Fifteen Recommendations
Start your journey into our most recent interviews here - with music and videos. Updated almost daily.
Joseph Arthur about Lyrics
The words to Joseph Arthur's "Honey and the Moon," dealing with trust, timing and answering machines, didn't just feel like he was singing about my life – in a way, he was. Arthur calls this “shadow work on the page”: As intimate as may get, you're never just singing about yourself.
Sofi Paez about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Sofie Paez's “Bodies of Water” was inspired by”The Old Man and the Sea,” melodies moving and curling like waves, searching for fluidity. But the water references are metaphors for something deeper: Our connection to the ocean inside of us, a state of surrender to and through sound.
Daniel Bierdümpfl about Improvisation
Daniel Bierdümpfl has many ways of thinking about improvisation: As the paradox of “productive destruction.” As a process of repetition to unveil something new. As an automated search for automatisms in order to break them. Ultimately, however, thinking alone won't save us – only playing will.
Courant Zéro about the Magic of Sound(s)
Somehow, you can hear Maxime Corbeil-Perron's background as a drummer in the dense and mostly beatless dreamscapes of his Courant Zéro project. Spaces of cathedral splendour open up, illuminated by sacral sounds moving slowly but insistently, caught in neverending hallucinatory drift.
Robert Baxter about Fashion & Music
Pop, for Robert Baxter, means being loud and vulnerable, confident and intimate, flexible and precise, extrovert and philosophical. It is a perfectly centred world of polarities. This world is always visual. In it, there is no such thing, as “just music.”
Lil Cherry about Directions in Hip Hop
For Lil Cherry, hip-hop will always be a way of life, because “without living life to the fullest, there is no story worth telling.” In tandem with her congenial creative partner GOLDBUUDA, her lyrical prowess gets embedded into distorted drum machine deliria and gloriously glossy melodies.
Thomas Farmer of Empirical Shares his Creative Process
Through the lockdown and many iterations, the new Empirical album grew from a core of concentrated cells into an epic, orchestrated suite. The artwork's lava stream captures the unstoppable force of the music and its smouldering tension: Cool to the touch, but fiercely passionate inside.
Steve Bates about Resistance on the Battlefield against Individual Creativity
“I think there are dangerous forces around us that attack creativity on a daily basis in the form of algorithmic governance.“
GOLDBUUDA about Directions in Hip Hop
“Genre is going to matter less and worlds are going to matter more. An artist won’t just be releasing songs. Music, visuals, fashion, characters, games, communities, live experiences — they're starting to become one language.”
Lisa Stick about Directions in Jazz
The quartet Lisa Stick assembled for a performance at Cologne's Loft club manages to pack a considerable inspirational punch with remarkable elegance of tone. It's music between mood and sculpture: You can all but see the airstreams from the reeds, physically sense the groove.
Gabriel Cabezas about Interpretation
One of Gabriel Cabezas' most fascinating teaching exercises for his students is to play pieces “incorrectly” with utmost commitment. Strong decisions are at the core of all his interpretations, rendering none definitive and no perspective invalid.
Janis Siegel (Manhattan Transfer) about her Voice and Singing
“I’ve changed words and I’ve even stopped singing certain songs that just don’t jive with where I’m at at the present moment.”
Agneya about Drums, Percussion and Drumming
“Eventually I stopped asking, 'How do I become a great drummer?' and started asking, 'What can I actually contribute through music?'”
Calum Builder about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Calum Builder's (Re)constructed Pipe Organ, a futuristic instrument built from decomissioned pipes, looks like it was lifted straight from David Cronenberg's dream diary. The music the composer creates with it is of a hallucinatory otherness, a transmutation of breath and space into spirit.
Light Conductor about Kraut & Krautrock
On the quarter of an hour long “Supercontinent”, Light Conductor ignite a cosmic maelstrom of pounding kicks, apocalyptic sweeps and scintillating pads. Incomparable and brutally repetitive, massive and utterly overwhelming, this is the sound of galaxies collapsing.
Applied Communications about Lyrics
Applied Communications “comeback” LP may be even weirder than 2005's “Uhhh Sort Of” which Pitchfork called a “mess of an album.” It seems like the times have caught up with him because these twisting and turning synth pop tunes feel strangely relatable and irrestibly catchy. A 7.9 at least.
Stephanie Borgani about Reinventing the Role of the Female Vocalist in Jazz
Some claim that music begins where words end. For Stephanie Borgani, this thought defines her approach to singing. Treating her voice as an instrument and blending into the sound of a chamberjazz ensemble, her motivations may be political, but the music is simply and uniquely captivating.
Felix Kubin & Asmus Tietchens about the Magic of Sound(s)
Felix Kubin had composed a pool of short radio IDs, compressing entire acoustic worlds in the span of seconds. Collaborating with Asmus Tietchens, the duo reworked these IDs, extending them into imagined acoustic space – this is the sound beyond all transmissions.
The Thugs about Minimalism in Music
"In general, and not just in music, I believe the act of "removing" is always an excellent spiritual exercise."
Enzo Favata Shares his Creative Process
On his new album, Enzo Favata develops a fascinating thought: Life isn't pushing forwards, it is returning. The pieces are expressions of people, scenery, and space, sensually dancing on the tightrope of time. Every sound has its place here, embedded into a landscape of intimate relationships.
PRNCPTL about Afterglow and Queer Nightlife Culture
PRNCPTL was born from curiosity: Curiosity to explore sexuality and music, desires and different ways of being. For thirteen years, the Berlin party series, hosted at various venues across the city, has become a beacon of freedom - “with relationships that keep growing across borders.”
Mind Bath about Lyrics
“I like to do everything slowly, with patience, outside of time. Money game wants us to optimize and seek convenience. Healing wants us to savour.”
Sandra St. Victor Shares her Creative Process
What good is a big voice if you're not going to say something meaningful? Musically, Sandra St. Victor's “Eleven” is an epic gumbo of boogie, electronica, soul and funk. Thematically, it captures her take on injustice, relationships, empowerment – and anything that pisses her off.
Ok Cowgirl Share their Creative Process
Ok Cowgirl's Leah Lavigne has become a great songwriter mostly by living life. The songs on “Rhinestone Cowgirl” cover both the private and panoramic, ranging from doubt to domestic pleasures. Tangy, fuzz-drenched and triumphant, this is the sound of a heart beating for music.
Kaoru Watanabe Shares his Creative Process
As Kaoru Watanabe proves on “The Arch,” we can't understand the past by just travelling backwards - we have to bring it into the present. The work is a personal meditation on his relationship with his heritage, traditional instruments entering a dialogue with atmospheric synths.
John McCowen about Directions in Contemporary Composition
After inspired improvisations in a trio constellation, clarinetist-composer John McCowen wanted to sustain the momentum. And so, he “spectrally pulled apart” and re-arranged solo material into a 34-minute sound field, harmonies appearing and vanishing in mysterious cycles of ebb and tide.
Hans P. Kjorstad about the Magic of Sound(s)
Our response to sound is a lot like picking blueberries, Hans P. Kjorstad feels. The image fits the composer's new release, which offers his personal take on Norwegian folk. Conjuring quiet magic and probing the spaces between tones, Kjorstad keeps taking a different route through the forest.
LOX about Drums and Drumming
Many drummers will claim that their instrument means everything to them. LOX, however, means it literally, having grown up with percussion all around him and grooves a primary means of communication. His drums beat the rhythm of life, from birth to death, in times of pain and healing.
PHAL:ANGST about Dark Places
For 20 years, the Austrian ensemble has looked darkness in the eye and countered its doom with sweltering, ferociously crawling industrial anthems. If the result is equally ugly and beguiling, then that's for a reason: It is only after you've confirmed your worst fears that change can take place.
Robin Taylor-Firth & Steve Cobby Share their Creative Process
The premise for the duo's “Seven Dogs EP” was simple: Creating electronic music that feels as spontaneous as a jazz combo. While assembling the hypnotically off-kilter beats and seductive piano lines, concepts were notably absent as the brain's right hemisphere took control.
Ayanna Witter-Johnson about Lyrics
“Sometimes I write a lyric and realise that I've said too much.”
Shane Forbes of Empirical about Drums and Drumming
It would be fascinating to hear the isolated drum track of London-based ensemble Empirical's new album. From his kit, Shane Forbes contributes anything from propulsion to colour, from pressure to softness - participating in every conversation, yet “falling freely” while doing it.
Pohlmann about Lyrics
It can be funny to depict German as a harsh, staccato-driven language. But it is far more rewarding to listen to a master wordsmith like Ingo Pohlmann draw out its soft poetry - making us realise how miraculous seemingly everyday occurrences really are.
Adam Rudolph (Don Cherry, Andre 3000, Jon Hassel, Pharaoh Sanders) Shares his Creative Process
If you close your eyes, you can see the “invisible threads” that Adam Rudolph is connecting in his pastel-coloured suite. If you open your ears, you can even touch them. Delicate ney licks, enigmatic electronics, and Rudolph's always present pulse weave a world filled with life, loss and love.
Giulio Aldinucci about the Magic of Sound
“When we ignore noise, it disturbs us,” Cage asserted, “when we listen to it, we find it fascinating.” But what if we probe and drill into it like Giulio Aldinucci? Searching for structures in complexity, revealing beauty where others see brutality, his work sets free music encased by the ages.
Eilis Frawley about Kraut & Krautrock
Eilis Frawley never set out to record a kraut album. And, despite obvious overlaps, she hasn't. Driven by trance-inducing drum patterns and coolly delivered vocals, her music may lead listeners into similar states of mesmerising weirdness – but these worlds are all hers.
9ICK & Mauricesax about Directions in Jazz
“I hope jazz becomes harder and harder to define. The second you can draw a clean border around a genre, people start protecting the border instead of pushing the music forward.”
Ray Mang about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Ray Mang is one of the few remaining producers who still sees remixing as an integral part of his profession. His treatment of the original is never a distortion, but an effort of pushing the music into adjacent territory – as on his recent dancefloor re-imagining for Kraak & Smaak.
Adam Schatz about Improvisation
The sessions for “Civil Engineering” were just a test. They weren't even supposed to turn into an album. And then things just fell into place. Recorded in an intimate trio constellation but making using transformative electronics to great effect, these pieces open a space of infinite possibilities.
Guri Assis Brasil aka Animal Invisível Shares his Creative Process
If your headphones could pick which music to play, they'd choose “Animal Invisível.” The brainchild of composer-guitarist Guri Assis, his demo-disc-level debut weaves a utopian cocoon from 70s spiritual soul, sweet funk and electronica that makes you believe in human goodness again.
Nathaniel Morgan about Energy in Music
“I'm drawn to any of the extremes. Anything that pushes to the extreme.”
Bo Wiget and Luigi Archetti Share their Creative Process
The cover of the duo's latest endeavour shows nothing but a framed, white canvas. Each piece is a “pencil” - an inspirational tool for the mind to fill the void. It is a great concept for these charming, constantly surprising interactions which, ironically, are in need of no concept whatsoever.
Lee Emi about Lyrics
Drawn in by themes of self-destruction and using songwriting as therapy, Lee Emi feels strongly about the power of poetry. And yet, for her, a melody can express things the lyrics can't: “I love that music can create a whole environment for your feelings to live in without saying a single word.”
I Want Poetry about Directions in Electronic Music
Right from the start, the Dresden duo wanted freedom and real danger instead of comfort and convenience. On their third full-length, they take the liberty of replacing dystopia with hope. Their songs are encoded messages, wrapping deep thoughts into glorious, shimmering arrangements.
Andy Sheppard about Improvisation
For “Salt Catchers,” Andy Sheppard assembled a drumless trio, awarding harmony and melody more space. Inspired by photography and a particular sense of longing, the music breathes an air of magical realism in dimly lit, breathtakingly still color fields.
Nicola Miller about Directions in Jazz
Using spectral analysis, Canadian saxophonist Nicola Miller converted speech into pitches and harmonies; using a stochastic processes, she created a new musical language. The results are an emotional laboratory and part of a sonic quest for the unheard. This is what jazz means to her.
Chad Lawson about Emotions in Music
Chad Lawson is writing music in the key of compassion. Leading listeners into a place of great calm, his pieces open up spaces to breathe or let go, to focus intently or to surrender. Some say music begins where words end – with him, it starts before they are even released into the world.
Nils Vigeland about Feldman, Brown and Graphic Scores
New York festival Graphic Content will pay homage to composers Morton Feldman and Earl Brown. Pianist-composer Nils Vigeland studied with Feldman and recorded landmark albums of Brown's work – here, he reflects on their graphic scores and ongoing relevance.
Nikolaus Dolp about Energy & Music
Energy is life. That's why, drummer-composer Niki Dolp points out, too much of it can sometimes be a burden. In his work as a leader, channelling and shaping are a priority, leading to majestic music of spiritual dimensions that ebbs and flows, always keeping the energy contained.
Simon Goff about the Connections between Music and Space
Simon Goff is fond of the word “experience.” It motivates him to write music with the archaic power to transcend the acoustic realm: Scored for string ensemble, synths and 4 unique sonic spaces, his latest work is one of the most awe-inspiring experiences you will have this year.
Sally Herbert Shares her Creative Process
On Sally Herbert's first album as a leader, every song feels like an anthem for a dystopian movie's end credits. Making full use of her experience as an arranger, these pieces bathe in shimmering orchestral textures, crushing guitars and ominous states of glorious darkness.
Noni-Mouse about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Radhapriya Gupta moved from Mumbai to London and instantly incorporated more local influences like Burial's distinct beat-building style into her productions. Having grown up on singing neo-minimalist music in a choir, she has never come closer to realising her personal vision.
Mats Erlandsson & Gus Loxbo about Improvisation
This conversation with two artists from Stockholm's rich experimental music scene is a deep and personal exploration of improvisation. Recorded in 2 days and then refined for months, their LP, meanwhile, demonstrates how little words mean compared to the time-arresting quality of their music.
EYM Trio about Recording Jazz Across the Globe
Five years on the road, 11 locations across the planet, a continually changing cast of collaborators, constantly changing challenges – even the EYM Trio are honest enough to call their “Nomad Sessions” a “slightly crazy idea.” And yet, the journey is what makes these cuts sound so fresh.
Zoe Kypri about her Voice and Singing
The singer has worked with house maestro Black Coffee, rising producer 40D and orchestras, emerging as an in-demand interpretor of deep, soulful tunes. Clearly, she has a “big” voice. That's not what ultimately counts, however, she feels. The real challenge is to tell a story and trust the journey.
Samy Bishai Shares his Creative Process
“Writing is very much like riding a bicycle: you never completely forget how to do it. But equally, those hills are nearly impossible if you’ve been off the bike for months!”
Firas Zreik about Maqam and Jazz
“I don’t ever claim to be a jazz musician and I have tremendous respect to those who do. I consider myself a good friend of the tradition and an everlasting patron.”
Cor de Lux: The Band Interview
“Sometimes outside the comfort zone is the comfort zone,” according to Cor de Lux's Dawn Moraga. The quartet have found a way of making that paradox work: Intensity and intimacy are intricately interlocked in their anthems of anger and empathy.
Izzy Oram Brown about Lyrics
It can be surprisingly hard to pinpoint what, exactly, we want out of life. On her sophomore full-length, Izzy Oram Brown approaches the topic by embracing questions as answers, and memories as lessons for the future. Her lyrics are confidently vulnerable - and the music so beautiful it hurts.
Sunken Cages about Directions in Electronic Music
Rhythm is a global vector. That's why Ravish Momin's music as Sunken Cages is world music in the true meaning of the word: Rooted in fierce beats, beyond-the-pocket grooves and spiritual resonance, these atmospheric drum studies are physically impossible to resist.
Oo KiDo about the Mysteries of the Senses and the Connections between Image, Colour and Sound
Sensual, resonant and gorgeously layered, the French producer's electronica is powerful in its own right. The accompanying, intricately related videos, however, lead you even deeper: Filled with rich colours, emotive streams and mesmerising movements, they are phrase and fantasy all at once.
Helene Glüxam Shares her Creative Process
Performed using just her double bass, voice and a few effects, Helene Glüxam's “Nachtvogel” is an exercise in austerity. Despite the album's imagery of “night,” “winter,” and “moon,” these pieces do not refer to darkness, but a state when the clock stops ticking and the racing mind comes to rest.
Ted Rosenthal about Directions in Jazz
For Ted Rosenthal, the “good old years” are always right now. Building on a foundation of what he calls “the 3 B's” - Bud Powell, Bill Evans and Beethoven – his music is rooted in a tradition of “individuality and innovation.“ There are no borders here – only “high standards.”
Tönky Hönk about Interpretation
“We can go into any performance fully convinced by our rehearsal process and the thought we’ve put into an interpretation. But listeners may pull out wildly different experiences than we’d imagined."
Linda Sikhakhane about Directions in Jazz
Linda Sikhakhane will not be silenced. With each new album, the South African saxophonist has edged closer to global recognition on the strength of creative determination and an intense flow. There is something magical about his work - a transfer of urban coolness into the domain of spirituality.
Barbara Ellison about Listening as Composition and Confusing the Prediction-Machine
The Irish sound artist and composer thinks of the pieces on her new album as “sonic phantoms”, creations that behave with a logic of their own, escaping the grasp of our pre-conditioned mind. Instantly captivating and hauntingly elusive, they remind us of the mysterious nature of reality.
Josh Ottum Shares his Creative Process
As part of an ambitious plan, Josh Ottum will publish a new album every full moon. It is a challenge as much as it is a compulsion and a way of life: All of the pieces are connected, all of the albums linked. The project will change him as a person, he says. If you join him, it may change you, too.
Angus & Julia Stone about Lyrics
Sometimes we cry because we're happy. Sometimes we dance because we're sad. These are the liminal states that the songs of Julia and Angus Stone take place in. Filled with quiet voices and delicate sounds, their “Karaoke Bar” is a place for sharing without shame.
Max Devereaux and Alec Watson about their Collaboration
“I had the feeling when we met that we were either going to make something really brutal or really pretty, and I wanted to figure out which one it was going to be.”
Sophia Vastek about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Trust, community and friendship are at the core of Sophia Vastek's work; forces that take on elemental qualities in her hands. Her latest compositions lead the listener into a private place – filled with nostalgia, ghostly whispers and a promise of something very big about to happen.
Linska about Production, Technology, and Creativity
For Linska, art is the one space that promises complete freedom and does not require compromise. The sonic force of her peaktime techno productions is already political in its own right. Combined with her lyrics, they turn into veritable calls for action: to “f*ck the system” and live your own life.
Late Again about the Magic of Sound(s)
Lyrically, Rafael Melo goes deep on his upcoming EP, exploring the distance “between the life you imagine and the one you're living”. Musically, meanwhile, his songs feel like a sunny version of shoegaze, floating on gentle grooves and providing a cool breeze in the heart of Summer.
Julius Schwing about Improvisation
Whatever experimental improv we listen to, what we hear is mostly noise. When we can't lock into it, it disturbs us. When it's Julius Schwing at the guitar we find it fascinating. Focusing on pulse, color and coordination, his pickings create hypnotic patterns that can neither be denied nor ignored.
Jisu Jung of Baroque in Blue about Directions in Jazz
“Jazz is a genre that encourages us to be ourselves.“
Anthony Baldino on All Things Modular
It feels wrong to only talk to Anthony Baldino about modulars. His upcoming album is a heartbreaking processing of pain and loss, a journey to a place of no return. And yet, the tools were decisive: These emotional states come to life only on this canvas and only through precisely these colours.
Late Bush about Baroque Electronica and Imaginative Projection
Historically informed performance wants classical pieces played the way they were in their own time. For Late Bush, meanwhile, any interpretation is part of a “speculative tradition.” His work “Hoarses” creates a hyper-real space filled with echoes of baroque ensemble play and haunting voices.
Keshavara about the Magic of Sound(s)
Does the Cologne Quartet dream of electric Kraut? After a more rock-leaning predecessor, Keshavara have now found a unique voice. Between rolling downbeat grooves, spiritual psychedelia and cosmic sweetness, their songs connect into a mind trip towards the familiar unknown.
Roy Montgomery and Martha Skye Murphy about their Collaboration
Conceptually, the narrative of the duo's “Nebular” seems to take place over the course of a day, but the music suggest a world of eternal becoming, contours and lines opaque and shrouded in mystery – most prominently on celestial 17-minute centrepiece “The Play of Light and Dark.”
John Van Deusen about Lyrics
John Van Deusen's new release deals with the theme of creation both lyrically and literally by tapping into the cornucopia of creativity: spread our across two separate albums, a grand total of 38 songs and two and a quarter hours of music, it is immersive an uplifting at once.
Amalie Dahl about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“Being creative is the opposite of what society wants us to be – it wants us to be effective.”
Anyx about Minimalism in Music
The range of inspirations on the Berlin artist's solo debut was staggering: Hildegard von Bingen and Vangelis, patterns and drones, her voice and meticulous sound design. The strength of “Starlink” is that it doesn't spell them out but makes you experience the point where they intersect.
Ewan Moore about Drums and Drumming
Few drummers can make their kit sound like a full-sized percussion orchestra. Ewan Moore is one of them. His upcoming LP “Halftone Paradise” explores a wide range of states, from euphoria to melancholy all tightly under the spell of the groove.
Le Ren Shares her Creative Process
If you're only listening to Le Ren's new album in the background, you're missing half (or more of) the story. Written over a decade of life and creativity, these songs use invitingly warm arrangements as a home for confessions told through hard-hitting, powerfully outspoken lyrics.
Elias Haslanger about Improvisation
“Scales and patterns are a means to an end. And that end is connecting with other people in a space that is conducive to expressive music.”
Henry James House about Dark Places in Music
“If you can go down into the darkest thoughts where the light of the sun is completely extinguished and still survive to sing about it, that is a profound message.”
Blind Yeo about the Magic of Sound(s)
The omnipresence of sound is robbing it of its elemental power, the British collective feel. Their entrancing, propulsive kraut grooves smell of earth and forest, creating safe spaces for the soul. The need for new rituals to give meaning to our life is real. This music is one of those rituals.
Future3 about Directions in Jazz
For a band wearing modernism in its title, Future3 place a lot of emphasis on traditional values: collaboration, spontaneity, interaction. Behind the dynamic structures of their fusion drift, however, scifi-inspired sound design and inventive re-sampling push the pieces deep into the unknown.
Laura Strickling about her Voice and Singing
Laura Strickling describes her job as “controlled screaming in 20 different languages.” It's a joke, but there's a grain of truth to it. Singing is a superpower for her, her voice a spiritual organ allowing her to express and accompany the twists and intimate stories of a life lived to the full.
Yazan Sarayrah about Maqam and Electronic Music
“The idea for my new record started with wanting to actually give our region a real voice within the global melodic electronic dialogue.”
Gustavo Cortiñas about Drums and Drumming
From our mother's heartbeat to the pulses of life, we think of rhythm as an impulse generator. Based on a love for jazz and shot through with his Latin American heritage, these impulses get Cortiñas's percussion-based pieces started. Then, in between the beats, a world of subtle vibrations opens up.
Modat about Minimalism in Music
With three different alter egos and three labels of his own, Glasgow's Modat has laid a highly diversified base for his joyful club explorations. Recorded in a not just minimal but almost “miniature” studio, his new EP finds surprising places of stillness in between cut-up samples and warm grooves.
Ibukun Sunday about Emotions in Music
The Nigerian producer has become the prophet of a new kind of ambient: deep, collective and pulsing with spiritual energy. Transitions between tracks are as important as the sounds contained within them, subtle changes taking precedence over both stoic repetition and sudden shifts.
Marie Delprat about Directions in Electronic Music
Marie Delprat's latest projects were influenced by a plethora of ideas: The relationship between baroque music and pop, eroticism as a source of knowledge, softness as resistance. This is not about fusion, however – but about the states in between.
L'Rain about Lyrics
Equally dreamy and disturbing, L'Rain's “fata morgana” sees Taja Cheek looking out into the world while glancing sideways into a mirror. Coming to grips with alienation, loneliness and “a world not meant for you to thrive in,” this is the opposite of escapism. This is music as empowerment.
Sarah Davachi about Alternative Tuning Systems
“This isn't easy listening,” the press release to Davachi's upcoming LP warns. I beg to differ. Built from long-form compositions for organ, choir and strings, it is a sensual and instantly gratifying experience that will leave you profoundly moved long after the last, solemn note has died down.
Vimbs Mavimbs about Directions in Jazz
Jazz, Vimbs Mavimbs says, is at the core of every note played in South Africa. After stints with Msaki and Asher Gamedze, his majestic debut as a leader pays allegiance to that bond. Through unabashedly spiritual anthems, it tells the story of his life - from displacement to triumph.
Masia One about Directions in Hip Hop
As “one of the first Asian faces in Hiphop for North America,” Masia One has always had to remain one step ahead of the competition. Ironically, the current future-obsession of the industry has made her dig deeper into her roots: ”Lyrics are the quintessential part of being an MC.”
Ari (be) about Directions in Electronic Music
“No matter what's happening around us, we should never stop imagining, creating, and staying true to who we are.”
Jonathan Suazo about Improvisation
Recorded during a time of personal transitions, Jonathan Suazo returns with a statement of intent: Ten new pieces with IMAX-size arrangements and flying-carpet-like grooves. Suazo's confident tone cuts through them effortlessly, his solos elevating already classic-sounding themes.
Richard Spaven about Drums and Drumming
The drummer's new album is a deep dive into the jazz continuum, spanning centuries of improvisation, street poetry and broken beats. From the instantly recognisable snare tone to the drifting atmospherics of the arrangements, it's as intimate as a magnum opus gets.
Mark Templeton about Graphical Sound and the Connections between the Visual and the Sonic
Mark Templeton's art is the consequence of a strikingly simple realisation: If the medium really is the message, then the richer your media, the more rewarding the music. Hypnotic, dense structures bleed into video and photography, making the heard seen and penetrating the intangible.
AOIFE about DJing and Production
Almost against the Irish DJ's instincts, her debut EP “Attrition” is a three-dimensional headphone-paracosm of gargantuan bass funk, twitching clouds of percussive particles and flashes of pulsating tones. It is a return to techno as a manifesto of personal expression and freedom.
Omasta about Directions in Jazz
Imitation is a form of flattery, but inspiration is transcendence. Polish quintet Omasta weld together spiritual jazz and the rhythmical finesse of hip-hop so ingeniously that it makes you forget about their influences. Their upcoming full-length is called "Hits Different" – and it really does.
BLUAI Share their Creative Process
Sometimes, the most moving form of poetry is to simply say what you feel. For Catherine Smet of Belgian trio BLUAI, each of her three-to-four-chord song begins with that realisation. The simplicity of the music is deceptive: When they feeling's deep enough, that's all you need.
Jacob Brodovsky about Dark Places
“It’s a little tricky to find ways to frame these songs in a way that doesn’t entirely suck the air out of the room and depress the hell out of everyone.”
David Thomas Broughton about Songwriting
“Historically my creation space has been live on stage.”
Treasure Island about the Magic of Sound
“How sound and music circulate in society reveals the underlying political and economic logic of the world we live in.“
Marnie Weber about Lyrics
Some might see the mysteriously romantic songs of Marnie Weber as the soundtrack to an unmade David Lynch movie, where no place is stranger than home. But then, Weber is a filmmaker herself, her music's a stage and her lyrics visually evocative enough to paint pictures by themselves.
Balaphonic about the Magic of Sound(s)
For his Balaphonic project, jazz drummer Danny Ward maps electronic styles like downbeat and house onto an acoustic band framework. Intriguingly, the more “hand-made” and “real” the music gets, the more dreamlike it feels, enveloping the listener in warm waves of diaphanous vibrations.
Jay Matharu Shares his Creative Process
The fusion guitarist's debut is called “Disillusion,” but lends a positive spin to that word. Complex time signatures, twilit chords, psychedelic melodies and unexpected power chords shatter the walls of expectation – hidden behind them is something infinitely more rewarding.
LaFontaine (IS) about Minimalism in Music
“I've actually become less minimalistic over the years. Now I’m more interested in exploring a sound as far as it can go.”
Paulo Almeida about Drums and Drumming
Rhythm is the pulse of life. When playing, Paulo Almeida is making it tangible, carefully shaping the wave in one moment and simply riding it the next. There is no escapism in his music – grooves can open doors to new experiences, but they all lead us back to the wonders of this one, wondrous world.
Patrick Belaga about Music Outside of Narrative and Inspiration from Video Games
“A film takes you from A to B while an open world video game just says, "Here's the world. Go figure it out."
Bria Skonberg about her Voice and Singing
Of course, words matter. But for Bria Skonberg, it's how we say them that gives them meaning. Her performances gain their power through subtlety, clarity and infinite nuance. And when, in some of the most striking moments on “Indigo,” she picks up her trumpet, words become entirely unnecessary.
Tovte about Minimalism in Music
For their latest release, the Cologne quintet wanted their music to float like a majestic cloud. The image becomes particularly vivid in the hypnotic middle section of the record, with plucked ostinatos, tight grooves and the rich acoustics of their instruments create a weightless, sensual trance.
Jesus Is The Path To Heaven about Dark Places in Music
All art is artifice. But what, if the music shatters the third wall and the performance is no longer an act? That is what the dark folk threepiece are aiming for in songs that unfold like documentary-style horror movies: You can pretend this isn't real, but that won't make the pain go away.
Kjetil Mulelid about Directions in Jazz
Mulelid's new release “Piano, Unfolding” suggests a fascinating thought: That playing is not just about expressing, but about uncovering; less a case of invention than discovery. Of course, the same goes for the act of listening: Wherever this journey is leading, you're taking it together.
Jenny Gillespie Mason about the Magic of Sound
After her project Sis and the Lower Wisdom expanded towards quirky electronica and experimental pop, Jenny Gillespie Mason's new solo album marks a return to folk simplicity. Has the Californian songwriter and poet arrived full circle?
Jan Lukas Roßmüller about Directions in Contemporary Composition
There is something magical about the moment when, after a disc of solo piano, Roßmüller's trio rises from a state of stillness for another album's worth of music. Thinking horizontally and painting with light lines, the experience never feels excessive – and more like catharsis through clarity.
Marconi Union about Rothko, Multiforms, and the Mystery of Morphing Sounds
Many artists have felt a kinship with the work of Mark Rothko. Marconi Union, however, managed to pull off something quite unique in creating music based on Rothko's multiforms which feels like weightlessly drifting through his paintings – navigating a world of dark colours and emotional resonance.
BAG about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Field recording is truly magical. Once the record button is pushed, you are almost forced to listen instead of just hear.”
A Tale of Jazz, Loops, Enraged Comments and Beautiful Mistakes
A report on the greatest performances of the Montreux Jazz Festival's 2026 edition – alongside thoughts on jazz, the future of live music, and the connections between the past and the future.
Julien F of Chevreuil about Drums and Drumming
Most bands think of music as an expression of electricity. To French duo Chevreuil, it is a subset of magnetism – metallic particles aligning into patterns, minds drawn together by forces of sonic attraction. Dark, yet sensual and strangely refined, this is the arthouse version of post rock.
Cosimo Fiaschi about Minimalism
Fiaschi's new work is written entirely around a single saxophone multiphonic which he slowly raises, rotates and reveals. Maximally minimal in its outward appearance, the music is actually a result of extreme focus: ”Many possibilities simply fell away by following the logic of the material.”
Claudio Puntin about Emotions in Music
“Human beings are creative and social beings. When they are creatively and playfully active within society, they thrive — they find solutions, and they find peace.“
Simone Dinnerstein about Interpretation
For pianist Simone Dinnerstein, playing a piece is always personal, a process of mental digestion and physical performance yielding an emotionally complex result. In the end, however, neither composer nor performer ought to over-rate their importance: “The music has a much greater life.”
Running Hot about DJing
“I’ve learned the hard way over the years to trust my gut. Every time I’ve tried to force a track in because I wanted to hear it, it hasn’t worked.”
Marcelo Callado about Drums and Drumming
For 90s club act Snap!, rhythm was a dancer. For drummer Marcelo Callado, it is a songwriter. In his floating, sensual world, percussive layers support melodies and harmonies, which, in turn, inspire grooves and patterns, occasionally discharging into hypnotic loops of psychedelic eruptions.
Hana Stretton Shares her Creative Process
Hana Stretton's “tiarn” is a reflective state composed of oceanic field recordings, her voice and a ghostly classical aria spinning in the background. It may be suffused with warm hiss and performed using simple equipment, but it isn't “lofi” – this is the way she hears the world.
Chris Maico Schmidt about Directions in Electronic Music
One of Germany's original techno pioneers, Chris Maico Schmidt keeps carrying the torch for some of the fundamental values that turned electronic club music from an underground phenomenon into a new philosophy of life – as a DJ, a radio host or, as on his atmospheric new EP, with his music.
Mathieu Jaton of the Montreux Jazz Festival about RAYE, Sienna Spiro and Building Creative Relationships
“Financially, the festival is irrational.”
Heli Hartikainen Shares their Creative Process
On their “Interbody EP,” Hartikainen engages with a software organism, responding to unpredictable real-time transformations of their sax lines. The machine acts as a distorted mirror, reflecting and revealing, veiling and concealing, leading to places between chaos and control.
Vincent Rein Quintet: The Band Interview
Bassist Vincent Rein's band haven't been together for very long. That may be precisely why their debut record hits that perfect spot between spontaneity and precision. This is classic jazz with a spotlight on solos, ample space for individuality and lyrical themes that just won't leave your head.
Johanna Summer about Composition, Improvisation and Wordless Dialogs
In the studio, Johanna Summers asked three of her pianist colleagues to play her a classical or contemporary composition as a starting point. Her instant responses fall in between continuation, transformation and composition, liquifying the dividing line between original and variation.
Memorial about Emotions in Music
By playing more quiet, the British duo are making their audiences listen more closely. On their upcoming new album, songs drift in between folk, ambient and chambermusic, their voices soaring, the microphone picking up every nuance. It is music that paradoxically feels fragile and powerful at once.
Fluke Share their Creative Process
Remixing has long been club music's take on the idea of interpretation in classical music. Fluke are taking this idea one step further by reworking some of their favourite back catalogue pieces themselves – inspiringly playing with time, technology, and the transformative power of their tunes.
Bobby Previte about Directions in Jazz
A half-century into his career, Bobby Previte is still pushing himself: "For the first time my music is coming through the drums rather than around them." On his new album, he channels them into fluent, focused improvisations, each instrument holding its own space, locking tightly into a mystery.
Steven Bamidele Recommends Music for Escaping Nihilistic Rabbit Holes and Quenching a Yearning for the Past
Includes albums by Radiohead, Snow Aalegra, Ennio Morricone, Joni Mitchell & Brandi Carlyle.
Natacha Atlas Shares her Creative Process
Borders have never been able to contain the Belgian-Egyptian songwriter's creativity. Together with her congenial partner Samy Bishai, even classical music theory crumbled, as the duo fused Arabic pop with scifi electronica, enriching Western harmonies with a little quarter tone magic.
Open Thread Share their Creative Process
“Improvising and collaborating together has a way of revealing the better side of human nature.”
Kronstad 23 about Energy in Music
It is hard to believe that psych-jazz band Kronstad 23 have so far hardly left the studio. Their record sounds like it was recorded live, their influences are global, their cosmic Grateful-Dead-meets-ECM instrumentals have a rare determination to them – benefiting from being meticulously unprepared.
LUMTZ about the Magic of Sound
The producer's latest ambient release is a different kind of summer music: soft and warm, gentle and uplifting, and as relaxing as lying on the beach and looking at the blue sky. The loving nature of these sounds is an effort of “caring for the listener”, “part of a search to change the world.”
Chris Dahlgren about Emotions in Music
The cover of Chris Dahlgren's new trio LP looks like a translation of the music contained within it: Clouds of vibe resonance drift across planes of moody viola da gamba strokes, pierced by playful beams of clarinet-coloured light. Timbre was a tool, emotion an effect, transcendence the goal.
Risa Taniguchi about Minimalism in Music
Techno, by its very nature, is a stripped-down art form. With Risa Taniguchi, what remains, is not a bare bone skeleton, but an organism composed entirely of muscle and sinew. All elements are essential here, all contribute to the sensation of being pushed forward with an irresistible force.
OCTO about Energy in Music
Unless your interview with German trio OCTO has the word “energy” in it, you're talking to the wrong band. Citing Steve Albini as an influence on their sonic philosophy and Kraftwerk for their “chops,” their tantric noise rock feels like a reversed rocket drilling itself into a tectonic plate.
Danalogue about the Magic of Sound
Drawing from sci-fi and a lifetime of production experience, Danalogue's debut solo LP opens up a portal into a state where forms crumble and the mind opens up to receive sound in its purest, most powerful form. Imagination is a “radical act” here – creating the worlds we actually want to live in.
Quiet Village Share Their Creative Process
“I genuinely believe there is a life force within music. Some pieces seem to arrive almost fully formed, as though you’re receiving rather than inventing them.”
Kamila Csenge about Directions in Jazz
Guitarist Kamila Csenge wanted to deal with phenomena and philosophies defying the limits of human comprehension. Paradoxically, the results - somewhere between blissful jazz and progressive fusion – do not take the listener to the borders of the galaxy, but an intimate inner cosmos.
Tooker about Minimalism in Music
Since leaving the big city for a small island, Sardinian producer Tooker understood that music and life can not be separated. In his hands, a mere handful of elements combine into pieces that conjure profound emotions – and that could go on forever without ever feeling repetitious.
Cate Kennan about Emotions in Music
On Kennan's follow-up to her already haunting debut, she dives even deeper into the delicate darkness of her forever-distant sound world. Melodies are whispers here, songs just one step away from silence, hypnotic guitar chords strumming themselves into a state of gentle, dream-like dissociation.
Ton Sur Ton about Emotions in Music
What could you strip away from a music that is this minimal to begin with: An intimate voice, a warm bass, a few sprinkles of keyboard and effects, the occasional drum machine beat. And yet, it is in the moments when the songs just float and drift that the duo's debut truly lifts off.
Donovan Haffner about Improvisation
Donovan Haffner creative life revolves around improvisation: When he's composing, he'll include open-ended sections. When he's performing, he prefers to negotiate the direction in the moment. Even when he's listening, freely played music takes him to places of deeper connection.
Lilya Mandre about Minimalism in Music
“Minimalism leads me to clearer emotions, more honest songs, and ultimately more freedom.”
Francesca Gaza about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The architecture of Francesca Gaza's Crown Shyness is precisely defined. And yet, within it, this music truly contains multitudes, from jazz via baroque counterpoint and post rock to breathtaking exhales – what you're hearing says something profound about who you are as a person and a listener.
Alden Hellmuth about Improvisation
The press release to the saxophonist's sophomore LP locates the music between freedom and form. One could argue the axis more accurately runs between ambiance and ardour, restraint and release - continuing the eternal collaborative quest for crossing the known and familiar.
Josh Mason on All Things Modular
Mason's ' Kicking A Dark Horse' wasn't just created with a modular set-up. Compositionally, it follows a modular logic as well, weaving an expansive web from interrelated cells of innercosmic oscillations. In this dream world of music and an accompanying book, everything is connected.
Lusine Shares his Creative Process
Everybody can loop a few bars of music. Very few artists can bring you as close to tears with it, however, as Lusine. His pieces seduce you in, then pull you deeper with every passing moment. His latest work brings the background to the fore in a world between ambiance and ambient.
Vince Watson about the Magic of Sound
“Silence allows the mind to wander without direction. Sound allows the mind to wander with intent. Both are vital.”
MOMO. Shares his Creative Process
Imperfections, Marcelo Frota believes, can give life to music. That's interesting, since his new album seams close to perfection: Soft rhythms melt into clouds of harmonies against which Frota's voice gently grinds like silky sandpaper – it's the sound of summer, the soundtrack to being alive.
Razen about Improvisation
Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour's new LP opens with a time-arresting, 17-minute meditation on the sounds of the erhu and the renaissance serpent. This is music that is radical and heartwrenchingly gorgeous, both free and perfectly sculpted, bound by no rules yet defining a new language.
David Norland about Directions in Contemporary Composition
"My goal is to make music that sounds both futuristic and incredibly ancient. Like alien hieroglyphs carved in ancient sandstone."
Celine Cairo about the Magic of Sound(s)
The music of Celine Cairo is born in silence, influenced by the little, miraculous sounds around her: Her dog drinking, birds singing, the noises of her house. As introspective as her songs may be, the calm is merely the tranquil surface of an unfathomably deep ocean of emotion.
Carolina Cury Shares her Creative Process
"My new album can be endlessly misunderstood. That is part of its concept."
DJ Mad Dog about Energy & Music
The DJ/producer refers to his style as "hardcore beyond rules." Another way of describing it is "release without remorse.“ Ideas need to be spontaneous and the job of production is to not get in the way, turning the music into a vessel for freedom and real connection.
Mads Kinnerup about Directions in Electronic Music
As a researcher, Mads Kinnerup is investigating how AI changes our way of thinking about music and opens up new ways of creation. As an artist, meanwhile, his interests lie elsewhere: In mysteries, the unknown, and deep, raw, and emotional human connections.
Abul Mogard Shares his Creative Process
Abul Mogard's music defines relationships between the mind and imagined spaces. In them, everything is transient and very little is solid, sound travelling from distant shores to reach the ear as whispers at the threshold of audibility. There's almost nothing here – and yet, you can't turn away.
Keir GoGwilt about Directions in Contemporary Composition
For Keir GoGwilt, the task of a composer is to organise sound to create "new constellations of meaning." And truly, his upcoming "Zarabanda Variations" includes a "Baroque Concerto" that both feels like an homage and will blow your mind. It's deep, it's research, it's endlessly stimulating.
Jon Onabowu about Energy & Music
"Artists create change by refusing to make music that explains itself, that justifies itself, that apologises for itself. You build the world you want people to inhabit and you trust them to step inside."
Kefaya Share their Creative Process
Multinational psychedelic rock trio Kefaya and Afghan vocalist Elaha Soroor understand chaos as the food for rebellion, confusion as the true nature of revolution. Their exhilerating new album is a scream against silence, a slap in the face of polite neutrality, world music for a planet in crisis.
Sarah Rothenberg about Reading the Score
“People often talk to me about the way I sustain the silences in Feldman’s piano music. But there are no silences! There is always resonance. There are unanswered questions.“
Irene Serra aka ISQ about Lyrics
"I don't always begin with lyrics, but they ultimately become the most important element," says Irene Serra. Her bittersweet new single makes this abundantly clear. And yet, it is only through music that this letter to a loved one lost gets delivered backwards in time.
Aba Diop about Energy & Music
“Every concert, you are the one who begins. But it is the spirits who finish the concert.“
Luca Longobardi about Immersive Art and the Music in van Gogh
The immersive exhibitions which Luco Longobardi contributed to as a composer and co-director, create narrative spaces of images, history, and emotions. Longobardi's soundtrack connects these elements non-linearly, establishing a sense of rhythm derived from dance and architecture.
VARV Share their Creative Process
“Transit” refers to the process of moving something from one place to another. On their sophomore full-length, the Italian duo turn this process into the focal point, shaping their stimulatingly anti-formulaic post-jazz anthems into islands on a journey of perpetual becoming.
Ferg's Imaginary Big Band about Energy & Music
Fergus Quill's ensemble is more than a “big band.” At around 25 performers, it is a full-fledged jazz orchestra whose sheer existence in a time of efficiency and downsizing is, in itself, an act of defiance. Their sound is pulverising, their noise political, smashing the almighty algorithms to bits.
Mathieu Jaton about Programming the Montreux Jazz Festival and Creating Memories that Last
"It may look a little bit naive and old school in the music business we are in. But I love the idea that Montreux is a place where you can think differently."
Elaha Soroor about her Voice and Singing
The first collaboration between singer-songwriter Elaha Soroor and production trio Kefaya had a meditative quality to it. Possibly triggered by a world in disarray, their new single plugs in the sequencers, and crashes them head-first into dervish drumming and Hazara influences to anthemic effect.
Marcel Vogel about Directions in Electronic Music
Everything is connected for DJ/producer Marcel Vogel: Different styles, different scenes, the past and the present, life and creativity. To be an artist means to embrace being part of the cornucopia and to tap into the abundance – every track and each performance is a new opportunity for growth.
Steven Bamidele about Emotions in Music
Steven Bamidele's latest full-length is a concept album about falling in love with an alien. It is also a grim assessment of the political landscape at the time of its writing. The music follows this polar logic: Silky smooth on the surface, it's a call for rebellion and a cry for action underneath.
Jérémie Ternoy about Minimalism in Music
The music of composer, pianist and Magma-collaborator Jérémie Ternoy explores "how an extremely reduced motif can open up an immense listening space." His new album, a mesmerising trance-pulsation, obliterates cliched notions of repetition, heading straight towards the point where parallels meet.
Snorri Hallgrímsson about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“Creating is imagining something different, something new, something radical, something unwanted by the powers that be. Creation is resistance, and resistance fuels my creations.”
Philipp Johann Thimm Shares his Creative Process
The music of Philipp Johann Thimm exists in a fragile zone between the public and the personal. Born in solitary night shifts and extended underwater breath retention, his blissfully melancholic songs feed from the emotional energy of friends, childhood memories, and the input of loved ones.
Ida Sand about her Voice and Singing
“Please say it to my face,” Ida Sand requests in one of her mesmerising new EP's most moving moments. It seems only fair, as she holds nothing back either, delivering her songs with arresting emotional immediacy. Dressed in minimal jazz arrangements, this is her version of the blues.
Peryl about Directions in Electronic Music
The music of the Berlin-based producer is at the outer edge of electronic exploration: Abstract sound surgery meets warm textures, rich atmospheres wash over spaced-out beats. And yet, on his latest pieces, he finds himself “drifting more and more into organic sound territories.”
Serguei Spoutnik about Emotions
“My own music is only a tiny element within a vast network. But perhaps it is still essential for transmitting certain emotions from one person to another.”
