Self-confessed overthinker NAO describes how Saturn documents her second coming of age: a break-up, a reinvention and correcting the mistakes of her 20s.

Cassie describes how she brought stars from inside and outside London’s booming jazz scene together for her genre-slaying 10-piece.

slowthai slept on leaky beanbags for a year while making his debut album. But his priceless reaction to hearing about his Mercury nomination shows it was 100% worth it.

ADHD, OCD, heroin… Just some of the ingredients that went into the creation of the 1975’s globally adored third album