Der Plan: We are the Robots

Forget Kraftwerk doing it for one song, in the late 1980s, fellow Düsseldorf outfit Der Plan came up with a crackpot scheme to completely replace themselves with robots…

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Jeremy Allen

Xeno & Oaklander: In A Different League

byOli Warwick

NY synthpop duo Xeno & Oaklander are back with their ninth album, and it’s a real corker – all retro-futuristic earworms, analogue anthems and an intriguingly murky backstory

LLong Reads

10 minute read

The Lemon Twigs: Band of Brothers

byMark Roland

With a stealthy release on the 4AD label late last year, ‘Do Hollywood’ is the wildest ride of a record we’d heard in a while. We join Long Island teen siblings The Lemon Twigs on a flying UK visit to see what we’re making all the fuss about…

LLong Reads

10 minute read

Special Report Kraftwerk At The Tour De France

byJools Stone

Last month, Kraftwerk played ‘Tour De France’ live at the opening stage of the world’s most famous cycle race – the first time they’ve done so in the 30 years since the track was recorded. As their legion of fans find themselves asking about almost everything the band do, “What took them so flipping long?”

LLong Reads

6 minute read

Beth Orton: Roots And Branches

byBethan Cole

The original folktronica trailblazer has really cranked up the ’tronica for her excellent new album, ‘Kidsticks’. Will the real Beth Orton please stand up?

LLong Reads

8 minute read

The NID Tapes: The India Connection

byJeremy Allen

‘The NID Tapes’ is an extraordinary compilation of early Indian electronic tracks recorded at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad between 1969 and 1972. Sound artist Paul Purgas relays the story of how he uncovered these long-forgotten gems

LLong Reads

10 minute read

Joe Meek: No Ordinary Joe

byJeremy Blackmore

Hidden away for decades, Joe Meek’s near-mythical “tea chest tapes” have finally seen the light of day, revealing much about the working practices of the legendary producer responsible for The Tornados’ pioneering, electronically hued 1962 single, ‘Telstar’