Gigi Masin about the Magic of Sound(s)
As a listener, Gigi Masin's are open, but his gaze is between seeing and not seeing. On his LP Movement, an intricate weave of sensual textures and suggestive piano/trumpet licks animated by motoric electronics, the music does the same – putting you in a space between hearing and not hearing.
Sarah Rothenberg about Interpretation
“Daring” is not a word you hear often in classical music. To pianist Sarah Rothenberg it is pivotal for picking the pieces for her programs: Repertoire too daring for its time, so daring it questions your ideas about music, so daring it still sets your pulse racing 200 years after it was written.
Billy Fuller of Beak> Shares his Creative Process
“Songs are a bit like people. Some are lovely and easy to get along with. Some are total pricks.”
Liz Hogg about the Importance of Routine in Creativity
“When I get thrown off my routine, I feel unmoored. Each schedule serves to make my life easier and expedite processes.“
Janus Rasmussen about Directions in Electronic Music
With track titles like "Doom," "Evil," and "Blame," Rasmussen's "Inert" seems to be a cycle of dark, autumnal introspection. The music, however, less club-oriented and featuring more of his intimate vocals than before, is dreamy and light, obsessed with love, deliverance, and goodness.
JUC about the Magic of Sound(s)
“It feels as though you can save the world after a big show — because we probably could."
Jon Catler about Alternative Tuning Systems
The guitarist's new work, written for multi-tracked electric guitar in Just Intonation, takes listeners on a journey into and through sound, spiralling beyond the confines of music. Within the cosmic continuum, there are no frets, just infinite intervals, all sounding together in unity.
Scalameriya about Anchoring Music in Time
Scalameriya wrote and finished his new EP within a 30 hour production marathon. Approaches like this are par for the course in his world of border-pushing electronic music, but the point is not to create systems. Creativity is its own reward, a challenge to be either completed or failed.
The Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino Ballardo Share their Creative Process
Most artists use their personal life as a point of departure. For the new Gipsy Kings album, founding member Tonino Baliardo decided to do that as well, but ended up going a lot deeper. “Historia” is the story of his time with and outside the band – as well as a deep dive into the culture behind it.
Zak Scerri about Improvisation
In case Zak Scerri doesn't see you, don't take it personally. The best things in life are ephemeral, and to capture their full potential, you need to keep moving. At least you can still hear him – weaving glistening fretboard magic into beautifully grooving, emotionally naked guitar jazz.
Telva about Art as a Response to the Challenges of the World
“My response is a return to authenticity. To not chase fitting in, but to listen deeply to your own voice and to be yourself, even if it’s a lonely or challenging path. Real art can only arise from there.”
Gary Holldman about Minimalism
Gary Holldman may not be a minimalist in the purest sense: He rejects creative limitations, loves technological innovation, and appreciates stylistic diversity. And yet, he took 15 years to come up with the merely ten tracks of his debut's warm, mesmerising techno. If that's not minimalism, what is?
S!RENE Recommends Deep and Caring Music with Crazy Pockets and Jazzy Vibes
Includes albums by Jothan Scott, Jah Digga, Alissa, Nubiyan Twist, and Little Simz.
Glenn Donaldson of The Reds, Pinks and Purples about Dark Places in Music
“I like to fall asleep listening to old hardcore. It’s comfort-listening for me.”
Daphne Roubini about her Voice and Singing
If she's not teaching ukulele at her own ukulele school or tirelessly promoting creatives, Daphne Roubini is drawing lines between the past and present in her songs. Her new album sounds like a lost classic from the 50s without evoking nostalgia – these are feelings which never go out of style.
Berenice Llorens about Active Listening
“Active listening is not only an artistic practice but a way of being in the world. It is a way of inhabiting spaces, relationships, and even my own body.”
Lambert Shares his Creative Process
The title of Lambert's new album is “I am not Lambert.” Yet here he is: jazz reflections meet soft electronica, smouldering songs are juxtaposed with sprightly chamber music. A playful counterweight to a copy-paste reality, it is from this paradox that truth, beauty and personal connection emerge.
Lucie Antunes Shares her Creative Process
Recorded in a stable-turned-studio, Antunes' new album is an emotional meditation on death and silence. The results are restless, alien and transcendent, somewhere between the sublime and utter violence. It's an act of sharing taken to the extreme - this is what writing about pain really feels like.
Derek Piotr about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Producing is like if you're knitting and you think it's gonna be a hat, but it ends up being a scarf. You can't control it! It will tell you what shape it's gonna take.“
S!RENE about Directions in Electronic Music
Yoga philosophy claims that "the world is sound." S!RENE believes that “silence gives life.” On his warm, sensuous and deeply spiritual debut, he reconsonsiles these paradoxes with a collection of pieces which oscillate between house, downbeat, jazz and indescribable magic.
Mai Mai Mai about Dark Places
Mai Mai Mai's work has traditionally been defined as "Mediterranean Hauntology" or “Southern Gothic.” For his new album, Karakoz, an equally immersive and mind-bending trip, he travelled to Palestine in search of collaboration, the sounds of the land and the ghosts of the past.
Another Taste about Energy & Music
Can there still be a band that speaks for an entire generation? Another Taste don't think so, but their smooth-yet-hypnotically-funky new album comes pretty close. A collection of perfectly imperfect one-takes recorded live to tape, this is analog soul as a vision of the future.
Judith Berkson about her Voice and Singing
“When I am performing, it’s like channelling a greater purpose or the spirit or the need to create a transcendent or liminal space for myself and the audience. When you’re in that moment, it's like you’ve transformed your entire reality.”
Luca Longobardi about Tempo Fugit and Time in Music
Time is the medium through which all music flows. But very little music deals with it specifically. On his new EP of ethereal, otherworldly classical ambient, composer Luca Longobardi puts time front and center, creating pieces that warp, bend, and beautifully distort our perception of it.
Telva and Gabriel Strobel about Active Listening, Stories like Oceans and Interdimensional Portals
On one of the most fascinating compilations of 2026, Telva's “Ocean Kiss”, making use of “dirty machine noise, horses’ hooves and an interpretation of flamenco and African djembe,” is one of the most fascinating contributions – entering into a crossmedial dialogue with Gabriel Strobel's artwork.
Marina Trench about Emotions in Music
Marina Trench uses the “quiet euphoria” of deep house vibes to gently massage your mind into a state of peaceful bliss. Her new EP features tracks called “Get High,” but really, these grounding grooves are all about coming back down to earth and rooting the restless mind.
Naïssam Jalal about Improvisation
“When I improvised for the first time I found out that I had music in me, that I was able to express with music what I could never express with words, that music was so powerful that I just wanted to play my music all my life.”
Ladytron Share their Creative Process
“We wanted to make a record closer to the dancefloor than recent ones. But the primary motivation was that we wanted to make our best album. If you’re not aiming for that then there is no point.”
Peter Mergener about Chip Mediations for the New Millennium and the History of Software
When Software's Chip Meditation was released in 1985, it sounded like a future beyond our imagination, somewhere between sequencer magic and man-machine utopia. 40 years on, the duo's Peter Mergener returns with a follow-up – equally beautiful and strangely moving.
Yui Onodera about the Magic of Sound(s)
To Yui Onodera, sound is “material as an event.” Perhaps that's why his work, juxtaposing dynamic drones with abstracted and yet somehow highly specific field recordings, has found such resonance in the house community: It's the same sense of movement, just on an infinitely more subtle scale.
Eoin DJ about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Only five tracks short, Eoin DJ's latest EP feels like a showcase of their production approach: A laser-sharp focus on groove and hypnotic sequences, pantonal frictions and unexpected sounds, as well as a sense of transportation – all grounded in human interaction and friendship.
Elina Duni about her Voice and Singing
Elina Duni has a dual citizenship, lives in a multilingual country and is singing in 5 different languages on her new ECM album with guitarist Rob Luft. Listening to her dreamy songs, gently pushed forward by frame drumming, is possibly the best proof for music as a universal form of communication.
Malin Linnéa about New Approaches in House Music
The Swedish DJ wants to bring a sense of true togetherness to the club scene. Her approach: Earlier hours, creative freedom, feminine energy, and a stronger sense of connection on a phone-free dancefloor. This is not another “alcohol-free wellness rave” - it's social, intimate, and inclusive.
Hèlo Moondi about Directions in Electronic Music
“I don’t think you can ever force someone into a deep listening state. It remains a shared responsibility: the artist opens a space, and the listener chooses how deeply they want to enter it.”
Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth about the Connection between Art and Music
On paper, Joachim Spieth seems to be running AFFIN, while Markus Guentner designs the label's covers. In practise, their interaction is a continuous collaboration, extending into visual art and music. At its heart is a shared creative philosophy – and a love for long walks.
Juli Deák about the Magic of Sound(s)
When playing the flute, Juli Deák doesn't just use breath – she becomes it. Even her tailor-made dress is an expression of sound, as it moves from an inner place into the outside world. On her solo album Brisk, that stream mimics the ebb and flow of waves. It may retreat, but it never ends.
Jonny Wartel about Improvisation
In the spirit of “being prepared for anything,” Jonny Wartel's latest quartet album takes listeners on a continuous 46-minute journey. Poetic melodies soar only to crumble into atomic noise; structures form, then fade, irresistibly swept away by a mesmerising stream of subconsciousness.
FRIKO about Lyrics
For Niko Kapetan of FRIKO, the goal of music is to peel away all conscious thought. If lyrics are to serve the song, in the act of creation, they, too, transcend their literal meaning. The band's new album is based on this mystery: Why can something to simply feel so profound?
Cheikh Ibra Fam Shares his Creative Process
“You only need to look at the world today: all these wars, this hatred, this racism that keeps growing. You just need the courage to write.”
Arovane about Directions in Electronic Music
Stillform, the title of Uwe Zahn's collaboration with Yui Onodera, can be understood in two ways. For one, these floating pieces are just concrete enough to retain a sense of shape. They also contain within them the promise of quietude and calm – escape pods from a world in constant chaotic motion.
Matthias van den Brande about Rothko, Synaesthesia and the Beauty of Emptiness
To pay homage to Mark Rothko, the Belgian saxophonist went to Paris for a major retrospective of the painter's work. Inspired, he wrote a collection of softly intense, gorgeous pieces. However, this was not about translating colour to sound – but about the infinite space behind the canvas.
Fauna about Energy & Music
A core duo expanded to an 8-headed hydra on stage, Fauna practise music as a psychedelic ritual. There is a destination but no arrival - a maelstrom of cosmic kraut-trance incantations daring the listener to let go off everything that still binds them to physical reality.
Grammofon about their Collaboration
Some collaborations grow through relentless jamming. Niels Oldin and Jakob Frandsen's started with them becoming friends. Three decades after meeting, their new album with an all-acoustic quartet finds common ground between folk and jazz. It's familiar, yet fresh – just like a good friendship.
Mae Stephens about her Voice and Singing
As a little girl, the British soul singer would sing to herself for comfort. Now, she is bringing consolation & confidence to others. Her songs are emotional electricity, her voice is a line on a monitor synced directly with her heart – you can't get any closer to her than by listening to her sing.
us & sparkles about Emotions in Music
Political messages in music often feel like one-way preaching. us & sparkles' new album of immersive jazz house is more of a state that you enter, allowing you to see the world in a different light. It signals the desire to listen – this is an artist who really wants to spend time with you.
Ciel & Mathis Ruffing about their Collaboration
Ciel and Mathis Ruffing's new EP is a true fusion of two worlds. Intricate sound design and alien sound effects collide with soulful textures and hypnotic drumwork. Especially the more atmospheric cuts all but scream for a full-length follow-up – which may well happen now the 2 have become friends.
Blessing Jolie about Emotions in Music
“We’re all different, but we’re living through a lot of the same experiences. When the music finds the right people, that connection becomes inevitable.”
Tangent Mek about Improvisation
In this interview on the occasion of Tangent Mek's debut album, the trio recount how improvisation guided composition and how important sound was to their overall vision. But they also mention conversations, travels, and memories – it's a radical ritual with a gentle induction.
Dante about Emotions in Music
After drilling into the skin of melancholy for years, the German producer hit a vein – and aggression, anger, and inner unrest came gushing out. His third album feels like an effort of staying true to the events that lead him to this darker place – while still turning them into something uplifting.
They Might Be Giants Share Their Creative Process
Some artists have to drill their way into the tanks of creativity. TMBG just turn on the tap and let it flow. Their epic catalogue of sprawling albums is an inspiring testimongy to the endlessness of human imagination – although, as they reveal, being this prolific is not a choice but a compulsion.
Reagan Grey about Directions in Electronic Music
The studio is a launch pad for the Canadian producer's sonic excursions. Intimate nightscapes take turns with jazzy undertones, as she channels her love for house into cosmic trips underneath the starlight. Perfecting these kinetic moments takes time – but that's what art is all about to her.
Jonas Sorgenfrei about Directions in Jazz
Many artists use albums as a leader to put themselves in the spotlight. On “Cracks in the Silence”, Jonas Sorgenfrei takes a different route: His propulsive beats are the perfect stage for his formidable band to take off – which in return makes his multifaceted compositions shine even brighter.
Rob Luft about Directions in Jazz
“I’m a firm believer in the age-old cliché that jazz music flourishes best in dimly-lit basements hosting informal live performances that run into the early hours of the morning!”
Christina Kubisch Shares her Creative Process
Christina Kubisch's work is akin to alchemy, turning “non-music” into “music” and elevating “non-sounds” to the audible realm. Materials and specific sites influence her compositions - to the point where they grow into their full state only at the place they're performed at.
Willy Rodriguez about Drums and Drumming
The most incisive moment in Willy Rodriguez' development occurred when he started to treat the drums as the fundamental shaper of time and texture. For him, percussion marks the music's pulse - which in turn connects to the artist's heart and the infinite possibilities of creative expression.
Hannah Peel about Film Music
“I prefer scores that don’t tell us how to feel, that support the narrative and characters and allows us viewers to escape without thinking about it. The composer is there and magically they are not, without anyone noticing!”
Akira Kosemura about the Magic of Sound(s)
Akira Kosemura's quiet classic Polaroid Piano is re-issued with bonus tracks and a careful remastering by Lawrence English. Fifteen years have passed, but the music - an oasis of tender, breathing, deliberately anti-glossy fantasies - is still as captivating as it was upon its first release.
FOUK about Collaboration
The Dutch house duo had a pretty good picture of what they wanted out of their new EP. Then their collaborators inspired them to go far beyond the initial demos. Tweaking arrangements, writing new parts, integrating their contributors' elements, the music spans a bridge across styles and scenes.
Tinlicker about Directions in Electronic Music
The trio doesn't believe in nihilism. Although “we are at a crossroads of who we want to be / become” as a species, the music on their new album was born from the simple desire to write beautiful songs and push their creativity forward – there are still plenty of things that only humans can do.
Roberto Fonseca about Directions in Jazz
“I can only learn from the past music, it makes my own expression richer.”
New German Cinema about Emotions in Music
Songwriting can be an act of gaining control, an uncovering of hidden patterns. For Jess Weiss's solo debut away from her dream pop trio Fear of Men, it's the exact opposite: A deep dive into contradiction and chaos, a “current of something much darker or more unstable.”
Jason Lindner about Collaboration
Jason Lindner grew up listening to metal, built a career as a jazz musician and ended up playing on David Bowie's Blackstar. His new EP with house maestro Jkriv celebrates the intoxicating feeling of submitting fully to machinal groove patterns and glistening sequencer lines.
Roman Rofalski about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“You're not selling out your artistic ideas when you start thinking about how to reach people as an artist.”
Salt Queen about Minimalism
Salt Queen's Teddy Mars knows all about the power of minimalism. But he is also aware of the potential pitfalls: If you only have a handful of ideas, you better make sure they're great. On the debut single of his new duo Salt Queen, a retrofuturistic drum machine 'n vocal jam, they sure are.
Chris Liebing about Collaboration
Don't let Anton Corbijn's grainy b/w photography or the expectedly hard-hitting nature of the music fool you. For producer Chris Liebing, making even the darkest sounds has to be fun. To fully tap into this ideal, his new album focuses entirely on collaborations – it's a solo album only in name.
Ilan Eshkeri Shares his Creative Process
Eshkeri's latest project began with a singularity: The desire to translate the indescribable nature of the soundless cosmos into music. His audiovisual live performance Space Station Earth may well be the most ambitious composition he's ever written – and possibly the most personal one as well.
Emil Mark about Directions in Contemporary Composition
There is a cuteness to the refined compositions that Emil Mark coaxes out of a small ensemble of sampled practice-room pipe-organs. But the light - literally airy - sound of his virtual orchestra is merely an invitation to go deeper - and sink fully into these rotating cyclical patterns.
Shane Parish about Interpretation
In classical terminology, Shane Parish's Autechre renditions are hardly “historical practise.” Performed on an acoustic guitar and in an intimate setting, they're not transcriptions - but attempts to uncover something hidden, distil an essence, explode the shell around a naked feeling.
Jakob Mäder about Directions in Electronic Music
There is a neglected tradition in electronic music: Writing club music not primarily intended for the club. Jakob Mäder breathes new life into the idea with ten tracks that interrelate and interweave, leading listeners through peaks and troughs, from ambient house bliss to uplifting house euphoria.
John Blaylock about Lyrics
To the British songwriter, life is art and art is life. For a recent personal song, he was sure he'd have to get right with all the friends mentioned by their real name. After its success, things have changed: “I’m having to apologise to old friends whose names I didn’t use.”
Andrea Cichecki on All Things Modular
You could spend an entire alternative lifetime within the pastoral fantasy of Andrea's current album's cover or its soft ambient sequencer spaces. If that seems too long, her contribution to modular label I u we's latest compilation condenses that vision into seven mesmerisingly cosmic minutes.
Georgia Cecile about Directions in Jazz
Cecile's ear's have tired from exposure to clinical, hyper-processed music. “I long to create something that sounds real,” she says, writing songs as a direct response to her surroundings. At the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, she'll again tie human connections live in a way that only music can.
Ireke about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The duo's warm and joyful songs feed off both global club culture and local sounds. There are no borders in their music and philosophy: The studio and the stage, physical instruments or software, machines and human creativity – all of these are equally part of their eclectic tool box.
Sam Morrison & Bill Laswell about their Cosmic Trip, Electronic Jazz and Electric Miles
Sam Morrison makes a “a conscious attempt not to listen to other music in my genre to sustain originality.” You can tell. Although he started as a sidekick to Miles Davis, his latest releases explore liminal worlds between jazz and cosmic electronica – involving synths, flow, and Bill Laswell.
Marilyn Crispell about Improvisation
“The music takes you where you need to go,” pianist Marilyn Crispell says. Meanwhile, the intense stillness of her new ECM album with bassist Anders Jormin makes the music feel less like it's going somewhere and more like a silent dance, spinning and circling around loss, pain and consolation.
Niilas about Directions in Electronic Music
The Norwegian producer's interests are wide: His Sámi heritage, jazz, translating a painting to sound. And yet, the gravitational force of his beat-driven colour-fields is the power of communal activity. His dream: ”Flooding the world with amazing and bad ideas, shows, performances, instruments.”
ZENA about Energy & Music
Don't just call it jazz! Based on a shared philosophy of finding the good in any take, ZENA dive deep into their Ethopian roots, their love for Marvin Gaye and the perpetually explorative pulse of their London homebase to come up with a both trippy and hip-moving fusion.
Jack Dettling about Alternative Tuning Systems
It feels almost wrong to talk to Jack Dettling in the context of their interest in alternative tuning systems. A new collection of keyboard works – meditative, mesmerising and focused - doesn't use tuning as a mere flourish – but a door to genuinely new experiences.
Aubrey Johnson about her Voice and Singing
Aubrey Johnson feels her voice has never sounded as good as it does on her new album. Maybe that's because the recording captures it with almost anachronistically natural beauty. It's the perfect fit for an artist who considers honesty her biggest goal: “Whenever I sing, I mean it.”
Michael League (Snarky Puppy, Elipsis) about Directions in Jazz
“It's a good thing that the art of songwriting, the art of composing, has returned to a place of of importance and prominence in the modern jazz scene.”
Luka Kuplowsky about Lyrics
After years spent thinking about and playing with them, Luka Kuplowsky was able to see songs, lyrics and poetry for what they really are: Categories looking to shed their categoricalness. His new album finds beauty in this contradiction and “within the tension of the spiritual and the ordinary.”
Philipp Jung about Nerd Energya and Remixing Yourself into the Present
Philipp Jung withdrew to a new home in the remote mountains to put music back where it belongs: At the centre of his life. From this rekindled passion emerged the desire to dive into the vast catalogue his label Get Physical – and use it as a tool for discovery and personal connection.
Nico Muhly about No Resting Place
In an age of constant change and quick-shifting alliances, Nico Muhly's collaboration with vocal group The Tallis Scholars has proven remarkably long-lived. A new album collects sacral compositions from a decade of working together – leading the mind inward and the gaze upward.
Jon Hester about Directions in Electronic Music
It seems trivial: without dancing, there can be no dance music. For Berlin-based producer Jon Hester, that integral connection is at the heart of his oeuvre: movement creates inspiration, muscle memory triggers sounds and directions as dancefloor, DJ and music negotiate new stories each night.
Jure Pukl Shares his Creative Process
AI is being used to emulate human creativity. On “Analog AI,” Slovenian saxophonist Jure Pukl reverses the process, writing jazz as an envisioned product of artificial intelligence. Touching on experiment, satire and beauty, the results prove that you can never take the human out of him.
Gregory Hutchinson about the Pulse, Power and Politics of Miles Davis
For Gregory Hutchinson, Miles Davis' influence extended well beyond the trumpet, well beyond jazz – well beyond music even. On a star-studded new release, he approaches classics and rarely played tunes by Miles with a personal mission in mind: “Can we play time? Can I make you dance?”
Matthew Patton aka Those Who Walk Away about Dark Places
"I have had people tell me that they were scared and even frightened by my music. To me, that is a compliment."
Adam Pecho about Minimalism
Pecho's most recent productions are outwardly dancefloor-oriented. But they grew from his ambient work and a deep immersion in texture, mood, and states of drifting. This creates an intriguing paradox: The more of this music you strip away, the less minimal it becomes.
Brian House about Infrasound
Brian House thinks of infrasound as more than just sounds so low we can't hear them. Capable of communication at a distance, they represent an alternate acoustic internet. They are also “part of forces of the planet that are vast, agential, and beyond what we understand.”
Morcheeba Share their Creative Process
“If a song has a life of its own, then it is usually because it has a strong will to live. You have to make a decision whether you actually want it to live out in the real world or not.”
Adam Fell about Montreux Miami, Exporting a Festival, and Never Saying No
Montreux has never just been a festival, it's always been an idea. Now, the Miami version has not just perfectly recreated that idea, but also found a location for it that makes artists and audiences feel like they're experiencing the Swiss original – with an open-minded, local twist.
Devin Gray about Improvisation
Some refer to Devin Gray's new trio release as “free jazz.” But the real freedom lies in going beyond the codes of calcified genres. Balancing a constantly shifting electro-acoustic equilibrium, the album is an exploration of something beyond words and styles – perhaps beyond music, even.
PRAED Share their Creative Process
On the duo's entrancing new LP, relentless percussion pulses and distorted drum shuffles electrify the air, while liquid Terry-Riley synthesizer sequences and melancholic string melodies seduce the mind to drift. Only one rule applies here: Never, ever the let the beat end.
Kunde about Emotions in Music
“My music has a lot of emotional ambiguity. I find this to be a reflection of life itself. It’s so beautiful and painful at the same time.”
Pedrito Martinez about his Voice and Singing
“Singing helps me process emotions, connect with others, and participate in a collective cultural dialogue. It’s one of the most human forms of expression we have.”
Allexa Nava about Improvisation
Allexa Nava always felt like she had too much rather than too little to say. Although she has come closer to a more balanced approach between raw expression and careful shaping, the hunger and drive to “step outside the safety of the score” have never left her.
Liz Hogg Shares Her Thoughts on Some of the Greatest Lyrics
Includes songs and lyrics by Jeff Buckley, Michelle Branch, the Beach Boys, David Bowie, Neil Young and New Order.
Nina Vanhoenacker about Alternative Tuning Systems
Vanhoenacker's current album takes the cello through new tunings, fresh ways of performance and explorations into aleatorics and the borderzone between composition and improvisation. One thing is clear: When she plays her instrument, it is far more than just “an unbalanced piece of wood.”
MARIA Die RUHE about her Voice and Singing
There's a story to every song. With MARIA Die RUHE's latest single, there's even more to it than that. Recorded from a place of vulnerability and mortality, her performance is a reminder to never close our eyes to eternal truths: Love is not a weakness and the river of life will keep flowing.
BRUECKEN about Energy & Music
The post-rock fivepiece admit they're not a happy band. Behind their new album lie dark emotions, fears about the future and a deep disappointment in humanity. And yet, the sweeping, euphoric tone of their mostly instrumental compositions reveals glimmers of hope.
Carolyn Zaldivar aka Tangent Universes on All Things Modular
Field recording and playing the modular have something essential in common. They both treat the world and its sounds as an inexhaustible source of wonder. In Tangent Universes, these disciplines meet in a music that is reflective and expansive, familiar and mysterious all at once.
Mariana Ramos about her Voice and Singing
Mariana Ramos' acoustic songs are rooted in Creolan folk. The symphony orchestra, on the other hand, is a gargantuan apparatus. On “Sinfonico,” Ramos makes these two worlds feel as one – binding them together with nothing but her voice and absolute intention.
Lucy Kitchen about Lyrics
The songwriter's spellbinding new album serves as a reminder that folk music can be hypnotic and trance-inducing. Placid and floating on the surface, its sound is enriched by mellotron, strings and dreamy vocal layerings. The songs may be cast in a low light, but it's a light that never goes out.
Galcher Lustwerk about Emotions in Music
“My fear is that we stop evolving as listeners, becoming sonically illiterate, and accept capitalism as the only purpose for music. A world without music for music’s sake isn’t the world I want to live in.“
Morris Kolontyrsky (Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice) about Solos, Stillness and Shredding in Space
There is a place more remote than “Absolute Elsewhere”: The “Paradoxical Beyond,” an infiniscape folding time in on itself, a formless bubble linearly expanding and contracting with unpredictable, cyclical regularity. Bewildering and beautiful, it is home to Morris Kolontyrsky's “Origination.”
Camilla George about Directions in Jazz
When the saxophonist's debut album came out, celebrating her Nigerian heritage, “people couldn’t pronounce the names of the tracks or couldn’t understand their relevance.“ At the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, they'll be lining up to hear her live, transforming complex material into danceable anthems.
Wilson Tanner Smith Recommends Rich and Full Music, Super Coloristic Music and Music too Gorgeous to Resist
Includes albums by Alice Coltrane, Alabaster Deplume, Lia Kohl, Albert Ayler and Tomita.
Julia Hülsmann Shares her Creative Process
For her latest project, the pianist, known for her spellbinding quartet, doubled the amount of performers. The creative potential, however, seemed to multiply by much more. Underneath a layer of beautiful songs lies a galaxy of emotional resonance – intimate, imaginative and endlessly inventive.
Vadim Neselovskyi about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Usually, inspiration is a mysterious phenomenon for Vadim Neselovskyi. For his new project, meanwhile, the spark was clear. Originating as a diary of the war against Ukraine, PERSEVERANTIA turned into a valve, a process, a space for coping. And as long as the violence rages on, it won't be finished.
Aañi about the Magic of Sound
Performing in and with nature, the Italian-Dutch project's performances are private rituals of gratitude and giving back. Making music, as they put it, is less an act of invention but of making audible the sonic world that surrounds us at all times, everywhere we go.
Ioa Beduneau on All Things Modular
“For me, working with cables and plugs is abstract, mental and empirical,” French multidisciplinary artist Ioa Beduneau says. That's a surprise, since his music feels tangible, emotive and magical. The extreme minimalism of the music evokes feelings of introspection – and the desire to connect.
Nick Joz about Moving Beyond Modernist Conventions
For his album Hieroglyph & Stuttering, Nick Joz invited an ensemble of colleagues into the studio for improvisations that served to collect as many different sounds from them as possible - raw materials for a hallucinatory trip to the border between structure and formless infinity.
Anton Roolaart about the Songs and Lyrics of The Ballad of General Jupiter
“The preached approach now is often “release more frequently,” keep feeding the stream, keep the algorithm happy. I understand why people do it, but it can pull you away from the deeper work of building an album world.”
Rin Seo Shares her Creative Process
The composer's debut album is all about size: Its title piece alone is an ambitious tripart composition performed by a 15+-member band capturing the different moods of the Big Apple. And yet, the music feels as intimate as her ritual of a first cup of coffee prior to putting down the first note.
Laura van Hal about Directions in electronic music
The Dutch DJ and producer's compositional output is slim. But every track hits the spot. Van Hal's perspective is community-oriented and driven by a deep love for the roots of electronic music. Her trajectory may by now have become global but, as this interview proves, her heart is still local.
Yamirah’s Solar Explorers about Directions in Jazz
On the debut album of her new trio, Yamirah Gercke's guitar sounds like it's bathing in light. Luxuriously drenched in gorgeous reverb and placed prominently upfront in the mix, it's more than just beautiful - it's a voice of calm and wisdom in a world shaken by chaos and madness.
Jonas Olsson about Interpretation
“Every artist needs to continuously question their own habits and prejudices. Which parts of whatever artistic tradition are actually valuable, and which are just accumulations of bad habits?”
Inox Traxx about Emotions in Music
Techno started out as a manifestation of the machine soul. In the music of Inox Traxx, that machine is now beginning to speak: Echoes of voices – torn, deformed, and in search of a body – float through darkly lit corridors, as barebone beats pound themselves into a delirious trance.
Nusantara Beat Share their Creative Process
Initially, the sixpiece's debut album was to contain several cover versions. In the end, the band went all-in on their own material. Fusing percussive grooves with improvised jams and Indonesian folk, it's hard to imagine how this psychedelic flowstate could ever have turned out differently.
Blue Tomorrows about the Magic of Sound(s)
For her new collection of whispered watercolor-songs Sarah Nienaber took the term “recording in the box” literally. It was only inside a tiny, sound-proofed and air-tight room that she found the solitude and isolation required to place these dreamy pieces in the right ambient light.
JL Segel on All Things Modular
“Modular systems are linked to ritual. You have to enter an intentional and spiritual space of creation.”
Pullman Share their Creative Process
The story to Pullman's third album reads like a melancholic novel: Twenty years after their last release and sparked by terminal illness, five friends get together again to record music one last time. The result is a bittersweet soundtrack to the beauty of memories and the brutality of time.
BRUECKEN Recommend Music between Distortion and Chaos, Despair and Beauty
Includes albums by Cult of Luna, Mogwai, The Quiet Lamb, and Envy
Thadz and Slugo about Directions in Electronic Music
For outsiders, Chicago footwork can seem the stuff of historical essays, caught in a retro loop of tired cliches. In reality, as two fresh and sparkling new releases by Thadz and Slugo prove, the scene couldn't be more vital – celebrating its roots while pushing towards the future.
schntzl about Trance-Inspirations, Hyper-Visuality and Fata Morgana
Just like Taylor Swift works in eras, Belgian duo schntzl create new worlds for each project. After the playful improvisations of their previous release, their latest full-length was inspired by the emotional anthems of Belgian Trance – and the challenge of riding a “bicycle with an oval wheel.”
Tomoko Omura Shares her Creative Process
There's a naked brutality to the explosion of a Nuclear bomb that remains hard to grasp – and even harder for Hollywood to depict. For her new project of chamber jazz, violinist-composer Tomoko Omura didn't just research the history of these weapons but faced their horror face-on.
Michael Stephen Brown about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The New York composer doesn't feel any pressure to write for the future. Maybe that's why the sensual chamber pieces of his new album feel so uniquely anchored in the present. It is a music of intimate confessions and small gestures that coalesce into something profound and meaningful.
Liz Hogg Shares her Creative Process
6 years after a stunning collection of classical guitar pieces, the NY artist returns with a suite of outwardly straight-forward songs. Drawing from a vast pool of ideas, it feels surprisingly seamless, as motoric-in-spirit drums and heavenly vocal arrangements combine to create a sweet trance.
Myra about Directions in Electronic Music
“Techno is much more than just music,” Myra says. He work is living proof of that philosophy. Her latest track, a hypnotic sequencer ritual, is part of a compilation celebrating leading Amsterdam venue RADION and clubs in general as nodes of counterculture: “Dancing will always be political!”
Jon Porras (Barn Owl) about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Our visual world is overflowing with images that are just impressions. Perhaps there are social conflicts that persist because we collectively react to signals when we should be listening to stories.”
Carlos Giffoni Shares his Creative Process
Giffoni's hypnotic sound art isn't born on a grid, it follows an inner timeline. His new album collapses space for a collection of global collaborations. Exclusively containing contributions by colleagues with a distinct voice, the result turned out remarkably seamless.
PSTMRD on All Things Modular
“Working with cables and connections teaches you to accept uncertainty and changes how you perceive structure and time.”
Dory Hayley about Interpretation
Dory Hayley's take on Morton Feldman's “Three Voices” follows in the footsteps of iconic performers and classic recordings. And yet, it manages to add a new immersive depth to the piece – testimony to her creed that every performance unavoidably expresses a personal truth.
Geologist about the Magic of Sound(s)
The new album by the Animal Collective member is asking for cigarettes. As it turns out, it's a homologue for his melancholic collage music: Turning something tangible into smoke, watching it draw shapes in the air before dissolving, leaving the mind altert and a bittersweet taste on the tongue.
Annabelle Chairlegs Shares her Creative Process
The songs of Annabelle Chairlegs are populated by real-life people going through everyday things. And yet, the experience is intense, meaningful and beguiling in a broken way. Playful riffs, vulnerable arrangements, a voice oscillating between charm and pain – it's all about intention.
Kiyan Foroughi about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“The limitation is the art. It creates a universe and feelings around them. Constraints create meaning.”
SOHN Shares his Creative Process
The British composer-producer wasn't sure his new album was on the right track. Then he discovered he'd already finished it. Aiming for songs, his subconscious had led him in another direction – towards mysterious semblances, sequencer infinity, and heartbreaking ambient endlessness.
Diogo Strausz about Emotions in Music
"Aesthetics matter a lot. Imagine if Van Gogh's paintings were black and white."
Wes Smith about the Magic of Sound(s)
When he's not touring with Booker T, the Los Angeles saxophonist contributes to projects by the likes of Pharrell Williams, and Robin Thicke. But only now was he able to put together the band of his dreams – for an EP so warm, funky and soulful that you'd wish you'd never wake up from it.
Xol Meissner about his Voice and Singing
There are plenty “disembodied” or “ghostly” voices. Xol Meissner's, however, sounds as though it were conversely re-embodied after spending time between this world and another, like a ghost slipping back into a physical shell. Singing saved Xol Meissner. Maybe his music can save you, too.
Patrick Ellis about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“Music is all about creating, sharing ideas, and connecting with each other. If we take that away from the equation, then it is merely a digital product.”
Patrick Fitzgerald aka Stephen Hero Shares his Creative Process
Patrick Fitzgerald has literally written hundreds of songs, many of them gorgeous, many of them filled with poetic observations. What makes him pick one chord over another, follow this theme while dropping that one, what makes lyrics either beautiful or banal? If only he knew.
Björn Meyer Shares his Creative Process
Listening to Meyer play his bass is like looking deep into his eyes – an intimate connection wordlessly bridging the divide between sender and receiver. Locking into tactile patterns, then again feeling its way through dreams of baroque beauty, his new ECM album creates a space of deep resonance.
Sera Kalo about Lyrics
“Poetry can break your heart. But music can break your heart and rearrange your nervous system.”
Maximilian Hering about Drums and Drumming
Yes, there are drum solos on Maximilian Hering's “The Gathering.” But so are soulful flute lines and tender reed harmonies; and for every bar of relentless swing there is a corresponding moment of inward-looking stillness. It isn't virtuosity that drives these jazz pieces – but the rhythm of life.
Waan about Directions in Jazz
Waan's debut was one of my favourite jazz-adjacent LPs of the past years. Their new one looks set to keep me happy for another few. Drawing from the band's live performances, “We Want WAAN” leans towards pulsation, ecstasy, trance – and the simple pleasure of getting lost in the groove.
Morning Stars about Collaboration
When drummer Sebastian Vogel hit the big 5, his friends treated him to a special birthday present: A band. As befits a gift, Morning Stars are about friendship and fun. Songs are loose and filled with gorgeous vocal harmonies – while spinning out into epic arrangements with dervish-like motorics.
Miska Lamberg about the Magic of Sounds
Miska Lamberg's “Evening, window” is a gentle obduction into a different world: Melodies drift by like clouds, harmonies bleed into field recordings, cycles loop until they no longer have a beginning or an end. Images disappear until there's nothing left but an ear drifting in an ocean of sound.
Antonio Sánchez about Drums & Drumming
There is a rhythm to everything: our breath and our speech, our laughter and our cries, to the way we walk and the way we think. And so, drumming, for Antonio Sánchez is more than playing the drums - or maybe playing the drums, just the life it draws from, is ultimately about everything as well.
Angie Perera about Lyrics
Angie Perera's new single is as sweet and celebratory as her previous ones. But the African touch of the beats and the beauty of the lyrics sung in what she describes as imperfect Chichewa reveal this as something different and special – a tribute to her home of Malawi, a declaration of love.
Delaney Bailey about her Voice and Singing
Life is a struggle, life is unpredictable, life can get messy. So why should music pretend otherwise? Delaney Bailey's songs are odes to imperfection, arrows released with love but dipped in the bitter truth. Being this open can be painful – but it's where the healing begins.
Emile Martinez about Directions in Jazz
“Jazz came from people who had very little and created something world-changing. That’s the part that always hits me: the personal and collective sacrifices it took to keep this music alive, to pass it down, and to evolve it.”
Chaton Laveur about Kraut & Krautrock
Belgian duo Chaton Laveur are almost closer to the original Kraut spirit than some of the originators. Their songs weave melancholic dream pop moods around motorik groove patterns and psychedelic sound worlds – adding their own little star to a galaxy of wondrous constellations.
César Merveille about Directions in Electronic Music
Few enjoy being questioned. César Merveille actively seeks it out. “Community teaches you there isn’t just one way to make music,” he stresses, “There are infinite paths.” His new EP is a particularly lovely one – slightest variations in lush, hypnotic loops leading to a place of cosmic bliss.
Erik Hall about Interpretation
Hall's unique and moving interpretations are explorations of score and performer alike. He can be 18 musicians at once for Steve Reich, an intimate keyboard-trio for Simeon ten Holt, a human synthesizer for Laurie Spiegel. It's not a question of rules or faith - it's a question of love.
İlhan Erşahin Shares his Creative Process
Every project has a color for the Swedish-Turkish polyhyphenate. And so it is with the new full-length of his band The Istanbul Sessions - which shines with the red of passion, the blue of an open sky, the green of rolling grooves and the bright yellow of a sun setting over a world without borders.
TheARTI$T about Directions in R&B
After a lengthy absence from the headlines, R&B is finally in the spotlight again. For singer-songwriter TheARTI$T, however, this is not a comeback. As her delectably warm and comforting music proves, a music as timeless as this is always in season.
Arnau Obiols about Directions in Electronic Music
Krautrock was the gateway into electronic music for the Barcelona-based performer-producer. It continues to influence his work which spans a spectrum from psychedelic folk via drifty dub to house-driven spiritual jazz. It's not about being eclectic – it all slots together if you just let go.
Marina Trench about Directions in Electronic Music
The French producer sees art as a tool for a deeper understanding of ourselves, furthering dialogue with others and advancing freedom. The current obsession with technology and “rational” logic is leading us away from what really matters: “Sensibility and how it is interpreted.”
Tesfa Williams about Emotions in Music
“Music has the power to shift people emotionally. When you shift emotion, you can shift perspective.”
Ulrika Spacek Share their Creative Process
For their upcoming fourth album, the band spent a year writing new music, then another one shaping it. Occasionally embracing chaos full-on, the resulting pieces playfully twist the song format, blurring the boundaries between a live band and its electronically re-assembled ghost.
OMA about Directions in Hip Hop
Sampling remains an important aspect of hip hop culture. But who is going to provide the material for future generations to sample once the well has run dry? OMA are stepping up to the challenge with dark, soulful instrumentals that feed from free-flowing improv and real time interaction.
Erica Tucceri about her Path to Jazz and the Melbourne Jazz Scene
The way the Australian flutist describes her hometown makes it seem like the best place for record digging and seeing inventive musicians tap into creative energy stream each night. Still, her own music – dreamy, floating, ethereal - takes listeners to even more beautiful places.
Alex Ventling about Improvisation
“I would go as far to say that the initial idea doesn’t even matter compared to the transformation of it.”
Diogo Piçarra about his Voice and Singing
Piçarra's electronically charged future-rock has global appeal. But it could never be decoupled from his Portuguese roots. His love for music is based on his belief in its fundamental role: “Music is the most rudimentary and ancestral form of culture, a symbol of our prehistoric intelligence.”
Yuhan Su about Directions in Jazz
Yuhan Su's music is mysterious and magical, a smouldering stream of questions. “I’m always stimulated by things slightly out of balance and out of the ordinary,” she explains, “I play around gravity in music.” And yet, her genuinely exciting new path in jazz always has both feet on the ground.
Janina about DJing
“Music and dancing are like yin and yang, or day and night — one can’t exist without the other.“
Ife Ogunjobi Shares his Creative Process
We should be more like children, the Nigerian trumpet player feels: Fearless, carefree, confident in who we are. His new EP of delightfully sweet, deep and uplifting soul jazz expresses his own desire to enter this state and to keep creating without doubt, intellectual analysis and boundaries.
Victoria Pham aka VP about the Magic of Sound(s)
Music is a realm of pure imagination. What, the mesmerisingly utopian work of Victoria Pham seems to ask, if we used that power to rebuild music itself from the inside – extending, through that process, the limitations of what is imaginable in the first place?
Mark Harwood Shares his Creative Process
Chance is a friend for Mark Harwood. And yet, his two simultaneously published new albums are carefully sculpted - following a psychedelic trail of crumbs through a magical forest of kraut and soft noise towards a mesmerising conclusion.
Louis Matute about Directions in Jazz
The Swiss guitarist sees music as a different path for dealing with the topics of our time. The warm sound and elevating grooves of his new album are his personal way of processing anger, building bridges and transforming despair into hope.
Nate08 about Emotions in Music
For Nathan Thomas, the job of a producer is to step out of the music's way. The challenge to give his soulful garage-house anthems the shine they need without compromising their soul: “A bit of refining helps - but I try not to polish the life out of them.”
Camila Nebbia about Improvisation
What is music? Controlled chaos, directed dreaming - or hypermania, as Camila Nebbia's new trio with Gonçalo Almeida and Sylvain Darrifourq describe it: A state of low-level mania, a stream equally capable of exploding into bursts of noisy free jazz and withdrawing into sculpted ambiance.
Wilson Tanner Smith about the Magic of Sound(s)
The word “meditative” is sure to come up in relation to the work of Wilson Tanner Smith. But if anything, pieces like 22-minute drone-zone "Palace of Culture" remind us that meditation is not about stealing us away from reality – but making us more aware of it.
Anton Roolaart about Lyrics
Words can be an obstacle to enlightenment. For Anton Roolaart, however, as for the great Zen masters, the right lyrics bridge the divide between literal meaning and the truth hidden behind it. The doors don't have to be cleansed – just say the word and enter the infinite.
Feph about Minimalism
Four minutes into Stephanie Reyes' track for a new compilation of deep, minimalist techno, a skeletised melody appears. Anywhere else, this moment would not amount to much. Within the pristinely sculpted, resonant-rich hyperplane of her music, however, it literally means the world.
Mathys Lenne about Minimalism
Frequencies and tension, these are the two elements that Mathys Lenne relentlessly focuses on while he builds the long, slowly transforming states of pulsation that define his approach. As they end, they inevitably open entirely different ones, as he stresses: “It’s a constant process of renewal."
Xhato about Minimalism
To Xhato, minimalism is part of his artistic intention: To chisel away the clutter and leave only the essence. Others may have similar ideals, but few take them this far – programming his own software, avoiding samples and spending hours to polish his materials.
Madame Blavatsky about Directions in Jazz
Claims of charlatanry aside, Helena Blavatsky's quest for "the synthesis of science, religion and philosophy" seems remarkable progressive. So does the music of the Ghent-based trio - which taps into dubstep and breaks it through the lense of jazz and sonic experimentalism.
Lost Stories Share their Creative Process
To production/DJ duo Lost Stories, production can be brutal - a battle stretching out into months of sound sculpting in the studio. Their collaboration with Anyasa, however, was a remarkable deviation from that experience: Fusing Punjabi folk with aggressive stabs, it was done within hours.
Anyasa about Collaboration
A multitude of collaborations are running through anthemic single “Patasa”: Between leading Indian projects Anyasa and Lost Stories, between them and singer-songwriter Sarthak Kalyani, between club culture and Punjabi folk music. The result feels eclectic, colourful and seamless at once.
Darius Heid about Directions in Contemporary Composition
For a second, I misread the press release to Heid's new double-album, mistaking “Listening is playing, playing is listening” for “Listening is PRAYING.” But there is something to be said for both, the music manifesting as an epic, quietly focused canvas for breath, sound, and, yes, contemplation.
Jimena Angel about Lyrics
Maybe "Telepatía," opener to Jimena Angel's new album, was intended as a self-fulfilling prophecy: That in an ideal world, music will be able to express all that needs to be expressed. As it stands, her lyrics remain necessary – imperfect, open to misinterpretation but also smart, deep and powerful.
Thylacine about the Magic of Sound
From Norway to Namibia, from his native France to the Faroe Islands, producer William Rezé has travelled the world in search of the most beautiful sounds and spaces. Many of them can be found on his new album. And yet, in the end, nothing beats the absolute silence of his studio in the morning.
