Classical and Opera Features

Roxanne de Bastion: “Music is the best tool for empathy. It’s such a good way to feel things” – Interview

by Ben Hogwood

With two US tours, a Glastonbury appearance, over 500 gigs and a self-released debut album behind her, the Berlin-via-West-Midlands songwriter returns with a “cathartic” second work, produced by Bernard Butler


Reissues Round-up: James Bond, Judas Priest, Kylie Minogue, R.E.M.

by Ian Wade
Our pick of October’s repackaged records, from Motörhead via The Beatles to Donna Summer, Pink Floyd, Carroll Thompson and Spice Girls
Reissues Round-up: James Bond, Judas Priest, Kylie Minogue, R.E.M.

Spotlight: Metallica – Metallica (The Black Album) 30th Anniversary + The Metalli...

by Ross Horton
Heavy metal was pushed into the mainstream in 1991 by one of the greatest albums of all time. Its impact on metal, rock and even pop music shouldn’t be underestimated
Spotlight: Metallica – Metallica (The Black Album) 30th Anniversary + The Metalli...

Yann Tiersen: “I became more about seeing what’s around me, living stuff and or...

by Ben Hogwood
The Breton on his new album Kerber and its accompanying film, his island home of Ushant, and rekindling his love of electronic music
Yann Tiersen: “I became more about seeing what’s around me, living stuff and or...

This Music Made Me: Matthew E White

by MusicOMH
The label founder and Virginia native precedes his third solo album K Bay with a tour through the works that have influenced him most
This Music Made Me: Matthew E White

ABBA voyage back after 40 years with new album and digital arena show

by Peter J Robinson
The Swedish superstars belong to a time when the release of an album was a cultural event. This announcement is up there with those
ABBA voyage back after 40 years with new album and digital arena show

Reissues Round-up: Primal Scream, Buena Vista Social Club, Robbie Williams

by Ian Wade
Our September digest of the best reissues also features Egyptian instrumental modal pop from the ’70s, Super Furry Animals’ 20th anniversary release of Rings Around The World and Sheena Easton in her pomp
Reissues Round-up: Primal Scream, Buena Vista Social Club, Robbie Williams

Arab Strap: “Our music’s intimate points have changed from being about dirty be...

by Steven Johnson
Aidan Moffat on the forthcoming Arab Strap UK tour, the lead up to new album As Days Get Dark, and how his approach to writing lyrics has evolved
Arab Strap: “Our music’s intimate points have changed from being about dirty be...

Reissues Round-up: The Beach Boys, Kim Wilde, Habibi Funk, LCD Soundsystem

by Ian Wade
A new monthlyish round-up from the world of reissues and compilations, featuring The Beach Boys, Habibi Funk, LCD Soundsystem and Kim Wilde
Reissues Round-up: The Beach Boys, Kim Wilde, Habibi Funk, LCD Soundsystem

George Harrison – All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary: Spotlight

by Ross Horton
Half a century of the greatest artworks – in any medium – of all time gets celebrated with a plethora of new editions
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary: Spotlight

Teenage Fanclub: “We’ve always resisted becoming a heritage band” – Interview

by Steven Johnson
Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley on how new album Endless Arcade fell into place, their creative processes, and their forthcoming UK tour plans
Teenage Fanclub: “We’ve always resisted becoming a heritage band” – Interview

Lucy Gooch: “I wanted to make something more experimental with a dissonance and eerin...

by Steven Johnson
The Bristol-based artist on her new Rain’s Break EP, taking inspiration from 1940s films, the lasting impressions of singing in choirs and moving away from looping to more organic arrangements
Lucy Gooch: “I wanted to make something more experimental with a dissonance and eerin...

Roddy Woomble: “I’ve spent 20 years making guitar music, but this new album involve...

by Steven Johnson
The Idlewild frontman on the ‘dystopian pop’ of new solo record Lo! Soul, experimenting with sounds, being guided by other musicians and how the pandemic changed working methods
Roddy Woomble: “I’ve spent 20 years making guitar music, but this new album involve...

Spotlight: George Michael – Older

by Ian Wade
Released a quarter of a century ago, here is the album that encapsulates the beautiful soul and true legend that was the real George. It is his masterpiece
Spotlight: George Michael – Older

Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner: “I was looking for something less structured, something I h...

by Steven Johnson
On the background to new album Showtunes, converting guitar into piano sounds, continuing to embrace technology and broadening his range of collaborators
Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner: “I was looking for something less structured, something I h...

One For Keeps: Paul and Linda McCartney – Ram

by Ross Horton
One of the most charming albums ever committed to tape gets a 50th anniversary ‘half speed master’ vinyl repress, and reminds of the simple pleasures of intimacy
One For Keeps: Paul and Linda McCartney – Ram

Murcof: “I feel attracted to music and sounds that evoke a sense of mystery or otherw...

by Steven Johnson
Fernando Corona on his new double album, operating on intellectual and emotional levels, music in response to art and the importance of silence
Murcof: “I feel attracted to music and sounds that evoke a sense of mystery or otherw...

Man On Man: “Take away all the venues and queers would still find a way to get to...

by Matt Cotsell
Indie-rock distortion and gay pop confidence meet in a new project from Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum and partner Joey Holman. Now they’re ready to take it on the road
Man On Man: “Take away all the venues and queers would still find a way to get to...

Peggy Seeger: “Humans are a warlike species. The world is being run on a male dyn...

by Daniel Paton
The folk royal on new album First Farewell, the hell of mornings and her ‘drop in the bucket’ theory
Peggy Seeger: “Humans are a warlike species. The world is being run on a male dyn...

Tom Jones: “I make the songs my own, and it’s as if I wrote them” –...

by Ben Hogwood
The Welsh legend on his new album Surrounded By Time, the challenges faced by The Voice contestants and treating Mother Earth with dignity
Tom Jones: “I make the songs my own, and it’s as if I wrote them” –...

Spotlight: Fleetwood Mac – Live (Super Deluxe Edition)

by Ross Horton
Majoring on tracks from Tusk and Rumours, this is a living, breathing document of one of the most spectacular implosions of an artistic collective ever witnessed
Spotlight: Fleetwood Mac – Live (Super Deluxe Edition)