Banco De Gaia: Banco Account
With the release of his kaleidoscopic new Banco De Gaia album, ‘Trauma’, Toby Marks reflects on years of global sonic experimentation
Boris Hauf: We Hauf Lift Off
As an in-demand composer, producer and label owner, Boris Hauf is always spinning plates. His CLARK project is a sci-fi space adventure, mixing technoid sounds with unbridled experimentation. “I’m all over the place,” he proudly declares
Gryphon Rue: Craft Punk
Composer Gryphon Rue’s wonderfully esoteric and electroacoustic innovations echo the restless artistry of his forebears
Ishmael Ensemble: Colours Fly
Bristol collective Ishmael Ensemble are evolving at a rate of knots. Their expansive new album sees them pushing boundaries like never before, exploring not only contemporary jazz and clubby electronics but also dub, psych and experimental sounds. Thrilling stuff it is too
Julia-Sophie: Soul Inside
Dark, left-field, danceable and utterly compelling – reflecting personal self-destruction, love and loss, the debut solo offering from Anglo-French producer Julia-Sophie is an unflinchingly sublime future-pop confessional
Tristwch Y Fenywod: A Kind Of Magick
Channelling early 4AD and ‘Pornography’-era Cure, the haunting liturgies of Welsh-language, avant-goth trio Tristwch Y Fenywod are rooted in atmospheric darkwave and alien folk music. Dry ice optional
Thomas Dolby: Cover Story
Thomas Dolby and ‘The Flat Earth’ graphic designers Malcolm Garrett and Baker Dave discuss the album’s striking artwork, which depicts the dashing Dolby as “explorer, prospector and adventurer”
Thomas Dolby: This Charming Man
In 1984, Thomas Dolby’s ‘The Flat Earth’ album saw him outgrow his persona as MTV’s favourite “outgoing boffin” and flourish into a songwriter of impressive versatility. With an expanded digital version recently released, is he still “hyperactive now he’s grown”? He may be more reflective, but as he explains, life still has its fair share of adventure and excitement
Orbury Common: Common People
Orbury Common’s records are fanciful delights, combining hazy hip hop beats and traditional folk trappings with the hallucinogenic imagery of a nightmarish parallel universe
Walt Disco: The Rebel Alliance
It’s already been a hell of a year for Glaswegian art rockers Walt Disco. The band have enjoyed a rapturous reception as tour support with OMD and released a new album, ‘The Warping’, combining the anthemic with the deeply personal