Nightmarer about Dark Places in Music
Nightmarer have chosen their band name wisely. Their music can seem like a suffocating dream, ripping us from safety. In fact, it's about the rewards of gaining power through persistence and facing the truth. Nightmares don't visit us – it's the dreamer that creates them and hands them control.
Emil Bø of ükya about Improvisation
For trombonist Emil Bø, instinct will always trump rules, raw nerves supersede academic theories, and playing take priority over thinking. With trio ükya, he actively cultivates tensions on stage in a state between flow and surrender – there is no “soon,” there is only “now.”
Michael Lee Sørenmo of ükya about Improvisation
On the new ükya album, Michael Lee Sørenmo plays his drums like a lead instrument, a rhythmical engine, a sound source and a connective tissue all at once. At times, it feels almost like he's tapped into the outlet of an invisible, electrically-charged generator of creative energy.
Kristian Enkerud Lien of ükya about Improvisation
“I appreciate when the music sounds focused and aesthetically pleasing,” Emil Bø says. His music with ükya, however, is dizzyingly diverse and never afraid to confound aesthetic expectations. Maybe we should have added: Emil also likes his music powerful and full of surprises.
Echonomist about Minimalism
“I let ideas run free, even if they get messy and chaotic. The real track usually appears once I remove the noise I created in the first phase.”
SYOT Share their Creative Process
“We are moving toward music that has no precedent,” SYOT feel. As bold as that claim may be, the trio have the music to back it up. Fusing jazz, Korean folk and Dervish-like minimalist cascades, their sound shapes its own tradition in both a global and deeply personal way.
Panøram about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Panøram spent years searching for and refining a personal sound. His new EP shows the remarkable results of that journey: three tracks of haunting minimalism which reach for infinity with ghostly piano clusters, stoic drum machine patterns and alien acid lines.
DJ Hell about Fashion & Music
“Music opens doors to emotion,” DJ Hell says, “Fashion walks through them and shows everyone what's inside.” His new album features hypnotic rhythm studies without clearly defined beginnings and endings - food for the glittering catwalks of the mind, anthems for a world caught in a loop.
Tools of Creation: The Bagpipes
On Erwan Keravec's new album, the bagpipes journey far beyond its ancient roots – sounding like an organ or a modular synth.
Urs Röllin about Directions in Jazz
“If people no longer go to hear music live, jazz is threatened.”
Tanel Ruben about Directions in Jazz
“Dave Liebman once said everything in jazz had been done. I didn’t agree then, and I still don’t.”
Max Ionata about Collaboration
For Max Ionata's current studio project, his trio grew into a quartet. As expected, the result is an expansion – but not in the way one would expect. “Tivoli” has a rich and warm sound, feels fresh and airy, extending into spaces of transparency, lyricism and essence.
Woods of Birnam Share their Creative Process
The band's latest work is based on Stanisław Lem's “Solaris.” But just like Lem's seemingly analytical treatise, it is actually about love. Indie-rock melts with cosmic electronica, songs follow an emotional logic – and words like “Symmetriadas” bring tears to your eyes.
Tobias Christl about Interpretation
The German singer's new album contains renditions of classic tunes. But really, he isn't “covering” these pieces, but co-creating them. Deliberately looking for “fracture, deconstruction, the uncomfortable,” his takes playfully pose an intriguing question: What actually defines a song?
Solene Velvet about Directions in Jazz
Sci-Fi flics like The Fifth Element imagined what music could sound like in the 23rd century and beyond. But why wait? Solene creates futuristic cyber jazz for our current times - the soul that nourishes the heart chakra; the punk that feeds from, rebels against and destroys late-stage capitalism.
The Offline about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“This an important aspect of my work: conveying a sense of nostalgia while at the same time remaining relevant in today's world of production and mixing.”
BRNJSMIN about Emotions in Music
IDM was mostly a humour-free zone. In a concerted effort against “boredom in music,” Munich producer-performer Giovanni Raabe brings back the fun in melancholic microsound. On his new album, beats stutter and textures trip – a total collapse never sounded this joyful.
ZAHN about Kraut & Krautrock
Towards the late 70s, the Krautrock scene slowly petered out. Where might it have gone if it had stuck around a little longer? Maybe here: Zahn channel the ghost of Kraut through ecstatic post rock séances blurring the line between electronica, and amplified anthems of noise.
Rushab Nandha about the Magic of Sound(s)
As an artist trained in the tabla, one would expect the Nairobi-based artist's work to be strongly groove-oriented. As it turns out, his solo releases gently stretch any sense of movement apart, creating long spaces filled with soft resonance and a warm feeling of great expectation.
Azo about DJing
During the week, Azo is an introvert, visiting record stores and hiding in the studio to refine her galactic electro- and house productions to perfection. On gig nights, however, the pent-up tension releases itself - exploding into moments of intense bliss and connection.
Ivar Grydeland about Minimalism
The title of the Norwegian guitarist's new album translates to "Bending, refraction." That may sound technical or abstract. The music, however, defies this impression, creating dynamic worlds of waves and pulses. It's charm that's refracted here, your heart strings that are being bent.
Natascha Polké about Emotions in Music
"My grandma used to be a bit worried about me because I was always drawn to the melancholic side of music. But it doesn’t make me sad. It's like it lights a fire within me.“
Anouck Genthon Shares her Creative Process
Genthon latest suite started out as a field work project in Niger, then developed into a spellbinding work for solo violin. From the music via the chosen format of a single-sided vinyl LP to the cover – this is not just a statement by the artist, but a representation of her entire being.
Johannes Arzberger about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Creating music is an inward-facing process for the German pianist and producer. On his latest full-length, each and every drum roll, crystalline piano note and dreamy chord receives his full attention. It was healing to make this album, it is healing to listen to it.
Fernando Brox about Directions in Jazz
Fernando Brox's new album is a collection of beguiling jazz pieces pierced by short, palate-cleansing experimental excursions into the outer realms of sound. It is a work about “spaces of betweenness” and the power of music to connect: When we don't see, we just have to listen a little harder.
Luz González about Directions in Electronic Music
“Electronic music goes beyond the tools used to make it. It’s a way of reimagining what music can be.”
Philipp Maria Rosenberg about Emotions in Music
Rosenberg's new trio album suggests not so much a set of emotions as a mood – opening doors without defining what's on the other side. If you feel yourself gazing dreamily into the distance and losing your sense of time to this music, don't worry – that's how most experience it.
Connor D’Netto about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The Australian composer sees his art as a form of translation – porting ideas and inspirations from one from of expression to another. On his current album, inspiration by Steve Reich gets translated to the clarinet and the viola da gamba into a space of resonance, and rippling rhythms.
Anaïs Maviel about Music as a feminine approach to healing social fracture
“You can feel the servitude in concert halls. People are supposed to passively receive music in this one way relationship - and they follow tacit rules with pride and the feeling to be part of an exclusive club.”
Mauricio Fleury about Directions in Jazz
Diversity and freedom are not goals to the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, they're results - of an open mind in a city with a sprawling music scene. His new album is a journey from and to places of warmth and beauty with inspiringly unexpected detours.
SHOLTO about Kraut & Krautrock
The legendary Can drew SHOLTO into a world of gnarly, complex drumming and meditative moods. His own work treats krautrock as an approach to music that is anti-academia and pro-intuition, forever circling the point between dreamy trip-hop, druggy jazz, and psychedelic electronica.
Clutter about Energy & Music
On record, the young Swedish fourpiece are loud yet hyper-focused, like a laserbeam hitting your eardrums. Playing live, to them, is a “matter of life and death,” an explosion of styles, the furor of post-punk and noise channelled through the madness of reality.
Lorenzo De Finti about Directions in Jazz
From Esbjörn Svensson Trio to Weather Report, many artists have left an imprint on Lorenzo De Finti's style. But then, jazz is never just about style. Incorporating discrete electronics, rocking out, and feeling for poetry – it's all there on his new album. And somehow, it all makes sense.
Andrew Shapiro about the Magic of Sound(s)
“It took me a long time to like my new album. It wasn’t until I had it on repeat and was listening to it for what felt like “every second of the day” for days that I started to love it.”
Anthony Moore about Lyrics
“I don’t really believe in “expressing” one’s self. If I engage in making a song, or a piece of music, it’s not really anything other than a “trying to find out”.”
Ishmael Ali about Improvisation
“The most important communications are endings,” Ishmael Ali says. And yet, his latest release is actually a beginning. Or is it? A solo debut only in name, it features a congenial cast of collaborators and taps into the same space of infinite inventiveness that made his group efforts stand out.
Parlor recommend Music, Movies, and Video Games for Exploring Dark Places
Includes albums by Chat Pile, DUG, //LESS, and Ragana.
OXIA about the Magic of Sound(s)
To the French producer, music is a carrier of inner sensations. His albums are journeys through emotional worlds, held together by timbre, tone and wonder. It's personal, it's intimate, it's epic, it's universal – there's something deeply meaningful discussed here that's beyond the scope of words.
NLI about Fashion & Music
NLI's vision of techno is both fractal and fascinatingly chaotic, fractured and cohesive at once, drawing inspiration from cyberpunk and the artificial realm. Fashion, video, concepts and music all seamlessly combine into wordless narratives of imagined multimedial dystopias.
N-TYPE about Production, Technology, and Creativity
There has always been a trance-inducing quality to heavy halfstep-beats and N-TYPE describes production as a form of meditation. His new album aptly feels like a 1,5 hour long space of focused attention filled with waves of echo, hypnagogic flutes and the zen of bass.
Eddie Schwartz Shares his Creative Process
“To my mind, a song is fundamentally a very simple thing; a sung lyric. So what could be more important than the words? Not much.”
Paradoxant about Energy & Music
Merzbow recording the Sex Pistols playing Kid A – that's one way to look at the roller coaster antics of the Brussels quartet. The furious energy captured in the studio is actually a miracle of polished production – which gets broken down to dark rock rituals on stage.
DJ Hyperactive about Minimalism
The Chicago luminary's approach to minimalism is lightyears away from post-classical whispers and academic mindgames. This is techno with a capital T, a funk so acid that it burns, a reductionism so poignant it force-quits the hyperactive mind and submits you to its will.
Julius Gawlik about Improvisation
“The inventive potential of a great improvisation can be endless and ever-evolving. But let's face it - we compose to make cool stuff happen that otherwise probably wouldn’t have happened.”
ELECTROSEXUAL about Energy & Music
No one leaves the ELECTROSEXUAL experience the same they went in. Music is the TNT that, far beyond just cleansing the doors of perception, explodes the house that hold them in place. If it makes you feel a little uneasy, that's intentional: “Control creates safety. Energy thrives in danger.”
Suntou Susso Shares his Creative Process
Everything around us, from a walk in green spaces to the sunset on a beach in Gambia, contains a message. Suntou Susso sees it as his task to translate them into music. His afro-futurism bridges traditional melodicism with contemporary beats, providing clarity in a multitude of shadings.
GOME about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Let music be the food of love, Shakespeare demanded. In their deliciously seasoned club snacks, the Hamburg duo are following that creed to the t (for taste). Sweet and spiritual, warm, comforting and never too filling, this is house music for the gourmet generation.
Bugge Wesseltoft about New Snow on Old Pianos and Playing Differently Each Night
Thirty years after the fact, the Norwegian pianist returns to the spectacularly quiet album that was his breakthrough. The music is even more intimate this time, performed live and recorded with a small recorder placed inside the piano – a reflection both of the moment and the time passed.
Anton de Bruin about Directions in Jazz
To Anton de Bruin, jazz is almost like a piece of creative DNA that can be implanted into any genre, group, or approach. It is also about enriching instrumental music with deeper thoughts- turning the grooving anthems of his new album into veritable protest songs.
Lady Linn about her Voice and Singing
“A challenge in the beginning of my career was the smoking inside of bars. I always lost my voice due to the cigarette smoke!”
Natasha Pirard about Emotions in Music
Pirard's “Dream Cycles” were a fascinating paradox: A 2 hours long space which was vast and limitless yet constantly folding in on itself. Her sophomore release reverses the direction: Intimate and deeply personal, it reaches out to the listener – to partake in these memories, to feel the love.
Rachael Cohen about Improvisation
Presence and listening are at the heart of Rachael Cohen's playing: “People repeat themselves more often when they are trying to force the things that they know in to places that they don’t fit.” She still finds plenty to discover in the standards – by making each note count.
Mischa Blanos about Directions in Electronic Music
Making electronic music, to Mischa Blanos, is both about decoding and shaping reality. In Bucharest, with a group of artists, he has transformed a Communist-era building into a thriving arts space. His futuristic music, meanwhile, turns creation into an act of resistance.
Keren Ann about Lyrics
Language came easy to the French song-poet, but speaking did not. Writing, thus, turned into her preferred mode, a form of communication that allowed her to both express and discover herself. Her new album invites listeners into this space through timeless torch songs filled with hope and nostalgia.
Rob Pearson Shares his Creative Process
“The beauty of music creation is that there’s always something new to explore. It’s not just about finishing one project and then feeling empty; it’s about continually chasing that spark of inspiration.”
Skorts about Energy & Music
Skorts have a sound so huge it all but blows their audience away, stripping them of every connection to their physical existence. In those moments of release, their music becomes a cosmic compass, pointing to the true nature of life, revealing “a glimpse at the big picture.”
Valeria Miró about Emotions in Music
“When I have something to create that I’ve been ignoring, it seems to show up as a headache or as restless energy through my body, like a caffeine spike.”
Justin Zitt about Directions in Jazz
Forms provide space, stability, and some sense of direction. They can also box you in, creatively. On “Frigo,” German composer Justin Zitt approaches the piano trio with the historical respect it deserves - and the reckless abandon it needs to stay fresh.
Dave Palmer Shares his Creative Process
The Philly pianist-composer's first album with his new trio boasts formidable instrumental performances. But it's not virtuosity that makes them shine. Rather, these twelve songs without words drift, float, and swing through hazy, nocturnal dreamstates - each single note taking you deeper.
The Brand! Jazz Festival about Building Big Global Brand with a Small Local Festival
The Brand! Festival in Mechelen is making excellent use of its limitations. The pillars of its unique approach to programming are twofold: Allowing artists to realise their dreams. And extending the brand beyond the event itself to build networks that can last a lifetime.
Anders Lauge Meldgaard about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“The challenge of being a composer is to always strive for magic in the music - something you can’t quite put your finger on, but gives you a sense of meaning, fascination or perhaps joy.”
Tools of Creation: Alpha Juno-1
Morning Seance about an analog polyphonic synthesizer which “sounds like the future as imagined in the slightly faded, late-’80s atmosphere made of glossy optimism and strange melancholy.”
Rasmus Oppenhagen Krogh about the Magic of Sound(s)
In purely descriptive terms, the Danish guitarist's fourth full-length offers a moody fusion of post rock and jazz, occasionally drifting gently into ambient territory. On a deeper level, it is a profound journey to the heart of sound - because, “all the music I love is because of its sound.”
Luise Volkmann & Éte Large: The Band Interview
In Éte Large, Luise Volkmann doesn't fuse different worlds – she simply stacks them on top of each other. A classical singer performs side by side with a jazz vocalist, probing improvs underpin straight-forwardly gorgeous songs, and private conversations lead to large, sweeping gestures.
Yuu Udagawa about Emotions in Music
Yuu Udagawa's utopian vision of house music is a form of silent resistance against the cruel exploitation of artists. Its intimacy reaches so deeply into the personal that it becomes universal – forever suspended in a delicate tension between “body and spirit, order and freedom.”
FOUK about Energy & Music
In the spiritual house productions of FOUK, compression establishes connection, beats provide bonding, vocals create a vibe. A lot of thought and care goes into every track, but in essence, this is anti-conceptual music, based purely on feeling, bypassing the intellect to open up the heart.
Jambal about Directions in Jazz
“It’s important to know how we got to where we are now. Being able to leave a trace that future artists can draw inspiration from is almost a duty - something you owe the people that’ve inspired you.”
Ezekiel Honig Shares his Creative Process
There is no egg and chicken paradox for Ezekiel Honig - idea and execution can not be separated, the process feeding itself. In his world of explorative slow motion beats and textural harmonies, creativity is always discovery, “because we should be making something that didn’t already exist.”
Helena Casella of Sonetos del Amor Oscuro about her Voice and Singing
Health challenges couldn't stop Helena Casella from singing. We have to be grateful for that, as her performances with Belgian quartet Sonetos del Amor Oscuro are spellbinding - transporting the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca into a realm of mystical realism.
Tools of Creation: The Vibes
For Evi Filippou, the vibes are a limited three-octave instrument with remarkable potential which makes you feel like everything is going to be alright.
Da Lata about Emotions in Music
Tropicalia, sweet and soulful fusion, hazy psychedelia – the songs and sounds of the long-standing collective provide an oasis and safe space. In these times, that is a political statement: “Art is more important than ever. We have to keep the counter culture alive.”
London Elektricity about Production, Technology, and Creativity
In terms of quality, the new London Electricity album easily matches some of the Drum n Bass classics. With thirteen tracks of warm polyrythmic pulses and glowing horns, it has the epic scope and ambition of the genre's golden era - while defining a new, soulful sound for the new Millennium.
Hanne De Backer about Directions in Jazz
For Hanne de Backer, everything is about connection: With her instrument, her collaborators and herself. With her environment, the different parts of her life, and, of course, the audience. On her latest project, all these lines intersect and magically interweave.
Florian Arbenz Interview about Drums and Percussion
Florian Arbenz is a conversationalist drummer, a groove instigator with a subtle touch, a composer and conductor from the drum stool. His rhythms aren't sprints, they're lines drawn by an unwavering hand in free form, cutting through the borders of jazz and classical, extending beyond the canvas.
Arnold Kasar about the Magic of Sound(s)
Why is the German pianist-composer publishing an album called "Spring Songs" at the beginning of Winter? Maybe because art is not the weather forecast. It is about anticipation, dreams, memories, and hope – and all the other wonderful feelings these tenderly beguiling pieces convey.
Sphente about Sound, the Acoustic Health of Society and the Dangers of Music that Makes Us Numb
“A lot of people go their whole lives and don’t have many proper musical experiences because the industry is so tainted. It dulls your curiosity to look for something more because maybe you thought that’s all music is.”
Yalla Miku about Energy & Music
For the Switzerland-based ensemble, the goal of their multicultural hyper-krautrock - driven by motoric grooves, poetry, and psychedelic guitar work – is to channel the “punk rage inherent in the harshness of all human life.” But if it simply takes you on a cosmic trip, that's perfectly fine, too.
Wretla about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Homesick with anxiety and inspired by notions of fate and futility, Zak Degenhardt turned his nightmares into music. The organic pulse of his hypnotic techno tracks is the result of a surprising realisation: That, for him, machines are better collaborators than humans.
Kathy Kennedy about her Voice and Singing
The musical world of Canadian composer and vocalist Kathy Kennedy is one of radiating "fields of Ah," a rhythmical "Wayonout" next to a reflective "Hatsiko," of warm Hmmms and joyous vowel jams. It's about entering the space and opening up, of leaving codes behind and just playing with your voice.
Joachim Badenhorst about Directions in Jazz
Technological possibilities have become so overwhelming, Joachim Badenhorst concedes, that he increasingly feels drawn to more stripped-down forms of expression. For his new project Youran, it meant searching for new acoustic resonances in tenderly explorative sound spaces.
Duo Reflections about Improvisation
There is a music in between the cracks – the cracks between jazz and classical, between composition and improvisation, between focus and drift, between physical reality and the realm of dreams. On their sophomore full-length, the French duo are bringing it out into the limelight.
Max Décharné about the Magic of Sounds
“I never know exactly where a song is headed. Sometimes I don't even know where it’s got to after it’s finished.”
Tineke Postma about Emotions in Music
“People often tell me, “I’m not sure what you’re doing — it sounds complex, but I feel the emotions, the interaction between you and your band members, and it really touched me.” That’s such a beautiful compliment.”
NTHNL Recommends Music as Sounding Environments, Stimulating Club Material and a Blend of DnB and Mongolian Throat Singing
Includes albums by Pharaoh Sanders, Sainkho Namtchylak and DJ Paypal.
Zihua Tan about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Zihua Tan believes that it's never enough for artists to compose new works of music – they need to constantly question, compose, and re-compose the creative act itself. The complexity of that task matches the complexity of the world – everything's connected to everything else.
Doc Martin about Minimalism
“Even when I go away for a trip, I rarely bring more than a backpack or a small bag. The more I live, I realize the less I need.”
Tatiana Paris Shares her Creative Process
The French multi hyphenate wanted music that “could be listened to while cooking with children in the same room.” Her idea of this goal may differ from yours, though: “Thaille” is a journey into nocturnal psychedelia, using poetry as a form of non-violent resistance.
Being and Becoming about Recording “Ars Ludicra” at the van Gelder Studios
Although it was recorded in a historical place, “Ars Ludicra” turned into one of the freshest and most powerful jazz statements of the year, a dynamic space for a telepathic band and electronics. If anything, Peter Evans was worried the energy level might be too high – it's easy to see, why.
Afterlife about the Magic of Sound(s)
“A badly EQ’d sound system is quite capable of starting a riot. I have seen this happen.”
Parlor about Dark Places
For the French quartet, darkness contain a hidden complexity that's closer to the confusion and chaos of the world around us. Their new full-length is a case in point: Bizarre and brutal, heavy and hypnotic, filled with an equal degree of nihilism and hope, it's a mind-melting monolith.
The Mary Onettes about Emotions in Music
For most fans, seeing their favourite band return after a ten-year album-hiatus would be a reason for happiness. With the Mary Onettes, meanwhile, it's a reason to cry - over the most intimate and dreamy songs imaginable. Be prepared to get crushed by - and dissolve into - the sound of sadness.
Anoushka Shankar Shares her Creative Process
"Creativity is a kind of universal act. When we create, we create beauty and connection in the world."
Niculin Janett about Improvisation
The new recording of Niculin Janett's quartet has the golden glow of the legendary jazz classics. A work of eight melodically sweeping gems realized with razorsharp tightness is an ode to imperfection - driven by red-hot passion and served with sexy-cool composure.
Liza Dries and Mathilde Nobel about Directions in Electronic Music
Sounds are letters, melodies words, beats the metre of the poet. Which means, Liza Dries and Mathilde Nobel argue, that we can twist these components into a new language. Their “Akyra” EP has a touch of magical realism about it, songs sounding like transmissions from a parallel galaxy.
Julie Herndon about the Magic of Sound(s)
In Julie Herndon's magical Études, her beloved piano engages in an enchanting dance with her electronics, like a synthesizer dreaming of Debussy. There is an organic pulse beating underneath these otherworldly compositions – the breath of life entering and playing with the machines.
FCL about Minimalism
“Technology keeps removing limits and offering more options, while we, as a species, seem to be getting worse at making the right decisions.”
schntzl about Directions in Jazz
The music of this Belgian duo is the sex dream of a fairy. It's fireworks for the brain. It's romantically complex, unironically baroque, it grooves to beats you can't count, it sets a vibe for the listener to guess. It is never here, right in this very moment.
Pictureplane about Music & Fashion
“Music is the purest and realest art form, it hits people directly and emotionally. A lot of times, I think fashion is just trying to capture the feelings of what music does to people.”
Stavroz Share their Creative Process
The Belgian fourpiece don't think about creativity as a routine, or even a gift. It's just something they do, without exerting too much pressure. Their new full-length is wilfully unpredictable, dissolving intimate songs, smooth urban grooves and psychedelic rock into something entirely its own.
Nadya Albertsson about her Voice and Singing
Singing on stage, Swedish singer-songwriter Nadya Albertsson says, is not a natural place for a human being to be in. That's precisely why it makes us so fragile and powerful at once. And it's also why her voice may be aiming at control – but finding beauty in its cracks and limitations.
The BRAND! Jazz Festival about Programming Stories for a New Wave of Jazz Musicians
Something was stirring in the city of Mechelen in Belgium. A different attitude to making music, combining craftsmanship with uncompromising freedom. The organisers of local arts centre nona seized the moment. 10 years later, the festival they founded is applying that same attitude to programming.
Lukas Lauermann about Directions in Contemporary Composition
On “Varve,” Lauermann's pensive cello lines weave in and out of a dreamlike field of otherworldly signals from an ensemble of tape machines and cassette recorders. Based on repetition but never actually repeating itself, the effect is uplifting in a ghostly way – these are the “integration loops.”
Hugh Tieppo-Brunt of the LCO about Film Scores, One Battle After Another, and the Future of Sample Libraries
Just like a director is challenged to find a new vocabulary for each new movie, so, too, does the London Contemporary Orchestra have to re-invent itself for each score. This versatility at the highest artistic level made it the perfect partner for Jonny Greenwood's latest soundtrack.
Soulparlor about Emotions in Music
“We don't have a special meta-space filled with concepts to explain or justify the music we make. We make music because it wants to come out.”
Michiko Ogawa about the Magic of Sound
A visit to an anechoic chamber instilled in Michiko Ogawa a realisation about the nature of reality: “Every sound, however incidental, carries life with it.” In her work, that realisation turns into 20-minute long rituals - impressionist dronescapes inspired by a deep love for small, subtle sounds.
Arshid Azarine about Directions in Jazz
If you love your music, set it free. The Iranian pianist finds inspiration in urgent socio-political triggers, personal emotions, as well as the powerful performances of the greats that came before him. These diverse impulses fuse opposites into a rousing, joyous vortex of beauty.
IDYL about Lyrics
“I need to be able to identify with the song — otherwise it feels like I’m lying.”
Manja Ristić about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
Nature, for Manja Ristić is an intelligent system, complex and cruel, self-devouring and adaptive. Her sound work is holistic, yet curious about micro-environments and their subtle wonder. It is not a product on display, but an invitation for listening as an act of communication.
Rozzi about her Voice and Singing
“One day I decided that I want to be able to sing anything - so I’ll have any note at my disposal if the song calls for it.”
Orchid Mantis Shares his Creative Process
Even the fuzziest song has a border. In the work of Thomas Howard, that border is a fractal - infinitely deep, returning to the same themes no matter how close you zoom in. Written for an audience of one, it creates a space for ephemeral connection: We're all travellers in life's airport terminal.
Dominik Eulberg about the Magic of Sound(s)
Each piece on the ecologist's new album is an aural representation of his feelings towards a butterfly species. This process may have been conceptual, but the results are not: “Thinking and feeling are antagonists. The more we listen, the less we think, the more we are in the present moment.”
Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres about Directions in Contemporary Composition
For her new release, Hamilton-Ayres worked with a doppler recording of her daughter's heartbeat and re-amped the largest reverb chamber in Europe. The infinitely quiet and small naturally melts into the expansively huge and loud here, sparked by the determination to explore.
Abigail Toll Shares her Creative Process
For “Idol”, Abigail Toll travelled to an ancient burial site on the island of Malta. The space's resonant frequency would provide the starting point for her mystical pieces built with flute, double bass, electronics, and the human voice – providing a portal into another dimension.
Das Kope about Kraut & Krautrock
Das Kope replicates the original Kraut spirit without copying the results: looping riffs for hours, soaking them in reverb, taking songs far beyond their formal limits. The results are hazy, laid-back, and otherworldly, yet the sun always comes through – like a day at the beach with Michael Rother.
Bad Colours about Directions in Electronic Music
Bad Colour's new album revolves around themes of longing, desire and urban solitude, celebrating the night with references to garage, house, and jazz. It's soulful music literally lifted off the street, born from conversations and chance encounters.
Andrea Laszlo De Simone Shares his Creative Process
The process for De Simone's new project was the same as ever: One cigarette at a time. The music, however, is like nothing before, taking the listener through ominous swells, impressionist string sections and chansons from parallel galaxies – to places outside the waking, rational mind.
Eusebeia about the Magic of Sound(s)
“The absence of sound or quiet sound does not necessarily equal peace or harmony. Loud music or sounds can be just as beneficial and cathartic.”
Jamie Leeming about Directions in Jazz
There are many layers to Jamie Leeming's “Sequent”, from shoegazing vocal tracks via solo guitar interludes to raw psychedelic jams. But the real magic happens because the music develops a cohesive feel, mesmerising pull and magnetic ambiance throughout – this onion tastes better unpeeled.
Will Barnes about Emotions in Music
Welsh guitarist Will Barnes allows all emotions into his music, crafting performances travelling along peaks and troughs. The latest release by his quartet, however, naturally evolved into a more introspective direction – while maintaining a subcutaneous urgency and pulse.
Francesca Remigi Shares her Creative Process
As a performer playing “the most masculine instrument ever,” Francesca Remigi was confronted with “systemic inequalities and discrimination.” These experiences now form the departure point for WITCHESS – an album of both metallic intensity and beguiling softness that unfolds like a ritual.
Turqois Coloured French Tourists about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The Hamburg production duo don't have any complex ambitions – they just want their music to groove. But man, does it groove. As a contemporary, deep and introvert update of the classic French Touch sound, their new EP sparkles like Champagne and relaxes you like a good wine.
Hybrid Leisureland about the Magic of Sound(s)
Sounds that carry a personal meaning are most precious to composer and producer Hidetoshi Koizumi. The sounding of a temple bell in the evening, for example, is not just beautiful in itself. It carries worlds of meanings and emotions – reminding us who we are and where we come from.
Bandler Ching about Directions in Jazz
It is hard to believe that Bandler Ching's utopian idm-jazz-crossbread can actually be performed by a drum-bass-saxophone-trio. The polarities are reversed here: The deeper the production, the more spontaneous it feels – and the more live they play, the more electronic they sound.
Denise King about her Voice and Singing
“Singing is a place to put emotion. Good and bad. I've poured bad breakups into my singing. Everything I've lived goes into my singing.”
Sebastian Rochford about Drums and Percussion
Seb Rochford hears melodies where others hear beats and thinks of sound when playing a groove. His new album suitably looks more like a guitar record on the outside than the latest project by a remarkably versatile drummer. But then again, Rochford simply doesn't “split things like this.”
Anaïs Maviel about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Anaïs Maviel aims to expand consciousness through listening, reuniting the body with the mind, logic with emotion. Her long-form compositions focus on vibration, improvisation, and oral transmission as well as a firm belief: Music can “make space for new world views to emerge.”
E. Live about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Eli Hurwitz's aesthetic is based on two factors: Subtlety and density. What may seem like a contradiction is in actual fact a recipe for dreams on the dancefloor: His new album draws both from the solitude of the studio and the experience of countless sweaty performances in funk bands.
Oswald | Užameckis | Asheim about Improvisation
The "third place" is not a theoretical concept for the Copenhagen-based, multinational trio. It is a way of life rooted in a questioning perspective on capitalist society and a higher degree of material insecurity – as well as the point of departure for their stimulating creative interactions.
Josi Miller Shares her Creative Process
“There were songs that I had 27 versions of. Over time, I learned to trust my taste and finish them.”
B.J. Smith about the Magic of Sound(s)
The Orb's “Metallic Spheres” took Graham Nash's "Chicago” for a ride. On his latest EP, B.J. Smith does the same for Billy Swan's cover of Otis Blackwell's “Don't be Cruel” - turning a moving folk piece into a quarter-of-an-hour-long, soulfully grooving meditation.
ROME about Lyrics
Jérôme Reuter's entire life philosophy was shaped by music, songs serving as aural Polaroids, documenting moments of pain as well as joy. For his new album, he took this philosophy to the max – re-recording every song, and going through the original spirit from his current vintage point.
Ramiro Zayas about Directions in Jazz
Some might say that our times need more action and less art. Argentinian pianist-composer Ramiro Zayas, disagrees. His new album, recorded with a classic jazz line-up but without drums reflects on global complexity with complete honesty – rising above the din, returning energy to the heart.
Sienna Spiro about her Voice and Singing
Technically, Spiro finds, she is “a terrible singer.” If that's so, then terrible technique has never sounded this stunning. But it is certainly true that even at her most emphatic, her performance isn't about virtuosity. It's about telling a story – and making the audience experience it with you.
Chloe Kim about Drums and Percussion
Chloe Kim's dedication to the drums is remarkable. For years, she would spend three hours each day just on the moment the tip of the drumstick hits the drumhead. But her playing is never just about her personal goals – it's about revealing the intricate details and quiet beauty of her instrument.
Madala Kunene & Sibusile Xaba about their Collaboration
Kunene and Xaba's collaborative release is the culmination of a fruitful teacher-student relationship. Reflective, soulful, and sparsely orchestrated, these songs, recorded in a one-week session in cultural hub Kwantu Village, meet at the line between folk and transcendental soundscapes.
Minru about Emotions in Music
On her sophomore album, Caroline Blomqvist allows you into her life – literally, as soft field recordings of birds, rain, and thunder infiltrate the fragile fabric of her acoustic miracles. It's a work of contrasts: The heavy burden of the emotions, the weightlessness of the music carrying them.
Hardt Antoine about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The French-Jamaican producer and DJ approaches the functional demands of the dancefloor from an experimental angle. Even if only traces of the original pure impulse remain, it lends his tracks that decisive sharpness – like a burning hot sprinkle of chili on a delicious slice of cake.
Sphente about the Magic of Sound(s)
In the hands of the multi hyphenate composer and multi-instrumentalist, sound turns into a powerful tool for awareness and transformative experiences. On his collaboration with NTHNL, the forces of wind and metal clash, crash, coalesce and contort into shapes of mesmerising otherness.
NTHNL about the Magic of Sound(s)
Music, to Jacob Rudin aka NTHNL, is a mysterious counterpoint to the material world. Confusion and beauty are closely related on his new collaborative album with fellow sound practitioner Sphente on which gong and wind instruments engage in an hypnotic dance.
Tuvaband about Lyrics
“Songs I've written about the environment and society are sometimes interpreted as breakup songs. That's okay - maybe someone needed a breakup song.”
Iron Curtis Shares his Creative Process
There was no room for experiments on the new Iron Curtis album. That gave the material a laser-focused sense of direction, resulting in a cozy collection of classically shaped, perfectly sculpted hypnotic-house sessions – a romantic reminder why you fell in love with this music in the first place.
Jimmy Peggie about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Happy pop songs have never appealed to me. I would much rather sit and listen to the wind blow across a desolate landscape, or hear the drone of traffic on a freeway.”
Fabiana Striffler on Collaboration, Improvisation, and Musical Encounters
Berlin-based Fabiana Striffler is known for her fearless approach to improvisation and her genre-defying collaborations. In this conversation, Fabiana speaks about the art of musical dialogue, the joy of risk, and what collaboration means to her.
ZOiD about Directions in Electronic Music
Daniel Jacobson has more ideas than he could ever realise. Many of them originate from his performances as a jazz musician, where concepts turn into vividly dynamic social experiences. Others stem from a simple realisation: The human brain is still the most creative machine on this planet by far.
Robert Lippok about Production, Technology, and Creativity
On Lippok's new collaboration with Anushka Chkheidze, lush sounds grow into organic structures, nostalgic harmonies and crackling rhythmical fields. The substance of this world are dreams, yearnings, and visions – forever fleeting, forever out of reach, infinitely beautiful and haunting.
Chris Ryan Williams Shares his Creative Process
Envisioned as "a descent into an imagined cave," performed with fellow horn-players Patrick Shiroishi and Kalia Vandever, and using electronics as a "kind of sculpting tool," Williams's new work is not so much a dark space as it is a mirror: The deeper you go, the more the demons are your own.
Veronica Fusaro about her Voice and Singing
“I hate when I feel sick and cannot sing. It almost makes me feel even sicker.”
Attawalpa about Emotions in Music
“The more I do this the more I realise it's all in the songwriting. You can’t make a good film with a bad script!”
Sarah Shin about Interpretation
Just like great performers keep coming back to the same pieces and make them seem fresh each time, Sarah Shin's approach to interpretation, too, is subject to continuous evolution.. Over time, the priority has shifted increasingly towards the music: Getting to the heart of it and making it shine.
Sir James Galway about Total Commitment and Inventive New Content for the Classical Scene
“The man with the golden flute” believes in hard work as a tool to transform talent into mastery - his prolific recording schedule and expansive discography are an impressive testimony to this. Classical music remains a living, breathing art form – coming to life anew in concert halls every night.
Mariska Baars aka soccer Committee about the Magic of Sound(s)
Mariska Baars's music is in constant contact with the world around her: The wind is resonating the strings of her guitar, birds are dancing across her songs, and her voice is floating like soap bubbles in the sun. This is radical music: Radically sensitive, radically quiet, radically beautiful.
Mike Parker about Minimalism
Mike Parker's pieces mostly comprise of a handful of repeated elements - occasionally shifting, occasionally standing still. And yet, they don't feel “minimal.” Schooled in abstract painting, he prepares his canvas and then steps back – your ears are the eyes, the music's the journey they're taking.
Shoko Nagai about Directions in Jazz
Does Shoko Nagai really believe that “everything that can be done has already been done”? Her new album suggests otherwise. Flowing from a radical dedication to improvisation, it melds improv, baroque piano runs, emotive strings and powerful funk into something entirely unique.
Soweto Kinch about Directions in Hip Hop
“If Hip Hop’s going to mean anything more than a button preset setting, somewhere between ‘EDM’ and ‘reggaeton,’ it has to recover its power to articulate the unspoken thoughts of the masses.”
Dan Hosh aka Gold Foil Hum about Film Music
Personal experiences can lead to boring art. As a foley artist, however, Dan Hosh's day job is all about making everything larger than life. For his new project Gold Foil Hum, he took things one step further, composing alternative cues for movies like Drive and No Country for Old Man.
Katy and The Null Sets about Emotions in Music
Nostalgia was the emotional mood Portland's Katy Ohsiek was looking for on her debut album. But it is a personal form of that sentiment and the intimate images her resistance-melting voice and tender chords are painting aren't sepia-tinged but so vivid you can almost touch them.
torpedo about the Magic of Sound(s)
“I really experience the general sound of the city like a form of pollution. I am strongly dreaming of a harmonious society that sounds beautiful!”
William Covert about Drums and Percussion
William Covert's “Dream Void” encapsulates his ideals: A drone rises from the void while the drums wait in silent anticipation, awaken, coalesce into a flow pattern and hit a blissful peak before subsiding again. It's his personal take on what Can once called “Flow Motion.”
Siselabonga about Lyrics
The diaspora doesn't just describe a geographical distance for Nongoma Ndlovu. It is an expression of her life, personality, and view on art. The absence defined by it can be painful, but it also unlocks the potential to be open and courageous - and find beauty in unexpected places.
Elektro Guzzi about Energy & Music
The Austrian instrumental trio want their music to match the intensity and drive of a live DJ set. On their new album, meanwhile, restraint was key, flow and ambiance drawing the listener in. This is the deep drop, that moment of eternal anticipation before the release.
Orphax about the Magic of Sound(s)
The world, the vedas taught is, is sound. Music, then, is an approach to design the world to our liking. In the music of Orphax, all is vibration – undulating, enveloping, mesmerising, the rate of change slowing down. It's an alternative, not an escape: There's plenty sonic beauty around us, too.
Lucy Durán about the Magic of Sound(s)
The production discography of Lucy Durán is a portal into a world of infinite colours, magical grooves, and poetic melodies. Music is a space for dialogue here, a means of extending hands and bridging dives - testimony to her skills and the power of sound alike.
Ava Della Pietra about her Voice and Singing
"Singing just feels like an extension of being human."
SHIMA about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Everyone should go to Japan at least once in their lives,” Tokyo's SHIMA feels. Not everyone will be able to. But at least, you can enter the vivid world of her new album which combines sensual groove patterns, folk melodies, club moods and her vocals into a beguiling, neon-lit urban fantasy.
Ferdinand Schwarz about the Art of Listening and Composing Static Music
The idea that listening is an active process has been around for a very long time. In the serene, static, and spatial compositions of Ferdinand Schwarz, they finally turn into a living and breathing, utopian experience – transcending our expectations of what music can be.
Seb Brun & Simon Henocq about Collaboration at the Cusp of Control and Chaos
Drummer Seb Brun and sound artist Simon Henocq found themselves in a trance-like session they refer to as “feeding the monster.” A wild array of cables and pedals created unpredictable fedback loops – and maximally powerful physio-electronic music overwhelming both body and brain.
Layla Rehana about the Magic of Sound(s)
“We often think of silence as the absence of sound, yet I feel it’s actually a frequency we can’t perceive. It’s a subtler vibration that holds everything together.”
Béesau about Directions in Jazz
Only someone who takes the roots of jazz so seriously could come up with a vision of the genre this fresh: After getting kicked out of the Paris conservatory, Remy Béesau started forging his own curriculum, built around sampling, beats, deep moods, and his soaring trumpet lines.
Ben Stapp Shares his Creative Process
Many composers consider making music a form of “world building.” Few, however, take that as literally as Ben Stapp. For his solo tuba live album Uzmic Ro’Samg, he spent years developing a set of rules and harmonic relations - shaping an entire universe around them.
Amira Kheir about Lyrics
The songs of poet and songwriter Amira Kheir have more than just an immersive quality to them. Touching on jazz moods, taking in her Sudanese influences and moving between silky grooves and ambient stillness, they stretch out to up to ten minutes of pure aural bliss.
Anushka Chkheidze about Production, Technology, and Creativity
On an album of organically evolving botanitronica, the Georgian producer experienced a new, playful side to composition. It's a gorgeous, heartfelt album driven by the realisation that “music is the one thing I haven’t ruined with my perfectionism or self-directed anger.”
Sophie Hutchings about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Sophie Hutchings recorded every piece on her new album in a single take. The result is a floating cloud of stillness rooted in the natural beauty of the piano sound – and the perhaps clearest realisation of her conviction that nothing in music matters more than its emotional power.
Montanha about the Magic of Sound(s)
“One night, some friends were over discussing music, and one of them asked what record was playing. Turns out it was two air conditioning systems from nearby restaurants.”
Jordan Patterson Shares her Creative Process
“All life is music.” With Jordan Patterson, what could be a cliché turns into the departure point for a sprawling cosmos where finding exactly the right lyrics is as important as painting your toe nails. Why? Because one day, your life will end - and then, “someone else will sing their tune.”
Marmalade Knives about Kraut & Krautrock
Marmalade Knives' Clinton Wilkins spent his life thousands of miles off Krautrock's place of birth. And yet, his path in life ran tangents around it – from making music in a collective and painting for hours listening to Kraut records to dreaming of Florian Fricke.
Oh Voyage Share their Creative Process
For their debut album, the duo retreated to a small wooden house, away from the busy bustle of their Rotterdam base. Here, they sought to write the music which best represented their identity as “new nomads” and their reality as a creative part of the Turkish diaspora.
Reuben James about his Voice and Singing
Sound, timbre, and projection – these are not theoretical concepts for astoundingly gifted British soul- and jazz vocalist Reuben James. They are everything. His songs make full use of his songwriting and piano magic and the production shines – but his natural voice is always the star here.
Faith Coloccia about her Collaboration with Daniel Menche
Faith Coloccia's collaboration with Daniel Menche began with a shared interest in nature, photography, and hiking, before entering the domain of music and culminating in a work which dissolves tender piano tracks, vocals and field recordings into inviting dreamstates.
Josienne Clarke about Lyrics
As a teenager, Josienne Clarke found herself drawn to “quiet little songs, like whispered confessions.” Now, she's writing them herself, following in the footsteps of Sandy Denny & Nick Drake. Her new album may be called Far From Nowhere – but it feels very close to something incredibly meaningful.
Teddy Douglas Shares his Creative Process
As a solo producer and with his fellow Basement Boys, Douglas has shaped decades of house music history. After a self-imposed hiatus from the business, his new collection of dubby and hypnotic 21st century soul anthems sees him reinvigorated and at the top of his game.
Asaf Sagiv about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Asked about the future relevance of music, composer Asaf Sagiv finds: “Beneath all of it there is always Void, silence. It does not change. It remains.” “IMA,” a work of infinite subtlety makes us experience this void – its frightening dimensions, its serene gaze, the comfort in its permanence.
Orphax Recommends Music for Mesmerisation, Inspiration, and Microtonal Mind Explosions
Includes albums by Eliane Radigue, Auburn Lull, Catherine Christer Hennix, and Harold Budd.
Sebastian Wolfgruber about Drums and Percussion
When Sebastian Wolfgruber teams up with Simon Popp and Flurin Mück, their groove relentlessly grabs-, moves-, and submits you. But it's also light and loving, like the hand of a friend pulling you along. The band's debut LP is an ode to the physicality of rhythm performed as a spiritual celebration.
Rania Yasmin about Lyrics
“Music touches the invisible — what can’t really be explained. Poetry tries to make the inexplicable understandable. They meet when both are lived sincerely.”
Jazzy about Energy & Music
There's no shame in Jazzy's DJ sets – everybody's free to scream, release, and go crazy. In fact. tears are a sign that her performance was a success: “I cry way less now because I can can channel and release that energy during my sets and share it with my ravers.”
ISHA Shares her Creative Process
Nothing ever came from small ambitions: A one-woman-performance-unit, ISHA aims to “redefine the jazz-electronic sound.” She's an impressive bassist – but it's really her songwriting-, and vibe-creation chops that make these goals seem remarkably attainable.
Kit Grill about the Magic of Sound(s)
The work of the London-based producer and radio host has a disarming immediacy. Whether Grill aims at the dancefloor or at your heartstrings, his palette is as wide as his influences, and driven by a simple realisation: “A world without music would be dull.”
Raphael Loher about Minimalism
For years, Swiss pianist-composer Raphael Loher found it hard to finish his solo music. Through limitations and trusting his sense for what's really important he broke through the impasse. His latest work for tape machine is testimony to the strange magic of his approach.
WILDES about Lyrics
Ella Walker's latest song collection carries the title “All We Do Is Feel.” That's an apt description for pieces which are, as she puts it, “particularly candid, blunt and lyrically raw.” There's a risk to confessions this personal – but it's a risk she had to take.
