Musician Nitin Sawhney and producer David McEwan on their special relationship

'In music the people you surround yourself by become like family - I think of David as a brother': Nitin Sawhney with David McEwan. Photograph: Philip Griffin

I was working at MTV and writing music for adverts when I met Nitin in 1998. We were introduced by his manager because Nitin needed his new Mac set up – this was back in the day when no one really knew how to set up a?computer. I went round to his place in Tooting and did the job. I started pointing out little things that he could reconfigure in his studio – which was chaotic, to say the least – to make it easier for him to work in, and he asked me to help him out. He was just about to start work on Beyond Skin.

When Nitin and I are in work mode, we're very much working. Then we clock out and we start joking again – the friendship and working relationship never spill over into one another. He's intense and very driven, so it took me a few years to really get to know him. I feel lucky to be working with Nitin – we've had an amazing journey. He's put me in situations I?never dreamed would be possible: mixing for the London Symphony Orchestra, big high-pressure projects. He puts a?lot of trust in me in live gigs and in the studio – it's up to me to make his performance sound right for the audience, which is not a job I take lightly. Nitin's trust and belief in me have helped my career, and the loyalty goes both ways.

We fell out once a few years ago – we'd spent way too much time together. We had a blow-up at the airport and I?went back to Australia [where he grew up] for a while, but we made up quite quickly. We're both opinionated, and if I think something is shit, I'll say. We're kindred spirits like that.

Our friendship is based on music, but I can talk to Nitin about other things, too. We're quite blokey, though, so it's not like you'd ever catch us crying on each other's shoulders.

I was sharing a flat with people in London and had a room at the top of the stairs which was basically a stereo system, keyboard and new computer – the good old days! David came and reconfigured my whole set-up. He seemed like a?sharp, intelligent guy. He was meticulous and a perfectionist – which appealed to me as I am, too. Our working together felt like a natural connection straightaway; we bounced off each other. It's so important that David works with me – he's been my front-of-house engineer for a long time and in the studio he's just as essential. Recently, we recorded straight to vinyl, and I?knew he was someone I could trust with that process.

He's very funny. We've spent so much time on the road as a band and he keeps the whole tour bus entertained with his impersonations and characters – he has fantastic comedic timing. It's very rare in life: someone who is brilliant, really knows what they're doing and is also a lovely guy.

David and I are both alpha males and clear on what we think works. It's the longest creative relationship I've ever had. We've worked on incredible projects together: Cirque du Soleil, the Proms, Electric Proms, the Sydney Opera House. He's a sounding board; he'll tell me the honest truth.

We hang out socially with his wife, but dinner in each other's homes is something we're still working towards, although I'm not a great cook, so I don't know that he will necessarily want to come to mine. In music, the people you surround yourself by become like family. We look after each other – and I think of David as a brother.

Nitin Sawhney's album OneZero, a retrospective of his career, is out now on deluxe vinyl box set, CD and download on Metropolis Recordings

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‧ This article was amended on 18 July 2013. The original photo caption failed to credit the photographer, Philip Griffin. This has been corrected.

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Nicky Haslam and Cilla Black on their special relationship

'Cilla has taught me fortitude. She’s got huge guts, and she doesn’t act like a huge star except when she needs to': Nicky Haslam on Cilla Black. Photograph: Rex

We met on 30 January 1965. I remember it so precisely because I was guest-editing US Harpers Bazaar. Richard Avedon was shooting the whole issue, and the plan was to shoot Cilla at his studio that day. We were all staying at the Ritz and it was Winston Churchill's funeral that morning, so the three of us watched from the windows of the Ritz before heading to the studio.

At the time Cilla was a huge star – bigger than the Beatles – and she'd just had a hit with "Anyone Who Had A Heart" the year before. It was one of my most favourite songs. She was wearing a short mini-dress and she posed like this floppy doll. I still have the photographs of that day.

We hit it off straightaway and I knew we'd be friends. She was gorgeous and friendly and we shared a love of music.

Cilla and I tend to talk light-heartedly about very serious?subjects. I've always felt like I could talk to her if there was an issue, but I don't like to be too intense – there's nothing worse than boring one's friends with one's problems, is there?

I think the hardest thing Cilla's been through was when her?husband Bobby died. She was very cut up – she adored him – and I tried to be there for her as much as possible.

In a funny way, she's very motherly. She looks after people and she has that very nice nurturing, nesting quality.

Cilla has taught me fortitude. She's got huge guts, and she's self-deprecating – she doesn't act like a huge star except when she needs to, but she's not a swank. And she's game for anything. I love that about her.

Nicky Haslam's album Midnight Matinee is out on 1 July

Nicky is one of the most gorgeous men I've?ever known. The first time we met I?remember thinking how?fanciable he was. We?spent that year going to clubs like the Ad Lib and the Scotch of St James and having a brilliant time. Then in 1966 he went off to Arizona to become a cowboy. We lost touch until he came back to London in 1974. Nicky is the type of person I won't see for months, then we'll meet and it's as if not a day has passed. The last time we spent proper time together was in Barbados this year – we went for dinner the day I?arrived and spent most of the trip together.

