Sampling Firepits, Feeling Flamenco, Finding Tonás

This week, I finally tackle a long-overdue Genre Tombola pick: Tonás, one of the oldest and most intense styles in flamenco — unaccompanied, emotional, and steeped in centuries of cultural history.

To explore it, I chat with the brilliant Josie Sinnadurai, a flamenco dancer based in Seville, who sheds light on the roots of Tonás, its tragic themes, and how flamenco works as a live, collaborative, improvisational artform.

But first… I hit a firepit with a stick. And turn it into music.

Using only my phone and the Ableton Note app, I record a metallic firepit in Dorset with my son, and turn it into a playable instrument. The result? A crunchy little beat made entirely from campsite sounds — and the launch of a brand-new segment: Clip n Mix.

Video versions available on Spotify and YouTube.

00:00 – Intro + podcast updates

03:00 – Clip n Mix: sampling a firepit in Dorset

10:45 – Tonás and flamenco intro

11:10 – Interview with Josie Sinnadurai

35:30 – Post-interview: why I didn’t make a Tonás track

36:30 – Turning the firepit samples into a beat in the studio

56:00 – Outro, Patreon, live shows, and how to send in your own samples

🎬 Watch the Tonás video Josie mentions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7vpU5zLl-A

👣 Follow Josie:

Website: https://www.josielaurelflamenco.com/

Instagram: @josie_sinna

📱 Try Ableton Note (free app):

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/ableton-note/id1611814758

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ableton.note

🎧 Get the firepit samples + Ableton Note project file:

https://www.patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces

🎟️ Live at Wilton’s Music Hall – 24th Jan 2026

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Kids show (2pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-kids/

🌙 Evening show (7:30pm): https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/steve-pretty-and-friends-on-the-origin-of-the-pieces-2/

🌍 More info: https://www.originofthepieces.com

👉 Like the show? Please subscribe, rate, and share — and send your own weird/beautiful samples for future Clip n Mix segments to podcast@stevepretty.com or @stevepretty on social.

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