Sakura Tsuruta about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I’m such a sucker for spatial effects like reverb and delay,” Tokyo producer, Ableton-trainer and composer Sakura Tsuruta says, “I probably overuse them!” On her latest EP, however, every note, treatment and sound is at its right place – it's the aural equivalent of a perfect Lemon Sour.
Katy Guillen & The Drive Share their Creative Process
Katy Guillen and Stephanie Williams honed their songwriting and production chops from the ground up - allowing them to realise their dirty-garage-meets-soulful-country anthems at just the right balance between melancholia and elation, DIY fuzziness and blissful shimmer.
Steiger about Improvisation
Listening is difficult, but when it works, it can take you far. Belgian experimental jazz trio Steiger has put it centre stage in its philosophy, eschewing traditional models of improvisation and taking their performances to places of surreal, charmingly psychedelic wonder.
Attawalpa Recommends Music for Disassociated Moods and Calm, Creatively Open Spaces
Includes albums by Kevin Ayers, Nina Simone, Zulu, JS Bach, and Slipknot.
Monolink about Lyrics
As the German producer shifts from ecstatic dancefloor sounds towards a more expansive style and his drifting tracks enter the realm of songwriting, his talents as a lyricist move to the forefront. What's in a word? For Steffen Linck, an entire universe of emotions.
Jessika Kenney about the Magic of Sound(s)
“I like to imagine that feelings are made of cerebrospinal fluid! In that sense I also like to think that shaping music is like shaping pulses in fluids of various viscosities, as an inner dance.”
Oruã Share their Creative Process
Lê Almeida of Brazilian band Oruã finds inspiration in tragedy, poverty and “parochial and racist separation.” Music is about coping, it is about entering the chaos without fear. Clarity is appreciated, but not a requirement - “good lyrics need to say something, even if it's confusing.”
Zion Garcia about Lyrics
Music is space to Australian lyricist and producer Zion Garcia, it's “what isn't there.” And yet, the words are very much “there,” right in the eye of his trance-inducingly-headnodding, contageous-in-another-dimension abstract-jazz-hop's musical storm.
IKI (Nor) about their Voices and Singing
Five voices melt into one in IKI, but it is a singularity that contains multitudes. Every voice is clearly audible yet part of an organism, each performer's recognisable yet an anonymous part of the collective. This is the future – envisioned by the first instrument of all, the human voice.
Randi & Christian about Collaboration
The collaboration between Pontoppidan and Rønn has developed into a unique musical dialogue, blending acoustic experimentation with electronic textures. They move between improv, prepared piano, voice processing, and open exploration – with curiosity and playfulness at its core.
Oslo Tapes about Kraut & Krautrock
Each krautrock release takes Marco Campitelli to strange new worlds. His music is akin to astral travelling, requiring a “good dose of crazyness” from the performers. His upcoming full-length has the mind-shifting power of an ayahuasca trip and the physical force of a sledgehammer.
Amelia Clarkson about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Some still think composers spend their days locked away and dipping their quill in ink. Over the past year, however, Amelia Clarkson has spent more time travelling than behind her desk. Movement plays a pivotal role in her work – both when it comes to the music and getting it performed.
Ben Reilly about Directions in Hip Hop
“Where do I see the future going? Unfortunately, Idiocracy.”
Eraldo Bernocchi about Building a Nocturnal Rainforest with Merzbow and Iggor Cavalera
“I fall, constantly. There’s no bottom to my fall, except, death.”
Flurin Mück about Drums and Percussion
On Simon Popp's new release, his trio with Flurin Mück and Sebastian Wolfgruber drum, brush, and shake their way towards complete unity, to the point where the borders between tension and release, storytelling and movement in time are crumbling.
Tools of Creation: Oberheim Matrix 1000
Franz Scala about a modestly sized analog synthesizer with a gothic sound and the power of the big polys.
KAU about Directions in Jazz
KAU are associated with the Brussels sound and its community of jazz-leaning creative explorers. Still, the trio's sound is as personal as it is unmistakable, carving alien analog synth textures and sci-fi melodies out of hypnotic groove-oriented jams.
Ida Stein Shares her Creative Process
“It doesn't matter” is the title of one of Ida Stein's darkly alluring electro-pop anthems. In fact, nothing could matter more. Writing and producing her deeply atmospheric, intricately detailed debut album turned into a mission statement, the songs into revelations at the border of chaos and hope.
Clara Vetter of Letters from Nowhere about Collaboration
Neither geographical distance nor social distancing could keep Letters from Nowhere apart. Working with a concept they refer to as “performing with our past selves,” the musicians create improvised movements that cherish uncertainty but are never ashamed of beauty.
Jamie Duffy about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The once close bond between folk and classical music has been all but severed. In the oeuvre of Jamie Duffy it is making a welcome and entirely un-cliched return. Mostly based on piano, tin whistle, and strings, it focuses on intimacy and melody – held together by Irish storytelling magic.
torpedo about Interspecies Communication
Small events made the guitarist of experimental rock band torpedo realise that we can communicate with birds, hear the wishes of plants and see the global implications of small-scale tragedies for life on this planet.
Augusto Baschera about Directions in Jazz
Guitarist Augusto Baschera moves fluidly between classical tradition and jazz. APÓCRIFO, an expansive, emotional, and ambitious work of complex drumming and Augusto's multidimensional lines is testimony to a mind without borders: “Anything that can be turned into music inspires me.”
Meral Polat about Energy & Music
There's the joy of release on the Kurdish-Dutch songwriter-poet's new album, but there is also, on slow-smouldering anthems like “Can,” a sense of something pent-up pushing to the surface. These are the points where vulnerability turns to empowerment, anger is a form of love.
Luc Moindranze about Drums and Percussion
The Réunion songwriter was deeply inspired by the Island's sacred spaces and the power of his first percussive instrument, the roulèr. Integrally fusing subcutaneous shuffles and high-speed rhythms with polyvocal sweetness, he creates spiritual music with a lyrical grounding.
Fanatico X Share their Creative Process
For their new album, the duo covered Jefferson Airplane's classic "White Rabbit.” Astoundingly, their version turned out to be even more psychedelic and otherworldly than the original. Spirituality has little to do with it – it's all about “love, religion, and the nature of truth.”
Matthew Ryals on All Things Modular
In an ideal world, Matthew Ryals wouldn't need the modular anymore. Working his way towards an increasingly immediate way of interacting with his instrument, he is gradually approaching the point where voltage is his material, and electricity becomes a music of a strange, bewildering grace.
Löwenzahnhonig about the Magic of Sound
Recorded in a barn reminiscent of the one used on Neil Young's Harvest LP, Löwenzahnhonig's new album is a feathery, folky fairytale-fantasy-world of "skylinekisses," "heavy pink snowflakes," and "fondue sandwiches." You can hear a band playing softly – that's all there is, that's all that matters.
Agriculture about Lyrics
Expanding towards black metal, shoegaze, and crust punk, Agriculture's music is constantly at the verge of either exploding or collapsing. Lyrics lend as much direction and consolation to this vast expanse as they add to the confusion – you can't expect to go through purgatory without a little pain.
Kneebody about Directions in Jazz
Kneebody are a force of nature, sculpting a massive man-machine sound driven forward by relentless grooves. And yet, this isn't just a vulgar display of power – even at their most ferocious, it is the notes between the notes that make the quartet stand out.
Alex Remzi of the 8mm Festival about Krautrock as a Philosophy of not Fitting in
“Michael Rother gave me a NEU! T- shirt once. But I’m not a collector and I am not out to copy anything.”
NIIA about her Voice and Singing
“I threw up before and after my first show. It was so visceral and terrifying - but also the first time I experienced pure bliss.”
Kisu Min Share their Creative Process
The Rudolf Steiner House is an actual place. But for the Polish band, it is also a point on their creative topography: It rose from the subconscious and started manifesting itself in an autumnal song cycle of sullen chords, sweet vocals and echoes of The Smiths and The Cure.
Bremer/McCoy about Emotions in Music
The Danish duo feel that emotions are in the music and their role as performers is merely to play it to their best of their abilities. That may seem like a rather cool perspective. So how come their jazzy blend of warm synths and pastoral acoustic resonances feels so damn romantic?
Long Island Sound about the Magic of Sound
The Dublin duo don't need words to get their feelings across. Their enigmatic, enveloping take on techno embraces a free drum grid and is driven entirely by emotion - tempetuous basses pushing melancholic clouds of melody across a horizon in a state of eternal sunset.
TREEN about Improvisation
This trio's a hungry beast. Hungry for connection, hungry for a release that only this constellation can provide. It is a sound of plucks, patterns and pulses, a sound of trust growing through absence, nourished by the energy built when individual voices meet again after time spent apart.
Ex Colorado about Kraut & Krautrock
Krautrock fans like to dream about the golden years. José D’Agostino is actually living them. His former band Go-Neko! was built on a 70s-like communal spirit and his solo work, which he labels “dreamykraut,” relies on constant creation – pushing the motorik into your feet and utopia into your mind.
Rachel Eckroth about Directions in Jazz
Rachel Eckroth is taking jazz out of the box again. You can feel the physicality of the players, their breath, the suspense in the space. Despite her love for electronic world building, this is what it's all about: “I can’t imagine making music and never performing it in some way."
The Dwarfs of East Agouza about Energy in Music
“Trying to be in control in an improvised context doesn't make sense.”
Zack Lober about Emotions in Music
Lober's new album reveals itself gradually, shedding its layers with extreme care and consideration. Recorded during a time of personal loss, the music has the soft tonalities of a green tea without losing its impact: In a world of delicate gradations, it's the subtle movements that hit you hardest.
Sergio Merce about Alternative Tuning Systems
A cover reproduction of Miles Davis's On the Corner hangs on Sergio Merce's studio wall. His music, however, is already round the bend. There is melody in these monumental, slow-breathing soundscapes – but their contours are opaque, shifting at the speed of tectonic plates.
Siselabonga about Drums and Percussion
Amalgamating global influences into a personal background shaped by the supernaturally tight machine grooves of the MPC, Siselabonga drummer Fabio Meier's virtuosity manifests itself in its servitude to the song: First, you embody the world, then you strip it down to the core.
Cheryl E. Leonard about the Magic of Sound
For ten years, Cheryl E. Leonard interacted with glaciers, listening to- and recording them, playing near- and entering into collaboration with them. Compositions or documents? Sounds of the earth or human creativity? Here, you don't have to decide.
John Shannon about Emotions in Music
Many listeners will be deeply moved by the soft flow and tender touch of the Pittsburgh musician and jazz-club-owner's music. For Shannon himself, however, emotions aren't his first priority – they're a tool on the road to self-awareness, release, and peace.
Fabrizio Cammarata about Lyrics
The Sicilian songwriter's new work is a concept album which started with a question: “What does it mean to be an island?” Blending different languages, fragile folk and swelling sci-fi synths, the album's borderlessness instils a sense of hope: This is what it feels like not to be an island.
Mother Tongue about Improvisation
On their debut-abum, tri-continental trio Mother Tongue are exploring the unexpected. Sometimes, the spirit leads them to trance-inducing dervish grooves, at other times to straightforward song. It's a sound without borders, it's a music of infinite possibilities.
Invexis about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Some producers struggle with over-seriousness. Not Invexis. His hard-hitting, high-octane techno sound is the result of a playfully open-ended process. One of his new tracks kept joyfully shapeshifting for an entire year – clearly, the journey is the reward here.
Blue Lake: The Band Interview
One reason for Jason Dungan to assemble a band was the blissful feeling of hearing his music performed in a vivid, dynamic group constellation. And yet, the all-acoustic material with the ensemble – subtle, delicate, bitter sweet – has the same time-arresting intimacy of his solo recordings.
Kai Craig about Directions in Jazz
The artwork of Kai Craig's new LP has an anachronistic beauty to it, the sound is warm and rich. Clearly, the drummer feels a love for the jazz tradition. Still, when it's time to play, all of this is forgotten, giving way to a vital realisation: This moment, once passed, will never return again.
Donny McCaslin about Energy & Music
Some of the intense, frenetic energy that he contributed to David Bowie's "Darkstar" is also present on Donny McCaslin's “Lullaby for the Lost.” But the album also hits plenty of the tones and timbres in between, creating a fulminant and deeply fulfilling fanfare for the found.
Crow Baby about Emotions in Music
Spontaneity is their approach, surprise a goal, radical contrast a technique: The Berlin-via-Johannesburg duo write songs that use sweet melodies and vocal camaraderie to descend into noise, chaos and hysteria.
Mohajer about DJing
Dub is the thread weaving Mohajer's activities together – creating dynamic spaces extended into tidal infinity. In this interview, she reveals her background in a punk rock girl band, her experience with a moved eardrum and her worst nightmare as a DJ.
Tokio Ono about the Magic of Sound(s)
At face value, Tokio Ono's new pieces are like water colored dubs. On a deeper level, they open up doorways into the spiritual world and sonic mysticism: “In Japan, it’s long been said that tinnitus is a sign of a ghost drawing near.”
TV CULT about Dark Places in Music
Revolving an unlikely set of influences like Sisters of Mercy, “Cold Oi” and Chappel Roan, the Cologne-based band consider themselves one of the least fashionable formation imaginable – but was there ever a better time for raw, bloodletting songs about death, and the end of everything?
Billianne about her Voice and Singing
You don't have to read this interview about Billianne to get to know her – just listen to her sing. Moving from pure folk to a more multifacetted approach, her debut record began with the challenge of writing catchy melodies for her lower register – and ended with the triumph of a personal sound.
Svetlana Marinchenko about Directions in Jazz
After an album dealing almost entirely with military aggression, pianist-composer Svetlana Marinchenko has shifted her focus towards polyrhythmic structures and working with electronics. The band is her laboratory - and the music an experiment constantly at the cusp of combustion.
Guedra Guedra about the Magic of Sound(s)
The Moroccan producer builds sonic utopias from field recordings, found sounds and ferocious groove patterns. Listening is never passive, it's never just one thing – it's healing and transformative, questioning and consoling. As he puts it, it's “a way to read and understand the world around us.“
Alex Remzi about the 8mm Festival and why Physical Performance Spaces are “goddamn important.”
Continuing the spirit of its quasi-legendary predecessor Synästhesie, the 8mm Festival is committed to remaining an island of underground culture amidst Berlin's rapidly arts-unfriendly conditions.
Lina Langendorf about Directions in Jazz
In Stockholm, Lina Langendorf's uncompromising presence has become the stuff of local legend, her axis with African jazz a global force. A song, a gig, an album, a solo – they all have a beginning. But if it were up to the saxophonist, they would never come to an end.
Marquis Fair about his Voice and Singing
If you never stop singing, then life turns into a song and every note has meaning: Singing soul, rnb and jazz for tips for hours each day, Marquis Fair secured a recording deal and found a second home in Switzerland. His voice, however, has never lost touch with the street.
Cerys Hafana Shares her Creative Process
Hafana's new album is called “Angel,” a typical title for a harp-led work. For the artist, however, the pieces, which grew from a single inspirational seed, are an ironic take on the cliches associated with the instrument: When it's dark, it's dangerously easy to confuse a demon for a sprite.
Rosa Anschütz about Lyrics
Sometimes the only way to the future is through the past: Rosa Anschütz spent a decade writing, living, and envisioning this album. Now it's there, its songs deliriously arrest time in a state of excited tension, relived trauma and suspended expectations.
Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn And John, Yttling Jazz) about Directions in Jazz
As a teen, Yttling slipped into the local jazz club. Later, he studied with the legendary Esbjörn Svensson. Still, as he stresses in this interview on his new album – an electrically charged oscillation between euphoria and melancholia – all that matters is for things to sound “free and cool.”
The Brothers Nylon Share their Creative Process
One of the latest Brothers Nylon tracks was named after a stimulating substance. Which seems apt: Even at its most chilled and dreamy, the duo's instrumental 70s-soul-funk comes with a dab of chilli, cinematic vibes and the thrill of a deeply resonating espresso high.
ELECTRIO about Interpretation
No interpretation is ever definitive for ELECTRIO. And so, they re-imagined pieces by Dowland and Monteverdi, bridging centuries and crossing the divide between the electronic and the acoustic. The result is a transfixing triumph of the imagination, washing over you like a timeless tidal wave.
David Mayer about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Maybe AI can be a coach, a guide, a plugin. But it would never invite me over for fennel tea.”
Babon about Directions in Jazz
The Indonesiam trio play deliciously spacey, drifting, downbeat synth-fusion. But their debut album is a warning about the desertification of tropical forests. It is a subversive form of activism – opening the mind up with kindness but never letting go of the message.
Closet Yi about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Many listeners experience mental images. But can the feet of dancers, too, sense the impulse behind a beat? In the music of Closet Yi, scenes, sounds, and sentiments collected while traveling translate into a architectural web of urban patterns – percussive, visionary, and beguiling at once.
Lady Wray about her Voice and Singing
Lady Wray started singing in church as a girl. Still to this day, she considers her voice a blessing and part of a ritual the world needs to keep from turning into a dark and barbaric place. It's all about sharing – you can't listen to her perform and leave without taking a piece of her with you.
Tim Carr Shares his Creative Process
Who's the person on the cover of Carr's new album? It's the artist, his face lit up by two neon beams. But it's also the departure point for the music which grew as a score around the image. And once it was done, the man on the photo had become someone else, a listener lost in the songs.
I Hold the Lion's Paw about Directions in Jazz
“I’m not sure we’re the right people to be asking what jazz means today,” the Australian quartet feel. Or maybe it's the other way around. Their new release is a post-production tour de force involving improv, electronic tools and constant transformation – where else would jazz happen, if not here?
Binary Algorithms about Directions in Electronic Music
In the club, dancers have been seen struggling to find the movements to match the Colombian producer's beats. At home, however, and ideally under a pair of immersive headphones, his music takes on the kind of soothing quality that some dystopian sci fi flicks convey.
Emma Rawicz Shares her Creative Process
Many artists have described the creative spark as receiving a “transmission.” Emma Rawicz is one of the few where you can still sense this spark of the “beyond” in the finished work. Her music lives in a Murakami'ean dream state where jazz and magical realism blend into something uniquely her own.
Sugar Bomb about Directions in Jazz
When the backing band to some of Asheville's most charismatic vocalists goes instrumental, the music takes flight. Focusing on a cool kind of passion and a laid-back hip-hop-vibe, Sugar Bomb are errupting into a danceable and slow-simmering, red-hot lava stream of infectious grooves and organ solos.
Anthony Laguerre of IKI about Drums and Percussion
There's an easy way of playing the drums. And then there's the way Anthony Laguerre prefers to do it: Inseperably interlocked with the other instruments, tapping into the infinite palette of percussion to transform and resonate “timbre, dynamics, spectrum and the space in which it all happens.”
Infinite Coles about Lyrics
Once the NYC vocalist removed all lyrical filters, the songs for his new EP started pouring out. Some of the underlying themes were deeply private, introspective and reflective – which didn't keep the sessions from yielding joyous, life-affirming, 90s-tinged hip-hop, rnb and house.
Anthony Wilson about Directions in Jazz
The guitarist is neither afraid of tapping into the past, nor is he nostalgic about it. On a live album of standards, originals and unexpected covers, the swing always comes first, but nothing hits you like his nonet's cover of “In a Silent Way” - it ain't worth a try if it can't make you cry.
Charmaine Lee about the Magic of Sound(s)
Charmaine Lee thinks of sound as “something that can be shaped, pressed, and stretched, but never held still.” Her voice binds all the aspects of this unique material together: It is its source, a resonator, transformer and a magnifier – searching for patterns in a state of constant surprise.
torpedo Recommend Crazy Beautiful Albums to Blast your Ears with Perfect Balance
Includes physical sound experiences by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Nirvana, Amenra, Hania Rani, and Lori Goldston.
Julie Pavon about Energy & Music
Listening to Pavon's studio album “Born With Heartbreak” delivers an equally beautiful and brutal blow of energy. And yet, it's only a backwards translation of the emotional storm unfolding when she performs live. There's no wrong or right here, as long as it moves you.
daoud about Directions in Jazz
On “ok”, the trumpet-poet dives deep into analog synths and global collaboration, shaping a collection of centrifugally spiraling pieces held together by the gravitational force of his personality. daoud has been called “the problem child of jazz” - this album rather sounds like the solution.
Benny Sings about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Instrumental hip-hop was supposedly the first genre to fall prey to AI. In the hands of Benny Sings, it may turn out to be a stronghold. The Dutch producer approaches samples and beats like a songwriter would his guitar, capturing moments of blissful simplicity with a high degree of spontaneity.
Carmen Electro about Energy & Music
Carmen Electro is bringing house back to its beginnings: A producer in the intimacy of her studio, with nothing but an idea and the urge to create. There's something political about her soft anthems about friendship and private passions: “Don’t let the tech giants choose your sound for you.”
Speranza Galez about her Voice and Singing
"Every stage of my life has been a kind of unlocking," the Venezuelan singer says, "moving me closer to where I truly want to go." On her solo debut, that goal is now right in front of her: Jazz and South American folk, African rhythms and rock riffs, humour and tears all have their place here.
Björn Lücker about Drums and Percussion
Björn Lücker felt as though he had no gift for the drums. His creative battle with obstacles attuned him to the intricate details of his instrument and the ability to consider himself not just a rhythm machine, but part of an ensemble – creating a feeling he likes to call “panoramic.”
Yumi Ito about her Voice and Singing
Think of an incredible jazz singer. Then, imagine what they would sound like with all of the cliches removed. On her new album, Yumi Ito's voice, captured with vintage microphones and embedded into a space of warm resonance and reverb, is right in front of your ear, every emotion magnified.
Scuba about Directions in Electronic Music and Live Performance
“Tech has been very bad for music. There is great music still being made and released in isolation - but the ratio of good to bad has declined precipitously.”
Christopher Stark about Directions in Contemporary Composition
On composer Christopher Stark's latest long-form work, he confronts an acoustic ensemble with piercing white noise and luminescent electronic sequences. It's not a denial of the confusion and chaos our data-driven world has created – but it does make it feel a lot more beautiful.
Alan Niblock about Improvisation
Double bassist Alan Niblock's approach to performing in the moment is all about movements – observing them, stirring them, following them. Sometimes, this leads to fast-paced energetic discharges. Sometimes, to shifts at the majestic speed of tectonic plates.
Isabelle Duthoit of IKI (FR) about her Voice and Singing
Isabelle Duthoit finds a lot of inspiration in Japanese theatrical traditions. But her performance, as dramatic as it may be, is neither acting nor storytelling. Bypassing language and returning to the archaic voice of visceral emotion, her vocals take the listener back in time and deeper inside.
SHARE about DJing
The sets of the Dutch DJ are journeys built on patience and tension, on the constant subtle fluctuation between a sweet, ethereal flow and the grounding gravitational pull of powerful pulses. This is not escapism – it's reality as a dream of a better world.
Greg Jamie about Emotions in Music
With nothing but a guitar, the occasional drum machine and sustained harmonics, Jamie's “Across a Violet Pasture” is painting worlds at the border between waking and sleeping, life and death. You can check in anytime, but these are not places you'll ever arrive at – you can only leave.
Glass Museum about Directions in Jazz
The Brussels trio delivers the true Late-Night-Jazz. Based on dreamy piano licks, trance-inducing drumming, spiritual basslines and phantasmagoric synths, this is the soundtrack to a night filled with promises, headed for a morning that will never come.
Dina Summer about Lyrics
“Tears in stardust, falling from my eyes // Your absence - a void in starlit skies.”
Ida Nielsen about Energy & Music
Music is vibration transmitted through the air, it is emotion made physical. That's why Danish bassist Ida Nielsen will always prefer the stage over the couch and performance over production – when the connection with listeners is most direct, the rawness of her funk just hits you harder.
Jasper Hoiby about Directions in Jazz
The Danish bassist's output seems to progress in numbers: His ensemble is called “3 Elements,” his electro-acoustic trio Planet B's new work will be released on 4 records over 4 years. His music, however, is an attempt not to be overly conceptual – and to return to the timeless mystery of art.
Camilla Sparksss about Energy & Music
Written during the most challenging period of her life, Camilla's new album deals with pain and the finiteness of human existence in an equally extreme and relatable way. There are no certainties in these razorsharp, and brutally fragile songs except one: Right now, in this moment, we are alive.
Karen Ng Shares her Creative Process
“The notion of control has come up several times during the making of this album. It’s a very curious aspect that I think generally doesn’t sit well with me in creation and collaboration.”
Mathias Modica aka KAPOTE about Production, Technology and his new album Para Mytho Disco
The third instalment of the German producer's Italomania series once again manages to marry red-hot passion with the tongue-feeling of a cool rosé. What sets great Italodisco apart from mediocre one? For Modica, it's all about the difference between “the vertical and the horizontal.”
Kush Arora aka Only Now about Energy & Music
Making music, to Indian-American producer Kush Arora, means placing energy at the right spot – or creating new ones for it to inhabit. Born in live situations and hyper-saturated with noise, the results have a meditative, hypnotic quality about them – although they have got him threatened as well.
FRQNCY LDN about their Collaboration
“It’s all about gongs,” Alex Lavery says about his project with James Ford. And yet, with a small ensemble ornamenting the powerfully sustained drones, it is about a lot more and something deeper as well: Creating “epiphanies, creative solutions or a reset, all from the power of sound.”
Sébastien Forrester Shares his Creative Process
“Art is similar to archeology,” percussionist and composer Sébastien Forrester reflects. On his new album, you can hear him digging, scraping off the dust, revealing hidden layers. Only, these aren't fossils: Nervously twitching, they are brimming with barely contained, primal kinetic energy.
Asaf Avidan about his Voice and Singing
Avidan has a voice like no other. But he takes it through hell, straining and crooning, purring and seducing. Sometimes, the need to sing extends beyond his vocal limits, yet there is no alternative: Singing means expressing himself to himself and to the world in a bid of making it more bearable.
Blue Earth Sound Shares his Creative Process
Spiritual jazz can get nigh-symphonic. For Blue Earth Sound, James Weir was looking for something more intimate. Mostly built around sweet piano riffs, soulful drums, and blissful flute and brass, the music takes you to safe places of healing and comfort.
Fenge about the Magic of Sound(s)
What's in an image? For Fenge's new EP, the cover was there first to which the Leipzig producer composed the music. Performed on acoustic instruments and vintage synths and recorded with a small portable recorder, it is lovely and mysterious – and conjures up new mental images inside the listener.
Gisela Horat about Improvisation
The titles of her pieces are a source of inspiration for Gisela Horat's explorations. The name of her new trio album – Live in Leipzig – is a carte blanche for her imagination, a screen onto which the pianist projects hallucinatory patterns of melodies, moods, and subcutaneous pulses.
Kula Shaker Share their Creative Process
“K” was their burst into stardom, ”Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts” an underrated masterpiece. But as Kula Shaker's new single proves, Crispian Mills's gift for gorgeous melodies and the band's unique sound between heat and haze are here to stay.
Black Polish about Dark Places
Black Polish freely admits that hate comments spurn her on. But she's not out to get anyone down. To the contrary, songs like her anthemic, slow-simmering single “Bondage” create communities for coping: When the lights are out, the darkness draws us closer together.
Sijya about Lyrics
Contradictions are not just a spice for Sijya's ambient trip hop songs. They're the meat and bones. Blissed-out bass drums and far-away percussion beat out slow rhythms, faintly glistening synths suggest film-noir-moods - while the words revolve around the "hellishness and wonders of the mundane."
Anika Nilles about Drums and Percussion
“No matter how great the gear is, it doesn’t necessarily make you a better musician.”
múm about the Magic of Sound(s)
Great albums can seem to live in unique acoustic worlds or dimensions of their own. The new múm certainly does. Recorded in an Italian vineyard, it took the band away from Iceland's wind and water and towards an oasis of peaceful distortion, babbling modulars and sympathetically overlapping voices.
Lanz Pierce about the Intersections between Music, Tech, and Entrepreneurship
“When you don’t have a machine behind you with capital and influence, there are only two choices—remain idle and do nothing, or stop at nothing until you win.”
Gab Ferreira about Emotions in Music
For São Paulo songwriter Gab Ferreira, the stage is not the place to hold back and songs aren't vessels for coded messages. Her music's intimacy is like the top of an iceberg rocked by wild undercurrents and hot, submarine volcanic activity – cool to the touch, but ready to explode at any moment.
Lucid Lucia about Directions in Jazz
The influences of the Belgian sixpiece are hyper-local and ultra-international at the same time. Rooted in the city of Antwerp, its music fuses influences across eras and beyond borders: “The wider the spectrum, the greater the possibilities.”
Guedra Guedra Recommends Albums that Show Sound “as a method for rethinking history, for building new imaginaries.”
Includes sonic archiving by Eno/Byrne, Maqam-meets-rock collisions by Secret Chiefs 3, the textural sonics of Amon Tobin and Badawi's dark Moroccan electronics.
Cecilie Strange about Directions in Jazz
You can't scream for peace. And so, Cecilie Strange is envisioning jazz as a space for serenity and beauty, where drifting sax passages and kalimba pulses are gently moved by cool piano flourishes and the sound of loving brushes caressing the cymbals. This is utopia in a cupped hand.
TaboTago about Kraut & Krautrock
The Berlin trio started as a tribute to Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream. But they're not nostalgic. Using a combination of synths, guitar, and laptop, they're exploring how far cosmic sequencer music can go without repeating itself or loosing its original spirit.
Shad about Directions in Hip Hop
"Don't dream big 'til you can handle small things," Shad advises. His personal brand of hip hop embraces music as the soundtrack to the imagination. It zooms in on the tiniest of details – the undercurrents of fear, love, and pride that make us who we are.
John Butler about Energy & Music
Butler wants to express many different energies at the same time, even seemingly contradictory ones. The intention is always the same: To create songs that are “dense, rich, textured and expansive”, songs that you can feel in your head and your heart, that are larger than life.
Eyvind Kang about Improvisation
Kang's music transcends time, his language is as inclusive as it is impenetrably personal. On his upcoming release “Riparian,” an endless dialogue between plucked and bowed strings opens up sparse fields beyond time, reaching for the point where the parallels meet and space folds back on itself.
Shrunken Elvis Share their Creative Process
The trio started while touring abroad in a station wagon. The lack of space, the enforced gear minimalism, and the constant change of scenery resulted in a homesick album of sweet timbres and flowing rhythms, powered by a love for krautrock, prog, 90’s house, trip hop, “and all things psychedelic.”
Jonas Kocher about Improvisation
There's a 16 year gap between Kocher's last solo album and his new one. The accordionist has used the time well and charged his improvisations with playful twists and turns. There's no need for amplification or effects. Everything he needs is right here, within the sounding body of his instrument.
The Liquid Dude about Production, Technology, and Creativity
To lend that defining organic quality to his acid-splashing electronica, producer and soundtrack composer The Liquid Dude draws the conviction that “sound is as much science as it is art” - as well as intense real-life experiences: Journeys to the arctic, volcanoes erupting right in front of him.
Sean Clarke about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Even when the Ottawa composer's pieces for small ensembles take visual cues from paintings or movies, what makes them so distinct is a magical confluence of vibration, mood, and resonance, a particular folding of time that is unique to music and never fully reveals its mystery.
Boko Yout about Energy & Music
“It's a download from above. I feel like an antenna receiving information, my body as a vessel and my voice as a speaker.”
Nils Kugelmann about Improvisation
For a long time, Nils Kugelmann couldn't decide on an instrument. Maybe that's why, today, his double bass playing frequently crosses from percussive grooves via warm harmonies into melodic territory. His trio's latest album on ACT isn't just tight – instrumentally, it's hyperdimensional.
David Lee Myers about the Magic of Sound(s)
David Lee Myers is intrigued by the sounds of suspension bridges. Somehow, that shines through on Terrenus, an album which makes tones sing and frequencies dance. It may feel abstract to some, but really, it isn't – this is what the world sounds like to those willing to listen.
Jehnny Beth Shares her Creative Process
“You Heartbreaker, You” is an album to surrender to, to become obsessed with, to play so loud it's painful. Born from intense riffs and the urge to write a crushing guitar record, Beth's songs unfold like apocalyptic cleansings rituals about love, frustration and alternative sexuality.
Hilgeum Share their Creative Process
Hilgeum are performing on gayageum, geomungo, and haegeum – traditional instruments with an up to 1,000 year old history. And yet, the powerful, fantasy-like performances of the Korean threepiece can make the most advanced electronic tools feel pale and tame in comparison.
Ebi Soda about Directions in Jazz
The studio is their stage: While the Brighton based ensemble's live performances may fit most people's definition of “jazz,” their electronically supercharged recordings redefine its limits. At their heart, however, is the very essence of the genre: Improvisation in all of its variations and glory.
Kory Reeder about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I love long pieces, I love long books, and I love to see artists really stretch their legs into a big artistic statement.”
Billy Nomates about Lyrics
For Billy Nomates, music and lyrics can enter into paradoxical relationships, combining the sad and the upbeat, offering linear and circular narratives as well as navigating between sex and death. Life is short and lyrics can help to make sense of it – what's the point in lying?
Jordfäst about Dark Places
The Swedish trio's monumental Black Metal delves into history, digging up the roots of evil and investigating societal entanglements. If that seems bleak, then that's because it has to be: Only when you turn off the lights completely, can you see the faint glimmer of hope.
Kush Arora aka Only Now recommends Recordings and Performances with a Polarising Energy
Includes glowing white noise by Merzbow, seething, sulfurous layers of metal, hypnotic Ugandan drumming and the hypnagogic field recording ASMR of KMRU.
M. Sage Shares his Creative Process
A lonely clarinet, scattered fragments of piano chords, a ghostly layer of evening ambiance – Matthew Sage's new album seems to exist in the realm of memories, myths and magic. Its chambermusical arrangements are filled with yearning – forever reaching for something that's impossible to grasp.
Anne Paceo about Drums and Percussion
Paceo's "Atlantis" takes a mythical culture as its point of departure. But the depth, intensity, and just barely contained energy of its songs point to something highly personal – to a burning passion held within that's bubbling to the surface.
Ella Ion about Lyrics
Ion is a firm believer in the art of the album. That is remarkable since her songs feel like self-contained worlds. Searching harmonies, her incomparable voice and sparse arrangements lead the listener into a magical place where words take on new meaning – as if they're born that very moment.
WON IL about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Horror film soundtracks, traditional Korean music, electronic studio production, performance and “shamanistic imagination” - the work of WON IL takes the job description of a composer to new levels of complexity. His music is of a remarkable immediacy, however.
Sven Wunder Shares his Creative Process
The Swedish jazz composer wants to give songs what they need. For his upcoming album, that mostly meant subtracting elements and focusing on warm grooves underneath Beach-Boys-like harmonies. That is, until he discovered they were asking him for a complete string orchestra.
Luca Formentini about Ghosts in Music and Connections with the Unconscious
Formentini's latest album is a takeover. During the process, the guitarist-composer allowed subconscious memories, unprocessed traumas, and inherited energies to infiltrate, invade, and influence his process – yielding an infinite field of whispers, Kirlean resonance and cloudy hauntings.
Siichaq about Lyrics
Siichaq was battling with mental health and loneliness when Nirvana and Melody's Echo Chamber came to the rescue. Songtitles like “I keep getting sicker” and “Life's a Mess” still reveal bruises and scars. The music, however, oscillating between brokenness and beauty, has the power to inspire.
Cooper Bowman about the Magic of Sound(s)
Bowman is interested in the idea of sound as democratic, species-crossing communication. Maneuvering wondrous electro-acoustic spaces through improvisation and careful placement of his materials, a music of great subtley, joy, and refinement arises – free from expectations, free from constraints.
Astral Cinema about Directions in Jazz
The range of influences for this British-Danish jazz supergroup is dizzying. But as exploratory as their creative process may be, the results have a surprisingly dreamy quality, a gently rolling sensuality and warm charm to them – think independent movie theatre rather than Hollywood blockbuster.
Alexander Flood about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Using ONLY electronic music/sounds is limiting.”
yingtuitive about the Magic of Sound(s)
Binding field recordings to harmonies and beats and opening her intimate pieces up to psychedelic intrusion, the Singaporean pianist-producer and sound-composer is not afraid to get her ears dirty. Her work is an invitation to hear the world differently - and see life through the lense of music.
Luise Volkmann about Directions in Jazz
“Sometimes I wonder how long we’ll still have live music as a society.”
Tamar Sagiv about Emotions in Music
A deep sensation of grief was the overarching sensation for the cellist-composer's debut album. Navigating between her classical training, exploratory instrumental techniques and a profound love for contemporary music's immediacy, she moulded her own language of pain and deliverance.
Tuxis Giant about Lyrics
Tuxis Giant's Matt O’Connor is always writing: Songs about houses, songs about pets. Songs that trick you into looking inward, songs that dip into the sublime. Songs that feel raw, yet glow from the inside. Songs that are quiet, but which you'll never forget.
Kobe Dupree about Minimalism
“I am learning from the masters that everything you have is right in front of you.”
Laura-Mary Carter Shares her Creative Process
For her new album, Laura-Mary Carter wanted to return to the straight-forward storytelling of 50s love songs. That's not to say the emotions discussed here are simple. There is always a coating of noise, a halo of hurt, an itch to remove the bandages and open up the wounds.
Captain Mustache about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The “M” doesn't just stand for the Captain's finely groomed facial hair growth. It also relates to: Music, Melody, and that certain Magic that elevates his weightlessly floating future-age electro-grooves to an energetic state approved by Albert Einstein.
Yijia about Lyrics
For Chinese songwriter Yijia, music is an instrument for connecting with her ancestry and heritage. Driven by a deep spiritual longing for past and present to unite, it takes listeners to places of great beauty where the borders between languages, cultures, and times dissolve.
Steve Rothery (Marillion, Bioscope) about Kraut & Krautrock
As a boy, the albums of Tangerine Dream took the Marillion guitarist to another world. Decades later, his encounter with the keeper of the TD legacy could do the same for a new generation – long, feverdreamy instrumentals casting pulsating shadows on landscapes filled with longing and regret.
Thorsten Quaeschning (Tangerine Dream, Bioscope) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Everything is subordinated to music itself—production, technology, even performance decisions.“
Paul Cornish about Improvisation
Paul Cornish started composing on the piano during long breaks between lunch and evening service. Even today, his work seems to feed from that experience. His trio album on Blue Note is slow, deliberate, never-too-dreamy 5AM music with a sepia-tinged touch.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith about Lyrics
How do you describe the magic that's all around us? On GUSH, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith does it best by not describing it at all. Her songs are pure synaesthetic sense stimulations, aural caresses of hazy vocals and sultry beats which always put feeling first.
Maurice Storrer about Energy & Music
Drawing spirit from John Coltrane's great 60s recordings, the Swiss saxophonist is following in legendary footsteps. Backed by a fourmidable band and propelled forward by highly memorable material, however, he pulls it off – always landing on the right side of classic vs retro.
Lvdf about Collaboration
Lvdf are as tight as jazz units come. And yet, there is plenty of space for all of the quartet's voices to shine through. Playful bass runs, cascading synth lines, intense sax licks and grooves with a personality merge into forceful stream-of-consciousness-meditations.
Matteo Pagamici and Michael Künstle about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“Dimensions” reverses the conventional logic of electronic music, treating the orchestra like a synthesizer and an effect processing unit. The results, however, are not formal experiments, but emotionally rousing string oscillations which feel faintly familiar and fascinatingly foreign.
Ollie Mundy about DJing
Olly Mundy's journey into music is like an arrow unstoppably making its way towards the bull's eye – and DJing is like life therapy. His afro-house sets hold precious moments, building them into spaces to rejoice, rejuvenate, and re-connect with what really matters.
Penny & The Pits about Energy & Music
Could any band be cooler and more unpredictable than Canada's heroes-beyond-borders Motherhood? It can, if it's led by one of their members. Penny & The Pits' are brutal & charming, sharp & fuzzy, they're your mind on helium, they're bitter love & sweet sweat, they're rage wrapped in a pink ribbon.
Matt Bachmann about the Magic of Sound(s)
Recorded at his home, Matt Bachmann's upcoming new album conveys a rare organic intimacy. Realised as a collective dream with a cast of formidable musicians, the music unfolds slowly, and with utmost intent, through the weaving of mesmerising patterns and subtle grooves.
Newmen about Kraut & Krautrock
Some have compared Newmen to Stereolab. But the German quintet are closer to the source. Their new album blends irresistible motorics with sweet vocoder tunes and analog synths for a mirage-like, mind-frying ride on the rays of the future and everything that made the originals great.
Reset Robot about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Mallets, bells, and choirs – and yet, David Robertson is not composing for classical concert halls, but the dancefloor. His music follows a course set by intuition and fast decisions: If there are no rules, every note is an opportunity to break them.
Peter Chilvers about Minimalism
The composer and sound designer's new album starts off in a dreamy, peaceful haze, then drops into unfathomable depths in two time-arresting long-form pieces. On the outside, nothing much is happening here. On the inside, it's a tempest.
Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet: The Band Interview
Inspired by the proud Afro-Peruvian tradition and Miles Davis' legendary 60s quintet, the sextet are embracing rules and constraints as a tool for liberation. There is a constant flow of energy between members, music, and audience – not a single performance is ever quite the same.
Jonathan Moritz about Directions in Jazz
The unconventional is a natural part of the Brooklyn-based saxophonist's vocabulary. Inspired by tradition, surfing, and the joy of surprise, there is a sense of true joy to these immersive explorations.
Juri Seo about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Juri Seo's work explores “the continuum between timbre, harmony, and noise.” Yet its main goal is not experimentation, but exhilaration. Making consistently surprising use of just intonation, electronics, and traditional instruments, this music makes you forget the past and remember the future.
Madeleine Cocolas about the Magic of Sound(s)
Sometimes, just a single piano note can prove cathartic for the Australian sound artist and composer. But so can the noises of big cities and urban environments. On “Syndesis,” she translates her emotional response to a thrillingly diverse collection of sounds into a mesmerising aural tapestry.
Maya Beiser about Emotions in Music
Conceptually, the cellist's new album builds a bridge across 300 years of music, upholding a hypnotically serene, ritualistic tone. This is an intense-to-the-point-of-burning experience that provides a space to say: “Feel this. Remember this. Don’t look away.”
Noiseshaper about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Is it Love?” the chorus to the Berlin-based dub-reggae duo asks expectingly. But what else could it be? Two decades into their creative career, Noiseshaper keep plumbing the depths of echo, delay and feedback. It's about sharing, it's about the unknown – but most of all, it's about the love of it.
Juli Lee about Energy & Music
The precise pulse of Juli Lee's percussion patterns pave a path for pure, otherworldly pads, and whispered poetry to softly unlock the brain's emotional hemispheres. It is a space where all anger has gone and left room for the more subtle energies remaining in its wake to unfold.
Steve Lawler about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Steve Lawler has gone through a “god awful” first record and overcome gear addiction to end up in a place where music is a pure expression of emotion. His new single is a relentless burst of energy – describing a place where euphoria and unfulfilled desire merge.
Wojtek Mazolewski about Energy and Music
Talking about energy means talking about live performances to the Polish bassist. In concert, “incredible things happen.” Especially so on his latest live album with his quintet, on which 4-minute pieces get expanded to 22-minute explorations as part of the “art of joy.”
Coast2c about Directions in Electronic Music
The modular synth compositions of the Mexico-City based producer have one foot on the dancefloor and the other on a bed of moss. Inspired both by personal experiences as well as the machine-logic of her systems, her latest EP is an act of conscious self-hypnotisation.
Alec Goldfarb about Alternative Tuning Systems
Goldfarb's new album takes listeners to places where everything sounds not-quite-right in exactly-the-right-kind of way – and vice versa. New intervallic spaces lead to new forms which, in turn, lead to new experiences. That's because they “ultimately expand our sense of what music can be.”
Kaj Duncan David Shares his Creative Process
David wanted his new album to be “strange, trippy and beautiful.” It turned into more than that: A fantasy for vocals, wind controller, MIDI guitar, and drum-synthesizer that goes from poetic babblings and insular sounds to mysterious structures. It's like witnessing the birth of a new music.
Miist about Emotions in Music
Whatever the Chinese singer-songwriter had to endure, music was always there for her. Now, she is using the power of her tender, diaristic songs to help and heal others. What is needed right now, Miist feels, aren't innovations or extravagant presentation, but art as an act of humanity.
Chihiro Yamanaka about Directions in Jazz
“I don't set out to be political. But the world inevitably seeps into the music.”
PARIS about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The Australian producer is wrapping huge emotions in a soft fabric, aiming for euphoria with small gestures. Her debut full-length encompasses and congenially blends dreamy house, sequencer electronica, and dancefloor anthems – this is what it feels like to truly be taken on a journey.
Will Liverman about his Voice and Singing
His career as a baritone has already led Liverman to a Grammy win, performances at the Met and collaborations with many of the leading orchestras. On his expansive new album, he is now stepping into the limelight as a composer – with songs at the cusp of the fragile and triumphant.
D:Ream Share their Creative Process
The band's second coming has already been more prolific than their first run in the 1990s. Their new release was even, at one point, set to turn into a double album of gorgeous house songs. That's because they can't conveniently switch the creative muscle off – it's always twitching.
Deepak Sharma about DJing
Patience is key for Deepak Sharma, both as a DJ and a producer. Patience to keep a groove going until it fully reveals itself. Patience to reach beyond taste, beyond expectations, beyond ego. His aim is to tap into something hidden – and use it to transform his audience.
tedzi تدزي about Dark Places
For the Lebanese sound artist, music is an extension of politics. His pieces of bonecrushing electronica make for a dark, angelic message: Beats never settle, compositions oscillate between chaos and control, timbres fluctuate and flicker.
Charlie Sparks about Music & Energy
For Charlie Sparks, energy is not something to selfishly hoard. It is there to be shared, it expands and grows by passing it on. His new EP is like a distillation of the energy created by his live sets into recordings – and then injected straight into the listener.
747 about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“There is a deep reservoir of creativity often found within self-imposed constraints.”
