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.
Live from MUTEK Montréal: Gadi Sassoon and Portrait XO feat. 555n
At MUTEK Montréal, Portrait XO and Gadi Sassoon premiered ‘Hypercast’ – a live collaboration with AI sonification agent 555n.
Mixed at MUTEK Montréal: Yu Su
At the 2025 edition of MUTEK Montréal, DJ, musician and sound artist Yu Su closed the festival’s second night with a two-hour set that drifted fluidly through dub, techno and leftfield sounds.
Live from MUTEK Montréal: Grand River and Abul Mogard
At the 2025 edition of MUTEK Montréal, Grand River and Abul Mogard teamed up for an expansive a live set that invited deep, introspective listening.
Live from MUTEK Montréal: NikNak
DJ, turntablist and composer NikNak made her Canadian debut at the latest edition of MUTEK Montréal with an immersive live set.
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.
Extracts from the Palestinian Sound Archive: Mixed by Mo’min Swaitat
A mix compiling music, spoken word and field recordings from The Palestinian Sound Archive, put together by its founder, Mo’min Swaitat.
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.
Crack Mix 613: Ledbyher
UK ug rapper Ledbyher takes over this week’s Crack Mix with a ride through underground rap and pop made for daydreaming on the train.
In Paris, Geese kick off their European tour with what already feels like a victory lap
On the opening night of their European tour, Geese leave a devoted crowd at the Bataclan enraptured, reeling and clinging to every word.
Jawnino: Freedom of Movement
Wandsworth-raised rapper and producer Jawnino has already broken free of the suffocating constraints of faith and the anxiety of estate life – now he’s cutting loose of musical boundaries to become a pathfinder for UK Ug.
A music fan’s guide to Manchester with NTS’s Finn, ahead of Johnnie Walker‘s Keep Walking Live event series
The DJ, producer and party-runner shares his go-to club nights, gig venues, record shops and food spots, as well as his favourite piece of Manchester music lore.
Prostitute are catalysing anger into action: “Everything’s in free fall, so let’s jump”
Prostitute’s 2024 debut was a bracing response to a nation in freefall. As they prepare to re-release the album, the band are poised to channel their energy into something more constructive: action.
Decoding… The untold musical life of Alice Coltrane
In his new book ‘Cosmic Music: The Life, Art and Transcendence of Alice Coltrane’, journalist Andy Beta charts her expansive life in music. Here, he highlights the many worlds she moved through beyond spiritual jazz.
Rising: TaliaBle is bringing punk-rap chaos to the club
Channelling a feral theatricality and a vividly handmade aesthetic, the world of Talia Beale, better known as TaliaBle, is one where punk, queer futurism and north London grit coexist in a delirious tangle.
Manchester’s New Underground: Listen to the mix series
In Manchester’s underground, a disparate group of artists – Another Country $$$$, BUFFEE, Crimewave, Mogan and SILVERWINGKILLER – are blurring the lines between bands, DJs and performance art.
Manchester’s New Underground: ANOTHER COUNTRY $$$$
A ride through hyperpop, deconstructed club and experimental electronic sounds, featuring tracks from James Ferraro, Bassvictim, A. G. Cook, Ecco2k, aya and John Glacier.
Manchester’s New Underground: Crimewave Mix
A 45-minute mix made for derailing the night, featuring Another Country $$$$ and SILVERWINGKILLER alongside Josi Devil, Gyrofield and CONTAINER.
Manchester’s New Underground: SILVERWINGKILLER Mix
“A truly unapologetic set where we get to play whatever the fuck we like with no remorse.”
Manchester’s New Underground: Mogan Mix
A sound collage for the afters, where Meredith Monk and Fever Ray are interspersed with sound bites ranging from Laurie Anderson to ‘Schitt’s Creek’.
Manchester’s New Underground: BUFFEE Mix
A freewheeling 45-minute ride through Janet Jackson, Grimes, Dylan Brady, Basement Jaxx and more.
Pay it Forward: Tony Bontana on Lil B
Birmingham’s Tony Bontana, whose “splayed” hip-hop is in full, glorious effect on his latest album ‘My Name’, gives flowers to the rapper who set him on his idiosyncratic path: Lil B.
Rip it Up: The disparate group of artists upending convention in Manchester
Bound by a shared ethos and fed up with the predictable, Another Country $$$$, Crimewave, BUFFEE, Mogan and SILVERWINGKILLER are building a DIY communal culture driven by shared purpose and friendship.
“Love, devotion, loss, and resolve”: Director Noah Dillon breaks down the visuals for Rosalía’s new Sauvignon Blanc video
The artist behind Rosalía’s ‘LUX’ artwork reflects on their immediate creative connection and her new video for ‘Sauvignon Blanc’.
Listen to a love letter to the next generation of the underground, curated by Converge
Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.