Introducing: The Listening Room at 180 Studios, a new podcast from The Vinyl Factory

Episode one with Haseeb Iqbal is out now.

Recorded inside Devon Turnbull’s custom hi-fi installation at 180 Studios, The Listening Room is a new podcast from The Vinyl Factory and 180 Studios about how records tell stories.

Throughout Season One, DJs, musicians, writers, and record collectors gather around Turnbull’s system to play the records that have shaped them, tracing how sound moves through time, place, and community.

From the basements of London to the film studios of Lahore, the series unfolds as an oral history of vinyl, exploring its social, cultural, and personal significance: how people use records to make meaning, find belonging, and imagine new ways of living.

In our first episode, broadcaster and collector Haseeb Iqbal revives the long-overlooked soundtracks of Lollywood: Pakistan’s once-thriving film industry.

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Drawing from rare vinyl unearthed on a recent trip to Karachi, Iqbal plays music that shaped the golden age of Pakistani cinema in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s.

From the cinematic ballads of Noor Jehan and Nahid Akhtar to the psychedelic orchestrations of the Tafo Brothers and Sohail Rana, Haseeb tells a story of artistic freedom and cultural pride before the country’s creative industries were silenced under military rule.

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Between records, Iqbal reflects on his own journey growing up in North London, learning about his heritage through music, and finding connection in the sounds history nearly erased.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer and all your usual podcast providers.

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