Łukasz Polowczyk aka Aint About Me about the Pink Warm Belly Of A Dying Sun
A collaborative, immersive installation is a hard-hitting reflection on - and a ghostly meditation about – technological mediation, beauty in the face of destruction as well as Polowczyk's evolving relationship with his own art. It is also an invitation to walk through the content – literally.
The New Eves Share their Creative Process
The quartet slap, strum, and blow their instruments like a Hildegard von Bingen on Acid. But beside the mediaeval-folk-like trance rituals, there are plenty moments of tender introspection and catchy songwriting. The New Eves are Rising – and they won't relent until you join them.
Yoshika Colwell about her Voice and Singing
"Last night, you were in my dream," Yoshika Colwell wispers on her mesmerising debut album. But we're in there, too. Using the language of folk, her songs capture the in-between with grainy, black-and-white-photography serenity - and brutally honest poetic brilliance.
Babon about Indonesia's legendary Lokananta Studio and the Indonesian Digital Archive
Now a museum, Lokananta used to be the beating heart of Indonesia's creative scene. For modern jazz trio Babon, its blending of Indonesian traditions with global sounds triggered a wave of inspiration that ultimately led them to their personal sound.
Joane Hétu Shares her Creative Process
Joane Hétu's path as a composer wasn't easy. But she didn't question her calling. You can hear this sense of necessity in her music which speaks to the mind and the body alike – creating a sense of wonder from elements and instruments you thought you knew inside-out.
Lorena Hollander aka USHAN about Energy & Music
“Some of the most powerful experiences I’ve had with music felt like energetic imprints—moments that marked me deeply, almost etched into my heart.”
Estella Boersma about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Filled to the brim with surprisinlyg psychedelic twist and turns, Boersma takes techno far beyond its traditional templates. Her tracks are like threedimensional sculptures of the club experience – even at home, you can literally see the crowd go wild to them.
Furtherset Shares his Creative Process
Furtherset's work is brimming with a potential for synaesthetic confusion: Intuitions get “tuned,” images explained, visuals and sounds collide. It is music that has to bridge the divide: Richly resonant, menacing yet balletic, these orchestral ambient works are still-lifes at the cusp of eruption.
M-High about DJing
“There is no version of DJing without an audience. The audience is the point.”
Thomas Julienne about Directions in Jazz
Thomas Julienne's band Theorem of Joy are expanding the traditional jazz palette – with subtly embedded virtual instruments, Indian chants, hypnotically drawn-out groove sections and socio-psychological reflection. It is a meditation on fire driven by an insatiably curious mind.
Joss Turnbull about Energy & Music
Uncertainty, pressure, and tension are the triggers for the rattling and rolling, fidgeting and flowing, hickupping and hollering percussion fantasies of Joss Turnbull. It is a music that paradoxically facilitates and requires release: The more vulnerable you get, the more you're free to let go.
Ahikaa Arora Shares her Creative Process
Ahikaa Arora's discography is just two singles deep, but the spiritual dimensions they plumb infinitely expand their emotional impact. This is music that envelopes its audience completely, these are songs that don't come from her but to her.
Ria Moran about her Voice and Singing
For years, Ria Moran thought her voice was too quiet. Now, it's what pulls listeners into her world of intimate thoughts and confessions. Her debut album confronts and caresses her vocals with lush sub-basses, time-arresting grooves and neonlit synths – fall in love to it, fall in love with it.
Ginton (Drake, Salif Keita) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Ginton's guitar tone is as light as a cloud, his melodic hooks sweet and captivating. Marrying Afrobeat influences with house and drawing a lot of energy from his DJ/Live-performance-fusion sets, his haiku-like compositions invite the mind to travel.
Håvard Volden about Improvisation
“Improvisation is not a show-off thing. For me it’s about trying to create something beautiful together with other people.”
garbagebarbie about Energy & Music
garbagebarbie's vision of pop isn't complicated – their new single is about the pleasures of kissing. But taking in elements from glam, jangle, and disco, it is as colourful as it is cinematic and ambitious in scope: “Music changes the world because it is what the universe is made of.”
Urbs & Cutex about Directions in Hip Hop
Emerging from a 20-year long hibernation, the Austrian duo's beats are still chilled, but the vibes feel as warm as ever. Almost entirely instrumental, the music creates a dream-like haze extending blissfully into infinity across an endless horizon of gentle grooves, piano licks and echoes.
Gumby’s Junk about Emotions in Music
This music is about pain. And pleasure. It is means business. It is fun. It is indie. It is experimental. It is none of those. It is wild. It is beautiful. It is chaotic. It is disciplined. It confuses audiences. It makes them fall in love with the band. It is not possible. It is waiting for you.
Shakti Soundsystem about Kraut & Krautrock
The sixpiece were part of the same scene for years before locking themselves in the studio and improvising for 48 hours straight. The resulting journey through relentless dub grooves, epic hypnotica, and shoegazy rock channels the spirit of Can and Neu! so perfectly that it feels almost paranormal.
Anna Sophia Defant about Directions in Jazz
Albums like Anna Sophia Defant's “s:e” make you believe that anything really is possible. Not because it's “free,” not because it explodes stylistic borders and replaces them with unified sonic fields. But because it does all of these things with a pure, passionate, punk-like lack of restraint.
Dan Rosenboom Shares his Creative Process
Growing from mysterious number patterns, Dan Rosenboom's Coordinates evolved into a progressive-jazz-rock-adjacent meditation on the infinite-worlds-theory. Despite its conceptual depth, the grooves reign supreme here: This is a philosophy of the mind that gets the body moving.
Enrico Sangiuliano about the Beauty of Endings, Creating with Meaning, and the Sound of Silence
"Without silence, everything would become noise. Silence is where ideas are born and emotions settle."
Tom Did It about Directions in Hip Hop
These are all the things Tom didn't do: Go to London, get a job, choose safety in numbers. What he did do: All his engineering, his own vocal presets, create a fresh approach between hip hop's US roots and local UK styles. No new ideas? That's a “user error.”
Daniel Brandl about Improvisation
His classical education and the accompanying mindset almost ended cellist Daniel Brandl's creative ambitions. Now, his music exists in a fascinating “inbetween-ness” - a driftstate which allows for a force beyond the players and their influences to emerge.
Scree Share their Creative Process
Ryan El-Solh of post-rock trio Scree sometimes imagines his life being happier without the creative impulse. The world, however, would be poorer without it. The band's instrumentals – ornamented with loops, effects and a full brass section – may grow from despair but yield the fruit of consolation.
Marissa Burwell about Lyrics
The first two singles off Marissa Burwell's upcoming sophomore album are so subtle they almost fade into the background. But then they draw you in – through her mesmerising voice, poetic arrangements and words that sound dreamy but go straight for the juggular.
Owen Underhill about Directions in Contemporary Composition
As a conductor, Owen Underhill has dedicated his life to putting great contemporary composers on a well-deserved pedestal. Now, a new album of small-ensemble pieces is doing the same for his own work: Yearning and of a quicksilvery elegance, these songs are of an otherworldly beauty.
festiVAL's event producers and lineup artists about Twitch DJing
Twitch may have carried dance music through the pandemic. But it is much more than a temporary life vest. A big new festival explores the intersection between physical club culture and online DJing – and how Twitch may lead the way into a stimulating future.
Joanna Duda about Directions in Jazz
“What makes me respond as an artist is not really connected with the material world.”
Patricia Wolf about Scoring for Film
The sonic scenes of the sensitive sound sculptor's soundtrack to a surreal Icelandic documentary never surrender to the striking images. The rhythm of the movie and the floating ghostliness of the synthesizers interlock, creating a dialogue across different layers of perception and consciousness.
Looms Share their Creative Process
Often written in the early morning and in the small window between pain and emotional processing, the stream-of-consciousness songs of the New York fivepiece are instantly relatable and magical at the same time. You don't wake up from this dream, you keep falling deeper into it.
Nicolas Bonard about the Montreux Jazz Festival's Quest for Authenticity and Innovation
The success of arguably the world's most famous festival remains equally remarkable and fragile. And so, the organisers took a far-reaching strategic decision: Futureproofing the festival by exploding its location in time and space.
Julia Basso about Dancing, Neuroplasticity, and Collective Consciousness
“Dance helps to expand our conscious awareness.”
Haggai Cohen-Milo about Interpretation and his Creative Process
Masterpieces by Verdi, Debussy and Mahler were the point of departure for double-bassist-composer Haggai Cohen-Milo's “Gravitations” project. Flavoured with jazz and hip-hop, these pieces not only hold and stand on their own – they'll make you listen to the classics with fresh ears.
Benoît Pioulard about the Magic of Sound(s)
“I think a lot of my demeanor and my efforts toward a philosophy of radical acceptance are supported by listening to so much calm music.”
Nicolas Bougaïeff about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Known for his sonic-laboratory-approach, the Canadian producer is also known as the “Techno Doctor.” On his latest EP, however, he is slipping into the role of a director, scoring scenes from a Jodie Foster movie or Berlin nightlife.
Franz Von about Directions in Hip Hop
Technically, the TC & the Groove Family frontman's latest release is his solo debut. In reality, it is as collaborative as ever. Incorporating soul and jungle, jazz improvisations and a live band, this is the spirit of a community - and a way of life - set to music.
7XINS about Energy & Music
7XIN's take on techno is raw, dense, and expansive. It is also highly emotional and political. Responses vary wildly: Most dance, some turn inwards, others cry. No one remains unaffected.
747 about the Beauty of Randomness and the Communal Aspects of Generative Art
Each cover for the Canadian producer's mesmerising new drum'n'bass LP is different, each one is part of a larger work. Some might be confused. But to 747, the concept of code as a paintbrush remains infinitely fascinating.
Robinson’s Village Shares his Creative Process
Sometimes barely a minute short, James Burns' ambient work hovers weightlessly at the cusp between clip and composition. Every piece briefly opens a portal into a world of blurry outlines, unresolved grief and softly lingering tones – one step further, and you'd loose yourself.
Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals about Lyrics
Tomkinson's bittersweet songs are inspired by the big screen, the big songwriters and the big feelings. As the “language of pure emotion,” music can connect us on the deepest level – why settle for anything less?
Lingyuan Yang about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Maybe our narratives of the new are broken: Lingyuan Yang's latest album has the shape and the line-up of a jazz trio. Underneath, however, microtonal melodies, hyperreal virtuosity and constantly shifting constellations create a seductive sensation of inspiring disorientation.
Sloe Noon about Emotions in Music
"Now I barely feel anything // Don’t know if I’ll feel anything at all ever again," Sloe Noon sings. But only someone with a dizzying surplus of emotions could deliver these lines with such conviction. Her songs are sexy and fragile, like whispers sent through clouds of noise and fuzz.
Javier Rojo: The Band Interview
“This band shares many aspects that make working together very rewarding. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.“
Superspace about Directions in Electronic Music
Using ChatGpt, sampling, and supposedly outdated technology, Superspace create hypnotic simulations of alternate utopian realities. Their 90s-inspired debut album sits snugly between chicago house, early Aphex Twin and meditative italo house. It's so nostalgic it sounds like nothing else.
Session Victim about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The German duo are playing trippy house with a jazz mentality, treating the studio like the stage, blurring the lines between downbeat and dancefloor. Their latest jams were only supposed to yield one EP's worth of material – then they couldn't stop themselves.
Marc Elsner & Kimi Recor Share their Creative Process
The duo was inspired by a simple thought: As sound passes through us, it moves the liquid part of our bodies. There are moments in these first-take-improvisations which are held still far beyond any compositional logic – within the listener, however, the music is twitching with surreal delight.
Merpire about Lyrics
Scents and desires, fears and “fucking around” - in the songs of Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt, the words become tantalising and terrifying, tangible and tastable. Making music is a ritual, its source a mystery.
Peter Manheim about Drums and Percussion
After finally becoming pain-free after years of chronic issues, the New York drummer and percussionist is ready for his debut as a leader: Balancing precise motorics with mantric swing and oscillating between cool composure and naïve pleasures, this is spiritual jazz for the young at heart.
David Bixler about Directions in Jazz
David Bixler's music is unmistakably jazz – inspired by it, taught by it, shaped by a deep and profound love for it. And yet, underneath it all, there is a constant process of questioning what seems unquestionable: How far can you go - the answer is negotiated anew each session.
Mary Yuzovskaya about Minimalism
Mary Yuzovskaya's vision of minimalism is one of the most consistent in techno. Intriguingly, her creative process is the exact opposite: it knows no limitations, rules, or extraneously imposed boundaries.
Jeremy Delvila about Minimalism
Jeremy Delvila has always had a knack for minimalism. Born and raised near Paris, he also has the legendary “French Touch.” His new EP is based on the simple premise of making every single element sound as soulful as it possibly can.
Nicolás Melmann about Emotions in Music
After a traumatic encounter with personal loss, Nicolás Melmann has made it his mission create art as an instrument of transformation. His long, drifting drone pieces are open-ended: You spend as much time inside them as you need to heal.
Ben Bertrand about the Magic of Sound(s)
Feeding his bass clarinet through an array of electronics, Ben Bertrand creates worlds of mysterious density and sensual suggestions. If Debussy had composed on the international space station, this is what he might have sounded like.
Nadeem Din-Gabisi about Lyrics
On paper the multitude of influences in Nadeem Din-Gabisi's sound cosmos – from sacred hymns via soul and jazz to old school hip hop – can be dizzying. In practise, they blend together all but seamlessly. Albums are like people to him - they are walking, talking contradictions.
Nicolas Meier about Energy & Music
When Nicolas Meier and his congenial partner Ola Onabulé entered the studio, they had prepared nothing. They had to surrender themselves to the flow, the warm resonance of the vocals and the cool virtuosity of the guitar licks.
Melaine Dalibert Shares his Creative Process
Condensed down from much longer originals, two glacial ambient dreamstates for piano and electronics by Melaine Dalibert and David Sylvian reach beyond: Our human lives infallibly have an end, but this music of breathtaking stillness can keep playing forever.
Oh No Noh about the Magic of Sound(s)
Markus Rom puts the cables back into “cute.” His new album "As Late as Possible" comes at just the right time, creating a space where melancholic late-night post-rock meets blissfully stuttering prismatic melodies.
Morten Haxholm about Emotions in Music
Morten Haxholm's sequel to his ambient-jazz exploration Aether captures the same atmospheric intimacy but drives it forward with propulsive polyrythmic drumming and greater timbral diversity. Solid or ether – keeping the lines blurry is part of the magic here.
Florestan Shares his Creative Process
For Florestan, creativity is a mysterious and sacred space. His first solo album gently pulls you into this place with a suite of guitar pieces that oscillate between drift and focus, movement and contemplation, acoustic fragility and sizzling feedback.
Joabe Reis about Improvisation
“I communicate a lot through my eyes and gestures — it’s as if I had a baton in my hand, without actually needing one.”
All Men Unto Me about Dark Places
Despite tapping into desperation, disgust, and desolation, Rylan Gleave's Requiem is driven by the strange beauty of polarities. Catharsis is for amateurs - this is about accepting that pain and pleasure are inseparably entwined.
Alastair Lane about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Melancholy and euphoria are closely connected in the Paris producer's oeuvre. The dynamic tension of indie songwriting melts into the sweet magnetism of deep house grooves, creating pockets between dream and desire.
Andrew Pekler about the Magic of Sound(s)
Sound, according to Andrew Pekler, always requires an act of decoding. Working with it, we can truly create new environments, and new entities inhabiting them. As his new album shows, it's a playful process of world building that never ceases to astonish.
Goldkimono about Emotions in Music
Goldkimono's main goal is simple: Taking listeners “out of the worry state.” His feathery dream-funk is the musical equivalent to an Air Max: You still have to do the walking, but it sure feels a lot lighter.
J Mahon about Emotions in Music
“When I listen to my new album now, I feel immense sadness. Some of those songs just destroy me.”
JG Shadid about Minimalism
Shadid's yearning compositions for piano, string quartet, and electronics exist in their own time-space-continuum. Heartfelt repetition and intuitive variation flow from a romantic ideal rather than a purist mindset: Music is not about counting notes but making each one count.
Ledfoot about Lyrics
Where do the images of Tim Scott McConnell's vivid narrative world come from? Where do they lead? These are not questions he ponders – and maybe that's what lends his music its anything-but-plain-simple personality.
Shez Raja about Energy & Music
East doesn't just meet West on Shez Raja's “Spellbound.” They truly embrace each other. Driven by Raja's liquid bass lines and a hard-hitting drum n tabla section, the music oscillates between melodic lyricism and percussive bliss.
Chris Cheek about Directions in Jazz
Downbeat has referred to Chris Cheek's latest quartet recording as an “understated gem.” The praise is justified, but feels like a misrepresentation: This isn't the sound of restraint, but music of great anticipation which elevates every subtle nuance to a moment of devastating beauty.
Ello Sun Shares her Creative Process
Despite their warm, elastic bass lines, the dreamy songs of Ello Sun's first solo EP feel like creations of air and ether. They could go on forever, but prefer to fade before their spell is broken.
Born Ruffians about Emotions in Music
The Canadian quartet have recorded a collection of emphatically uplifting power pop anthems. In the best moments, they aren't just channelling their own emotions – they are creating dynamic feedback loops with anyone who listens to them.
Enrico Sangiuliano about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Every tool I choose has to add meaning, not just sound.“
Jimena Angel Shares her Creative Process
For the Colombian songwriter, life and art are intricately intertwined: Her new, sunsplashed single literally came to her under the shower. Still, making music is instinctual – a source of love, healing, and self-empowerment.
The Bones of J.R. Jones about Lyrics
"Words are incredibly powerful … but where do they fall short?"
Nyah Grace about Emotions in Music
For Nyah Grace, soul and rnb are not glossy aural comfort food. Her songs show both sides of life's coin: The ecstasy and the heartbreak, the pleasure and the pain, the “longing, mixed with a little bit of sombreness.”
Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer about Collaboration
Integrating field recordings and gentle modular synth movements, the pieces of the duo's second album embrace their urban surroundings. The music never gets photorealistic, however, capturing an emotional response instead - lusher than life and much more beautiful than the real thing.
Maison Blanche about Minimalism
Experimenting with compressors, EQs, and tape recorders, Maison Blanche is bringing the deep, jazzy vibe of 90s French Touch house into the present. His productions sound fresh and contemporary – while smelling as familiar as a strawberry-jam croissant on a Sunday morning.
yonglee & the DOLTANG about Directions in Jazz
South Korea's jazz scene is changing: The fractures of society are pushing artists to speak up, while new technologies are fostering sonic experimentation. Seoul is oscillating between tradition and hyper-modernity – and yonglee is eager to ride the wave.
Hampus Lindwall about Directions in Contemporary Composition
As a classically-trained church organist, Hampus Lindwall plays four improvised masses each week. But none of them sounds like the pieces on his new album. Performed with endless inventiveness and energy, they make the instrument sound all but possessed.
Ronny Graupe Shares his Creative Process
What started out as performances of jazz standards resulted in a set of freewheeling trio pieces at once airy and intense – are these still "songs"?
Liz Vice about her Voice and Singing
For Liz Vice, spirituality informs her entire life. Her voice can silence an entire room and give her out of body experiences while singing. It is a power that feels gratifying and scary at the same time.
Adwer about Kraut & Krautrock
The Hungarian producer's “Kraut Komet” has sent audiences dancing to its cosmic sequencer lines for years. As his new EP proves, his interest in the electronic side of krautrock goes a lot deeper still.
Stilluppsteypa about the Magic of Sound(s)
The Icelandic duo still believe in the power of music to mesmerise, intoxicate and scare the shit out of you. Their new album consists almost entirely of loops that don't seem to go anywhere. It's incredible.
Domenic Cappello about Production, Technology, and Creativity
In Glasgow Domenic Cappello is already a legend. The pieces of his upcoming EP could make him one far beyond the city's borders. Layering rich, dreamy strings over Kraftwerk'esque beatwork, it's his most personal release yet.
Feyisayo Anjorin Shares his Creative Process
Hailing from Akure, Nigeria, Feyisayo Anjorin has excelled as an author, screenwriter and singer. Spirituality and storytelling inform songs which feel like an African soul take on the gospel tradition.
Yugen Blakrok about Directions in Hip Hop
For the South African rapper, the future has already begun. Her music and consciously word-heavy lyrics, however, aim to focus on the unchanging core of our human existence – creating connection and communion in the face of ever greater separation.
Asta Hiroki about Directions in Jazz
"Playing around and not adhering to formats or genres is how jazz originated. So perhaps I honour the spirit of it in that way."
Edu Comelles Allué about the Magic of Sound(s)
Sound artist Edu Comelles spent 5 years sculpting and continually reworking the pieces on his new album. They condense time into six soft meditations – fragile, fleeting, and never fully finished.
Brandee Younger Shares her Creative Process
Music is the space where harpist-composer Brandee Younger can say what needs to be said. Her new album Gadabout Season started with rage - and then sublimated into a personal field of beautiful catharsis.
Sandro Sáez Shares his Creative Process
“The title of the album was very clear to me long before the recording. But I still had to figure out what it meant.“
Sigmund Vestrheim aka DUMMY THICC about Drums and Percussion
Stretching across an epic 26 pieces, DUMMY THICC's debut album is an ode to the groove. But these are more than just rhythm studies. Interacting with seductive keys and resonant strings, his drums are gateways to deep emotional moods.
KARABA about DJing
For the French-Congolese artist, production is about vulnerability, DJing is about energy. By adding live percussion to her sets and relinquishing control, her vision becomes clear: This is not just about playing music, this is a performance.
Julia Basso about the Potentials of Music and Dance as Medicine
Eppur si muove: Movement is life and music initiates movement. By scientifically validating the power of rhythm, Julia Basso is finding new ways to support those with autism or spectrum disorder.
MCBAISE about Fashion & Music
“A black metal band playing in suits with ties would in of itself be a statement.”
KX9000 Shares his Creative Process
Creating music for travelling was the point of departure for KX9000's new EP. But these radiant, laid-back deep house songs don't just get the body moving – the mind is always being transported, too.
Omar Shares his Creative Process
Even into the third decade of his career, the impulse to create has never left the British soul legend. His first studio album in eight years radiates warmth and flows with effortless ease – the result of a trance-like approach to songwriting.
Salome Voegelin about the Magic of Sound(s)
We need sonic literacy, Salome Voegelin maintains. Sound can provide us with a powerfully different view of the world: One where things sound and come together, where we can access the invisible and the indivisible.
Maxine Troglauer about Directions in Jazz
A wealth of questions stood at the start of the bass trombonist's extraordinary debut album. Occupying a space between jazz, modern composition and experimentalism, the answers are always in her instrument and her imagination.
Aaron Helgeson on the Magic of Sound and Voice
"I never felt comfortable working with other people’s poetry. Not as they wrote it, anyway."
Soli City Share their Creative Process
Society and the constant urge to visualise everything are the main sources for the Copenhagen-based artist's hyper-organic, behind-the-mirror compositions. It's a curse – but one they gladly use to their advantage.
Farhot about Directions in Hip Hop
Born in Afghanistan, Farhot has become one of Germany's most acclaimed and exciting hip hop producers. The future? Is all about never being boring.
Miriam Hanika about Emotions in Music
The German songwriter and oboist has written a poetic album that takes listeners into their inner world. But although gestures and words are subtle, these pieces are always born from a burning fire inside.
Momus about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Is silence a right we'd be willing to die for? I'll be silent when I'm dead.”
Mia Morgan about Lyrics
“This is an angry album. And the time that angry women can command an audience’s undivided attention is very limited.“
Super Progressive about the Crucial Warm-Up Phase of DJing
"A great warm-up set can somewhat fly under the radar. But a bad opening set can derail a night."
Dina Summer about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The Berlin trio places Kraftwerk's naïve melodicism and cool vocals on top of Moroder-style bass sequences. The result is sexy, nocturnal, and physically intoxicating.
Mt. Joy Share their Creative Process
Mt. Joy continue their search for the perfect song on Hope We Have Fun. But it's a perfection that comes through free association and letting go – there are worlds of deeply felt intentions within the unintentional.
Goodman/Bordenave/Mahall about Directions in Jazz
“A moment of truth can ignite anywhere. What matters is the fire you bring to it.”
Porcelain about Dark Places
The Austin quartet's music is a no holds barred emotional dive into the shadowside of life. Still, their buzzing post-noise-rock-hardcore anthems always find the beauty hidden in the darkness.
Tools of Creation: The Didgeridoo
For Richard Poher, the didgeridoo is strikingly simple but offers endless potential. It allows for intellectual approaches while connecting us to the earth.
Andi Haberl of Bella Wakame about Drums and Percussion
“I have to feel comfortable. Then, I just have to let go and play and listen.”
Florian Zimmer of Bella Wakame on All Things Modular
“The modular's an instrument that I have to work on constantly. When I come back from a holiday, I often find myself wondering how it all works.”
DJ Psychiatre about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The French producer's hypnotic sonic dreams do not reinvent the rules of deep house. Suffused with warmth and a sense of wonder, they extend into worlds that retain their mystery yet feel like coming home.
Raz Olsher about Film Music
For the British composer, film music can sometimes show things that aren't on the screen. On his latest project, an instrumental score to an imaginary Spaghetti Western movie, there isn't even a screen any more.
Marc Melià about Minimalism
Marc Melià's new album was recorded entirely on a monophonic analog synthesizer. The result is not just so inventive it's hard to believe the premise – but also deeply moving, and utterly unique.
Ayumi Ishito about Directions in Jazz
“If I could see Coltrane live I would be so excited I would faint.”
Michael Vallera about the Magic of Sound(s)
The guitarist and sound artist's ghostly drone works are testimony to an acute sensitivity to sound. This album isn't just called “The Other World” - it actually feels like listening to one.
Stella Sommer of Die Heiterkeit about Lyrics
Stella Sommer has been likened to Lana del Rey and Nico. As her new album as Die Heiterkeit proves, these comparisons are mere pointers for an artist for whom songwriting is beyond control – sometimes a walk in the park, sometimes a battlefield.
Ambre Ciel about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The Canadian composer intended approaching her debut album with the most minimal concept imaginable. In the end, the pieces grew increasingly more orchestral, more lush, more sepiatoned – while still incorporating her pull towards the unknown and unconventional.
Gojnea76 about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“The real question is: What sound do you want to create? It all depends on your curiosity and what pushes you to break barriers.“
Daniel O'Sullivan (Ulver, Sunn O))) about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I think we’ve moved beyond the idea of the composer as a solitary genius. Composing today is as much about curating and connecting as it is about generating.”
Margaux Gazur about the Magic of Sound(s)
The woozy, welcoming deep-house-textures of Gazur's new album stretch out into immersive epics. Partly inspired by the noises of Vietnam and dealing with tinnitus, these pieces get better by turning the volume down.
G.W. Sok (ex-The Ex, Sopa Baba) about Lyrics
At first, translating the dark subject matter of a short story by Nicoleta Esinencu into music seemed like a journey into Eastern European history. As G.W. Sok and Pavel Tchikov eventually discovered, it turned out to be a stunningly visionary comment on the current the state of the world.
John Acquaviva about Directions in Electronic Music
“I believe that the relationship between the roots of music and what we have now is NOT STRONG ENOUGH.”
Amanda Ekery about her Voice and Singing
The Texas vocalist, composer and instrumentalist draws from her Mexican and Syrian roots for her intensely inwards-looking songs. The world is not just her oyster – it's a miracle of intimacy and utter freedom.
The Vernon Spring about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Our dishwasher has some great polyrhythms! It also creates this melody which reminds my partner of the Curtis Mayfield song ‘Move On Up’!”
Andrea Casarrubios about Directions in Contemporary Composition
People, programs, and places are on the Spanish cellist's mind, both when she's composing and performing. But in the end, her music always feeds off the human experience: “When something feels important, your body remembers.”
Noni-Mouse about Directions in Electronic Music
The left-of-center artist is using every tool at her disposal to keep her approach fresh: Scoring for film, tapping into AI, drawing from Mumbai's art scene and “working with atonal sources of sound, to create textural dance music that feels accessible and fresh.”
Pawas about Minimalism
Electronic music is the natural home for Pawas Gupta. Still, in his productions, the idea of a band is always on his mind – regardless of the genre he's working on.
Arborra about the Magic of Sound(s)
“The only thing that truly gives me hope for humanity is sound.”
Joy Guidry about Emotions
“There was a lot of smiling, but even more tears while recording this album.“
Dominik Gehringer and Jordan Arts: Can Sound Change the World?
"Music can quite literally save lives."
Ensign Broderick about Minimalism
Releasing two albums at the same time might not seem particularly minimalistic. But for Come Down and Mirror Ring, Canadian songwriter Ensign Broderick restricted himself to little more than his voice and the piano – in this vast emotional space, every single sound matters.
Rose Room about Celebrating their Long, Long Career and their Creative Process
It don't mean a thing unless it ain't got those strings: After 15 years of relentlessly reinvigorating Swing, the Scottish ensemble have enriched their sound with a layer of nostalgic violins – be prepared to cry once, then cry twice.
Pavel Tchikov Shares his Creative Process
Pavel Tchikov had to face emotional baggage from childhood for his duo with Dutch vocalist G.W. Sok. It translated to a work of brutal beauty, industrial beats, glistening strings, and naked poetry.
Jackie Myers about her Voice and Singing
“Tone, placement, and rhythm allow communication in a way speaking could never really match.”
Super Progressive about his Progressive House Podcast, Passionate Clubbers, and Authentic Journalism
"Once it was just me and my handheld camera, the artists seemed to open up more."
Manuel Pasquinelli about Drumming
Pasquinelli has been the emotional pulse behind a variety of formidable formations at the borders between jazz and post-punk and -rock. On his solo project, he is now drumming and collaborating with delicately drifting drones – an equally dreamy, intense, and otherworldly experience.
Chicarica Share their Creative Process
Chicarica are the latest entry in a long line of luminous Chilean synth pop bands. Their take on the genre is mesmerising, floating, and blissful – somewhere between a dream of Kraftwerk and Underworld, but always entirely their own thing.
The Young Mothers about Directions in Jazz
This band contains multitudes: The Young Mothers are playing spiritual jazz filled with beauty, fuelled by diversity and a deep sense of trust.
M(h)aol Share their Creative Process
Too much coffee, a subversive humour and an un-spiritual approach to creativity drove the Irish trio's latest set of songs about feminism and dogs. The band's manic post-rock is as experimental as it is catchy, taking the pressure of their anthemic riffs to the point of explosive combustion.
Hybrid Protokol about Directions in Electronic Music
"With the rise of Instagram, DJing and electronic music have become a FARCE."
5volts about Minimalism
As a resident of one of the world's most maximalist metropoles, Kalkotta's 303-and-drum-maschine explorer Varun Desai came to appreciate the minimalist mindset late. It's still a radical concept to him – but one which offers the reward of total freedom of expression.
Theo Bleak about her Voice and Singing
The track titles to the Scottish song-poets pieces - filled with "liars," "grief," and unrequited feelings - point to a world of inner turmoil. Her voice is a source of comfort here, a beacon amidst an ocean of beautiful brokenness.
Gilles Aubry about the Magic of Sound(s)
Aubry's list of favourite sounds is long, extending from abandoned railway shacks and a river gorge in the Moroccan Atlas to old movie theatres and the hellbound chaos of metal band Portal. But don't get him started on the sirens of Berlin's fire trucks!
Ziggy Zeitgeist and Lewis Moody from EX GENERATION about XJAZZ! 2025 and Directions in Jazz
"This is the lesson we learn from music: it allows us to just be here, right now, present."
Vesna Pisarović about her Voice and Singing
In this expansive interview on the occasion of her new album Poravna with improvisers Tony Buck, Axel Dörner, Noël Akchoté, and Greg Cohen, the Crotian vocalist and composer dives deep into all aspects of singing – from the sacredness of performing to the limitations of the body.
Resavoir and Matt Gold about their Collaboration
A shared admiration for Brazilian music from the 60s and 70s was the “North Star” for the duo's heavenly acoustic excursions. Expanding on short, sometimes 4-bar-loop ideas, these compositions are dreamy yet distinct, sweet but passionate, hazy but with intense focus.
Elana Sasson about Emotions in Music
Sasson's recent collection of songs deals with longing, hope, and inbetween sensations. These pieces are tender, but Sasson won't let anything stop them – not even having to play in total darkness for many minutes during a recent gig.
Azmari on Energy & Music
Re-uniting with a former band member and opening themselves up to cross-cultural influences, Azmari are venturing beyond their ethio-jazz roots. More minimal than ever, however, their music stays true to its core: The trance of hypnotic grooves and the mystery of sound.
Aron & The Jeri Jeri Band about XJAZZ! 2025 and Directions in Jazz
Translating their raw, propulsive electronic afrobeat to the stage remains a constant challenge for the trio. The real task, however, is to remain relevant: “Being an original artist today feels like survival.”
Cloth Share their Creative Process
“Loss, grief and the process of trying to self-assure” remain the focal points of the Glasgow duo's beautifully poignant songs. This time, however, enriched by Adrian Utley's synths and rich string arrangements, they tap into even deeper and more powerful sensations.
Andrew Moreno about Energy, Improvisation, and his Creative Process
“It's important to bring a little confrontation to audiences more often.”
Luke Hess about the Magic of Sound(s)
“We can all benefit from listening to music and to our fellow human beings on a deeper level.”
Harrison Lipton about Lyrics
Harrison Lipton's songs are deceptively soft, padded with gorgeous harmonies and dreamy grooves. But his diaristic and private take on lyrics lends them a relatably moving, and occasionally devastatingly heartbreaking quality.
Joy Guidry about XJAZZ! 2025 and Directions in Jazz
Joy Guidry's expansion as an artist parallels the expansion of jazz as a genre. Working with basson, electronics, poetry, and her voice, her latest projects push sonic boundaries into a space between the spiritual and the radical.
KitschKrieg about Collaboration, Technology, and Creativity
With a unique aesthetic and style, KitschKrieg have made it to the creative top of Germany's hip hop scene. On London's Calling, they focus on collaboration and songwriting, while staying true to their philosophy: Being professional dilettantes with a minimal set-up.
Katelyn Clark and Mitch Renaud about Improvisation
The press release to the duo's latest explorations mentions Deleuze, Nietzsche, and the "planetary movements." The music, meanwhile, performed on small pipe organ and modular, is built on direct interaction, holding a space of gradually interweaving and shifting oscillations.
Penelope Trappes: Can Sound Change the World?
"I like the idea of my music being a kind of gathering or community, where we can all feel connected to something infinite."
Uli Kempendorff about Emotions
There has to be more to music than emotions, finds saxophonist Uli Kempendorff. On the new album with his quartet Field, there is. Casting a questioning mood between transcendence and the visceral, these pieces invite the listener to co-shape the experience.
Black Loops about Production, Technology, and Creativity
As Black Loops, Riccardo Paffetti pushes his laid-back, futuristic Detroit love letters forward with live drumming and cool electro beats. It's cosmic man-machine music made by humans for humans.
Rebecca Vasmant about Directions in Jazz
The multifaceted composer/producer/DJ's vision of jazz is like a dream of the Glasgow jazz scene: Soft, sensual, subtle and full of wonder for the everyday miracles of life.
Danielle Nia on All Things Modular
Switching from keyboard to modular finally allowed Danielle Nia to realise what was in her head. Her ultimate goal: To shape her sound to the same degree as a string player or vocalist.
lilo about Lyrics
“In a song you can say anything you like. But I think it is important to say something that matters to you.“
JakoJako about Directions in Electronic Music
Sibel Koçer's recent trip to Vietnam resulted in sequencer music of ethereal, brightly coloured beauty. It is testimony to her admiration for the Asian electronic scene – and a restless brain in need of constant stimulation.
RAH from RAH & the Ruffcats about XJAZZ! 2025 and Directions in Jazz
Some people can use improvisation to talk to the universe, Rapturous Apollo Helios believes. But for the infectuous 21st century afrobeat of the Ruffcats, the main key is simply for the groove to never stop.
Shunkan about Energy & Music
“It's a big thing coming,” Marina Sakimoto sings in the opening to her new album. But the music breathes a sense of intimacy and longing. Right in between nostalgia and euphoria lies the magic of her fuzz-drenched dream pop.
Elijah Jamal Asani about the Magic of Sound(s)
Places of worship hold a special meaning for Asani's response to sound. It it isn't the silence between notes that feels important to him – but a softness capable of exerting incredible power.
Melia Watras about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The 18 short pieces on Watras's “Almond Tree Duos” are pure, poignant, powerful in their immediacy. The emotional range is wide and the techniques diverse - but hope is always the overarching sensation.
Clay Jenkins about Directions in Jazz
"A musician can’t truly be an innovator without being well informed about the history and legacy of jazz and jazz musicians."
Interview Review: jakojako – Tết 41
A personal trip to Vietnam resulted in a sequencer album opening up into a galaxy of intimacy. Tangerine Dream could have written this in the mid-80s – it would have been one of their better works.
Mara Schwerdtfeger about the Magic of Sound(s)
The Australian sound artist, currently on tour through Europe, has experienced sound in the most diverse spaces – including a huge disused fish silo. Still, nothing beats the calm and beauty of everyday noises.
Matthias Tschopp (it's me?) on all Things Modular
Joining forces as it's me?, Matthias Tschopp and Jürg Zimmermann aimed at something in between experimental sound art, ambient, techno and jazz. Getting there turned into a journey.
Jürg Zimmermann (it’s me?) on all Things Modular
Starting from the trumpet, Zimmermann gradually developed a modular set-up aimed at experimentation and exploration. Control is an important element – but so are chance and coincidence.
YASS about Dark Places
Something's hidden in the basement, something sinister and hypnotic, flooded in strobe light, smeared with pulsating synth streaks. If you want to feel safe here, you've got to make the demons your friend.
GOBLYNS about Kraut & Krautrock
The mostly Berlin-based trio are playing an airy, almost weightless version of motoric magic. Somewhere between Can and Khruangbin and forever indebted to the jam.
Sorvina about Directions in Hip Hop
Studying the greats of the past and present is a pivotal part of Sorvina's process. Her stories, however, are uniquely her own – and can never be destroyed by any system.
Merrick Winter about Lyrics
Merrick Winter's new EP is a collection of true, not necessarily real stories – picked up over dinner while riding the train, overheard on the street, drawn from life lessons imparted to him.
Peter van Hoesen about Production, Technology, and Creativity
The Belgian producer's studio has recently gone through incisive changes. But it is never the hardware that counts – but rather the will to keep going and radically question himself in difficult times.
Thomas Burkhardt about Minimalism
“I asked myself if I could do something like techno without having a sequencer or drum voices - or voices at all.”
Hans Bilger Shares his Creative Process
With thousands of kilometres between them, coherence was the main concern for Hans Bilger and Eli Greenhoe's songwriting process. As they soon found out, they weren't building bridges – but entire musical worlds.
Raúl Monsalve about Directions in Jazz
On the return of his band Los Forajidos, the Venezuelan bassist hits a lighter tone than on the politically driven predecessor. His delirious, trance-inducing grooves between tradition, trap and robotic funk remain true to his core motto, however: Ancient to the Future and Future to the Ancient.
SEX BEAT about Energy & Music
Anger is the driving force for the Berlin formation. Recorded in a rehearsal room, their upcoming sophomore effort is a beacon for those in need of release.
George Draguns of Roboquarians about Improvisation
The Roboquarians' second album is progressive-punk-style Black Flag jazz: Free, but with intense intent.
Mo Lowda & the Humble about Emotions in Music
"I’ve looked up and seen smiles. I’ve looked up and seen tears. Sometimes during the same song. Sometimes at the same time."
Uner about Minimalism
“Minimalism isn’t just reducing but it’s refining. It’s a deep search for essence and presence.”
Adja Fassa about Lyrics
Joni Mitchell and Erykah Badu showed Adja how to not just believe in herself, but to actually believe herself. In her music, she is not afraid to extend her limits – she's not just an artist, but an athlete, too.
Roberto Di Gioia of WebWeb about Directions in Jazz
“If I had seen Hendrix live, or Coltrane ... I would probably have become a gardener.”
Nathan Davis Shares his Creative Process
Picking up a variety of raw materials from Home Depot was the first step of the creative process for Nathan Davis's new piece. Gradually, the music grew into a micro-immersive space of Youtube samples, MaxMSP manipulations and suspensefully discrete, visceral sounds.
Vilhelm Bromander about Directions in Jazz
Connections and exploring the unknown are at the core of Vilhelm Bromander's approach to music. The new album of his Unfolding Orchestra is an epic spiritual jazz journey embracing the mystery of twilight states.
Luke Spiller of The Struts about Lyrics
For his euphoric solo debut, the Struts' frontman studied great poets and lyricists. In the end, however, melody is still key.
Satomimagae about the Magic of Sound(s)
The tender, almost whispered sonic poems of the Japanese artist float in a space between sound and song. They open up intimate galaxies within the safety of your own room.
Elles Bailey about Energy
“I have gigged when I felt like I have nothing to give. It's in those moments that the audience can carry you.”
Mobley Shares his Creative Process
Usually, Mobley can hear and project the end result of the creative process right from the start. For his new, speculative fiction concept album, however, he had to wait patiently for the right ideas to come.
FAMILY GARDEN about Dark Places
The Pennsylvania band blend brutal blast beats, spiky punk riffs and blackened atmospherics into a ferocious maelstrom - “part grief and loss, part religious imagery and part monsters of the mind.”
Rindert Lammers about Directions in Jazz
Somewhere between The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Mark Isham's ambient jazz soundtracks and the clear bell tones and choir-like sounds of early Roland synths lies a place the Dutch producer loves to visit.
Konalgad about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Konalgad's debut LP sits at the cusp between dream and nightmare, reliving and exorcising a dark phase in his life. And yet, these pieces move towards the light, not away from it – testimony to the ideal of physically playing, singing and moving his body while composing.
Ada Morghe about Lyrics
Songs are not the only form of lyrical expression for Ada Morghe, who also writes plays and books. But, she feels, words are particularly powerful when combined with sound: “Music reaches the heart before the mind even has a chance to catch up.”
An-Ting about Interspecies Communication
The Taiwan-born sound artist's Lost Communication is one of the most wondrous takes on animal sounds: Listening deeply, she is putting birds in the spotlight, propelling their song forward with beats, sweetening their signals with sultry soundscapes.
Shcaa about the Magic of Sound(s)
“The mixing stages can feel very sculptural. Arranging is more like painting.”
Infinity Division about Directions in Electronic Music
No matter how dark and intense Ash Luke's jungle and hardcore-inspired almost-un-dj'able productions may be – there needs to be a spark of soul at their heart.
Trousdale Share their Creative Process
Growth is the key theme on the trio's new album. So why are their lovingly crafted, breathtakingly harmonised songs moved by a bittersweet undercurrent?
Fraser Smith about Directions in Jazz
There is always potential for something new in the swing-oriented jazz of the British saxophonist. And yet, in our digital age, sometimes just hitting the stage with an all-acoustic band can be enough to grab attention.
Tara Nome Doyle Shares her Creative Process
Doyle's new album emerged from confusion and loss. Aiming at a translation of raw, unfiltered truth, she ultimately found inspiration in sensations of disconnection and disorientation.
Peter Gregson about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The cellist and composer finds beauty in how sounds interact with the space they're born into. On his new album, every stroke of the bow and modular synth line is lovingly, laboriously shaped by hand.
Ginger Winn about Emotions in Music
Winn's new songs were haunted by a ghostly premonition. The devastating suicide of her father changed her as a person and an artist – but there was never any choice but to deal with it with raw honesty.
Lullahush: Can Sound Change the World?
Beats, sampled and chopped lyrics, field recordings and processed instruments: In his wondrous songs, inspired by Irish culture and poetry, Daniel McIntyre excavates fossils from the future.
Sofia Härdig about Lyrics
As a kid, the Swedish songwriter was addicted to books and played in nine bands at the same time. These addictions never ended, they just got sublimated: Words and music are never separated in her larger-than-life torch songs.
Gleb Kolyadin Shares his Creative Process
Gleb Kolyadin's Mobula touches on anything from minimal music to instrumental piano prog. That's because he believes that anything can be an inspiration.
Mark Constantine about Curation, Compilations, and the Connections between Perfume and Music
"If we take “Chelsea Morning” by Joni Mitchell and you look at the lyrics, it is very easy to smell the bath bomb we created."
Sominaryst about Directions in Electronic Music
Ukrainian producer Anton Somin talks the talk on the future of music - and his meticulously crafted, future-high, sample-shot rhythmical sculptures more than delivers on the promises.
Shai Maestro Shares his Creative Process
The Israeli pianist and ECM artist had no intention to record a solo album. Listening back to two gigs of “miniatures and tales,” he discovered a spontaneous beauty beyond planning.
Chiminyo about Directions in Jazz
For the British drummer and producer, the stage is the studio and improvisation is instant composition. His collaborative performances have myriads of roots – but jazz and a love for randomised electronic systems are key components.
Stranded Horse Shares his Creative Process
Recorded to analog tape and capturing the essence of twelve years as a duo, this third-eye-folk-music builds intimate spaces from guitar, kora and vocals.
Micah Thomas about Directions in Jazz
Music, for Micah Thomas, fosters radical acceptance. Ahead of a trio performance at Ladbroke Hall, the pianist reflects on his views on collaboration and improvisation and how performing on stage keeps him sane.
Mörmaid about Production, Technology, and Creativity
An inveterate perfectionist Live Sollid Schulerud could never finish a track in a few hours. Perhaps that's precisely what makes her inimitable electronic songscapes, often driven by deeply personal experiences, so unique.
Matteo Liberatore (aka Molto Ohm) about how sound and noise contribute to our Wellbeing
"We need noise to keep us creative and push boundaries."
Courtney Hadwin about her Voice and Singing
The British singer-songwriter loves the sensation of having her body taken over by music - turning into a medium for pure desperation and anger.
