Long Reads

French trio Zombie Zombie take an unexpected leap of faith on their new album, a “reverberated doom orgy” that fuses Latin and choral arrangements with fizzing analogue synths and vocoders

Take I Monster’s electronic veteran Dean Honer, gradually introduce soulful folkie Kevin Pearce, and heat gently over a Bunsen burner. The result? The Sound Of Science – a successful bonding and a new album of scientific delights

In this final UK interview before his recent passing, the hugely influential German electronicist Klaus Schulze reflects on his time with Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel and discusses the lingering influence of the sci-fi classic ‘Dune’ – as heard on his new album, ‘Deus Arrakis’

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…

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…

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

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’

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

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

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’