Under The Influence

With The Utopia Strong gearing up for another tour, Steve Davis traces the people, cultural touchstones and sounds that have shaped his sonic adventures

With BBC Radio’s annual 6 Music Festival just around the corner, presenter Deb Grant reveals the formative influences that led her to a life on the airwaves

Hot on the heels of his recent ‘Selenites, Selenites!’ album, Finnish composer and musician Jimi Tenor traces the key inspirations behind his very singular sonic universe

In the wake of his recent release, ‘Manzana’, Planet Mu label founder and IDM veteran Mike Paradinas – aka µ-Ziq – reflects on the influences that shape how he makes music 

Kevin Richard Martin (The Bug) has fused dub, drone, hip hop, grime, metal and isolationist ambient into confrontational, yet beautiful music. As a new album with Ghost Dubs drops, he shares his main influences

As 808 State’s Graham Massey prepares to tour 1991’s acid house/rave classic ‘Ex:el’, he revisits his various influences, from Hawkwind to jazz 

Fresh from performing at this year’s End Of The Road festival, visionary producer and multi-instrumentalist Emma-Jean Thackray shares her influences, from the power of brass to accidentally finding Miles Davis

Former Siouxsie And The Banshees drummer Budgie has just published his memoirs. He opens up on his primary influences – from the delights of birdsong to the Radiophonic Workshop

Adam Wiltzie, co-founder of Stars Of The Lid and A Winged Victory For The Sullen, shares the forces that have shaped his creative life, from football to John Peel

Returning with her fourth album ‘Utopia’, Welsh singer-songwriter Gwenno shares the influences that have helped to forge her work