Max Walker about Directions in Jazz
Max Walker is right – his hard-hitting fusion isn't avantgarde per se. But it is certainly part of the vanguard when it comes to rhythmical inventiveness, emotional complexity and the creation of deep, innovative textures.
Medlar about Directions in Electronic Music
Ned Pegler sees no reason to fear for the future. On his deep new album he is tapping into the unknown and building instantly relatable visions of dance music from improvisations.
Interview-Review: Kaidi Tatham – Miles Away
4D performances caught in a time loop: Using and breaking the spell of his loops, the British fusion master replaces improvisation and composition with his personal dream-logic.
Mark Van Hoen about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Sound is a more direct line to the human spirit than the visual arts.“
Kjetil Husebø about Improvisation and his Piano Transformed project
Composer and improviser Kjetil Husebø had become estranged from the piano. Then, he connected it to samplers and electronics and started building alien worlds somewhere between structure and spontaneity.
Ashley Henry about Directions in Jazz
The British pianist and composer is about to take his soulful modern jazz to stages across the UK. As always, the album versions will merely be a springboard for inspired in-the-moment actualisation.
Kids Return Share their Creative Process (2025 Version)
Friendships and the bonds of love remain important catalysts for the psychedelic pop of the French duo – so do food, great melodies and studios with windows.
Hara Alonso about the Magic of Sound(s)
In her music, Alonso weaves sonic objects of different spatialities into time-arresting drift-states. It's a place of pure experience - no one's judging.
The Null Club about Directions in Electronic Music
In his new project, the Gilla Band guitarist explores twisted house, noise and making the foundations of his tracks sound fucked.
Joan Arnau Pàmies about Minimalism
After once being blown away by Reich's 18 Musicians, the Catalan composer no longer looks at music through a maximalist or minimalist lense. It's all about finding and honing the ideas that truly matter.
ESINAM & Sibusile Xaba about their Collaboration
We call it interspiritual jazz: The soulful songs and blissful moods of these two multitalented polymaths extends beyond borders and genres.
Alex Garnett about Directions in Jazz
To Alex Garnett, even after 100 years, jazz is still “finding its way.” Ahead of a quintet performance at Ladbroke Hall, the saxophonist reflects on the unique UK sound, the chops of a new generation and why his discography as a leader has remained fairly small.
Jon Allen about his Voice and Singing
Teachers tried to smooth out the edge, roughness and rasp in Jon Allen's voice. Thankfully, he had a record player – and a stubborn streak.
El Leon Pardo about Improvisation
El Leon Pardo's journey into music started with a mystical experience. On his psychedelic new album, he is channeling it through cosmic cumbia, spiritual jazz and dubbed-out electronics.
Dilee D about Directions in Electronic Music
Sri-Lankan born Dilee D has found a new home in Chicago. A firm believer in the benefits of technology, his shimmering melodic house is inspired by the constant need to push the envelope.
Kinwu & Koan the alias about Directions in Hip Hop
“What hip hop could be like is something so far from its origins that it may not be called hip hop.”
Leonie Jakobi about her Voice and Singing
At 12, Leonie Jakobi wanted to sound like Bon Jovi. Today, the singer has found her own voice, and her own style - and has come full circle on her new single.
Lisa Harres: Can Sound Change the World?
"The world needs an understanding of complexity, of the coexistence of opposing thoughts and emotions. Nothing is ever just one thing."
JKriv about Directions in Electronic Music
With a background in jazz and inspired by Frank Zappa and Edgard Varèse early on, Jason Kriveloff's take on house was always going to be different. Recorded while going through serious health issues, his new EP is a triumph of life teaming with individuality.
Interview Review: Butcher Brown - Letters from the Atlantic
A series of sonic postcards with an all-embracing reach and a profound emotional impact.
Chris Gall about Improvisation
Debussy with contemporary grooves, Satie even dreamier than the original? Chris Gall is improvising the music of the great impressionists - looking for the link between himself, history, and the moment.
Alfie Cattell of Decent Music PR about Promotion Beyond the Stats and Genuine Engagement
"Many of the positives we associate with the music industry are actually a result of technology rather than anything the industry itself is doing."
Mess Esque Share their Creative Process
The songs of the Australian duo float in soft, psychedelic fluid – as if each note, every word and the next chord were sent to them from an alternate, liminal space.
Natasha Barrett about beauty over death and detaching from the crazyness of the world
The electro-acoustic composer talks us through the motivations and inspirations behind her latest collection of works.
Thomas Florin of Dig Dug Dug about Improvisation
Florin doesn't think of himself as a fairly limited instrumentalist. In the piano trio Dig Dug Dug, those limitations lead to a direct and unromantic sound, bound- and borderless interactions - and plenty of surprises.
Interview Review: Ciao Kennedy - Solarium
Virtual and physical reality merge on this time-travelling fusion of rock, jazz, and electronica – a perfect representation of the present moment.
Oliver Lutz about the Magic of Sound(s)
Equally wondrous, joyful, and sexy, Oliver Lutz's music is a celebration of his deep fascination with sound – be it from Coltrane, Tomita, fusion jazz or the singing of lyrebirds.
Mary Bue: Can Sound Change the World?
“Songs can help us see things in a new way … and that is empowering.“
Tara Sarter of Sarter Kit about Directions in Jazz
Saxophonist Tara Sarter doesn't believe anything is better than anything else. On her latest album, this simple creed translates to one of the most unconventional visions of the jazz trio format.
JOYE about Lyrics
These electronic pop songs, influenced equally by Sinéad O'Connor, Patti Smith and Björk, are powerful in their courage to portrait powerlessness, universal in their intimacy, consoling by channelling pain.
This is not a Beginning
Tobias Fischer reflects on how the death of one of Germany's biggest singers created an infinite loop.
Apparitions about Energy & Music
Aiming for the border between divine ecstasy and extreme horror, the doom metal trio “saturate the acoustic space and overtone series in an attempt to sever the listener’s consciousness from the past and the future.”
Marina Zispin about Directions in Electronic Music
The term “synth pop” doesn't do this collection of dark, mysterious, and weirdly glamorous songs justice. Inviting myriads of comparisons, it remains incomparable.
Salin about Drumming
The Thai drummer's global take on jazzy funk is so dreamy and groovy that it all but belies her real intention: To hit as many things at once as she possibly can.
Tasha LaRae (Arrested Development) about her Voice and Singing
Soulful, sultry, and smooth, Tasha LaRae's Right Now is a feast for lovers of deep vocal house. Every track stays true to her goal: Expressing every emotion she holds inside.
Vega Trails about Minimalism
Vega Trails are still playing subtle, spiritual trios between double bass, sax and space. This time, however, they wanted to see make their minimalist music as big as mountains.
OHYUNG about Directions in Electronic Music
OHYUNG firmly intends to be a pop star. Their new album has all the right hooks, infectuous melodies, and sultry beats – but bathes them in an otherworldly twilight.
The Infinity Ring about Energy & Music
Scott Walker’s Tilt “objectively” inspired the majestic trance-states of the New England fivepiece – never fully discharging, perpetually in a state of feverish suspension.
Interview Review: Biomania – System D
A caleidoscopic continuum from hip to jazz, a transatlantic bridge, a showcase for a highly individual band sound.
Lil’T about Directions in Electronic Music
Inspired by his Latin roots and applying techniques of Sushi preparation to his productions, the new album by the Pillowtalk member is a joyful collection of infectious house songs.
VRAELL about the Magic of Sound
Olafur Arnalds is a fan, but Burial is an inspiration: VRAELL re-defines the borders between producer, songwriter, and composer.
Broodmen about Directions in Jazz
Music may not be as important in an ADD world. But to accordion-and-guitar-weilding jazzrock-trio Broodmen, there is still no alternative to living jazz 24/7.
Rita Donte about her Voice and Singing
The Cuban singer-songwriter's voice shines brighter than ever on Ritual. But it's the big communal choruses, performed without a metronome, which brought most joy to her.
Interview Review: Imperial Triumphant - Goldstar
Terrible or incredible? The trio's hypertechnical metal turns towards storytelling.
DARGZ about Directions in Hip Hop
The upcoming new DARGZ full-length is a family affair filled with warm soul, crisp beats and chopped-up contributions from London's new jazz scene.
C'mon Tigre Share their Creative Process
Emerging from skeletal sketches, the global-minded duo's expansive new album is driven by the synergy between words and sounds and the beauty hidden in misunderstandings.
Katarina Gryvul about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Embracing multimediality, and multidisciplinarity, Gryvul navigates between radical sound art, Ukrainian folk-themes and inventive ensemble work.
Christoph Irniger about Directions in Jazz
Combinations over Content: The Swiss saxophonist is giving in to the moment completely on his new, entirely live-recorded album.
Interview Review: William Basinski - September 23rd
A state of suspension, a feeling of voluntary submission: This music needs to exist.
Gizmo Varillas Shares his Creative Process
“Part of the role of an artist is to determine if an idea is worth exploring.”
Ciao Kennedy about Energy & Music
The Brussels-based band's passionate post-rock-electronica finds an excitingly unstable equilibrium between sentimental analog nostalgia and loud, uplifting futurism.
Verena Zeiner about Directions in Jazz
Faced with big, burning questions, Verena Zeiner accepted her responsibility as an artist – responding with radical care and a new-found musical freedom.
Gerald Mitchell (Spiral Deluxe, Underground Resistance) about Directions in Electronic Music
With Spiral Deluxe, the Detroit keyboard player is shaping his vision of a bright future – between the acoustic and the electric, tradition and progress, jazz and house.
KEINE ANGST IM DUNKELN about the Magic of Sound(s)
High Frequency Fetishism: On his fuzz-drunk solo debut, Denis Wanic of SUIR is affectionately piercing your ears.
ARV about Energy & Music
Unleashing an Arctic Post Metal Inferno, the Norwegian band clearly feel strongly about transmitting energy. Their goal: To help listeners raise their voices.
XIXA Share their Creative Process
Based on an old French theatrical production, the Tuxon, AZ band created a trip of latinamerican rhythms and deep songwriting - a challenge they wouldn't care to do again any time soon.
Ricky McKinnie of The Blind Boys of Alabama about his Voice and Singing
One of the great American gospel voices about the importance of natural harmony – and the cough drops The Blind Boys of Alabama swear by.
Tom Avgenicos about Directions in Contemporary Composition
On Ghosts Between Streams, triggered by observations of ecological destruction, the environmental impact is “both the subject and the work itself.”
Matteo Liberatore (aka Molto Ohm) about the Magic of Sound(s)
Is every sound we hear loaded with associations with our past? On the first album of his new project – a collage of beats, sequences, personal messages and blocks of sound - Matteo Liberatore is determined to find out.
Interview Review: Blind Io - Pillars of Creation (Part 1)
No abstractions: Electro-acoustic improvisation in the age of fun.
Ni Maxine about Directions in Jazz
Watch this space – in her songs and performances, the British songwriter is digging deep into the new and unknown of a genre she has a funny relationship with.
Mood Bored Share their Creative Process
The Dutch indie rock trio are finding beauty in a fucked up world - always looking for the suckerpunch in the most mundane things.
Darci Phenix about her Voice and Singing
Pushing beyond autotune, Darci Phenix discovered the true potential of her voice on Sable – while retaining the dreamy, otherworldly spirit of her folk songs.
Elia Aregger about Energy & Music
Inspired by “long days and nights that stretched into the morning”, the hypnagogic music of Aregger's trio moulds sensuality and suspense into “moments where the energy boils beneath the surface.”
Interview Review: Okonski - Entrance Music
Utopian jazz: Music so beautiful that it makes you experience and long for a better world.
Ibelisse Guardia & Frank Rosaly about Directions in Jazz
Experiencing the duo's debut album MestizX is “like downloading a mountain” - a mind-altering journey through trance-inducing vocals, multilayered drumming, naked emotion and psychotropic electronics.
Azul Kechi about her Voice and Singing
The Nigerian-British singer and lyricist wants to leave an imprint and offer a true representation of who she is. On her soulful and stripped-down debut album, she's come pretty close to that ideal.
EB Rebel about Directions in Hip Hop
The “rebel sound” marries true lyricism with a border- and genreless sound that is dark, powerful and uplifting all at once.
Interview Review: Fox Capture Plan - DEEPER
The melodies of the Japanese Acid-Fusion-trio keep falling down - but the effect is one of consolation and ecstasy.
Grand River about the Magic of Sound
For her new album, Aimée Portioli processed, pitched and arranged wind recordings. The result is a veritable force of nature – and possibly the most powerful piece of sound art you'll hear this year.
Lauren Mia: Can Sound Change the World?
“If more people approached communication the way musicians do, so many conflicts could dissolve effortlessly.”
Rose Betts about Lyrics
Tradition and the present are caught in a burning, dream-like embrace in Rose Bett's songs. Each flaw and failing, each high point and low point – nothing is ever off the table.
Elaine Mitchener about Working, Composing, and Improvising with her Voice
Ahead of a new Barbican premiere, the experimental vocalist speaks about her practise, disrupting semantic sense and her love for how people say the things they say.
Dream Brigade about Improvisation
Martial arts and creative remembering are guiding principles for the piano-percussion duo. Their debut album incorporates moments of intimacy, sonic sculpting and suspenseful drum rolls.
Interview Review: Rob Mazurek - Alternate Moon Cycles
The deeper this single-note meditation goes, the more it creates the sensation that “we're all in this together.”
Roller Derby Share their Creative Process
Wherever the Hamburg duo may go - the next big melancholic chorus is always right around the corner.
Mathias Landæus about Energy & Music
No plans, no concepts. Just honesty and vulnerability: On an impressionist, bittersweet new trio album, Mathias Landæus is once again surrendering to the flow.
WHO SHOT SCOTT about Directions in Hip Hop
WHO SHOT SCOTT's music may not be overtly political. Its dopamine-spike-frenzy gives it a soundtrack-to-the-next-revolution-quality nonetheless.
Kuunatic Share their Creative Process
Kuunatic play psychedelic rock on traditional Japanese instruments. Their process involves science fiction, mythology - and burning incense from Kyoto's Nanzen-ji Temple.
Reiko Füting about Directions in Contemporary Composition
There is a lot of space in Füting's compositions – filled with echoes of the past, an embrace of magic and the will to break it.
Xani about Energy & Music
Live, Xani channels the rawness of Hendrix and Paganini. On her upcoming studio album, she expresses feelings of loss and grief through krautrock.
STRUKTURSTRUKTUR about Directions in Jazz
Propelled by two drummers, the quartet are looking for patterns between hypnosis and deconstruction, tactile grooves and grainy texture.
JOHNNYSWIM about Lyrics
Cuban folk, Nu Soul, dreamy acoustics and uplifting beats - everything flows naturally on the new JOHNNYSWIM album. Aptly, writing songs feels like water to them.
KARMÅ Shares her Creative Process
KARMÅ's music is a return to the core of club music: Alchemic, euphoric, and deeply spiritual. It is also simply classic songwriting.
Yumiko Ohno (Spiral Deluxe) about Directions in Electronic Music
“We must respect the great music of the past, and create something new,” moog master Yumiko Ohno says. To do this, she keeps her antennae open to jazz and electronica, installations, and DJ sets.
SHURR JR. about Energy & Music
Aggression and vulnerability blend in the trios' fuzzy indie rock. Revealing their darkest thoughts opens up a space of hope.
Mary Kouyoumdjian about Directions in Contemporary Composition
The Armenian diaspora continues to influence Kouyoumdjian's work. And yet, her ingenious use of field recordings roots her documentarian approach to the present.
Denis Blackham about his Life in Mastering
From Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire via Eric Clapton and Depeche Mode to OMD and Black Sabbath - Denis Blackham's masterings have made the world of music a better one.
Nite Kite about Directions in Jazz
From Protection-era Massive Attack via modular-synth-fantasies to stripped-down melancholia, Nite Kite is exploring personality over progress.
Nickolas Mohanna about Energy & Music
Energy is an inspiring potential in the crushingly beautiful feedback anthems of Mohanna. It needs to stay untethered by the egomaniacal creatures of the world.
TC:KYLIE about Directions in Jazz
Hong Kong’s Cantopop is a joyful fusion of Eastern and Western influences. Now, TC:KYLIE adds jazz and historically charged soundscapes to the equation.
Simon Fisher Turner about the Magic of Sound
Even after five decades, Fisher Turner is still just "making it up."
Natasha Barrett about Directions in Electronic Music
Using 3D ambisonic microphones, Barrett's current acousmatic works listen towards the future: Are we headed for beauty or dystopia?
Veronica Burnuthian of Spinnen about Lyrics
Spinnen write edgy, from-the-dark-corners-of-the-basement drum-and-guitar post-punk anthems. The lyrics, however, imbue them with a “light that permeates the body.”
Kinan Azmeh about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Damascus and New York are the pillars of Kinan Azmeh's world. His intensely spiritual, ecstatically still music, however, is bound to no genre or place.
Nicole McCabe about Improvisation
Nicole McCabe is learning to relinquish control. Intruigingly, that's precisely how she regains it on the mysterious, surreal-in-a-beguiling-way analog-synth jazz of her latest album.
Takuro Okada about the Magic of Sound(s)
Ambient guitarist Takuro Okada wants to play as if he were looking at water and grasping a cloud.
Markus Mehr about Spaces of Possibility and Gateways for the Senses
Mehr's immersive installation SUPRA may sound enchanting. But its themes are serious: Unless we take action, we are headed for epochal changes.
Alexandra Dariescu about Interpretation
If inspiration hits, the Romanian pianist can spend months diving into a composer's letters, and life story. Music is living and breathing – a dialogue with the past.
Kenji "Jino" Hino (Spiral Deluxe) about Directions in Jazz
Miles Davis made Hino realise jazz is the ultimate form of music: Ageless, colourless, cool, sexy, sad, chaotic and funky like hell.
Messer about Energy & Music
The post-punk band's new release captures them at their most raw and intense: Sounds cutting like knives, words turning to swords.
Harald Walkate about Composing for Photos and Making Music Visual
Inspired by mysterious photos by nanny photographer Vivian Maier, Harald Walkate imagines the narrative beyond the frame.
Joona Toivanen about Improvisation
Tapping into sampling and working with experimental performance approaches, Joona Toivanen still heads one of the most unique piano trios we know.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Raissa Febriani
First, Febriani spent time in the Indonesian forest. Then, she translated the inspiratio into stripped-down, bass-heavy percussion-funk.
Oh My Sun Share their Creative Process
The London duo's haunting songs carry the DNA of 70s psychedelic folk and dreamy soft rock – with just the right amount of “roughage.”
Biomania about Directions in Jazz
The French quintet shape their own vision of 21st century jazz, soul, and hip hop – seducing the mind, but keeping the body engaged.
Manuel Bienvenu about his Voice and Singing
“With the kind of tone I have, one bottle of Bourbon and two packs of cigarettes a day would probably help. But I am not that disciplined.”
Anna Thorvaldsdottir about Directions in Contemporary Composition
Thorvaldsdottir's new work feels like a journey to the heart of sound: A slow stream of tiny particles, intimate cascades and reverberations tending towards the infinite.
Paul van Dyk about Directions In Electronic Music
Much of today's popular dance music is a "deliberate rip-off of the past," according to van Dyk. But what is the solution?
Gaudenz Badrutt about the Magic of Sound(s)
Is the Swiss composer's new album a piece of ghostly resonances? A sculpture? Or is it just a space in which it exists as a sonic sculpture?
lisa tba: Can Sound Change the World?
Music can just be a tool for having a good time to lisa tba. But she also uses it to support causes such as migrant solidarity and feminist struggles.
Krajenski about Directions in Jazz
Lutz Krajenski's plays, collects, and restores Hammond organs. On his new album, he now fuses them with hiphop beats.
David Grubbs about the Magic of Sound(s)
Sound is almost all-important for David Grubbs. His new collection of "distorted poems" is intense testimony to that.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Petra Onderuf
The Tradition is to Break the Tradition: Petra Onderuf spices up jazz with Eastern European and Balkan influences.
Cyber Witch: Can Sound Change the World?
"My music reflects the challenges of the world I live in while expressing the values I hold dear. Music is not just an art form - it’s a tool for a better future."
Gabríel Ólafs about the Magic of Sound(s)
Gabríel Ólafs imagines what a world of ice would sound like – rejecting the notion that there could ever be too much reverb.
NIJI Shares his Creative Process
Blending Yoruba culture and spiritual jazz, NIJI's Oríkì is a passionate, pristinely produced piece of deep soul searching.
Benjamin Lackner about Art in the Face of War and the Importance of Titles
Haunting and quietly intense, pianist Benjamin Lackner's second album for ECM is a work of beauty slowly descending into darkness.
Mörmaid about Jazz, Improvisation, and Electronic Music
"I’ve always been drawn to music that has different degrees of weirdness to it."
Musina Ebobissé aka Blendreed about the Magic of Sound
The French jazz saxophonist sculpts glacially majestic soundscapes – creative antidotes to the vicious cycle of noise he's observing.
Scratch Massive about Minimalism
Experience and the search for essence have turned the French electro duo into architects of sound.
AŸA about Energy & Music
The Moroccan-Yemeni singer has a voice and an on-stage presence that takes her audience on a rollercoaster ride. It's a blessing and a responsibility.
s8jfou about Production, Technology, and Creativity
Inspired by an indelible Autechre performance and living alone in a mountain cabin, the French producer's music is pure exploration.
Russell Ferrante of Yellowjackets about Directions in Jazz
"Music can inspire, and bridge ethnic, religious, and political divides. As a musician and a composer, I want this to be my focus."
Lasse Winkler about Lyrics
In his late 20s and mesmerised by Berlin's 24/7 party life, the German songwriter didn't get anything done. It turned out to be the most creative time of his life.
Violeta García Shares her Creative Process
Recorded in an old underground water tank, Violeta García's new album was stolen, then returned – embarking on a journey of its own.
Sven Väth about DJing and his “Journey of Music, Magic, and Euphoria”
The legendary DJ looks back on 40 years behind the turntables - on the art of storytelling, the navigation between control and surrender.
Dennis Quin about Directions in Electronic Music
“The best way is to DJ like a producer and to produce like a DJ.“
Jessica Lauren about Directions in Jazz: Queer Jazz Edition
Lauren's outsider nature shines through in increasingly minimal, life-affirming jams - but she doesn't call herself a jazz musician anymore.
Ruckus Early Music about Interpretation
For their new album of baroque music, the ensemble found inspiration in Irish synth folk and Mariah Carey. Who cares what Handel would have thought?
Nina Garcia Shares her Creative Process
A tiny tool caught every tremor and every hesitation of Garcia's hand. Her new album is a work of of fragile, heartfelt guitar noise.
Ionzi: Can Sound Change the World?
For Iona Evans, sheer determination in the face of rejection and belief in the world you are creating are crucial.
Nicole Johänntgen about Directions in Jazz
Every improvisation is about the state of the world for saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen. It is also a “body language.”
Miramar about Lyrics
Miramar's bittersweet bolero anthems find endless fascination in the "human social experience" and the relationship between joy and pain.
Amy Rita about Energy & Music
The Swiss-Australian pianist-composer is looking for a healing energy – inspiring both reflection and action.
Keiichiro Shibuya about his AI Opera and Buddhist Insights on Technology
Shibuya's oeuvre questions the nature of death, offering a new romanticism through the eyes and ears of AI.
Laurie Torres: Can Sound Change the World?
“I strongly believe that community is key to fighting injustice. Music is one way to build communities.”
Dane Alderson of Yellowjackets about Directions in Jazz
"I use music and concerts as a way to forget about current events, worries or concerns."
Bon Entendeur about DJing
As masters of Back to Back DJing, the French duo are constantly in conversation through music.
Ralph Heidel about Directions in Jazz
Jazz-Ambient-Rap-Drone composer Ralph Heidel still “fucks up a lot.” But he's confident “the audience still knows what I’m trying to say.”
Selassie about Directions in Hip Hop
For the Ghanaian rapper, hip hop is a case of “either you're living it or you're watching it.”
Abel Selaocoe Shares his Creative Process
In the prayer-like realm of “Moya,” Selaocoe translates African musical languages to the cello.
Rafiq Bhatia about Improvisation
"Before we think too hard about freedom we should start by focusing on kindness."
Toribio about Directions in Jazz
In the spiritual jazz-house of the NYC multihyphenate, improvisation is a tool for tapping into the subconscious.
LESSSS about Energy & Music
“I feed off the audience's energy, and amplify it through the music. It’s a constant exchange.“
Jean Claude Vannier Shares his Creative Process
The legendary French composer and arranger (Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy) still writes music "like they did in the 17th century."
Hadiqa Kiani about her Voice and Singing
"I wanted every note to feel pure, unfiltered, and deeply authentic—a reflection of the soul and spirit of Qawwali."
Abdomen about the Magic of Sound(s)
The almost frighteningly intense noise-rock of the Dutch trio is inspired by a longing for the unexpected.
Ebba Åsman about Directions in Jazz
Improvisation is everywhere on Ebba Åsman's hip-hop-infused torch songs. But she doesn't need to sound like her jazz heroes to honour them.
Andorra: The Band Interview
The Danish fivepiece's magical, multi-facetted jazz is held together by friendship, laughs – as well as lots of coffee.
Emma Jean Thackray about her Voice and Singing
"I’m definitely revealing deep secrets and singing about uncomfortable truths."
Martina Bertoni about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sound is one of society’s core expressions. It’s one of its identification marks."
Nathan Ott about Drumming
To Nathan Ott, drumming is a deeply sensory experience: Lighting will change how he plays, rhythm becomes melody, textures turn into grooves.
Joke Lanz and Thomas Rehnert about the Magic of Sound(s)
A conversation about “sucking music through the pores," becoming a sound field, and extreme sonic experiences.
Jung Latch about Directions in Electronic Music
“The process of DAW to Bandcamp to CDJ is starting to run out of mileage. Exploring new ways to present your work is going to be the fun part.“
Chris A. Cummings of Cici Arthur about Lyrics
With the trio Cici Arthur, Cummings connects with his inner world – and his experiences with the "shittier aspects of showbusiness."
Morgane Lhote (Stereolab) aka Hologram Teen about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I lost a fair amount of my top end hearing so I gravitate towards bassy sounds. It’s a physiological response at this point."
klingt.collective: The Band interview
"I like it, when we “tickle” each other with our music."
Bob Mintzer of Yellowjackets about Directions in Jazz
"All the great improvisors worked hard at a compositional approach to improvising."
Radic The Myth about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"If producion gets a lot more easy, it's gonna take the fun out of it."
Marta Finkelštein about Interpretation
"You have to live a very full life to channel something meaningful to the audience."
Jan Blomqvist about Production, Technology, and Creativity
From Blomqvist Sound to Blomqvist Archives
Aleksander Kostopoulos about the Magic of Sound
"I’m often moved by sounds where the organic meets the digital."
Lei Liang about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I always test my music with my young son.“
Nubya Garcia: Can Sound Change the World?
"Music gives us the strength to stand together against anyone who’s trying to destroy inclusivity and freedoms."
Jules Reidy about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I live right by the S-Bahn and listen to that for hours. It’s kind of irritating and comforting at the same time."
Javier Rojo about Improvisation
"Reacting in the moment is like meeting someone for coffee—you’re not going to recite memorized stories."
Noémi Büchi about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I only believe in variations on what already exists. But the range of variation is infinite."
Xin Lie: Can Sound Change the World?
"My own voice isn't loud enough to be heard. So I'll let the music speak through big speakers."
Fthmlss about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We tend to use our imaginations so much more when receiving information through sound."
The Delines about Lyrics
"A lot of my characters are doomed, sometimes by self-inflicted wounds."
Matthias Lindermayr about Collaboration
"I am drawn to collaborating with people who inspire me."
Masako Ohta about Collaboration
"How did we resolve disagreements? Just talk and play again."
Eiko Ishibashi Shares her Creative Process
"Each album has a different theme. On this album, the word “graveyard” was the theme.”
Close Counters about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"We like to bring technology to the forefront and play with it."
COLLIGNON about the Magic of Sound(s)
"A lot of architects overlook how their buildings sound."
Black Flower about Directions in Jazz
"Jazz has lost its meaning as a specific style. It’s a way of making music."
Topher Horn about Scoring for Film
"I like when the score is a little removed from what’s happening on screen."
Moses Yoofee Trio about Improvisation
"Ego is not about being the best. It just gives me a lot of self-awareness and self-confidence to be able to express myself."
Dardust about Minimalism
"Some of my music could be played by a child in their first year of piano study. There are so few notes, yet they say so much to me."
Anané about her Voice and Singing
"To sing is to convey a message from the soul - in any way the song calls for."
Øystein Skar about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“This album has been a quiet form of personal activism—a subtle response to the outside world.“
United Freedom Collective: Can Sound Change the World?
"We can’t just hide from it and hope it all works out."
AWKWARD i Shares his Creative Process
“Maybe I’m just trying to fill a void, an emptiness. It’s addictive magic.“
Terri Lyne Carrington about Drumming
“Drummers are natural leaders. They lead bands they play in even when it is not official.”
KALI Trio about Directions in Jazz
"In a time when developments tend to draw people apart, creating something as a democratic collective is, in itself, a political act."
Yaron Herman about Improvisation
“My daily work consists of expanding my toolbox - so I can move from any given idea to any other given idea.“
Michele Ducci about his Voice and Singing
"There is something in singing that makes humans similar to the wind, to birds, to the flow of water, to the falling of rain."
Ela Minus about DIA, Taste and Instinct
"I want to make anthems for the place I am from for the people that share my background."
Damon Locks about Lyrics
"I am always asking why things are so messed up? That topic is unfortunately always relevant."
A.M. Architect about Directions in Electronic Music
“Reimagining our songs in a nonlinear environment and creating a two-way interaction between ourselves and the audience is very exciting for us.“
Michael Jaeger about Directions in Jazz
"The owner of a jazz club told me that I should be careful that people still understood our music. But isn't the jazz club the right place for unbiased listening?"
Angelina Luzi about her Voice and Singing
"Singing should be accessible to everyone - not only ‘allowed’ to a few."
Evgeny Grinko about Minimalism
"I wanted to record the lids of 20-30 coffins slamming shut. The label and sound engineer refused to help me."
Frum about Lyrics
"Writing feels like a bridge between the seen and unseen, between what we feel and what we want to understand."
Sara Persico about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Once you start recognizing the physicality and spatiality of sound, it transforms the way you approach making music."
Helen Anahita Wilson and Merlyn Driver about Animal Music and Interspecies Communication
"The evolution of human music may go back to sex. This would bring the music of other species further inside our radius of understanding."
Andrey Sirotkin: Can Sound Change the World?
"I try to sublimate negative feelings via music. When I come to my family, my friends, my tribe, I won’t put these things on them."
Rosa Bordallo about Lyrics
"Poetry is like an incantation. Music is more like being possessed."
Thomas Lemmer about Dreamscapes, Acoustic Health, and the perfect Reverb
“My goal was to compose loop-based music that is calming and meditative but never dull.“
Cari Lekebusch about Directions in Electronic Music
“Maybe new developments will happen in the area of how to perform this type of music.“
Adam F about Colours, Career, and Re-Creating a Classic
"It’s incredible to think that something I created nearly three decades ago still resonates with people."
JESHI about Directions in Hip Hop
"Punk and Hip Hop stand for the same thing: breaking the rules and doing things your way."
The Necks about Bleed, Improvisation, and Recording
"I enjoy every single aspect of making a record. Except for actually doing a take!"
Joshua Idehen: The Barista Interview
"A great cup of coffee? Good beans, good grind, a summer day, a window, your new favourite song, and something to read."
Bernhard Living about Silence and Negative Space in Music
"My intentions for using silence are very different from those of John Cage."
François X about Directions in Electronic Music
“Avoiding trends and focusing on authenticity is key to taking electronic music into the future.“
W4RP Trio about Interpretation
"I’m still trying to figure out how to play things I learned as a child!"
TIKHET about Directions in Hip Hop
“Hip Hop is the largest and most comprehensive subculture that has ever existed.“
Tools of Creation: The Kora
For Seckou Keita, the Kora is a simple instrument channeling ancestry, secret techniques and storytelling.
Kenji Herbert about Directions in Jazz
"Being innovative and having a personal voice is part of the tradition. It isn't opposed to it."
Brunson about Minimalism
“If you only have 3 or 4 elements, but they are used deliberately, you can unravel the flavor layers the longer you play the track.“
Jakob Dinesen about Improvisation
“I don’t mind being a fool. Sometimes that's what allows real music to happen.“
Silvan Strauss about Drumming
“The conception that 4/4 is kind of the “normal“ thing is super unrealistic.”
Airod about Directions in Electronic Music
“Being an artist means offering a more or less unique experience that truly reflects who you are.“
Joshu about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Hands rubbing on a balloon is probably my worst sound in the world. Should be illegal."
Juanita Stein about Lyrics
"I’m obsessed with what it all means. Trying to understand and find deep appreciation in our total existence."
Joachim Spieth about Minimalism
"There is only one rule: does the music have an effect on me? Anything that doesn't fulfil this rule can go."
Vincent Dombrowski of Nordsnø Ensemble about Improvisation
“I normally am not loud and extreme. But I sometimes love to be that way whilst playing.“
David Allred about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I prefer a song that is poorly written, even intentionally bad, rather than a song that is trying to be good but is mediocre."
Tunng Share their Creative Process
“I consider myself lucky to have been part of it. Then I get the washing up done.“
Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune about Directions in Jazz
"I do not miss the past. I miss the future."
Daniel Blumberg about The Brutalist and Scoring for Film
"Scoring The Brutalist was a delicate dance between the dialogue, score and sound."
Slavek Kwi about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“All soundlifeforms are welcome! No tonal racism!“
Philip Samartzis about the Sounds of Antarctica and the Role of Art in Environmental Protection
"These are more than mere recordings. They are a narrative of a rapidly changing landscape."
Reinier Zonneveld about Directions in Electronic Music
“In Brazil I make my beats way more percussive. In China, the clap is the most important part in the groove rather than the kick.“
Martin Kohlstedt about Improvisation
“For my live album, I had to listen to 400 improvisations of myself.“
Kasiva Mutua and Christian Mohr Levisen about Intercultural Collaboration
"Christian's hurdy gurdy rhythm reminded me of the Agikuyu tribe from Central Kenya."
Fie Eike about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Some people live a whole life without ever really listening."
Éric Normand about Directions in Jazz
"I'd prefer a vision of diversity rather than merely showcasing the culture of rich civilizations."
Callum Smart about Violin Chatbots and the State of Classical Music
“I owe much of my ability to be caring toward others to learning the violin.“
Alec Orea about Directions in Jazz
"Barriers are an illusion. Audiences are ready for true art."
Sun Sone Shares his Creative Process
"You are not a machine which needs to endlessly churn out a ‘product.’ If you’ve only got one album in you that’s fine."
Ossi Raippalinna and Anna McLuckie about Intercultural Collaboration
"Intercultural collaborations push me to reinvent my role as a musician every single time."
Madison Margot about Lyrics
"I can feel thrown off if a random love song appears in the middle of a breakup album."
SYREETA about DJing
“I have never played the same set twice. I even used to never play the same track twice.“
Mattias De Craene about the Magic of Sound(s)
"One day, maybe soon, silence will become a luxury product."
Jérôme Sabbagh about Directions in Jazz
"Playing improvised music with honesty and integrity is an act of defiance in a society that values shallow things and encourages our worst instincts."
Félix Blume about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“The rustling of wind through trees, birdsong, and human voices are not separate elements. They're part of a cohesive soundscape.“
Damian Lazarus about Directions in Electronic Music
“My love of this music never subsides. I just have to wade through a lot of shit in order to find it.“
Yazz Ahmed about Heritage, Identity, and A Paradise In The Hold
"This album is a record of how my identity has been evolving."
Sula Bassana about Kraut & Krautrock
"People think that Krautrock must have a motorik beat. But there was so much more new and fresh stuff in Krautrock."
Denis Blackham about Mastering Kraftwerk, Mike Oldfield, and Vangelis
“Autobahn is still special to me.“
Bastien Keb about Directions in Hip Hop
“I respect artists who use their craft for the betterment of society. But my music is an escape, like a dream.“
Gregor Tresher about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Controlling technology just with your mind sounds like the future. I guess we’re not so far away from that."
zzzahara about their Lyrics
"Most of the feedback I get is, “this song helped me with a breakup.” Sounds right to me."
Mark Wingfield about Directions in Jazz
"A lot of the things I hear in my head are unplayable."
Nikki Sheth about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“I have to go in without any expectations - I always seem to find something unexpected.“
Utopia Union about Kraut & Krautrock
"The motorik beat is not just a rhythm - it's a way of getting lost in the music."
Lauri Järvilehto about Lyrics
"Music is a form of communication. Sometimes you even communicate with yourself."
MM WORKS about Directions in Jazz
"The core idea of MM Works is the dynamic we get when playing together. That is hard to get online."
A. Blomqvist about the Magic of Sound(s)
"When my second daughter was born, I created all kinds of compositions to the rhythm of a heart beat monitor!"
Brunson about Intimacy Between Friends
"I have tables full of machines. I had so much stuff Tresor was kind of annoyed."
Cosimo Fiaschi about his Creative Process and Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I thrive and offer only sounds; nothing more, nothing less”.
Hiroshi Watanabe about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Music remains an irreplaceable and singular trance for me—a gateway to the fifth dimension."
Philip Samartzis and Michael Vorfeld about Air Pressure, Arctic Inspiration, and Artful Resonances
"The recordings from Antarctica are natural soundscapes. But they have such a compelling narrative that they seem like a musical composition."
Ravin Mehta of Made By Robots about the Ethics and Pleasures of AI Music
"The technological palette is getting extended by AI tools. Maybe you’ll end up with a Python programmer in your next band."
Clara Montocchio about her Voice and Singing
"Writing in Afrikaans for the first time was an eye-opening experience. I discovered a new kind of openness in my voice."
Ben Glas about the Magic of Sound
"Sometimes I feel that a hyper-object is millimeters from my face, moving at breakneck speeds."
Tobias Meissl about Directions in Jazz
"I strive for the playing to be more informed by my ideas than what I am able to do on the instrument."
Alberta Balsam about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Sound design is is just one piece of the puzzle. Creating something emotionally compelling or memorable should come first."
Rita Satch about her Voice and Singing
"It all comes down to trusting yourself to be vulnerable, staying in the moment, and letting go."
Banksia about Directions in Jazz
"Jazz, for me, is a reminder to live with purpose, spontaneity, and a deep respect for the beauty of imperfection."
The Halo Trees about Deleting, Reimagining and Rebuilding their Songs
“Every genre has its own rules. But somehow we always like to break them.“
Ali Watson about Improvisation
“Improvisation forces parts of your personality out - whether you like it or not.“
Bárbara Boeing about DJing
“Everyone has their own way to fight their demons. For me, dancing is one of the healthiest ways to do that.“
Christian Nainggolan about Krautrock
"I like krautrock's non-dogmatic approach to music. Everyone has music in their mind."
Mélia Roger and Grégoire Chauvot about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“Animal sounds can be seen as a parallel layer of reality which we have really little access to.“
Birds of Mind about DJing
“I’m not an entertainer—I’m here to share my musical taste and ensure people have a good time on the dance floor.“
Los Suruba Share their Experiences and Insights with Tinnitus
“I didn’t hear my tinnitus anymore when I stopped fearing it.“
dot about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The future is just as beautiful as it is frightening."
Tools of Creation: The Horn
For Meravi, the horn is an instrument which requires a tight bond with its performer.
ETHEL about Interpretation
"The performer is in conversation with the composer. It is NOT a one-way street!“
Yanling about the Magic of Sound(s)
"When I’m feeling fragile, it becomes almost impossible to listen to music. It can be overwhelming and tear me apart."
Toma Gouband about Drumming
“I love discovering a material, a surface. Finding its acoustic openings, trying to make it sing.”
WANU about Directions in Jazz
“Keep the mind of a child - unformatted by convention and habit.“
Izabela Dłużyk about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“If I should ever find myself incapable of cherishing the beauty of the natural world, this will be the beginning of my downfall as a human.“
Gina Été about Lyrics
"When words might be ambiguous, music has an intuitive, emotional power! Songs have both!"
Alice Hebborn about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The overwhelming flow of information accelerates divisions within society, fuelling violence and destruction. The soundscape of the world follows the same pattern."
Niklas Wandt about Kraut & Krautrock
"Neu! and Can really opened my ears to the liberating power of repetition."
Jon Durant about Fractals, Rhythms, and a Sky Full of Hope
“Many of the new tracks really hit me emotionally.“
Katharina Schmidt about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“Field recording is a fantastic exercise in listening beyond the structures we’re trained to recognize in music.“
Matthias Spillmann about Directions in Jazz
“The only reason I record my own music is to play it in concert.“
Nate Wooley Shares his Creative Process
“It’s never right. It’s never mastered. There’s always somewhere further to go.“
Tools of Creation: The Ghatam
For Giridhar Udupa, playing the Ghatam is a very physical and immersive experience.
Andreas Liebert about Lyrics
"Songs don’t necessarily unfold their power when they are released - but when someone truly listens to them."
Elmar about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I love the white noise of waves crashing on the shore. It's as though earth is sighing."
Guinevere about Lyrics
"It’s when we stop trying to find answers and stay in the question that we really gain access to creation."
Phil Dawson about Directions in Jazz
“Perfection never arrives. But something else you didn’t expect often does!“
Stephan Thelen about Rothko Spaces, Synaesthesia, and Serious Sound Shaping
"I always thought Rothko was the perfect artist."
India Gailey about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“My fascination with the avant-garde grew as I learned of artists who really shook up expectations and social constructs.“
Alëna Korolëva about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“I am often triggered by sounds of humans eating. But the sound of pigs enjoying their breakfast provokes different feelings.“
Maarten Goetheer about Directions in Jazz
“The spiritual element of this music, its transcendental power, is a way of life.“
Ana Helder about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I notice a certain darkness in AI generators. The word “fear” feels very relevant here."
Laurent Bizot about NØ FØRMAT!, Jazz, and the Paris-Mali-Axis
"Numerous albums we released are about the dialogue between cultural roots and the quest for an unknown, new sound."
Seckou Keita about his Creative Process for Homeland (Chapter 1)
“Everytime I sit behind my kora, I leave this world and enter another one.“
Lia Bosch talks Sound
"The rhythm of breathing or a heartbeat took on a special meaning. As if I could sense a connection to something larger and intangible."
Sofiya Nzau about her Voice and Singing
"I don’t need to sound like someone else—I’m happy with what my voice can do."
Statik Sound System about Bristol in the 90s, Remix Love and Production
“We wanted to get people to move but also be affected by the sound - to think and feel it.“
The Routes about Kraftwerk and the Twang Machine
“Translating Kraftwerk's vocal melodies to surf music was a challenge.“
Jono McCleery about his Voice and Singing
"Singing is liberating. Speaking is something we have to do to get along mostly."
Pedro da Linha about the Magic of Sound
"It’s almost impossible not to feel like you’re shaping something - even though you can’t physically touch it."
Demian Licht about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Minor keys transport my thoughts to realms that are sublime and introspective.“
Marta Warelis about Improvisation
“My first solo performances were disastrous! In a wonderful way though.“
Teleport Collective about Directions in Jazz
“Improvisation is one of the main subjects in jazz, and so it is in life.“
molto morbidi about Lyrics
"Sounds aren’t signs. They have an autonomy that words don’t have."
Lariza about Directions in Jazz
“I see the roots of jazz as a foundation - not a limitation.“
Jonas Howden Sjøvaag about the Magic of Sound(s)
“Music and sound are physical events starting on quantum level.“
Nathaniel Eras about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I'm trying to create sonic worlds. Textured palettes, and sounds that can also be imagined as symbols."
Søren Bebe about Directions in Jazz
“The qualities of jazz can be an inspiration and something to strive for in daily life.“
Max D & Matt Papich (Lifted) Share their Creative Process
"I experience music making and releasing as one sort of long state of creative life."
Niton: The Band Interview
"We feel closer to a group unconsciousness than to a group consciousness."
CECILIA about her Voice and Singing
"It was a joy to dissolve into the ensemble of voices of a choir. To become one thick expanded voice."
Suzan Köcher about Lyrics
"I’m not an architect. I love starting from anywhere and being surprised by where it leads."
DJ W!LD about Minimalism and what he Does in the Shadows
“Minimalism is about more than owning fewer things. It’s about focusing on what truly matters.“
Matthieu Prual about Walking Concerts, Body Movement and Music that Opens Mental Spaces
“We play with plane drones, donkeys singing with us, naked fields.“
ADRIANNA about DJing
“At its purest, DJing is beautiful, spiritual, humbling, and energizing—a real privilege.“
La Fleur about the Magic of Sound(s)
"There’s something about a rich, deep and rolling bassline that feels grounding."
Chris Whitley about Improvisation
“Improvisation always had this feeling of being a forbidden fruit.“
Blake Lee about No Sound In Space, Lana del Rey and Composing from the Void
“My neighbors mentioned they could hear me recording and that it sounded like an airplane was landing. That made me really happy.“
Stefan Smulovitz about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“The true transformational aspect of art is the idea filtered through the body.“
Cenobium about Directions in Jazz
“I can't make music that seems like I'm living someone else's life.“
Barbara Hannigan about her Voice and Singing
"I have a great faith in my adrenaline to help me when I need it."
Bele Beledo about Directions in Jazz
“Jazz has a wide spectrum. However the jazz police can be picky and discriminatory.“
HAEVN Share their Creative Process
"Through music, we express the parts of ourselves that words or daily tasks can’t reach."
Selu Herraiz about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“We can communicate with animals and may think they are interacting creatively with us. But I don’t believe that is their intention.“
Snad about the Magic of Sound(s)
"In the Bahai temple in Evanston, I could hear people breathing more than 20-30 feet away from me."
ACIDBOY aka Regal about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Plugins are more intuitive. You don’t have to read a manual before you start producing."
Julie Kuhl about her Voice and Singing
"Drums are my favourite part in songs. But it really is the opposite of my strength in singing."
