What if the music you've been dancing to your whole life has actually been regulating your nervous system? In this episode, we sit down with Hollie May, a UK-based drum and bass DJ, promoter, mentor, radio presenter, and founder of The Inner Ground - to explore the fascinating intersection of bass frequencies, brain science, and human connection.
Hollie brings a rare combination of lived experience and practical wisdom to the conversation. She shares her journey from growing up as a self-described misfit in Witney, Oxford, finding refuge in the free party scene, to teaching herself to DJ on a pair of Vestax decks and building a career that now spans music, youth mentorship, and mental health advocacy. Along the way, she unpacks why drum and bass is so uniquely powerful for neurodivergent brains - the predictable patterns, the sub-bass frequencies stimulating the vagus nerve, and the way the music quite literally matches the natural rhythm of certain minds. As Hollie puts it, "The drums - it's one of the oldest human technologies really. And I believe this is almost like a modern-day version of collective effervescence, which is essentially feeling like you're one."
The conversation covers a lot of ground - you'll hear Hollie's take on imposter syndrome (she calls hers "John" - the safety police who takes everything too seriously), her practical toolkit for performing late nights sustainably without burning out, and her honest thoughts on the gender imbalance in music lineups that seemed to be improving post-COVID but has since slipped back. She also gets into shadow work and the idea that music gives us a sanctioned space to express the parts of ourselves we're usually told to hide - as she says: "Express or repress, you choose".
Hollie is refreshingly direct about the volatility of a music career, the lack of any wellbeing infrastructure in underground music, and why diversifying your income isn't giving up - it's being smart. She also shares how listeners can actually support artists in meaningful ways beyond just streaming (hint: Bandcamp, encouraging messages, and just showing up matter more than you think).
Whether you're a DJ, a yoga teacher, a mental health professional, or just someone who's ever felt something shift in your chest when a bassline drops, this episode will give you a new language for what music actually does to us - and why that matters more than ever.
Links:
The Inner Ground: https://www.skool.com/the-inner-ground-7223/about
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.inner.ground/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sofasoundbristol/sofa-sound-mixing-bowl-46
