Dubstar: May The North Be With You
Reunited with producer Stephen Hague, Dubstar are back with a cracking album of “full-spectrum megapop” and “acutely observed kitchen-sink dramas”. Normal service resumes, then…
ABC: Suits You
Four decades on from its release, ABC’s ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ is still one of the most luxurious and glorious widescreen pop albums of all time. Frontman Martin Fry takes a break from rehearsals for a 40th anniversary tour to tell the inside story of this enduring classic, starting in a toilet in a Tokyo hotel room…
Rodney Cromwell: Warts And All
Adam Cresswell is Rodney Cromwell. Previously, he’s been Arthur from Arthur And Martha, a founder member of Saloon, and a man whose life was changed by a shattered jar of pickled onions
xPropaganda: Duel Purpose
After years of band tensions and failed reunions, Propaganda’s Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag have resurfaced as xPropaganda with a shimmering new album, ‘The Heart Is Strange’. Here, they talk ZTT, camaraderie and the fear of following up 1985’s defining ‘A Secret Wish’
Plastikman and Chilly Gonzales: Minimal To The Max
As Plastikman, Richie Hawtin is the king of reduction. But ‘Consumed In Key’, a collaboration with piano maestro Chilly Gonzales, is a radically different take on minimal techno, a step into uncharted territory that pushes both artists way beyond their comfort zones. The result is simply stunning
Penguin Cafe: Beak Performance
Descended from the esteemed Penguin Cafe Orchestra – founded by the incomparable Simon Jeffes – Penguin Cafe’s Arthur Jeffes reflects on his father’s legacy, making music on his own terms and being endorsed by Kraftwerk
David M Allen: How Very Dare You
Mixing desk wizard David M Allen discusses his role in the making of what may well be one of the greatest synthpop albums of all time… and The Human League’s ‘Dare’
In The Nursery: The History Men
Since 1981, In The Nursery’s cinematic soundscapes have evolved in fascinating ways, yet remained timeless. Their latest album is a deeply personal and beautifully orchestrated journey into their family history – and is perhaps the duo’s finest work to date
Slovenia: Find Me In The Damp Basement*
A special report from Ljubljana on electronic music in Slovenia, a country with an exciting and thriving scene headed up by Laibach, but boasting a host of less-celebrated bands, producers, labels and more
Tears For Fears: Fear Factory
Celebrating the release of the first Tears For Fears album since 2004, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith reflect on a five-decade career and talk about loss, working under duress, musique concrète and Gothic architecture