Samantha Morton, the acclaimed actor currently starring in The Odyssey, discussed her multifaceted relationship with music at a Guardian Live event at Green Man Festival in August. The performer, who recently released a solo album in collaboration with XL label boss Richard Russell, explored how music has shaped her life and artistic practice, revealing that she frequently constructs playlists to prepare for acting roles.

Morton's musical journey is deeply rooted in her tumultuous childhood in Nottingham, where she experienced homelessness and foster care whilst being immersed in the city's vibrant Afro-Caribbean and reggae culture. In the 1990s, this background led her to embrace rave culture and the free party movement, travelling across the country with the DiY Soundsystem to festivals like Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire. She describes certain musical experiences, such as hearing the Future Sound of London's Papua Nu Guinea at a countryside party, as genuinely spiritual and transformative moments that aided emotional healing. Though untrained as a singer, she has pursued music throughout her life, performing session vocals and singing in rave clubs, and views her multidisciplinary creative practice as a counterpoint to being "pigeonholed" within a single artistic discipline.