There's more to our friendship than parties and holidays, though. If?there?was ever a serious issue he would be there for me, and in the past he certainly has been.

There's a lightness to Nicky – no?matter what your issue, after talking to him things seem OK. We've only ever had cross words once. We were on a?boat in Majorca 15 years ago?and I didn't like someone he did. We disagreed about it – had a little shout – and then it just blew over. We usually see eye to eye on people – he has a?very good instinct for what people are really like. Speaking as a person who's a?common as muck, Nicky's got style?and?class. He brings those qualities to everything he does, but he's no snob. He?has friends from all backgrounds.

We speak on the phone, but I'm not very good with technology. Recently I'd just got a new iPhone and I was trying to save his number in it late at night. Turns out I?was pressing the wrong button and I'd been sending him photographs of me in my nightie. He phoned me at 5.30 that?morning going: "Daaarling, are you OK?" – and that's him, really: caring, funny – and fabulous.

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Writers Sheila Heti and Miranda July on their special relationship

'Our friendship is very beautiful. It began with a big risk on my part and then a risk on Miranda’s side': Sheila Heti (left) about initiating a friendship with Miranda July

Our friendship is very beautiful. It began with a big risk on my part and then a risk on Miranda's side. A year and a half ago I was asked by Bad Day magazine to interview her. I nearly didn't do it, because sometimes you just have this impulse not to. But I was familiar with her work and I'd watched her movie The Future, so I came up with a bunch of questions. Two minutes in, she told me that she was pregnant, which was very open of her.

After chatting for an hour, I felt this crazy, excited sensation surging through me, and I'd never felt like that after an interview before before, so I called my friend Margot (I had to keep talking) and told her how inspired Miranda had made me.. As a journalist, you don't tend to interview people with a view to becoming their friend. You can't expect that. It's not professional. Or rational. I thought: "She'll think I want to be friends with her because she's Miranda July." But I felt a real human connection and decided not to look at the world that way. I had this instinct that we had a lot to say to each other. So I?took a leap of faith and emailed Miranda, suggesting that we speak for an hour once a week on the phone. I said I thought we had a lot to learn from each other, then I pressed "send".

A few days later I was feeling a little embarrassed because she hadn't replied, but finally she did. She said: "I had the exact same feeling!" and agreed that we should chat once a week. I was so pleased.

It was unusual to have a contract drawn up like that before we even had a friendship. Usually you don't have commitment promises in a friendship. Usually it just grows. But it was consistent: we started emailing all the time, spoke for an hour each week and built a profound friendship. One of the greatest points of pleasure in my day is getting an email from Miranda. The second is writing one back. We talk about our work, relationships, her child, how we're feeling that day or any troubles that we're having. I don't think there's anything I wouldn't say to her. We've met face to face about six times and got on just as well. There is lots of trust between us. Miranda's a big part of my life.

I was doing a ton of interviews when I met Sheila, so I was shocked that talking to her didn't feel like an interview. I was sort of taken aback by her email. I did a web search on her, which is embarrassing now – I'm cautious with people who reach out in such a forthright way. But as I read stuff she'd written and looked up her friends, who were all creative, I concluded: "Wow, I'm lucky that this person wants to talk to me for an hour a week. This girl knows what she's doing. We should be friends."

It's not always easy to make a close friend at this age. Maybe we needed that level of formality, a purpose. It feels like one of my first real adult friendships – there's not this need for parity that you get when you're younger. Or this merging. It's more intimate and more boundaried; we know what we both want. I longed for something that had the intimacy of childhood friendship – clothes, your bodies and boys – and where our lives as artists could play a huge role. We played catch-up for a while – showed each other pics of boyfriends past and present, filled each other in on our pasts.

It's a literary friendship, too. We critique each other's work. Sheila's a great support. When I had a baby I was consumed with my body. I sent her a pic of my milk-filled new breasts in the negligee I bought to make use of them. "Was that too much?" I asked. "No!" she replied. "Here are mine!"

I would love to see Sheila face to face more. There's a kind of built-in assumption that we will one day. It's amazing how little you can see people but still stay in regular contact. I've?never had a friendship like this before.

We Think Alone, a project by Miranda July, launched on 1 July. It was commissioned by Magasin 3 for On the Tip of My Tongue

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Adopted brothers Charlie and Tom Russell on their special relationship

I was two when we lived in Santiago. We had been put in touch with an adoption agency. One night Mum and Dad piled my big sister Alice and me, in our pyjamas, into the car and drove to a house. A few hours later we were on our way back home and next to us was our tiny new brother Tom, three weeks old. At first he was just a toy, someone to cuddle, prod and stare at. But as we grew older, the inherent differences between us developed into a profound brotherly love.