Samora Pinderhughes about Jazz, Improvisation, and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“Imagining a new world based on healing and care will require an endless capacity for improvisation.“
Gavin Bryars Shares his Creative Process
“There is a strange sense of being unfocussed in relation to everyday life. A phone call would be quite startling.“
The Routes about the Surfin' Pleasures of Joy Division
“What would Joy Division sound like if a 60s surf band were to play it?“
Roxanna Panufnik about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I’m most interested in the things I can’t do.“
Rosie Frater-Taylor about Jazz, Improvisation, and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“It’s crucial to understand your own sound before you let anyone else tamper with it.“
Victoria about Songwriting, Deeper Identity, and Electronic Disco
“There's something irreplaceable that comes from live music.“
Eric Pan about Improvisation
“If your choices are close to what someone else already expressed - it’s not really composition or improv.“
Jonáš Gruska about Animal Sounds and Interspecies Communication
“Hooking up random wires to organisms is not convincing to me.“
Hendrika about Lyrics
“Writing can be very cathartic. But it forces you to deal with your feelings.“
Ellen Reid about the Magic of Sound(s)
“I listened to Sigur Rós every night before I went to bed. It made me feel like there was still beauty in the world.“
Creve Coeur: The Band Interview
"The way we react to each other forms something quite uncertain. It can be very pleasing or rather disturbing."
Ded Hyatt about the Magic of Sound(s)
“As a kid, listening to music through headphones was almost like a drug in the way it transported me from regular life.“
AUA Share their Creative Process
"I can’t just sit down and write music like it's an office job. The moment has to be right."
Chelcee Grimes Shares her Creative Process
"As soon as I need to think hard about how to say this or what to do there, the magic for me is gone."
fling ii about Krautrock
"I was fascinated by the idea of music where there was so much less happening."
Matt Elliott Shares his Creative Process
"When a nation burns people alive and the press say nothing, it's left to artists to voice the sadness and the horror."
Jonas Howden Sjøvaag about Headphones vs Speakers and Great Sounding Albums
"If audiophile quality is more important than music, you are just measuring a frequency spectrum against an ideal."
Eldritch Priest about Improvisation
"Key to me in improvising is toying with music’s affective simulacra to create impressions of a life of feeling."
Branko about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"My goal with each song is to have a signature producer element. It’s my version of a guitar solo."
Till Martin about Directions in Jazz
“Jazz is a personal way of life - authentic and deeply rooted, yet free from the usual clichés.“
Emilie Cecilia LeBel about Directions in Contemporary Composition
“I am excited to see boundaries becoming increasingly blurry.“
Lawrence Hart about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I like to make the distinction between when something needs to be performed and when it needs to be drawn in. There’s always a place for both."
Jonathan Enser aka matters unknown about Jazz, Improvisation, and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“I aim to project and propel the tradition. It's a lifelong pursuit.“
The Bony King of Nowhere about his Voice and Singing
"A singer is a messenger. Your only goal is to make sure the message gets through."
Transmission Towers about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"There’s something irresistible about experimenting with dials and buttons. It’s not just play. It's how we learn."
Helge Andreas Norbakken about Drumming
“Drum brands mean nothing to me. But the quality of the sounds determines everything.”
Johnny Delaware Shares his Creative Process
“You’re on the same team with the creative forces. There’s no wrong way to get to a great song.“
Answer Code Request about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The ability to customize, experiment, and constantly push the boundaries of sound is what keeps me inspired."
The 5 Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique about Collaboration
"Part of the deal of being together in a band is actually being together."
Koki Nakano Shares his Creative Process
"Creation is hope in this physical world. For me, there is no option for survival without it!"
Ede about DJing
"The beauty of DJing is in the live creation – it’s like painting with sound in real-time."
Zé Nigro about the Magic of Sound(s)
“For me, music can be considered the soul of the planet.“
Helena Kay about Jazz, Improvisation and the EFG London Jazz Festival
"It’s always important to acknowledge the roots of this music. It’s Black American Music."
Opolopo aka Peter Major about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“The control and precision you have in software and the endless possibilities with automation – they fuel my creativity.“
Angela Johnson about her Voice and Singing
"Speaking and singing out is what we use to connect with each other. We should all respect this kind of power."
Nelson Devereaux about The Magic of Sound(s)
“My least favorite sound as a child was the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen. It used to send me into a fury.“
Gábor Lázár about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I like to dig deeper into my own practice and find undiscovered territories."
Tammy Weis about Jazz, Improvisation and the EFG London Jazz Festival
"Improvisation is expression. It touches the soul."
benzii Shares her Creative Process
"I use a lot of imagery to create situations that can be understood differently depending on what the listener wants to hear."
Exos about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I really dislike fundamentalists who judge artists for wanting to experiment with different genres."
Avishai Cohen Shares his Creative Process
“Creativity is a state of mind, closer to a dream.“
Tim Rutili of Califone Shares his Creative Process
“Sometimes I trust myself to go down the rabbit hole. Sometimes I don’t trust myself at all and will still go down the hole.“
Julian Argüelles about Improvisation
“There are many ways of defining what improvisation is. I don't think one definition is enough for me.“
Bluey Thomas about his Voice and Singing
“I look at singing as if it was working out: I just make sure to get my reps in.“
Fifteen Questions Interview with Eren Erdol
“ I try to use all of my feelings and emotions while making music.“
moskitoo about the Magic of Sound(s)
“I’m drawn to the tiny sounds that get lost in everyday life. It’s like each one carries a bit of someone’s story or life.“
Gavin McCarthy of Karate about Drumming
“The most important moments are when I move from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence.”
Gitkin Shares his Creative Process
"The guitar, the studio—they’re tools to unlock something beautiful."
Annarella & Django about their Collaboration
"We don’t try to hold on to the music with a clenched fist, but rather in an open palm."
Minotaur Shock about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I was interested in the parallels of making music and making pots."
Dawn Richard about Improvisation, Transformable Materials, and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“Improvisation in jazz isn't just about solos anymore. It’s about creating entire soundscapes.“
Zakes Bantwini about his Voice and Singing
"In the Zulu culture we sing no matter what. Weddings, funerals, whether we are mourning or celebrating - we sing."
Rafael Anton Irisarri about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I often view my music as sculptures—frozen in time, capturing the essence of a specific moment."
Rory More of Les Hommes about Directions in Jazz
"To some, if you can’t play a standard, you’re not in the club.“
Kidnap about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Making music often feels like an archeological process."
Abby Nissenbaum Shares her Creative Process
“You can’t be liked by everyone. So I just focus on the people who do!”
Svaneborg Kardyb Share their Creative Process
“It might be a really bad idea. But I take every song we make very personally.”
Nicky Lawrence about Lyrics
"I couldn’t speak because it was too painful. So I put it all to music."
Courtney Cutchins about Directions in Jazz
“Jazz is both about group communication and cultivating one’s unique individuality. That seems like a good philosophy for life.“
Kerretta: The Band Interview
"We began performing improvised. It was only after a few years that we decided to officially begin as a group."
The King's Singers about Voice and Singing
"No instrument can express who we truly are as authentically as the human voice."
Risa Taniguchi about DJing
“Groove doesn’t come when you’re consciously trying to create it. It appears when you let go.“
Michael Cloud Duguay of Scions about Collaboration
"I’d rather work with my neighbors than famous strangers. This sentiment is something we all share in Scions."
Bryan Perri Shares his Creative Process
“I have the ability to calm my music down. But for this album I chose not to.”
Kinkajous Share their Creative Process
“At a time when you can have control over every aspect of production, the human factor and the space in between make music stand out.”
Anouar Brahem about Improvisation and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“Modern jazz is no longer confined to a genre. It embodies a creative spirit where experimentation is key.“
Jonas Kardyb of Svaneborg Kardyb about Drumming
“Timekeeping is not about following the right bpm. It’s about how it feels in your body.”
Toni Kater about Lyrics
"I'm a kind of dreamer. I don’t like to express myself concretely and clearly all the time."
Adrien Kanter Shares his Creative Process
"If something feels too familiar, I lose interest."
Yugen talk Sound
“The line between sound and music should be blurred. If there is a clear line, the possibilities become extremely limited.”
Flip the Switch
The Montreux Jazz Residency believes that personal encounters are more important than masterclasses.
The Pankisi Ensemble about Voice and Singing
"There is no influence of technology on our performance. That's our signature."
Waithaka Shares his Creative Process
“I don’t discard ideas. I revisit them years later with more appreciation and knowledge.“
Darone Sassounian about Synthetic Instincts and Minimalism
“A minimalist approach allows me to push myself while I compromise my comfort.“
Ryan Jennings about the Magic of Sound(s)
"People would communicate and understand each other more if we listened. But that’s not humans' first reaction."
Chris Barr Shares his Creative Process
“New ideas are intersections of many different ideas and data points that collide and surface on the mind.“
Victoria De Angelis about DJing
“I don’t seek validation from purists. What excites me is the freedom to experiment and innovate.“
Evan Chapman about Drumming
"Technology is pushing us towards new rhythmic possibilities we never dreamed of."
Pat Carter of Rodeo FM about Lyrics
"At their core, all my songs are about melancholy and rage."
Craig Shepard about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The sound of refrigerators has always comforted me. When the fridge comes on, I have a real sense of home."
Bendik Baksaas about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"You could call my entire process a preset."
Jessica Ackerley about All Of the Colours Are Singing and Sound Paintings
"I am seeking the ability to transition from music to visual art and vice versa without pause or need to recalibrate."
Spencer Zahn about Jazz, Improvisation, and the EFG London Jazz Festival
“Being able to hear the silence in a room while hundreds of people share in that space is very powerful.“
Jerome Sabbagh about Analog vs Digital and the Best Sounding Format
"People talk about sound neutrality. But it doesn’t really exist."
Mieke Miami about Birdland, Magical Realism, and Products of the Past
"There were some dark and stressful things happening. But I kept on and things got lighter.”
us & sparkles about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I’ve encountered profound bodily experiences through music. It’s a complex and undefined realm that goes beyond description."
Ella Ronen about Lyrics
"Music has a way into our body and into our hearts that words will never have."
Melike Şahin about Lyrics
"Words have their own melodies and weight. When we form sentences it gets heavier."
To Athena about her Voice and Singing
"Music is a gift that allows us to distill our emotions into sound. I need to use it daily."
Benjamin Amaru Shares his Creative Process
"I’m a fan of speaking the truth. One should never be afraid of trying and sharing ideas and thoughts."
Kevin Miller about Improvisation
"Taking a sound-focused approach to improvisation allows for unlimited growth."
Gewalt about Lyrics
"Most artists don't want to say anything. They just think: fuck, I need three more lyrics for our new songs."
Lenna Bahule about Lyrics
"Lyrics are information. Information is liberation or imprisonment."
MadStarBase about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Electronic music has a kind of pull. It pulls the mind into different places."
Dame Evelyn Glennie Shares her Creative Process
"We often think of something being created as not having existed before. But we have infinite ingredients out there."
Kate Campbell Strauss about Collaboration
"The tone of the collaboration is what's most important, rather than the exact model."
Marius Neset Shares his Creative Process
"Everything that happens in life is an inspiration to compose music."
Leif Vollebekk about Lyrics
"Some words fight the song. It's like the furniture won't fit through the door and you have to shave off a corner."
Nubya Garcia Shares her Creative Process for Odyssey
"I'm all about the actual performance. I want to know that the music is real."
Matthias Kohler about Transgenerationalism, Childhood Mysteries, and Heroic Dreams
“I try to get away from certainty as much as I can.“
Ibukun Sunday about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sound and music are one of the languages of the soul."
Bi Disc about the Magic of Sound(s)
"If music has a certain amount of noise in it, I like listening to it more."
Martin Brodin about Disco and the Neverending Conversation between Tradition and Innovation
"Disco has its own depth—whether it’s the production, how it brings people together, or how it reflects the culture of its time."
Gene Coleman about Neuro Music, Synapse Bowing, and Using the Auditory Pathways of the Brain
"I don’t want to travel where most composers go."
Carmen Souza about her Voice and Singing
"Technology can become a supermarket. It gives you music made by statistics and formulas."
Telekaster about the Magic of Sound
"The sound of frying in a pan is beautiful in my ears, It can be very diverse and dynamic."
Lady Tazz about DJing
“As a DJ you can make people step out of their boundaries - how sexy is that for a job description?“
Black Brunswicker about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We tune out the drone and humdrum of everyday life. But the sounds are still there."
Jowee Omicil about Improvisation
"The key to improvisation is to release yourself. And when you've been released—who knows what’s gonna come out?"
Mehmet Aslan talks Sound
“Music is about emotions, a narrative, a beginning and an end. Sound deals with what is there, what occupies the space.”
Tools of Creation: The Lyre
For Thanasis Kleopas and Theodoros Koumartzis, the Lyre connects science with art – allowing the heart to come to the fore.
NIGHT TAPES Share their Creative Process
"There’s a moment of stillness after a release. You’ve given so much of yourself to something, and now it’s out there on its own."
Jerome Sabbagh about Analogue Philosophy and Conversations about Anything
"A lot of the records we love have little imperfections. They are not any less amazing for it."
Léo Belthoise about the Evolution of Making Art
"Making Art for Art's sake is becoming less important than building bridges."
Thomas Prunier about Pont Neuf, the Diversity of French House, and Unique Musical Universes
"We launched our label, and one of the biggest clubs in Paris agreed to give us the keys to the club once every two months. We couldn’t believe it."
Housemeister about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The matrix is coming. It's great and weird."
Myles Sanko about his Voice and Singing
"My voice is an essential part of how I express myself and connect with others."
Travis Laplante Shares his Creative Process
"Sometimes composing can feel like love-making. Sometimes it can feel like I’m bashing my head into a brick wall."
Jeff Snyder about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I'm not sure there are rules for sound design. I'm also not sure there are rules for harmony."
Li Daiguo about Rituals
"What artists are trying to sell as spiritual performances is full of shit. But in a cute way."
Bernhard Living about his Composing Grid and the Unrevealed Secrets of Western Music
"I do not regard my music to be an expression of emotions or feelings - but as an expression of musical ideas and of the unfolding of time."
Human Rias about the Magic of Sound
"If we prioritised listening over looking, our world would bloom with deeper connections and understanding."
NicoNote about her Voice and Singing
"The voice manifests the body. The life pulse. The blood and the spirit. The here and now."
Michael Begg about Climate Lessons from Antarctica, and how Science and Art can Make a Difference
"We’re absurdly lucky to be here. So why do we flirt continually with the end?"
Jules Ahoi Shares his Creative Process
"There are many aspects of my new album that a professional producer would handle differently."
Tensen Park on Production, Technology, and Creativity
"AI will become an integral part of our DAWs. But in a fun way."
Seaworthy & Matt Rösner about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Is there a pathway to interspecies communication? Maybe - I’m just not quite sure animals would have anything nice to say about people!"
Nico van Wersch Shares his Creative Process
"It's not exciting to do what you can. It's exciting to do what you can't."
Malcolm Pardon about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sight without sound or the other way round would not be the full experience for me."
Ajukaja & Mart Avi about their Collaboration
"Sometimes it feels like walking into a pub. Other times like stepping into a church."
Tigran Hamasyan Shares his Creative Process
"You have to balance thinking and emotion. Neither should take over."
Francesco Leali talks Sound
"Listening means paying close attention. Hearing is more of a passive action. I feel some people mistake the two."
Joe Tatton about Improvisation
"Forgetting is important. I think that’s where new ideas are born."
The Third Sound: The Band Interview
"As long as there are ideas that excite us we can keep doing it."
Karolina Wegrzyn about her Voice and Singing
"Children in schools are told to keep quiet most of the day. From a healthy voice point of view this is not helpful."
Yuu Udagawa about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The process of connecting sounds often mirrors life."
Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, WE ARE WINTER’S BLUE AND RADIANT CHILDREN): Memories in Sound
"Sound comes at us from everywhere. In each unraveling instant, we rummage through that pile instinctively, we focus and we discern."
Creative Profile: The Necks
It's an Organism: A Deep Dive into the Work of Hypnotic Improv Trio The Necks
Daniela Belcheva about her Voice and Singing
"Sometimes it feels like my forehead sings, or my fingers sing, or the skin all over."
Jean-Phi Dary about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"All my collaborations are first and foremost human adventures."
Citron Citron about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Music can't be touched or seen. It's important to deal with that."
Nikka Costa Shares her Creative Process for Dirty Disco
"It takes incredible calm to feel comfortable making art about happiness."
Renato Ratier about DJing, Production and Dance Music in Brazil
“I believe that my new club Surreal is a unique experience in club culture."
Lara Jones about the Magic of Sound(s)
"It’s so magical ... the power of a chant, a rhythm, a lyric … that moment when everyone knows the drop is coming."
Jeff Snyder about Loom, Implausibility, and Unstratifying Dance Music
"I'm not from a DJ background. I wonder how much this album will serve the dance music purpose."
Bistro Boy about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Many of us take our senses for granted. Seeing and hearing - what a gift we have been given!"
Cercle about Spectacular Fictional Worlds and Memories you can Touch
"We're in the midst of a renewal of the experience that artists want their audiences to enjoy."
Ishmael Ensemble about Rituals, Recording Vastness, and Shedding Embarrassment
“Jazz in its purest form means freedom. That’s what i strive for.”
Heli Hartikainen about Improvisation
"When performing, I always lead myself into “trouble” at least once."
Noé Franklé about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Giving yourself limitations is a great way to be creative. It pushes you to dig deeper."
Alvin Schwaar Shares his Creative Process
"Music is a place where I am fully there. Everything should be possible."
Dustin Wong about Improvisation
“When a group of people listen and search together, it creates that fluid place.”
Divanhana: The Band Interview
"It can get intense. But everyone is striving for the best possible outcome."
Timothy Archambault Shares his Creative Process
“Creation reflects a yearning for understanding.”
Etienne Nillesen about Improvisation
"It’s a misconception that improvising musicians don’t need to rehearse."
Li Daiguo about Music's Social Responsibility
"When I make my sounds, I always remember that they should take me to experiencing truth."
An Alien Called Harmony: The Band Interview
"We are constantly searching for ways to make a better world through questioning ourselves, our fellow humans and the things we build and destroy."
André Klein (Earth Ship, The Smokin ’44’s) about Drumming
"I like the feel and smell of vintage instruments. It seems they have old spirits living in them."
Romain FX about Making Italo Disco Great Again
"Hong Kong's discotheques in the 70s and 80s were the epitome of desire."
Rokia Koné Shares her Creative Process
“I do not find it useful to record many versions of the same thing. It makes me lose interest in what I’m doing.”
Rita Ray about Jazz, Improvisation, and Collaboration
"I hate to stay in the same place for too long."
Tashi Wada Shares his Creative Process for What Is Not Strange?
“Once the music is out in the world, you have to let it be and live its own life.”
Jerome Sabbagh about Audiophile Records, Great Sound, and the Double-Edged Digital Sword
"Everyone knows that I don’t really do edits. It puts all musicians in a different mindset."
Chuck Johnson about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I abhor fireworks. I can’t understand why people willingly want to be in a sonic equivalent to a warzone."
Tour-Maubourg about his Path in Music, Life-Changing Transitions, and Complete Honesty
"I don't see the point of making music if it doesn't leave a mark."
Emily Frembgen Shares her Creative Process
“I used to be able to write ANYWHERE. Now I need a completely empty desk and three uninterrupted hours.”
Lara Downes about Interpretation
"Connecting with tradition, but also forging your own path - it's a beautiful balance."
Heli Hartikainen about Instruments as an Extension of the Body
"My spine has twisted around my saxophone. I’ve literally grown together with it."
Hannah Laing about DJing
“DJing is the only time I feel fully switched off from the noise of the outside world.“
RIZTS about Lyrics
"When words and music work together, a whole new world of possibility opens up."
Wild Anima about Sonic Phytosynthesis, and the Best Plantmusic Devices
"Playing with plants amazes me every time. It's an entirely new genre of music."
Brian Johnson Shares his Creative Process
“The humanization of electronic music separates basic from advanced artists.”
Joki about Technology, Creativity, and Producing for Britney Spears
"If original is something that’s never been done before, I don’t think anyone would enjoy it."
Jason Kahn Shares his Creative Process
“I myself might not even understand what a work is about. Therefore I can't expect others to do any better.”
Creative Profile: Kelly Lee Owens
Holding Space via Sound: A Deep Dive into the Work of Producer and Songwriter Kelly Lee Owens.
Cosmonection about the Romance of Sound and Drums that sound like a Landscape
"I have a lot of respect for machines and the sounds around us. I try to use them with my heart."
Bremer/McCoy about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We wrote a tune in a water tower with a 20 second reverb. Unfortunately, we can’t play it anywhere else."
Gregory Uhlmann about Improvisation
"Improvising with inspiring people is the best way to learn and expand your world."
Isik Kural about Lyrics
"The ideal setting for the lyrics of my new album? A music that disappears."
Jacob Bergson aka Taut about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"There’s a tremendous structural freedom in electronic music - if you choose to take advantage of it."
Senaerya about the Magic of Sound(s)
"No one chooses to look how they’re born. But what they have to say and believe is their choice."
Ayumi Ishito about Improvisation
"Since I started playing free improvised music, I have become more accepting of myself."
Florian Naegeli Shares his Creative Process
“Prince and Stevie Wonder were constantly creating. Doing it will make you better."
Sebastian Oswald about Bach Inventions, Bach Interpretations, and Bach's Intentions
"I wouldn't be surprised if Bach eventually told me: Nah, sorry, not my cup of tea."
The Chuchchepati Orchestra about Playing with Insects, Biotremology, and Respect towards Nature
"These insect recordings are extremely complex. They contain both solos and duos that communicate with each other."
Wehbba about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"At some point, equipment stops being inspiring and becomes a limitation."
SUDO Share their Creative Process
“I could never lie to myself. I want to create with sincerity and honesty in my heart."
Creative Profile: Ty Segall
Experiences Only: A Deep Dive into the Work of songwriter and producer Ty Segall.
The Magician about Disco
"Belgian disco has always been a bit surrealist. It is made with the Belgian humor touch."
MANJA about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We talk about a song as a space. Almost like a room that needs to be filled."
Passepartout Duo about Collaboration
"In an improvisation, every participant is putting a musical offering into the mix. All the others are called to respond to it."
Anton Friisgaard about the Magic of Sound(s)
"It’s really important to be curious about different sound languages to explore our own, and the common soul."
Natisa Gogol about her Voice and Singing
"For a singer, it's crucial to sing regularly. Not doing so can lead to illness."
Morten Duun about Improvisation
"The lines between inventing and inventively re-arranging are blurry."
Harry Towell aka Glåsbird and Spheruleus about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I grew up with the whir of machinery in nearby factories. It never bothered me."
Magro about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Electronic music gives me the freedom to express myself exactly the way I hear it. No musician would be able to do that for me."
Basile3 about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Electronic music is escapism, it’s a dream, it’s fantasy, it’s the unknown."
Fabio Perletta talks Sound
"I don’t like endless possibilities anymore. Limitation makes us value the beauty of life."
Sababa 5 and Yurika about their Collaboration
"It’s not necessarily about fun, but about creating something meaningful."
Rosbeh Shares his Creative Process
“If we don't take steps outside our comfort zone, we will never discover the beauty of uncertainty."
Creative Profile: Caterina Barbieri
The Cosmic Vastness of the Inner World: A Deep Dive into the Work of Sound Artist Caterina Barbieri.
Elif (TR) about Music and Architecture
“In architecture school I was creating stories of people who’d experience the building. It’s a very similar thing the DJ does."
Zar Shares his Creative Process
“Collaborating is a really vulnerable thing. It’s allowing yourself to make mistakes in front of others."
Mike Eckroth (Orquesta Akokán) Shares his Creative Process
“The main part of the ritual is the deadline."
Indus about the Magic of Sound(s)
"On the Caribbean coast, if a neighbor plays loud music, sometimes that's viewed as a gift to other people."
Alejandro Mosso about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"It's essential to dominate the technology, not let it dominate you."
Tools of Creation: The Harmonica
For The Harpoonist, the Harmonica's reeds allow it to soar into the heavens.
The Greeting Committee Share their Creative Process
“I don’t feel very spiritual. This gives me a bit of imposter syndrome.”
Ultramarine about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We produce most of our music in a grim, windowless, and slightly smelly rehearsal room. We find it very conducive to work."
Ewa Justka about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I seriously cannot care about the current state of electronic music. It's absolute garbage."
Xenia Manasseh about her Voice and Singing
"There are certain things I can’t express properly if I don’t sing them."
Jacob Plasse (Orquesta Akokán) Shares his Creative Process
“People sometimes see this band as a novelty act. But this is the music we all love."
Lewis Gill Shares his Creative Process
“You can only give a piece a certain length of time. You just have to take a chance."
Wild Anima about Interspecies Communication
"Having plants as co-creators is a new development in my creativity."
Nicolas Bernier and David Caulet about their Collaboration
"After 30 seconds, we looked at each other. We knew that something was happening."
Sinca about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I’ve learned a lot from technically minded producers. But sometimes you just have to ask: Does this sound good?"
Habibi Share their Creative Process
“We bring some fully fleshed, half fleshed and some bare-boned skeletons!"
corto.alto about 30/108, Overcoming Doubts, and Finishing Things
“It’s an artist’s responsibility to turn their ideas into things that can impact and make change.“
Stoked about Techno in India
“The techno scene in India is bourgeoning and constantly evolving."
Font Share their Creative Process
“Music isn’t language. That’s crucial to its fundamental cultural function."
Tools of Creation: The Qanun
For Ghenwa Nemnom, the Qanun is a complex instrument with a wide spectrum of tonalities and keys.
Rontronik about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Who wants to spend time in an environment that does not sound good?"
Booker Stardrum of SML about Drumming
"Many times, I don’t want drums to sound like drums at all!"
Kessoncoda about their Collaboration
"Standing by your own convictions is important. But you can’t always work with that mindset."
Imagination Engine
The Montreux Jazz Festival's archive is one of the music world's biggest treasures. It is also at the heart of a paradox.
corto.alto about the Montreux Jazz Festival and jazz in 2024
“Some things can ONLY happen live.“
Creative Profile: Kali Malone
Organs, Tunings, Leaf-Blowers: A Deep Dive into the Work of Composer Kali Malone
F.S.Blumm Shares his Creative Process
“Sometimes when you're recording, you ask yourself: Who is this? Is it really me!?"
Alex Groves and Philipp Rumsch about their Collaboration
"I knew that whatever was brought to the table would enhance the project, presenting ideas and perspectives I would never have thought of."
Ariadne Randall about Lyrics
"I don’t think anyone really understands music. If someone says they do, they’re either naïve or lying."
Etienne Charles about Improvisation
"The trumpet is always with me. It’s in my bed right now, next to me."
Die Wilde Jagd about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I love the sound of ice cubes moving in a big, solid whiskey glass."
Guti of Modal Tune about Collaboration
"I had no idea where we were going. This is where the good songs are crafted."
Chaz Prymek aka Lake Mary about Collaboration
"A great collaborator will make space for adventure."
Nia Chennai about her Voice and Singing
“I love a good tone. It always feels raw and personal.”
Corey duBrowa about An Ideal For Living and the Magic of the EP
“An EP is the musical Goldilocks; not too hot, not too cold. Just right."
Double Talk Share their Creative Process
“Creativity definitely pushes me to unhealthy habits."
Donna Lewis Shares her Creative Process
“There's a song of mine that I've recorded four different versions of. I still don’t feel I've captured it."
Chris Corsano about Improvisation
"Improvisation is an experience. It lives on in the memory of those who participated in it."
Szary about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I find the rhytm of escalators quite interesting. Clack clack clack clack …"
Arsha Kaviani about Interpretation
"Sometimes, interpretation consists in removing yourself from the performance."
Tools of Creation: Fender Rhodes
Tom O’Grady of Resolution 88 about an electric piano that makes ideas sound convincing
YELKA about Krautrock
"We have the “cosmic“ mission to produce and put out 10 records in 3 years."
Dead Pioneers Share their Creative Process
“If I don’t bring my honest self to the table, it won’t make it."
Luka Kuplowsky about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sound, for me, is all reaction and feeling. I lose sense of what my body is physically doing."
Cristina Lazic about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The magic only happens when you let the other senses go and let hearing take over."
Gabbarein about Improvisation
"Every day you play a note, it's a totally different sound, a totally different universe."
Layla Benitez about DJing
“Subtracting the audience takes the joy and connection out of DJing.“
Wild Anima about the Beauty of Rain and the “Sound of a Society”
“One of the things that attracted me to England was the rain!“
Gabriela Martina about her Voice and Singing
“Singing is very physical. Music making is very physical. Just watch us and you'll see the sweat!”
Silvurdrongur about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Music moves through me. It determines how I experience the world."
Dean Fisher (Tinkertown, Juliana Hatfield Three) Shares his Creative Process
“Writing a song is a journey of many steps."
Almeeva and Toucan about their Collaboration
"The most memorable collaborations take you out of your comfort zone and make you grow. But they don't necessarily give the best results."
Lorenz Dangel Shares his Creative Process
“An idea waits for me, almost in a patient way, to be discovered."
ASHRR about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"We always try to start from a place of simplicity."
Azu Yeché about Fashion and Music
"Incorporating African fabric is more than the aesthetic. It is pride for my country of origin, it is celebrating the uniqueness and vibrancy of Africa."
James Vincent McMorrow about his Voice and Singing
"The idea of control within music always felt kind of counterintuitive."
Kenny Wollesen about Drumming
"Some view the drum set as a collection of many instruments. That's a weird way to view it. To me, the drum set is one instrument."
Joshua Idehen about Lyrics
"I see circles between words and music. Sometimes parallel, often intertwined."
Bodhi about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Our job is to connect all the dots. The output is the input."
Otto A. Totland Shares his Creative Process
“My process is too unpredictable for me to have any structure or routine that would help me."
Butcher Brown about Improvisation and the North Sea Jazz Festival
"Jazz means freedom, self expression. It’s all about the imperfections, not about being perfect."
Liraz about Lyrics
"We share the same enemy. We are fighting the same enemy. So my heart was open to write about this topic."
Martina Berther about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The sound of the melting Morteratsch Glacier deeply moved me. There is so much history in every drop."
Chikara Aoshima about Drumming
"My father was an abstract painter. I think that influence is present in my playing."
Johannes Brecht about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Your personal limitations are your identity, not the gear or instruments."
Booka Shade about the Magic Of Sound(s)
"I really like the noise when our dogs eat their crunchy food. It is soothing in a way."
L'étrangleuse about the Magic of Sound(s)
"In nature, there is sometimes a special sound place. It's as if a spirit is living there."
FINK Shares his Creative Process
"To achieve creative greatness, I think you have to truly ignore everybody. Even yourself."
COLA REN about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"There's a balance between embracing the vast potential of electronic music and using constraints to drive innovation."
Emika Shares her Creative Process
"New ideas don’t like to be judged. They like to be experienced."
Pocket about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"A machine can't truly be a collaborator because the basis of collaboration is in relationships."
Guy Braunstein about Interpretation
"Usually, what seems like a mistake, makes sense in the end. When it doesn’t – I’m in trouble."
Alexis Delong about Production, Technology and Creativity
"In electronic music, we are still pioneers."
Atelier about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Making music is deeply personal and scarring. But I enjoy that. I guess I’m a sadist."
The Qobuz team about High-End Streaming and the Specialised Listener
"Human recommendations are central to the music discovery experience."
Holland Andrews talks Sound
"Electronic music can possess a specific kind of nostalgia. It feels like an open door to write something new."
Mirror People about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"You don't need infinite sounds. You need the right ones."
Mazz Swift Shares their Creative Process
“The term “spirituality” implies that there are answers. And I don’t believe there are any."
Samuel Hall of Foundling about the Myth of Silence and Focused Non-Silence
"We do not choose to be surrounded by sound. We already live inside it. It is our ocean."
Erin Lang of Foundling about the Responsibility of Becoming and Being an Artist
"I didn’t set out to be a musician. It felt inevitable."
Joe Webb about Improvisation
"True improvisation is a real show of someone’s true personality."
Odalie about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Sometimes, technology is seen as a new God. That’s a dangerous path to follow."
Mina Alikhani Shares her Creative Process
“I want to shine a light on things that nobody wants to look at."
Scott Amendola of SticklerPhonics about Improvisation
"Do I remember things? Of course I do. Do I repeat myself? Of course I do. There is nothing wrong with that."
Kati Rán about the Magic of Sound(s)
"To discover someone's vibration or 'natural tonality' goes a long way into truly getting to know one another."
Sera Kalo about Improvisation, Evolution, and eX.II
"Jazz is a culture, with deep social and political relevance. When these aspects are considered, the jazz aesthetic becomes more open and inclusive."
Earthtones about the Magic of Sound(s)
"It would be interesting to play Bob Marley on buses, and see how that changes the experience."
Alessandro "Asso" Stefana Shares his Creative Process
“A writer can work just with a pen and a blank page. For a musician, it’s not that simple."
Albin Lee Meldau about his Voice and Singing
"All I really long for in a singer is truthfulness. If I don't believe them, it’s pointless."
Clara Vetter about Improvisation
"There is probably no music without some layer of improvisation. At least when it is played by humans."
David Castellani about the Magic of Sound
"Every song you’ve ever heard was created by a little orchestra inside your brain."
Robert Owens about his Voice and Singing
"Me delivering a vocal is me giving back to life unconditional love."
Pete Philly of Pete Philly & Perquisite about Lyrics
"Some chords are always true, no matter what the lyrics say."
Pieter "Perquisite" Perquin of Pete Philly & Perquisite about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I never feel lonely in the studio. The music always keeps you company."
BOREAL SUN about their Collaboration
"Are we perfectionist? Yes. Do we explore different options? Yes."
Stacey Pullen Shares his Creative Process
"Being from Detroit helps me understand this oversaturated music market - because we were the first to do it."
George Cooper of The Jazz Defenders about Improvisation
"Writing your own music leads to the deepest exploration of improvisation."
XJAZZ! Festival 2024: The 15Q Special
UPDATED: With performances by Shabaka Hutchings, Bill Frisell, Midnights on Wax, Portico Quartet, Muriel Grossmann ...
Sasha Berliner about Improvisation
"I don’t think anything will compare to being in the same room with humans making music."
Taroug about Drumming
"To regard instruments as non-percussive would close off a world of sonic possibilities."
Derek Piotr talks Sound
"Sound is a vital component of post-verbal assimilation and communication."
Abigail Lapell about her Voice and Singing
"Singing is very compulsive – like hunger or some kind of physical addiction."
Ledfoot Shares his Creative Process
"There’s never a starting or stopping … it’s a never ending process."
Muriel Grossmann about Improvisation
"Music feels like freedom. Improvisation feels like free falling."
France Jobin Shares her Creative Process
"An architect creates works that occupy a space. I create sculptures that fit in the flow of time and perception."
Sasha Berliner about Analog Vulnerability, Inspirational Ripples, and XJAZZ!
"The term jazz is losing more meaning by the second."
Sebastian Hecht about Curation, Compilation, and XJAZZ!
"There are so many exciting stories that have not yet been told."
Nancy Meier of Nancelot Shares her Creative Process
"It's like a map. You have chosen a path and you follow it."
Erlend Øye about the Magic of Sound
"Listening to recorded music all day is not a pleasure for me."
Szabolcs Bognár aka Àbáse about Entangled Grounds, jazz communities, and XJAZZ!
"Every city has its own vibe. Berlin feels very raw and fresh."
Nduduzo Makhathini about Improvisation, jazz in 2024, and XJAZZ!
"The cyber world is trying to catch up with what has always been there in Africa since ancient Kemetic civilisations."
Muriel Grossmann about XJAZZ! and jazz in 2024
"I like to use all my possibilities to offer music that is transformative."
Andrea Taeggi about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The element of disconnection from one another through earbuds still troubles me."
Apifera: The Band Interview
"The sweet spot between our personalities is a rare and special place."
Amy Aileen Wood (Fiona Apple, Sharon Van Etten) about Drumming
"Recording this album was a liberating journey - akin to exposure therapy for a habitual worrier like myself."
Michelle Moeller talks Sound
"My piano brain kept interfering with a sense of creative freedom."
Maya Lane about her Voice and Singing
"Being able to experiment with my voice without a microphone has been really interesting."
Christian Löffler about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I would love a tool where you paint a bassline and then convert it to sound.”
Taroug about Collaboration
"I want collaborators to have complete musical freedom. Too many words in advance can destroy that."
Theo Croker about Improvisation
"It's easy to meditate at the top of the mountain in complete silence. But can you meditate in the middle of the city?"
Jay Aston (Bucks Fizz) about her Voice and Singing
"I’ve had 40% of my tongue removed. I’ve had to learn to sing a different way."
Christina Wood of Kaleida about her Voice, Singing, and the Interplay between the Human and Mechanical
"My singing voice is another part of me entirely. It's a truer soul voice."
Matthew Ramolo aka Khôra Shares his Creative Process
"Misunderstanding is one of human beings’ most profound features."
Mo'Kalamity about her Voice and Singing
"I seek to master the breath that brings me freedom in my singing."
Ceiling Spirits Shares his Creative Process
"After the first record, I had no plans to ever record as Ceiling Spirits again."
Emmanuelle Bonnet about her Voice and Singing
"Singing has always been a mystery for me. It still is!"
La Yegros about her Voice and Singing
"My voice has no replacement. I take care of it like a newborn baby."
Mark Holub of ANTHROPODS about Improvisation
"In the best moments, I am really transported somewhere else."
Davina Moss about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Always start with a feeling - then it all falls into place.”
Cosmo Sheldrake about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sounds will always carry a watermark of the place they came from or the creature who made them."
Fran & Flora Share their Creative Process
"Breaking bread together is a big part of our relationship. Essential to our process is making sure we have a food plan."
Sultan Stevenson about Improvisation
"When improvising, it’s almost impossible to be non-authentic."
Nadia D’Alò about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I'd rather be limited than have a problem I can't fix myself."
Temple Haze about his Voice and Singing
"Songs as we create them in the western world are in effect mathematical equations."
Sepalot Shares his Creative Process
"The trick is to let yourself be led astray in the right places."
Melissa Aldana about Improvisation
"The process of knowing oneself is related to the process of growing as a musician."
José James about his Voice and Singing
"A great voice can sound good on a bad microphone. But a bad voice can’t sound good on a great microphone."
Beans (Anti Pop Consortium) about Lyrics
"Reading makes me want to write. Strong writers make me want to be a better writer. There’s not one without the other."
FNX Omar Shares his Creative Process
"Once the core of the idea is there, you need to be stricter with your production."
Taroug Shares his Creative Process
"It's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I like to destroy it from time to time and put it together in a new way."
Dana Gavanski Shares her Creative Process
"Writing songs is like chipping away at stone to find what’s underneath. As if it’s just waiting there."
Newen Afrobeat: The Band Interview
"The way we organize ourselves as a band has had to change to keep moving our music forward."
Wolfgang von Schweinitz about Alternative Tuning Systems
"I collaborate almost exclusively with enthusiastic specialists. They don’t need to care about time and money."
Claire Dickson about her Voice and Singing
"The voice is such an exciting medium to work with. All at once it has so much power and flexibility as well as fragility and precarity."
Robert Babicz about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"In electronic music, we are gods creating our own universe. It's total freedom."
Sunna Margrét about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Thoughts, words, instruments. It’s energy transformed."
Randall Tagwireyi Shares his Creative Process
“We need to express who we are to each other. Music does a good job of that.“
Julia Holter about her Creative Process and the Voice in her Music
"Sometimes it's a little limiting to just work with your own voice."
Amanda Whiting about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Music in school shouldn’t be optional. It’s a part of our being."
Dustin O'Halloran about 1 0 0 1, AI, and Consciousness
"People crave human connection even more in this age of hyper-connectivity. I want to make sure I’m always present in my work."
LFZ about Krautrock
"I’m always disappointed when a record isn’t just two side-long instrumental pieces."
Sietse van Erve about the Freedom of Live, and Directions in Sound Art
"Live, people can really surrender to the music."
Cicely Goulder of Kaleida about In Arms, Production, and Creativity
“Jean D’Arc armed herself to fulfil her mission. Sometimes music feels that way.”
Tools of Creation: Otari MX5050
Dexter+Franz about a reel to reel tape deck with a monumental impact on workflow.
Holysseus Fly about her Voice and Singing
"When someone feels something and they can convey it authentically - I’m so with them."
Thomas Lemmer & Oine about Trust and the Benefits of not Working Alone
"The purpose of being an artist is to show what's inside you. But it's always good not to get stuck there."
Fani Konstantinidou about Social and Cultural Context in Sound Art
“As a woman in a male-dominated musical genre, I have been isolated and patronised from a young age.“
Emmanuel De La Paix Shares his Creative Process
“An artist is a person who sleeps standing up.”
Sebastian Mullaert and Henrik Frendin talk about their Collaboration
"To live life is to collaborate."
m.rux about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I call it the buzz: Frequencies that touch us, remind us of home, or a lover, the ocean, a feeling of bliss."
Sages Comme Des Sauvages Share their Creative Process
“We try to keep that little light of mutiny burning.“
Christof Migone about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We should pay more attention—no matter the sense, no matter the tool, no matter the method."
Coen Oscar Polack about Sounds with Identity and Sonic Journalism
“I'm looking for sounds that, in one way or another, are compromised.“
Mira Ló about Love for Music
“DJing used to be very mechanical. So I decided to do the opposite: to give my audience everything.“
Nate Mercereau Shares his Creative Process
“The process of showing up fully to whatever it is, and bringing it all to that moment, creates something.“
DOT (Sebastian Birkl) Shares his Creative Process
“Creativity has a lot to do with dedication and the will to work. Even if that sounds very disenchanting.“
Fifteen Questions Interview with Simina Oprescu
A Meteorite Falling in the Cosmic Oscillation
Voiski about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I find something magical in not knowing too much.”
Amirtha Kidambi about Improvisation
"Turning to improvisation for me was a process of decolonizing myself."
Thee Conductor Share their Creative Process
“An evening of YouTube can really push forward something buried within you.“
Sukie Smith Shares her Creative Process
“I actually think I am rescuing a song from death. I am tasked with its life.“
Oisin Leech about the Magic of Sound(s)
"The word ‘music’ derives from an ancient word for “magic”. Music is magic."
Sarathy Korwar about the South Asian Sounds Festival
"Everyone’s personal history and ideas about what it means to be part of the diaspora are and should be very different."
Kirk Degiorgio about the Magic of Sound(s)
"There is nothing more uplifting than the sound of a loved one quietly snoring whilst you are awake reading."
John J. Presley Shares his Creative Process
“I love the initial burst when you get an idea. That's the best time to record it.“
Jason Singh about Plant Music, Listening, and Interspecies Communication
"I am in dialogue with all living things in some shape or form."
Miharu Ogura Shares her Creative Process
“Misunderstanding is an essential part of the process.“
Dexter+Franz Share their Creative Process
"The idea was to invite a group of friends and retreat to this desert house for two weeks. In the end, Franz was the only one to commit."
Jinjé (Vessels) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I build islands of creativity.”
GC Oconnor about Voice and Singing
"Singing is the most primal, fundamental, soul-expressive thing a human can do."
RED ON Shares his Creative Process
"The performance doesn’t really matter for me. I don’t even know how to perform most of the parts."
Ditty: Reflections on a Post-Colonial World, Ecology, and Inter-Being
“Not taking a stand against what’s happening in the world is convenient.“
Laura Masotto about the Magic of Sound(s)
"If air makes us breathe, then the music that lives inside this air is also alive."
Sarasara about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I think we should teach self sufficiency in schools. Not how to sell yourself on Tik Tok."
LUMI about Fashion & Music
"Nothing feels better than listening to good music and having the best outfit on. It’s just so freeing."
Hexorcismos about about a Local Approach to AI
"There is no ‘fix’ or ‘update’ for the legacies in these technologies."
Imogen Clark about Voice and Singing
"If I’m not focused and putting my whole body into it, it doesn’t come out right."
Jason Singh about the South Asian Sounds Festival
"South Asian culture is broad, complicated and diverse. It’s going to be brilliant!"
The Snuts: The Band Interview
"We try not to get too territorial about who does what in the recording process."
and also the trees Share their Creative Process
"The music follows its own course. We don’t try to divert it."
Rural Tapes about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I can’t stand going through manuals to learn about how things work. I just start twisting knobs.”
Drew McFadyen for Kosmischer Läufer about Krautrock
"I once picked up Kraftwerk with my car and tooted the horn twice - a cover version of the introduction to 'Autobahn'. Nobody noticed."
Jesse Zubot about Improvisation
"There are many times during an improvisational situation where you are not searching for anything … it is just happening."
Medina Interview about Voice and Singing
“My first serious song was about my guinea pig that I had to give away. That was a very sad time for me.“
Dillistone Shares his Creative Process
“I can do many other things than music. But it is what I get the most life from.“
Exsonvaldes: The Band Interview
"Bands like Radiohead or Phoenix seem to have a good internal balance of friendship, ideas, hard work and method. We like that."
Emme Moises Shares her Creative Process
“I see the end result, draw a path in my mind and start walking towards it.“
Chromeo about Adult Contemporary, Production, and Technology
"When you’ve got that student mentality, the discovery never ends."
Brittany Bindrim about Voice and Singing
"Nothing can compare to a well executed, raw, pure, recorded performance!"
Giuseppe Cordaro about the Magic of Sound(s)
"If we'd shift our focus from sight to listening, our world would undergo profound transformations."
Srdjan Ivanovic about Drumming
"I don't try to be different as a drummer. But I don't stop it either."
Marla Hansen about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I find silence very important, and nearly impossible to find."
Marco Giambrone about the Magic of Sound(s)
"A main challenge of the future is how to give more space to the sound of nature."
Lina_ about the Fado, Identity, and Sonic Poetry
"The fado renews itself according to each person's experiences."
