Music
Snowy: The MC leading Nottingham grime’s conquest of the UK
Notts is wild — Nottingham’s hardest working MC is helping to build the foundations for a new generation of grime artists dragging the spotlight away from London.
Written by: Alex King
The alternative parties keeping old working class venues alive
Partying to survive — London’s declining traditional venues are surviving by providing a home for threatened alternative nightlife, from live music to LGBTQ parties.
Written by: Alex King
Could a lip-syncing app revive the dying music industry?
Chasing 15 seconds of fame — Touted as the biggest change to music since the video, a fast-growing app is resonating with millions of teenagers... in the form of disposable karaoke videos. Will it prop up sagging sales? Or is it just a vehicle for narcissism?
Written by: Cian Traynor
Shabaka Hutchings on Africa’s eternal cultural influence
Following the bloodlines — Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming frontman Shabaka Hutchings explains how a new generation of artists are rediscovering and reinterpreting Africa’s immense musical, artistic and stylistic heritage.
Written by: Alex King
Naked truths: An intimate interview with Bat for Lashes
Honeymooning alone — As Bat for Lashes, Natasha Khan has spent a decade crafting a musical persona that defies easy categorisation. But in her personal life, much of that time has been spent grappling with questions of identity and commitment. Making fourth album The Bride – an imaginary road-trip of self-discovery – taught her what it takes to feel whole.
Written by: Simran Hans. Photography © Jackie Dewe Mathews
London hip hop collective Neverland Clan slay their Boiler Room set
Underground fire — Neverland Clan brought mosh pits, sweat, charisma and overriding lyrical prowess to a high-energy Boiler Room session at Hackney Wick’s Stour Space.
Written by: Jack Bidewell
The inspirations of Grace Jones, one of pop music's greatest chameleons
Breakdown, honey — Exploring the enduring power of Grace Jones' genre-bending 1980s album, Warm Leatherette.
Written by: Gabriela Helfet
RZA and Paul Banks on keeping the swords sharp
"Either one of us will fuck you up" — As Banks & Steelz, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Paul Banks from Interpol are breaking new ground with hip hop/rock collaboration, Anything But Words.
Written by: Alex King
Transcending the cruel rhythms of life in Edmonton, Canada
Music-making in the “northern shitty oil-city” — Dave Ehrenreich’s documentary ‘Rhythm of Cruelty’ follows the Canadian band of the same name, duo and romantic partners Brandi Strauss and Ian Rowley. Ehrenreich shows how Strauss and Rowley are attempting to revise the negative stereotypes which they say are associated with Edmonton by following their dream of touring their experimental punk band.
Written by: Christopher Sanders
Mala’s sounds of the new Peru
Future beats from the Andes — Pioneering UK producer Mala’s Mirrors project digs deep into the roots of traditional Peruvian music. Here he reveals Peru’s brightest contemporary talents.
Written by: Alex King