Swansither
Fear-inducing modular moods
Dorothy Moskowitz: California Scheming
In the 1960s, Dorothy Moskowitz voyaged through the heart of the US avant-garde, a journey culminating in the explosive psychedelia of her influential band, The United States Of America. Six decades on, the essence of that artistic revolution is emerging again
Kim Gordon: Only Connect
Kim Gordon made her name with US rock giants Sonic Youth, but her second solo album ‘The Collective’ continues her intriguing exploration of fractured hip hop beats and “abstract poetry fucked-up shit”
Woo: A Room With A Woo
Since the early 1970s, brothers Mark and Clive Ives have been recording as Woo – arguably the UK’s most prolific DIY outfit. Two new albums, ‘Robot X’ and ‘Xylophonics’, raid their vast archive. And it all began with Uncle Fred’s musical saw
Drew Mulholland: Tales From The Loop
Sound obsessive, tape loop guru, godfather of hauntology and – least likely of all – teen pin-up. For five decades, Drew Mulholland has been walking a very individual path
Office For Personal Development: Funny Business
Office For Personal Development are both a great synthpop band and a mischievous spoof of the more sinister side of motivational corporate culture. Where the line falls is anybody’s guess…
Peter Howell ‘Through A Glass Darkly’
In 1977, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Peter Howell recorded ‘Through A Glass Darkly’, a stunning album of synth-heavy prog rock. The jewel in the crown? ‘A Lyrical Adventure’, the 19-minute epic sprawling across the entirety of Side One
Bas Jan: Swamp Things
The new album by London synthpop quartet Bas Jan deftly combines the everyday and the esoteric. Examples? Fonts on British road signs and the tragic history of Irish witchcraft...
Elizabeth Parker: Singing In The Wires
Elizabeth Parker was a BBC Radiophonic Workshop mainstay and one of Britain’s most in-demand composers of TV and film soundtracks. A new compilation, ‘Future Perfect’, gathers together previously unheard pieces from her own private archive. Expect ghostly nuns and clunky scaffolding
Howard Jones
It’s 40 years since Howard Jones first crashed into the Top 10 with ‘New Song’. To mark the occasion, Cherry Red have issued a superb career retrospective, ‘Celebrate It Together’. And it all started with the coolest teacher in High Wycombe