In Photos: Bristol’s The Island through the lens of local photographer Irene Haro

Irene Haro has built her practice around live music and the spaces that contain it. Here, the Spanish-born, Bristol-based photographer takes us inside underground music venue The Island.

Decoding 2025: 8 thinkers on the music trends that defined the year

The revenge of the fatally online outcasts. DIY DJing. The rising tide of sloponomics. Power to the people. Artists defying Big Tech. A new wave of British rap. We asked some of our favourite writers, contributors and scene-setters to pick apart the bones of music and culture in 2025.

In Photos: 10 Years of Australia’s Beyond the Valley

Beyond the Valley Festival returns to Victoria this December to celebrate its 10th birthday and welcome in 2026.

The artists tapping into the mystery of the ancient and elemental

A new wave of artists is illuminating the present day with often strange, experimental music that blends traditional and elemental sounds with notions of queerness, ancestry, diaspora and resistance.

Live shows are still vital for emerging artists breaking through. This startup is streamlining the process

The live music bookings industry has long been tangled in red tape and middlemen. GigPig, a UK-based hospitality music marketplace, says it’s time for a cultural reset.

In Photos: Glasgow’s DIY club scene through the lens of local creative Jock Thomson

The photographer and DRIP co-founder documents the energy of his city’s queer scene with photographs that feel sweaty, immediate and alive.

In Photos: Inside London’s Paraíso School of Samba, shot by Mariana Pires

London-based photographer Mariana Pires documents a community keeping Brazil’s samba culture thriving through music, movement, and collective practice.

Decoding the legacy of electronic music visionary Daphne Oram

Frances Morgan of the Daphne Oram Trust reflects on the composer and musician’s radical vision and lasting influence.

How C Prinz choreographed Charli xcx’s “feverish, fearless” new era

The filmmaker and choreographer breaks down her collaboration with Charli xcx for her post-‘brat’ era.

Joy, pain and resilience set the tone at Le Guess Who? 2025

Digging in to uphold true independent music values for communities and cultures from all over the world, Utrecht’s flagship alternative festival was a four-day beacon of innovative music and raw emotion.

In Photos: Up Ya Archives at The Warehouse Project

Returning for its third – and biggest – edition yet at The Warehouse Project, Nia Archives’ club series returned to the Manchester venue last week for a five-stage, day-to-night takeover.

Pay it Forward: Morris Kolontyrsky on William Basinski

Morris Kolontyrsky of cosmic metal band Blood Incantation praises ambient icon William Basinski, who recently opened a show for them in a Chicago cemetery.

Listen to a playlist of atmospheric sounds selected by e/tape

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

In Photos: Simple Things 2025

Bristol’s boundary-pushing all-day festival returned this month with an extensive programme co-curated by Crack Magazine, Team Love and the Bristol Beacon.

Julia Ducournau: “I need to love my characters, one way or another”

In her third feature, ‘Alpha’, the Palme d’Or-winning director crafts a family drama that navigates trauma, stigma and hysteria during a global pandemic. Here, she and actor Tahar Rahim reflect on her use of dual-timeline storytelling and symbolism to explore the entwined dynamics of fear and love.

These New Puritans: “You want the feeling that it could all collapse any second”

The band’s frontman reflects on finding inspiration in the unexpected and using contrast as a creative tool.