Channel 4’s Music Nation returns for second series on Glasgow, grime, bassline and more

Art school pop and South Asian ravers in the spotlight.

There’s long been a dearth of decent music programming on UK television, but at least Channel 4 has been pulling its weight this year, both with the recently launched Four To The Floor magazine show and this spring’s six-part Music Nation series, which delved into the stories behind some of the country’s unique subcultures, from garage to Bristol bass to jungle.

The good news is that a new series of Music Nation will kick off on November 5, looking back at the impact of London’s grime scene, Sheffield bassline, the art-school pop of Glasgow and bhangra, with Dizzee Rascal, Hudson Mohawke and The Jesus and Mary Chain among the artists featured.

Ravi Amaratunga, executive producer of Dazed Vision, said: “This time we’ve gone bigger, brasher and bolder, tackling more controversies and featuring a more diverse set than ever before. The show is a genuine rarity in television that balances authentic and authored filmmaking in a groundbreaking way.”

First up in the series is Open Mic, directed by Ewen Spencer, the filmmaker behind the UK garage episode from the first series, Brandy & Coke.