Listen to a playlist of selected samples and sonic references, curated by Hannan Jones and Samir Kennedy

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

Rap on trial: Why the UK must stop treating lyrics as evidence

Dr Lambros Fatsis, author of ‘Policing the Beats: Black Music, Racism and Criminal Injustice’, outlines how UK drill music is criminalised in courts and why the law needs changing.

Live from MUTEK Montréal: Listen to the series

Four key sets from MUTEK Montréal 2025: NikNak, Yu Su, Grand River with Abul Mogard, and Gadi Sassoon with Portrait XO featuring 555n.

Rising: Dagmar Zuniga captures life in quiet fragments

A compulsive recorder of everyday life, the artist weaves field recordings and whispered melodies into an intimate, transportive debut.

Dream Architecture: underscores on building her third album, ‘U’

underscores’ latest album – her first since an attention-grabbing collaboration with Oklou on ‘Harvest Sky’ – transports her glitchy electro-pop to liminal, urban spaces where dreams and waking life coalesce.

Decoding… Nagoya’s electronic music scene

Wisdom Teeth compilation ‘nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 (Quiet Wind)’ opens a window into Nagoya’s thriving ecosystem of experimental club music.

Pay it Forward: Jehnny Beth on Marianne Faithfull

After contributing a version of ‘Why’d Ya Do It’ to ‘Broken English’, the film about Marianne Faithfull’s life, Jehnny Beth reflects on the singer’s guiding spirit.

Enter the Void: On Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, Harry Styles remains a blank slate

On his fourth studio album, Styles assembles a collage of references that never crystallise into his own artistic vision.

Ledbyher knows the haters are watching – and she loves it

Ledbyher’s breakout year captures the UK Ug scene’s hot streak, propelled by a sound that bounces between UK jerk, grunge and neo-soul.