Tom was so giggly, and Mum would try to make him laugh hysterically as he was eating supper, which we all loved to watch. He was energetic and sweet but could also be intense.

At school, when I was nine and Tom was seven, I saw him throw something at a ruffian in my year. The ruffian started to chase Tom, and I was terrified of what would happen. But Tom fixed him with such a powerful glare – a?standoff – that he left Tom alone. I later learned that Tom had been provoked by the boy, and I've never forgotten how brave he was. From then on I knew he could handle himself. Naturally it bothered me that Tom was picked on – he was small, Chilean-looking, a?bit different. He came out at 12, which is young but testament to how at ease and honest he's always been about himself. He said: "If they don't like me it's their problem."

Tom doesn't judge, criticise or interfere in other people's lives, and when I confided in him – he's very good to talk to – about starting a business, he couldn't have been more supportive. "You'll regret it if you don't," he said.

Tom probably thinks I should initiate arranging to meet up. I always look forward to going home, as he still lives there – it's such a treat to catch up and laugh together.

I always knew I was adopted, but it wasn't the subtext to my adolescence. If anything I felt like the cute baby of the family, not the adopted one. Charlie is my irresistibly cool older brother, into boyish stuff like football, rugby and activity, while my interests have always felt a bit geekier: comics, science, gardening, etc. I used to be hyperactive – borderline ADHD, I?suppose – and this probably made it difficult to be around me. Especially as a sibling.

Growing up I liked making stuff and going on little walks by myself, but since we've got older our interests have overlapped. I started kayaking, and Charlie's just launched a business selling 20th-century furniture – which is creative. Plus, he now loves three-hour hikes in the country.

Once Charlie and I used rope and flowerpots to create a?pulley system. He took his place high up in a tree, I stood below, and we passed messages to each other all afternoon.

I did experience bullying at school, which I wasn't particularly vocal about, and when it got bad Charlie wanted to do something about it. He told me recently that he'd briefed his rugby team about doing a potential intervention and they'd agreed to help him back me. It never came to that.

Part of the reason we work so well as brothers is because there's never been any rivalry. Charlie's never had "middle-child syndrome". He's kind and loving, and one of the few people who truly understands me. I'm a quiet person and tend to procrastinate. He'll come to our parents' house, where I?live, and say: "Get up and do something!" We're both patient, something we've inherited from our dad, but you can tell he's trying to be patient while biting his tongue.

If you like unique vintage furniture, please visit Charlie's brand-new website mar-den.co.uk

To contact Tom about gardening, go to Tom The Gardener

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Wedding Planners in Toronto Give You The Convenience You Deserve On Your Special Day!

Your wedding day should be devoted to you and your spouse-to-be's future happiness, joy, pleasure, and excitement. If you can't be excited on your wedding day, when can you really be excited? This is a special day for you, and it should be handled by people that are in the business of making it as magical, special, and extraordinary as possible. Trying to handle all of your wedding details on your own just isn't going to be the key to a stress-free time. If you've watched any documentary on weddings coming together, you already know that they usually struggle the most when the family is trying to handle all of the details themselves. There's simply too many moving parts to a wedding to pull this off without a few sleepless nights. It's going to be completely up to you to pick out a strong professional that can take the pressure off you.

The first step that you're going to want to do is make sure that you get someone close to your location. Remember that they're going to have to meet with you quite often in order to really get a good idea of what you're looking for. So if you're in the greater Toronto area, naturally you will want to turn to wedding planners in Toronto that can really bring your fairytale wedding to life. Is it really so wrong to get exactly what you're looking for on your special day?

This puts a lot of the pressure off your entire family. Sure, they'll want to still be involved but a planner can really keep everything on schedule and on track. They will also know plenty of vendors that can provide a lot of wedding stuff that you need without breaking your budget.

The new generation of wedding planners are very intuitive, working without needing a lot of supervision from you. You want to find someone that can take instructions without being offended, while still doing what they can on their side to help you out in every way possible. The cost of a wedding planner should really be seen as an investment into your peace of mind. Do you really want to be stressed out, frustrated, tired, and exhausted on the very day where you commit to loving another person for the rest of your life? Probably not. You want to be able to look back on your wedding day and remember all of the celebration, and none of the stress.

The best way to make your wedding hassle-free is truly a wedding planner. They come to the table with plenty of experience, so they already know the right questions to ask. If this is your first marriage, then you may already feel overwhelmed at the idea of planning it yourself. You want to be able to put your best food forward in front of all of your friends and family. Thankfully, a wedding planner instinctively understands this. They will certainly do everything they can to help you look your best on your special day. Make sure that you get in touch with a great Toronto wedding planner as soon as possible. Start checking into it now, while it's still on your mind -- you'll truly be glad you did!

Going with a professional wedding planners in Toronto is definitely a good thing. Check it out today, while it's still on your mind -- this site has the information you need to make it happen!

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