Richard Barratt ‘Testone’
Sweet Exorcist’s Richard Barratt – aka DJ Parrot/Crooked Man – recalls the making of 1990’s essential bleep techno cut, ‘Testone’, with Richard H Kirk
Clare Grogan
‘Mascara Streakz’, the first Altered Images album for 39 years, is stuffed with delicious synthpop nuggets. Clare Grogan would like to thank her Tom Courtenay-inspired fitness regime, F Scott Fitzgerald and Nancy Pelosi
Janine Rainforth ‘Stretch’
Maximum Joy’s Janine Rainforth recalls the making of the Bristol post-punk band’s 1981 debut ‘Stretch’, a dub-inspired single which became a surprise hit on the dancefloors of NYC
UNITS ‘Digital Stimulation’ (415, 1980)
Generally speaking, listening to a self-aggrandising peer saying, “You like [influential band]? Well, you should really listen to [obscure band]” tends more towards an act of generosity and patience than an educational experience.
Showaddywaddy
A muggy night at London’s Kilburn National Ballroom in September 1987, and German industrial-meisters Einstürzende Neubauten are headlining. The support act? 1970s glam rock entertainers Showaddywaddy. As one press report aptly put it, “Say WADD?”
Cosey Fanni Tutti: Sound And Visionary
The publication of her acclaimed autobiography in 2017 set in motion a chain of events that found Cosey Fanni Tutti standing shoulder to shoulder with Delia Derbyshire and a medieval mystic called Margery Kempe. With her new ‘Re-Sisters’ book and a Delia film soundtrack in the shops, plus an intriguing biopic on the way, the fearless electronic disruptor continues to push the envelope
Editors: Heavy Heavy Monster Sound
With experimental noisenik Blanck Mass now fully ensconced in the ranks, Editors have gone bigger, deeper and darker into electro-industrial territory on their thrilling new long-player, ‘EBM’. Prepare to have your face melted…
Gabe Gurnsey: Devil’s Advocate
Ex-Factory Floor man Gabe Gurnsey is back with his second solo effort, ‘Diablo’. Featuring his girlfriend Tilly Morris as both muse and singer, it’s a pulsating, dancefloor-centric banger teeming with hedonistic abandon, aching desire and a wicked after-dark edge
Neu!: Get Your Motorik Runnin’
With a new boxset marking the 50th anniversary of their self-titled 1972 debut album, Neu!’s pioneering krautrock groove continues to resonate. Here, Michael Rother sheds light on irascible Neu! co-founder Klaus Dinger, his time with Kraftwerk, and the Bowie collaboration that never quite came to pass
The Advisory Circle: In The Round
Cate Brooks is The Advisory Circle, and the retro synths of latest album ‘Full Circle’ hark back to her earliest days on Ghost Box. In a rare and candid interview, she admits it’s been “a hell of a journey” to get there