Yann Tiersen: “It is not my job to define my music” – Interview

by Michael Hubbard

Yann Tiersen‘s soundtrack to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s blockbuster Amélie has garnered the French composer new fans and much acclaim. Before Montmarte’s most famous resident hit the cultural radar, however, Tiersen’s groundbreaking contemporary music was already lauded....

Interview: Gary Numan

by Michael Hubbard

Lately there’s been an unseemly rush by a bewildering assortment of musicians to cover and sample songs by a bloke from Hammersmith. Pop kittens Sugababes reached number one with Freak Like Me earlier this year,...

Damon Albarn: “I felt that was missing the point of using me, a musician” &...

by Michael Hubbard

Prior to the phenomenon that was Gorillaz, Essex boy Damon Albarn was of course best known as Blur‘s front man – and for having arguments with Oasis. But when Gorillaz appeared, featuring rap, dub and...

Interview: Orbital

by Michael Hubbard

The brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll are hardly fashionable these days, but as Orbital they are rightly talked about as amongst the very pioneers of dance music as we know it. A decade on from...

Indigo Girls: “Our music and activist work are married” – Interview

by Michael Hubbard

Atlanta’s trailblazing, Grammy Award-winning lesbian folk-rock duo, Indigo Girls, are unleashing a new album – Become You – and it’s being touted as a “back to basics” approach for them. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers...

Interview: Belle and Sebastian

by Michael Hubbard

Scottish supergroup Belle and Sebastian have collected about them a cult following since their mid-1990s debut, Tigermilk. But, having just released the soundtrack to the film Storytelling, the band received the news that their cellist...

Interview: Neil Halstead

by Michael Hubbard

Coinciding with the release of his debut solo album Sleeping On Roads, musicOMH caught up with Mojave 3 and ex-Slowdive front man Neil Halstead on a freezing cold winter’s night in east London… Having had...

Interview: Joby Talbot

by Michael Hubbard

In a basement under Spitalfields Market, Joby Talbot is tripping over things. Always the epitome of level-headedness, The Divine Comedy‘s orchestral arranger, keyboard player and occasional oboe and cor anglais performer is, this evening, undeniably...

Marillion’s Steve Hogarth: “The fans were the only people we could trust, w...

by Michael Hubbard

The proggers’ frontman on Genesis, coffee bars and fan funding models

Interview: Anthony Reynolds, of Jack and Jacques

by Helen Wright

Having formed the critically lauded band Jack and the spin-off Jacques, Anthony Reynolds is now turning to writing books. It’s a balmy evening in north London, and we’re standing on his doorstep trying to get...

Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray: “Something important about songwriting? It takes wor...

by Pam Huwig

Let us introduce you to a taste of some of the rawest, edgiest music to hit studios lately and to pass through Indigo Girls‘ Amy Ray‘s lips. Indigo Girls’ bond is strong enough to accommodate...

Andy White: “I think it’s time for me to become a pop star” – I...

by Michael Hubbard

Andy White, formerly of ALT with Liam of Hothouse Flowers and Tim of Crowded House, is now solo and looking to be famous on his own terms. We caught up with his stratospheric folksy star,...

Q&A: Brian’s Ken Sweeney

by Michael Hubbard

Following the release of Brian‘s second album Bring Trouble, the quiet, resolutely unstarry Ken Sweeney has been lauded in the press. Now he’s been nominated for best single of the year in The Irish Music...

Brian’s Ken Sweeney: “I dressed up as a priest to keep them happy” &#...

by Michael Hubbard

He’s 32, he’s been in Father Ted, he’s just given up his day job and is now A Professional Musician with a record deal and the patronage of Sean Hughes, Ardal O’Hanlon, Graham Linehan and...

The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: “My raison d’être was always never ...

by Michael Hubbard

Neil Hannon, the brain behind The Divine Comedy, has achieved unprecedented success since Chris Evans played Something For The Weekend on his Radio 1 breakfast show back in 1996. The tiny Ulsterman has been working...

Venini: “Any band with a bit of style and confidence just gets slagged off”...

by Michael Hubbard

“There’s lime in this!” Debbie Lime points an accusing finger at the glass of lager on the table before her and regards it with a frown. Her protestations are directed at Nick Eastwood; Venini‘s bassist...

Brassy: “We’re the ones who write the songs, but we don’t get any of ...

by Michael Hubbard

“I was condescendingly told, ‘you can really sing! Why do you use so much distortion on your vocals?’ COZ I FUCKING LIKE IT, YOU SAD SACK!!!” Meet Muffin Spencer, lead singer/hip-hopper with Brassy, an American...