Posts by Francis Blagburn (@FBlagburn)

Mandy, Indiana are chasing the unexpected

The Manchester-forged experimentalists harness visceral noise, cryptic vocals and dramatic flair to close the gap between band and crowd. We catch up with them ahead of their debut album, ‘I’ve Seen a Way’

How Lucy Bright and Oliver Coates built the musical universe of Aftersun

From Blur to Éliane Radigue, Oliver Coates and Lucy Bright discuss influences and the process of soundtracking Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut ‘Aftersun’

Dry Cleaning: Stop Making Sense

​Dry Cleaning’s alienated sprechgesang might just be the closest thing we have to a collective internal monologue. We catch up with the band for the new issue

Main character syndrome: 2021 was the year of the narrator

In 2021, some of the most exciting bands and artists blended social commentary with absurdist spoken word. It makes sense, in a weird way

BADBADNOTGOOD

Talk Memory XL Recordings

Jehnny Beth in conversation with Joe Talbot: Grit, pain, love

For our 100th issue, we united three sets of former Crack Magazine cover stars for in-depth conversations – first up, IDLES Joe Talbot and Savages’ Jehnny Beth

We spoke to Joe Pearlman, director of Bros: After the Screaming Stops

‘Bros: After The Screaming Stops’ was a runaway iPlayer hit of the holiday period

Trajal Harrell – Hoochie Koochie

Historical movement: a conversation with Trajal Harrell

Celebrated for works exploring voguing and postmodern dance, we speak to choreographer Trajal Harrell ahead of his exhibition at the Barbican Centre

Yours Sincerely, Future Islands

Despite Future Islands’ overdue commercial success, Francis Blagburn finds a band committed to fighting for the hearts and minds of their fans

Dirty Projectors Interview

Clarity and Complexity: An interview with Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth

With Dirty Projectors now an army of one, David Longstreth talks frankly about his split with Amber Coffman and why he champions hope above hopelessness

Remembering Nat Hentoff, an acclaimed critic and singular voice

Francis Blagburn celebrates the life of an influential and, at times, controversial columnist, novelist and jazz critic who died on 7 January

The Virtual Darkness of Lawrence Lek‘s Imagined Future

When I join Lawrence Lek at his studio in Hackney Wick, I feel welcomed into…

Data Distortion: The political visuals of Robert Del Naja and UVA

Massive Attack’s live backdrop carries a potent political message. Francis Blagburn speaks to one of the group’s founders to find out what it all means

Carmel Koster discusses Shrine ahead of its debut at Illuminations festival

Carmel Koster is very busy. She’s a choreographer who draws from a flourishing diversity of…

Nicolas and Alfredo Jaar‘s intuitive alliance

The organising principle behind Nicolas Jaar’s work is to fight against logic, and the logics…

The thrill of Björk’s DJ sets

Francis Blagburn celebrates the eclectic selections of Björk the DJ

Aesthetic:
George Mitchell

Mitchell’s charming mixture of laconic ambivalence and swaggering bravado is captured in our styled shoot

Aesthetic:
Real Lies

The visual and musical traditions of London’s recent history inform the three members of Real Lies’ creative output. See our styled shoot with the band

William Basinski:
Celestial Frequencies

The charismatic composer tells Francis Blagburn about a new, Bowie-dedicated piece and his forthcoming unveiling of Shadow of Time

Africaine 808

Basar Golf Channel

Desire Lines: ROID traces the rugged paths to forbidden territory

We met with renowned graffiti artist ROID to discuss his role in the re-launch of NikeLab’s ACG collection

LAW Magazine unearths
everyday beauty

We visited LAW Magazine’s offices to learn about their “extremely personal” approach to publishing and how they’re using everyday Britain to redefine style

Cisum The Painter

There’s an alchemic quality to Cisum’s music. Influences, afterthoughts and anxieties coming together in a process of synthesis. Listen to ’20’ now

Tame Impala

Currents Interscope

Shamir

Ratchet XL Recordings