Napoleon Murphy Brock (Frank Zappa Band) about Improvisation
“Improvisation is a statement about the truth! The truth is absolute!"
Fifteen Questions Interview with Alpacas Collective
Nothing is necessary. Everything is possible.
Musique Infinie about Improvising to Film and their First Date with a Movie
"We could never recreate this again."
Ida No (Glass Candy, Fawn) about Voice and Singing
"My singing has improved since I started learning to tap my feet while singing."
Chromeo about Sound Sculpting and “the Look”
"Our biggest influence is probably ZZTop. And it’s not for what their music sounds like."
The Montvales about Voice and Singing
"We’ve never had a drummer. Maybe that's why I put emphasis on percussive phrasing."
David Velez: An Introduction to Plant Music and Plant Communication
"Many artworks labelled as "plant music" are problematic because they emphasise the processing and not the plants' sensibility to sound."
Garrett Yates of Bronson Arm about Drumming
"There is something cathartic about beating the hell out of something."
Henrik Olsson (Muddersten) about Improvisation
"The magic works without words. And only without words."
Thomas Elsner about Elaste, Fanzine Culture and Getting Knocked Down by David Bowie's Bodyguard
"I can't say for certain. But we probably didn't get everything wrong."
Martin Rott about Recording Piano and Playing with Orchestra
"We are working with machines in our everyday life. Our love for electronic rhythms is a projection of that reality."
Peter Kernel Share their Creative Process
"We think we’re controlling the process. But the result confirms that we’re really not."
Simone Aubert (Hyperculte, Peter Kernel) about Drumming
"I always cover my snare with a scarf."
Chromeo about Originality, and the Honour of Tradition
"If you had told a Renaissance artist they were original they would’ve thought it was insulting."
Eighty Ninety Share their Creative Process
"There are still so many great songs out there. I want to go grab one of them before someone else takes it."
Merryn Jeann Shares her Creative Process
"Being in the creative flow is the most tangible experience of what we don’t understand."
Sébastien Guérive about The Magic of Sound(s)
"I recorded a cauliflower that I decomposed with my hands. It gave me some magnificent cracks!"
Ameli in the Woods about her Voice and Singing
"Singing serves as a means for me to cope with my depression."
Andrea von Kampen about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I totally have misophonia. But no worries, I’ve found a support group online."
Martin Rott about Sonic Utopias and Negative Realism
"Mixing up a negative world view with “realism“ can result in the reversal of progress."
Kees Berkers of YĪN YĪN about Drumming
"Programming drums in Ableton made me understand the beautiful math behind rhythms."
Bronson Arm share their Creative Process
"Fuck what the people want! Our music isn’t supposed to be comfortable."
Kollektiv Turmstrasse about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"You can't replicate human creativity that easily with artificial means."
Hayku Kyah about Voice and Singing
"The human voice is deeply influential. We hear it even when we don’t."
Dave Wilson about Improvisation
"The myth of “individual genius” disappears in music improvised in collectivity."
Shaina Hayes Shares her Creative Process
"Songwriting, to me, is just letting yourself be led in new directions."
Janek van Laak about Drumming
"Groove, Swing and rhythmic feel? To me they’re just concepts. Made up belief systems."
and also the trees: The Band interview
"Sometimes being strategic works for us. Mostly it doesn’t."
Portable Shares his Creative Process
"My composition cycle is closely aligned with the lunar cycle."
Massimo Silverio about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Silence is a sacred pillar, often painful to break."
The Rumble: The Band Interview
"You have to trust your brothers and sisters to have your back. No matter what."
Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, Modest Mouse) aka Small Isles about The Magic of Sound(s)
"We’re too inundated by sound made by humans or created by human endeavor. And it’s bad for us."
Rachael Sage Shares her Creative Process
"We don’t plan how we fall in love - that’s what makes it magical."
Odd Beholder Shares her Creative Process
"If music isn’t a tool to cross chasms, then what is?"
Dori Freeman Shares her Creative Process
"It often feels like a song has been entrusted for you to write from the ether."
Joshua Zubot about Improvisation
"Sometimes I think because I am a calm person, I have to get out some inner energy. And I do it through my playing."
Pole on the Scape Way of Mastering and The Secrets of EQ
"This studio was an investment. But no customer will think I'm taking money for something that won't sound any better than it was before."
Nadia Struiwigh about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"We are made here to expand. We are here to discover who we are."
Thomas Elsner about Fashion & Music
"Each clothing style can carry its own narrative about who we are or who we aspire to be."
Benjamin Vergara about Improvisation
"I prefer to dig, dig and dig in the same spot for a while and see what happens."
Sage Hatfield about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Some of my best melodies were given to me by tomatoes and trees. That’s not a joke."
Silvan Joray about Improvisation
"Improvisations live on in our thoughts and emotions. Just like a person or pet that has left us."
Quinsin Nachoff about Improvisation
"With improvisation there can be amazing, serendipitous moments. They leap out and are unlike anything planned."
Samantha Marandola of Oldest Sea about Voice and Singing
"After I sing an especially intense song, I feel like I just had a good cry."
Nicolas Bougaïeff about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Choosing constraints is a very important part of the creative process."
Moritz von Oswald Interview about Silencio, the Rhythm of Consonants and Sound Power
"Traffic is a block of sound, a block of noise. I feel drawen to that."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Malo Moray & His Inflatable Knee
Tunnel of Joy, Sound of Truth
Ruiqi Wang talks Sound
"Hearing requires more patience, and curiosity. It might help us discover information that is more precise "
Johanna Burnheart about how to listen to Improvisations
"Sometimes forms are odd. Which then shakes up your feeling of form in a delightful way."
Arto Lindsay Interview about Voice, Singing, and Lyrics
"Recording has created ghosts who live among us."
Ben Richter about the Magic of Sound(s)
"Sound is a beautiful, complex system of vibration patterns."
Bowie Shares her Creative Process
"If I am lucky and don’t get distracted, I only need to reveal what’s already there."
Annie Dressner Shares her Creative Process
"Songs are an artistic expression. Not everything can be taken literally."
Hazlett about the Magic of Sound(s)
"I got to combine my love of basketball and music and play in a big dark empty basketball hall in Stockholm."
Sage Hatfield about the Science of Vibration, and a World without Sound
"Silence is a virtue, a very high one. Silence is closer to the truth."
Yamil about Production, Technology, and the Roland TR-8
"Almost anything can fit in electronic music. But not everything makes sense."
Noah Preminger about his Approach to the Saxophone
"I've always felt that playing music comes second to exploring life. I consider it more as my job, not my 'life's work'."
Jeff Cosgrove about Improvisation
"When I’m improvising, I am totally consumed by that moment. I want more of that feeling in my own life."
Espen Berg about Improvisation
"I hope the people attending my solo concerts feel that we build a friendship. That we’re in this together."
body / negative Shares their Creative Process
"I’m always scared that my melodies are stolen."
Damien Vandesande of Siraba and dOP about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Oscillators are not percussive, not made of air or strings. They are made of electricity, of energy."
Trevor Horn about the Balance between Song and Arrangement
"Records made in the 50s sound the best. Suddenly, punk came along and blew all that out of the water."
Renell Shaw of 2fox Shares his Creative Process
"The most effective method is to just shove an instrument in my hand and leave me alone."
Max Sinàl of 2fox about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Some of the time I may have a slightly unorthodox way of working."
WSR talks Sound
"That space between natural and extended timbres is one of my lifetime fascinations."
Ah! Kosmos about the Magic of Sound(s)
"We are continually vibrating, resonating with the atoms that shape us. An eternal oscillation that courses through our essence."
Sarah Morrison (of Montreal, Locate S,1) Shares her Creative Process
"I love to hypnotize myself. It yields some interesting results."
Sofia Rubina about Voice and Singing
"When the audience sings along, we are creating a collective space and colliding energy."
Johanna Burnheart about Learning to Live with and without the Violin
"A few years ago the thought of never playing the violin again would have thrown me into a deep depression."
Sara Noelle about the Art of Cover Versions
"There’s a lot of creativity that goes into a cover — it’s like a creative puzzle!"
C'mon Tigre about their Collaboration
"Collaborations are almost never fun. They require concentration."
South Hill Experiment about Improvisation
"Setting up the mood and the sound is probably the most important part of improvising solos for us."
Matthew Wilcock about the Magic of Sounds(s)
"Everytime I hear the old macbook air keyboard sound, I want to smash it to pieces."
Alex Rapp about Voice and Singing
"Sometimes I'll sustain really long notes and get a bit light headed. That's always a huge release."
Maike Depas about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I love losing myself within a world where there is no absolute control."
Lauren Mia about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Having your studio work as ONE cohesive mind is something that I really encourage to those who want to level up their work flow."
JWPaton Shares his Creative Process
"To be considered a part of a lineage would be the ultimate compliment for me."
Alex Dolby about the Magic of Sounds(s)
"Silence helps us refresh ideas and generate new ones. It’s an important part of the journey of life."
Emil Friis and Patricio Fraile about their Collaboration
"Good collaborations nurture good art."
Vince Clarke about Songs of Silence and Sounds Beyond the Real
"I'm still fascinated by electronic music. I still love the fact that it isn't real at all."
Pole on Tempus, Jazz, and the Beauty of Different Perspectives
"I wanted you to feel: This thing is alive. It's moving."
Malo Moray & His Inflatable Knee about The Importance of Unlearning & The Art of Falafel Making
"If the reason for performing a task is heartfelt and honest, I can’t imagine how it couldn’t be art."
Will Hofbauer about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I have to set some sort of limits. Otherwise I’d just spend a whole week putting phasers on fart samples."
Abby V about Voice and Singing
"The human voice is able to connect with us in ways that are beyond comprehension."
Fred Everything aka All Is Well about The Magic of Sounds(s)
"People don’t realize how fragile our ears are. A lot of emotions are linked to that organ."
Mesmer about Collaboration
"This project needed a very precise plan. This actually set us free creatively as a group."
Jessie Wagner (Lenny Kravitz, Chic, Stevie Van Zandt) about Voice and Singing
"Everyone applauds vocal acrobatics. But real joy, anguish, or anger when someone sings, move me more."
Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir about Voice, Singing, and her Creative Process
"In Iceland, the act of singing is always connected to memorable moments in our lives."
Viktor Orri Árnason Shares his Creative Process
"When words fail to express my anguish, music becomes a powerful outlet."
Leonardo Barbadoro about Working with a Robot Orchestra
"Some people may think that this music could easily be performed by human performers with traditional instruments. This is not the case."
Kombé about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"You can learn anything from tutorials. This can also be overbearing and stand in the way of your own distinction."
Berenice Scott (Simple Minds) Shares her Creative Process
"It’s so lovely when ideas come. But then you’ve got to finish it!"
Ruiqi Wang Shares her Creative Process
"When I create, I experience “happiness” - a word that is strangely rare to hear people say nowadays."
Mont Analogue about the Magic of Sound(s)
"My mother’s electric toothbrush hums in a very specific way. I thought it would make for a nice oscillator."
Pigments about The Magic of Sounds(s)
"The sound of a voice can bear way more personality and emotional truth than any look ever could."
N1NJA about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Sadly it has now become an AI arms race instead of designing ethically from the core."
Andrea Lacoste about Music as Medicine
"Music speaks directly to the soul and the heart. From there, it can also impact other areas of the body."
Bedless Bones about Voice and Singing
"Can there be anything more soothing than the voice of a loved one?"
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson about Listening, Performing and Communicating
"I’m really attracted to intimate music. As if it’s a love letter."
Samuel Reinhard Shares his Creative Process
"Making art is a way of saying: This is how I see the world."
Adam Miller (Chromatics) Recommends Solo Voice Recordings
"I live for those moments on Mamas & Papas or 5th Dimension albums when the instruments drop out leaving the voices to sing alone in harmony."
Avi Avital about Interpretation
"My craft is to squeeze a tear from the audience's eyes - not necessarily from my own."
Amby Downs talks Sound
"Banging doors and people shouting – those things can completely throw me and send my heart racing."
Lucidvox Share their Creative Process
"It was music that helped me in the most difficult time, alone, in the most terrible thoughts. I was looking for answers in the songs."
Johanna Burnheart about Improvisation
"A lot of us would be more creative if we had a different work life culture."
David Baron about Production, Avoiding the Generic and Doing it All
“I like hit records and want to make them.“
Andrea Lacoste about Ecstatic Dance, and Movement Meditation
"People are afraid of really showing who they are. This is even worse on the dance floor."
Gary Beals Shares his Creative Process
"The unique energy and emotion of the moment can't be entirely replicated or replaced."
Tools of Creation: AKAI MPC
Luke Gomm about a workstation with the power of a DAW in a portable drum machine
Lisa Ramey about Voice and Singing
"I love a free vocalist who sings because they love to sing. I also love a horrible singer who sings because they love to sing!"
Anenon Shares his Creative Process
"I think if you're understood immediately, then you're doing something wrong."
Mike Sheridan about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The experience of playing acoustic instruments can feel so weighed down by tradition. It can be really discouraging."
Ronan Perrett of Twospeak Shares his Creative Process
"I never think ‘this isn’t going the way I thought it would.’ I don’t have that thought in mind to begin with."
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson about Creativity, Collaboration & Friendship
"Friendship and the ongoing cultivation of respect, kindness, and warmth is everything."
Hattie Whitehead Shares her Creative Process
"I was so angry at a random man for shouting at me once. I just had to go home and write about him."
Yuko Araki talks Sound
"I feel comfortable when I hear inorganic sounds like construction noises or MRI scans."
Lauren Mia about Playfulness, Production, and her Personal Path
"I have to love it, enjoy it. It's art. That’s what it's all about."
Taughtme about The Magic of Sound(s)
"I am very bothered by bars or restaurants with terrible acoustics. I start daydreaming about what acoustic panels I’d like to install."
James Curd & Osunlade about their Collaboration
"I'm the piano man and he’s the mad scientist."
Tools of Creation: ARP 2500
David Baron about an analog modular synth that encourages chambermusical layering.
Linda Catlin Smith Shares her Creative Process
"I have to finish with a piece before it finishes with me."
James Taylor Shares his Creative Process
"If I tidy the house and everything is neat, I can play and write music better."
Samuel Reinhard about the Magic of Sound
"The promenade on South Street when the train passes overhead is the most all-embracing sound I can think of - a thrilling full-body experience."
Bre Kennedy about Voice and Singing
"Singing takes over me. It comes from my whole core being."
Johnny Symons (The Prisoners) about Drumming
"The great drummers you can hear a mile off. It’s like a signature – you just know it’s them."
Malin Linnéa about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"We don’t need more stuff. We need less."
Adam Miller (Chromatics) about Voice and Singing
"It alarms me when someone’s singing voice differs drastically from their speaking voice."
Fred Frith about Improvisation and Collaboration
"I don’t think you can ever really get to grips with improvising unless you accept yourself for who you are."
Niecy Blues Shares their Creative Process
"Something inside of me wants or needs to come out. I allow that to happen."
Foodman about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Collaboration feels like a massage. It stimulates areas you couldn’t reach on your own."
Sudhu Tewari about Improvisation, and Collaboration
"I’m typically sceptical of planning. It often assumes that we know more than we do."
VAN TASTIK about Voice and Singing
"How precisely we communicate as humans is the very core of what makes our species stand out."
Joseph Shabason about working as a session musician for Destroyer, and the War on Drugs
"I find being a sideman really liberating."
Thomas Lemmer & Oine about their Collaboration
"We are now close friends - even though we haven't met in person yet!"
Bruno Belissimo about Disco as a Universal, Cyclical, Creative Energy
"Disco changed everything."
Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen about Voice and Singing
"When there is something wrong with my voice, I don’t feel like myself."
Michael Reinboth about Elaste, Compost, and the Joy of DIY
"I was invited by Bill Wyman to play table tennis, Andy Warhol invited us to his Factory ... We got drunk with Duran Duran. But we ended up nearly bankrupt."
Bedless Bones about the Lyrics behind her Album Mire of Mercury
“I may die tomorrow. I don’t want to not have been thinking about it before.”
Trevor Horn Shares his Creative Process
"A song is a roller coaster. By the end of it, you should have enjoyed the ride."
Sanoi about The Magic of Sounds(s)
"I don‘t like silence. It amplifies thoughts I‘m trying not to have."
Amor Muere about their Collaboration
"It starts with creating our “environment.” Then we stop talking and just make music."
Campbell/Jensen about their Collaboration
"If we both draw a circle the same way, how will we discover new shapes?"
Cade Hoppe about The Magic of Sounds(s)
"I have an emotional response to the sound of cars driving by. Maybe it’s my fear everyone is getting to their destination faster than I am."
Khadeeja Grace about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I start with what I hear in my head - never with a template."
Michael Peter Olsen (Hidden Cameras, Sharon Van Etten) Shares his Creative Process
"I reject the idea that there can’t be incredible beauty in the most mundane of things."
Tools of Creation: Elektron Machinedrum
Guava about the ultimate drum machine – and the ultimate sound toy
Nils Petter Molvaer about Certainty of Tides and Orchestral Meditations
"An orchestra is an instrument. In fact, it's the most wonderful instrument there is."
Bonnie Montgomery about Voice and Singing
"Sometimes I imagine the tone shooting out of my third eye like a laser beam."
Gifted & Blessed about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Electronic music has its limitations."
Dave Wilson about Musical Relationships and Forgiveness through Music
"Making music isn’t a metaphor for relationships. It actually is relationships in action."
Fifteen Questions Literature Interview with Christopher Mansfield aka Fences
Mathematics of the Spiritual Realm
The Saxophones Share their Creative Process
"I think my focus on lyrics is unusual. Sound and musical ideas are a distant second to me."
Zaho de Sagazan Shares her Creative Process
"It’s rare that I write a great song in one day. Usually it takes years."
Stu Rowe (The 3 Clubmen, Lighterthief, Future Sound of London) Shares his Creative Process
"Improvisation is the easiest route into letting the real you out."
Jen Olive (The 3 Clubmen) Shares her Creative Process
"We’re just all chaos machines. I seem wired by it."
Echo Juliet about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"If you can do anything, where do you start?"
Ronja Pöhlmann of Amber & the Moon about her Voice and Singing
"My singing voice helps me speak about topics I wouldn't necessarily talk about in a normal conversation."
Sacha Mullin shares his Creative Process
"To me, being in flow, that’s the most connected to another world that I have ever been."
Tosca Share their Creative Process
"Some tunes took years in the making. The longer the better!"
Milo Tamez of Pidgins on Groove, Harmony, and Drum Machines
"Time signatures are like a fixed canvas. But the most powerful rhythmic musics are not structured under those same parameters."
TTRRUUCES about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Being a producer can only come out of true passion. It isn’t something your learn."
Alva Noto Shares his Creative Process
"Making a work means discovering something about yourself."
Mary Middlefield Shares her Creative Process
"Words matter. Human communication and language possess incredible power."
Tools of Creation: Hammond Organ
Jake Mason of Cookin' On 3 Burners about an electric organ that brings a bit of butter and blues to rock and jazz.
Martina Berther and Philipp Schlotter about their Collaboration
"If you feel like you're compromising or have to stand by your convictions, it is often a sign that something is not quite right."
ATOEM about Sound Design and Building their own Synths
"Analog instruments are a risky game. But that's what we like."
Dhani Harrison Shares his Creative Process
"There’s a moment of chaos where things write themselves. But do you go with that?"
Esther Abrami about Interpretation
"As classical musicians, we have a very intellectual approach. Jazz changed everything."
Mo'Horizons about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Practical application with your own experiences is what makes the difference."
Diane Gentile Shares her Creative Process
"Allow yourself to go to the uncomfortable place - that's where you could find gold."
Azaria about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I try to have an idea of the song in 3-4 hours. Finishing the production can take me weeks."
Jens Thomas about Listening, Breathing, and Improvisation
"Listening without analytical understanding inspires our imagination, our intuition."
Jonathan Reisin about his Approach to the Saxophone
"My saxophone playing is an extension of my personality and experiences. It distinguishes me from other musicians."
Dylan LeBlanc Shares his Creative Process
"Songwriting is like fishing - you kinda go where the fish are."
Dam Swindle about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"For us, progress is being in the studio every day, working on music and learning new things."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Barbaro
"Making music can take time. Just like any thing in life."
Billy Raffoul Shares his Creative Process
"I have a habit of making a big deal out something small. It doesn’t take much to inspire me!"
Ernesto Diaz-Infante about Improvisation
"Writing music on paper had become tedious. It felt restrictive."
Nomad about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Let’s experiment, fuck shit up + blow some minds."
Dirk Leyers of A08 about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The delete button has become my best friend."
Sickotoy Shares his Creative Process
"It's always fascinating to see how a demo ends up on Spotify."
Bex Burch Shares her Creative Process
"Being open and listening in the nothing - that’s where I am trying to be."
Michael Reinboth about Music City Munich in the 80s and 90s
Balearic Vibes from the Bavarian Sausage Border
Kanga about Professionalism vs Playfulness, and Being Grateful for Listeners
"A lot of the greatest works in history rely more on playfulness than technical ability."
Andreas Røysum about Improvisation
"I even think of my solo playing as being part of a big togetherness."
Islaja talks Sound
"Sound finds its way into your mind - mysterious, out of this world, sound that leaves you craving more."
Mika Vainio Interview about Sonic Self-Analysis, and Emotional Release through Music
"I want to go to the micro-level of sound. I want to taste the tones of neutrinos."
Alva Noto about the Hybr:ID series, and the Connections between Image and Sound
"Sound in movies is still underrated. Sometimes the sound takes precedence over the image."
Bedless Bones about Lisa Gerrard, Spitting out Songs, and the Fascination of Disorders
“My music has a borderless approach. It draws life force from all over the place.”
thighpaulsandra (Spiritualized, Coil, Uruk) Shares his Creative Process
"Control is everything."
Andrew Paley about AI and Music
"Songs have a sender and a receiver. They rely on shared experience. What happens when that fundamentally changes?"
ATOEM about the Post-Floydian Psychedelic Continuum
"We are as much technicians as musicians."
Azu Tiwaline and Cinna Peyghamy About their Collaboration
"It’s not only about artistic collaboration. It’s also about sharing values, and vibes and opening our heart."
Tristan Allen Shares their Creative Process
"Once the music starts telling a story, I move onto puppetry."
Sebastian Reynolds about Life & Death
"The tragedy of death is a spectrum in some ways. But in other ways there is a fundamental tragedy to all life ending."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Ndox Electrique
"The body must move. It must avoid the churches of so-called intelligent music."
The Big Moon Share their Creative Process
"After we finish something I usually spend about 6 months thinking I hate music."
The Allegorist Shares her Creative Process
"I choose to study the mysteries, to go to see the other side."
Pidgins about Recording and their Favourite Sound Tools
"We were gravitating towards a cacophonous style."
VC-118A about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Sound is not bound to any timeframe, progression, or innovation."
Fiona Kraft about DJing
“All my choices are done on the spot. You can't rehearse a real life experience.“
Kanga about Writing and Recording Under Glass
"This album came out of a ‘healthier’ headspace."
Michael Reinboth about the Importance of Music Journalism and DJing
"Music journalism definitely makes you more open minded."
Connie Lovatt Shares her Creative Process
"It’s very, very hard for me to go from being around people to working on a song."
Good Lovelies Share their Creative Process
"It is important to say something plainly if that’s the way it needs to be said."
Leo Takami about Improvisation
"My improvisation is based on preparation, and practice. And a little bit of revelation."
Meernaa Shares her Creative Process
"When I’m really in it, it’s hard to eat or use the bathroom. It's wild."
Roberto DiGioia of Web Web about Improvisation
"I can't perform alone. It's like telling a joke to myself."
Fred Abong (Throwing Muses, Belly) Shares his Creative Process
"I would like to keep strict control. But my needs are ignored."
Jonathan Reisin about Improvisation and Collaboration
"Each time I improvise, the music takes on a new life."
Massimo Discepoli on Drumming
"It is very difficult to learn how to play a great groove only from doing exercises."
JOBS Share their Creative Process
"Our songs are not fixed. They can take on multiple different “finished” states."
Mari Boine Shares her Creative Process
"When certain melodies are born, it feels like coming home or meeting an old friend again."
Vinny Golia Shares his Creative Process
"New ideas, leaving the safe zone. This is what we want. No?"
Tools of Creation: Sequentix Cirklon Sequencer
Benjamin Damage about a hardware sequencer capable of amazing controlled chaos
Ryan Crosson about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I’ve always been a gear swapping M.F."
Zeitblom (Automat) about Improvisation
"Sounds should stand for themselves - without referring to anything other than themselves."
Colin Andrew Sheffield Shares his Creative Process
"Most artists, at some point, have spent so much time on a piece that they can no longer tell if it’s any good."
Vanco about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The earliest draft is the basis. It already has to feel like it's ready to go."
Kancho Club about Collaboration
“The nucleus of our work ethic: The ability to tell the other what they created is absolutely terrible.”
Ken Mode Share their Creative Process
"Getting into the best creative space requires a profoundly boring lifestyle."
Mike Shannon about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I like my modular world. There isn’t a preset in sight!"
Achim Färber (Automat, Phillip Boa, Project Pitchfork) about Drumming
"Listening to James Brown's drummers in the 60s and 70s is the ultimate lesson in groove."
Sankt Otten on Krautrock
"Sonic Youth or Mogwai would not sound like they do without Kraut references."
Milo Tamez of Pidgins on Drumming
"Detaching from the concept of “having a style” or “being from a school” has been quite a thing."
Al Mackenzie (Field of Dreams, D:Ream) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Some of the greatest musicians make some terrible music!"
Z.I.P.P.O Shares his Creative Process
"Ideas are like unexplored galaxies - waiting to be discovered."
Samuel Kerridge about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"To outsource human creativity to technology marks an end to the world."
Pyrolator (Der Plan, Bombay1, Fehlfarben) on Krautrock
"The rhythm played by Klaus Dinger is what defined this style."
The Cocktail Slippers Share their Creative Process
"If only people knew how little we actually plan ahead."
Alexandros Anesiadis about Heroes Of The Metal Underground
"The research was crazy! I was seeking endlessly through collector’s lists, fanzines, databases - through everything!"
Tools of Creation: Buchla Music Easel
Arthur Hnatek about a cleverly built Westcoast synth with a musical randomness
Fifteen Questions Interview with Prabhu Edouard (Tomorrow Comes The Harvest)
A View to Unseen Landscapes
Pete Cannon (Mixtress) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Technology, technology! Can we all stop whinging and try to enjoy ourselves?"
Mila Stern about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I was scared of Max for Live. It felt like opening pandora’s box."
Thomas Fehlmann about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"An important part of the creative process is forgetting."
Eddna Shares her Creative Process
"In insecure times I fear that my ideas are products of luck."
Tools of Creation: The bass
For Nik West, the bass brings the groove that makes the bootie move.
Dewa Budjana Shares his Creative Process
"The spirit cannot be measured and cannot be seen. That's where the surprises come from."
Rick Reed Shares his Creative Process
“I don't hear harps playing. But I do feel connected to the cosmos.“
Hilarie Sidney (Apples In Stereo, Secret Square, High Water Marks) Shares her Creative Process
"My happiness and well-being are strongly correlated with my ability to create."
Klaus Sahm about Dealing with Death and Music as a Sanctuary
“My family was the first to hear the early sketches. Their reactions were profound and deeply emotional.“
Kenneth Kirschner about Alternative Tuning Systems
"I’m working on something that uses 5 different tuning systems at once. There’s some real questions as to whether I’m going to get through it alive."
Tools of Creation: The Trumpet
For Henry Spencer, the trumpet is a challenging instrument allowing for precise expression.
Mixtress about DJing
“Sometimes, the power lies in making everyone stand still or hold hands.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Hans Platzgumer (Convertible, H.P. Zinker)
Predictability is Pointless
Philippa about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Music made of pre-cooked, store bought sauces is not going to be authentic. Or original."
Fred und Luna about Future Sounds of Kraut and the Magic of Düsseldorf
“Club music of the future? Frequencies outside the human range. Infrasonic, ultrasonic sounds.”
Pidgins on Healing with Drums
"Some resonances may be healing. Others could create a toxic environment for the body."
Turbotito and Ragz about the Magic of South Asian Music – Past, Present & Future
"Many of these artists were caught in a tragic middle ground – too South Asian for the West and too Western for South Asia."
An Moku & Yes It's Ananias about Sonic Time Travel and Playing for the Deaf
"It’s a smart move to pick up on the past or the forgotten."
Stegreif Orchestra about Improvisation and Collaboration
"Every sound resembles bringing something to life and letting it die again."
Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn And John, SunYears) Shares his Creative Process
"Ideas unexpectedly pop up. Sometimes I wish I could turn it off."
Paul Brändle about Improvisation
"Sometimes, you have to negotiate in the music. When you play alone, you negotiate with yourself."
Dave Abbruzzese (Pearl Jam, Kind Hearted Thieves) on Drumming
"It's a complex, powerful, beautiful relationship that a drummer has in a band. One that's all too often underappreciated."
Kind Hearted Thieves Share their Creative Process
"Cliche lines, metaphorical lines and descriptive lines - you need a bit of all of these to make a song work."
Tools of Creation: Elektron Analog Four
Harald Björk about a quirky polyphonic analog synthesizer that invites you into the wilderness.
Bob Clearmountain Interview about Mixing in Atmos
"I’ve been using cheap, $100 passive speakers for my height channels. They work just fine."
Kawatin about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Improvisation embodies the humanity and uncertainty that can often be lost in electronic music."
Harald Björk about the Studio as a Space of Survival and why the Future is not the Goal
“Maybe we need to make art as artefacts so the experience of it can be completely immaterial.“
Arnold Dreyblatt Shares his Creative Process
"If I am not continually creating, I am lost, I don't feel like myself."
JakoJako about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"It’s important to experiment with new sounds. But it’s also important to vision your own style and do what you're best at."
Andrew McMahon Shares his Creative Process
"I wrote my first song when I was a kid. It felt like I had discovered some missing part of myself."
Chrissy about DJing
“DJing, songwriting, and playing live music all use very similar decision-making processes.”
Mister Wallace about DJing
“DJing for me has always been in the body. Some of my favorite DJs are amazing dancers.”
Kash Trivedi and Solofader about DJing
“If you are a good human being, it reflects on stage, too.”
Tools of Creation: The Lute
For David Bergmüller, the lute requires you to take strength away rather than use power.
Raz Ohara Shares his Creative Process
"Music vibrates through your ears and leads directly into your body and soul."
Cassie Wieland aka Vines Shares her Creative Process
"If I live my life as an artist, then by default whatever I make is art."
Ariana Delawari Shares her Creative Process
"After we finished mastering the album, I kind of fell apart."
Fantastic Twins about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I don’t find it exciting when a machine does it all for you - you may as well listen to YouTube tutorial music."
Tools of Creation: The Shamisen
For Mitsune, striking this Japanese string instrument is like an arrow to the heart.
Len Faki about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"If I may say so: There's some really wicked, high-quality shit on my new album."
Ladislav Pazdera Shares his Creative Process
"Composing music is like a drug. I want to feel that way again and again."
Huebl, Albin Brezlan and Frank Mai about Music City Vienna
“Detroit has never left Vienna. But it's been very small-scaled. Time to change that.”
Gabriela Martina Shares her Creative Process
“A million times I tried to quit music entirely. But it always found me again.”
Tools of creation: Serge Paperface
Ben Carey about a modular synthesiser with a unique sound and a heavy punch
Thomas Ankersmit about the Serge Synthesiser and Hating Most Modulars
"I frequently don't really know what's going to happen."
Alasdair MacLean shares his Creative Process
"The very best songs come in the same time or less that it would take to sing them."
ORKA about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Playfulness is extremely important. When we overwork ideas they can become stale."
Inner City about Preserving and Pushing the Black History of Music
“Respect has to be paid where it is due.”
Tools of Creation: REAKTOR
Pig&Dan about an odd-in-the-best-way modular studio that's off the charts wild.
Pig&Dan about the Relation between Creativity and Technology
“Stop trying to make everything perfect. Nothing has more soul than an imperfection."
ITAI about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"If I could put on a helmet and translate my ideas directly into music ... I’d love to see where that takes me!"
Georgia about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I like the idea of not editing too much - putting the hard work in the writing of the music."
Balimaya Project Share their Creative Process
"My preparation stages usually start at 4am in the morning - with my voice recorder in the bathroom."
Tools of Creation: Behringer Pro-1 Analog Synthesizer
Disfreq about an analog synthesizer with a sonically expansive dual filter
Ladislav Pazdera about Interpretation
"If the score is well written, it’s an obligation to respect the composer's intentions. If the score is poorly written, it’s the composer’s own fault if the piece is misinterpreted."
Brian Eno about Helping the Music Business Help Save the Planet
A plan for change from Eno's keynote at IMS Ibiza
Nils Frahm about Space, Manipulation and the Heart of the Artichoke
"Editing is a drama. All your neuroses come into it."
Wareika about Collaboration
"It's not a must to have a good relationship with your collaborators. Even assholes can make brilliant music."
Jim Wallis shares his Creative Process
"Part of the joy of making music is the unknown and unplanned elements that happen along the way."
Evan Lindorff-Ellery about Field Recording
“I’m often not taking field recordings. I'm documenting myself in the field."
Bushwacka! about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I have a terrible habit of rarely using the same kick drum. It has cost me months of my life."
Sam Burton Shares his Creative Process
"Writing a song is like a cat. Just keep going back and try and let it come to you."
Len Faki Interview about the Fusion, Future and Family of Techno
“Never before has human expression been so strongly shaped by machines.”
Ohm & Octal Industries about Collaboration
"Our friendship is the most important thing. Music comes second."
Rodriguez Jr. about Technology, Production, and Creativity
“I was always more of a Blade Runner boy than a Star Trek fan.”
Rainer Trüby about The Return of Glücklich, Compilations and Curation
“Not all artists on Glücklich VI had their breakthrough yet. I am on a mission to help with that.”
Bedless Bones Shares her Creative Process
“You can live your whole life as a work of art - from eating to dressing to loving.”
Inner City about Songwriting, Technology, and Creative Roots
"The impulse to create something comes from all sorts of places and emotions … sometimes if I’m just bored."
Minhwi Lee Shares her Creative Process
“Every time you tell a story that's personal to you, people will find their own stories in it.”
Manja Ristić about Underwater Noise Pollution, Sonic Delights and Acoustic Meltdowns
"For marine animals, sound pollution will generate more and more problems. It is compromising their full life cycle."
Tools of Creation: The Trombone
For Reginald Chapman, the trombone is a rhythmic reinforcer – and an instrument of freedom.
Benjamin Lackner about the Ear Magic of ECM and How to be a Band Leader
“People tend to play their best when they're comfortable.”
Daniel Ottensamer about Interpretation
"If there were ever definitive interpretations – why then would musicians go on stage and play their hearts out?"
Andreas Ottensamer about Interpretation, Vienna vs Berlin, and the Clarinet
"It was my dream to become a professional musician - but not at any cost."
An Moku & Yes It's Ananias about The 70s as Inspiration, Fluxus, and the Return of Disco in 2050
"In the future, moods and tastes will be fully controlled by A.I. But robots have taste."
Siavash Amini about Alternative Tuning Systems
"I could not find a satisfying way forward with just tonal harmonies. I needed something more."
Live Skull Share their Creative Process
“We would scream into the microphone at rehearsals. Later we would try our best to decipher what we might have been saying.”
Ingrid Frivold on Reconnecting with her Sami heritage and Visibility as a Tool Against Xenophobia
“As a kid, I sought refuge in ideas. Music came as a free space.“
Johannes Schmoelling (Tangerine Dream, Loom, S.A.W.) Shares his Creative Process
"Music always has to do with emotions. If it doesn't, it doesn't interest me."
Kurt Ader of S.A.W. talks Sound
"Sounds must have life. They have to be extraordinary and unique."
Leonor Falcón about Improvisation
"Listening is my favorite part of improvisation. It's like picking my colleague’s brain’s sound."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai, Incognito, Mark Ronson)
Golden Gratitude
Reformed Society about Collaboration
“I probably am sacrificing a bit of my identity in a collaboration. But I believe it’s an important sacrifice to make.“
Nolan about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Not many boundaries are being pushed - despite the technology enabling everyone to do so!”
Hataałii Shares his creative Process
"Songwriting is like working out. But instead of muscles, I’ll have a greater sense of awareness about unknown things."
Kino Todo Shares his Creative Process
"I only have one rule in the studio: To always turn off my phone."
Lonnie Liston Smith about Improvisation
"How are you going to practice the unknown? You can't do that."
M. Ward Shares his Creative Process
“If I had a therapist, we would be talking about my dreams a lot. By using music, I can do it myself.”
Balmorhea about Pendant World, More Space, and Relentless Creativity
“There are moments in life, where a sound or an image will demand attention. It’s those moments that become music.“
Charlotte Jane Shares her Creative Process
“Start with a conversation. The conversation inspires chords, then the conversation becomes melody and lyrics.”
Valia Calda about Improvisation
"This is what we identify with: Having a revolutionary practice in art.“
Tools of Creation: The Clarinet
For Louise Campbell, the clarinet is “a musical chameleon”. It is also like glue.
Theo Travis of Soft Machine Shares his Creative Process
“Feeling creative is an animal that needs feeding!”
Kevin Davy White Shares his Creative Process
“You can always change a song. It is an experience.”
Synne Sanden about Fashion & Music
"Between the feminine and masculine, the laid back and the dressed up – that's where I feel most like myself."
Mohamed Lamouri Shares his Creative Process
“The melodies evolve slowly. Until, at some mysterious point, they are ready to be recorded.”
Ida Nielsen Shares her Creative Process
“With funk, great lyrics aren’t a must. It is acceptable to have lots of lyrics about “the Funk.”
Drunken Kong about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Technology is there to expand your possibilities. It's not there to do your job."
Onelight about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“A computer, Ableton and a keyboard - and the world is yours!”
Ingrid Frivold on Improvisation
“The greatest challenge was freeing myself from the thought of being right.“
Paul Flaherty about Improvisation
“I've used meditation, prayer, drugs, booze. But it all comes down to just letting it happen.“
Erland Cooper Shares his Creative Process
“Writing is a cacophony of ideas combined with single minded focus.”
Cat Hope talks Sound
"Listening is the next key evolutionary mode of understanding the world."
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Shares her Creative Process
“I’ve been songwriting over 20 years. So no embarrassment left!”
Manja Ristić talks Sound
"I wouldn’t say I have a particular interest in extremes. Who am I to discriminate among sounds!"
Massimo Discepoli aka Nheap XP about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“We have somewhat lost the ability to live in the present moment.”
Delfeayo Marsalis about Improvisation
"The main challenge for me is to not play the things that I know will work.”
Jaime Wyatt Shares her Creative Process
“Absolute devotion said in the simplest words - that's what I've been looking for lately.”
I WANT POETRY Share their Creative Process
“Every being on this earth carries a light inside their soul.”
Louise Rossiter Talks Sound
"When I was hit by the sound of silence, everything finally ‘clicked’. I was hooked."
Troller Share their Creative Process
“Do songs take on their own personalities and start to write themselves? Yea, that happens.”
Anna Thorvaldsdottir Shares her Creative Process
“I need to know where the music is going in order to know where it is coming from.”
Snazzback Share their Creative Process
“The creative state? It is when I feel in touch with what it is to be alive.”
Ane Diaz Shares her Creative Process
“These songs are the first songs I ever heard. They are the reason I am a musician.”
Hely Share their Creative Process
“Sometimes we call our ideas “games” - they feel like playgrounds.”
Michael Kiedaisch about Improvisation
"We are all made of music. When we make music, we are trying to find the way to our origin.”
Yakul Share their Creative Process
"We definitely make some bad songs. But we always give the ideas space, and enjoy the process.”
Yann Novak talks Sound
"Failure is deeply integrated into my practice. I even named a track after it."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Nick Littlemore (Empire Of The Sun, PNAU)
Open Line to the Other Side
Cristian Vogel about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I don't like undefined behaviour in systems. It is a fault.”
Karpe Share their Creative Process
"A film can get a lot better with more time and money. This is not the case with music.”
Peter Mergener (Software) about Technology, Krautrock and New Horizons
“Using technology for the benefit of people is wonderful and nothing reprehensible.”
IzangoMa Share their Creative Process
“We usually just hook up empty-headed and step into the cockpit.”
Naya Rockers Share their Creative Process
"My Spirit and my acknowledgement of the universe and all that surrounds me is key."
Album Leaf talks about Technology and Music
"Put in the work, and it’ll just keep getting better."
Benjamin Lackner Shares his Creative Process
“Making this music turned me into a better person.”
Agents of Time about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“We have to embrace new tech to stay competitive.”
Reggie Dokes about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Technology should not make you a lazy composer. It's an aide, not a crutch.”
Iguana Death Cult Share their Creative Process
“Creating something beautiful, or even something disgusting. That’s what it's all about.”
Nicki Wells Shares her Creative Process
“To be of service to one’s art is the artist’s both gift and dilemma.”
Stephen Parsick about Instruments, Progress and Music of the Future
“Most music that is considered forward-thinking is nothing but vain drywank.“
Vivek Venugopal Shares his Creative Process
“The more I compose, the harder it becomes to impress myself.”
Tools of Creation: EMS VCS-3
Stephen Parsick about a portable synthesizer that is a bit of a Zen machine
GoGo Penguin about Improvisation
“It’s important to care and want to be good. But any improvisation is also just a moment in time.“
Lionel Marchetti about Technology and Tools of Expression
"Technology is a manifesting energy. You have to dance with it."
Umru about Autotune and the Magic of Varispeed
“Autotune is a profoundly empowering effect for some artists.”
Gianclaudio Hashem Moniri aka Plaster talks Sound
"My childhood TV would produce these harmonic noises. I spent hours in front of it."
The Westerlies about Interpretation
“Any score is simply a jumping-off point for musical discovery.“
Apashe about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I would love to be able to program robots playing real instruments. You could craft the perfect movement.”
Sébastien Chenut (NEWEM, Scratch Massive) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Electronic music is and will always be the music of the future.”
Thomas Morgan about Improvisation
"Whatever rules one comes up with, there will always be something that breaks them and is artistically successful.”
Me Lost Me Shares her Creative Process
"To be totally absorbed in making something is the best feeling in the world. It's kind of self care.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Rhys Edwards of Formika and Ulrika Spacek
Escape to Confrontation
Catalyst Quartet about Interpretation
“Playing in a string quartet takes immense trust in your colleagues.“
Loki’s Folly Share their Creative Process
"If there is a way to keep strict control of the process, we haven’t found it!”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Beatkozina
"Music is the most immaterial thing and the most tangible thing at the same time. Nothing can be compared to it.”
The Ocean Share their Creative Process
"The mindset for creating comes from the constant need to create.”
Jake Meginsky Shares his Creative Process
“Spirituality is a way to connect to realms of consciousness greater than my own. Music is one way to do this.“
Terms Share their Creative Process
“The song doesn't write itself. But it does sometimes express a preference!“
Passarella Death Squad about Fashion & Music
"Whatever stories are being told by the music – they're reflected by the clothing worn."
Maison Ware about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“My studio is a space I could live in if I wanted to.”
Efraín Rozas Talks Sound
"I was fascinated by a single Moog note - so I made a whole album with it."
GoGo Penguin Share their Creative Process
“There can be a tendency to always want to make something ‘better.’ But often that can go the other way.“
Chloé Thévenin & Ben Shemie of High Season about Collaboration
“I need to feel secure with my collaborator. We need to communicate to move forward.”
Peter Walker about Field Recording
“Attentively listening to field recordings is like watching an uncut video. It’s a re-experience of something.“
Mike Watt (Spirit of Hamlet, Minutemen, The Stooges) Shares his Creative Process
"I try to make music a very personal adventure.”
Scotty Irving (Spirit of Hamlet, Clang Quartet) Shares his Creative Process
“I don't think God should take the blame if what I came up with sucks!“
Kawabata Makoto (Spirit of Hamlet, Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner) Shares his Creative Process
“Music is totally not self-expression.“
Benjy Johnson of Spirit of Hamlet Shares his Creative Process
“Aren’t the demos always the best versions anyway?“
Matador about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"AI is pulling every single human element out of the process. It's re-harvesting everything that’s already out there."
Shramm about Improvisation
"Improvisation is creativity on the instrument. Develop your creativity. Give the instrument a language.”
Adriana Calcanhotto Shares her Creative Process
"I consider myself a Darwinian creator. I need errors to create anything.”
DMX Krew about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“When people ask me about gear I always say: just get anything and make some music.”
Saba Alizadeh Shares his Creative Process
"Creation is like giving birth. You have to face the depression afterwards.”
Izo FitzRoy Shares her Creative Process
"There is a flow that’s incredible when songs pour out. It's untenable sometimes.”
Höhn about Field Recording
“There’s not a single field recording on this album that wasn’t processed in some way!“
Key Clef about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"On the modular, there has to be a thought before any action. You can look for inspiration in a preset.”
Trad.Attack! Share their Creative Process
"Estonians are known for their paganism. We are no different.”
Carmen Souza Shares her Creative Process
"Just like we have no control over life, we have no control over music."
Jeff Mills about Metropolis and Scoring for Film
“To me, the visual rhythm of Metropolis is similar to the way music is thought about by a DJ.“
VINTERSEA Share Their Creative Process
"Ideas come to me in quiet. But creative accomplishment comes in a hail of drums, riffs, and screams!"
Kid Koala about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“My studio is like a dating service for instruments and effects.”
Baiju Bhatt about Improvisation
"My new music expresses my hybrid identity as a musician and as a human. A synthesis of my Eastern and Western origins.”
Fluffy Maybes 松软许诺Share their Creative Process
"We try not to get too caught up in the destination. We are thinking more about the mode of travel.”
Matt Rösner about Improvisation
"For some, standing in front of the unknown can be scary. I find the challenge exciting.”
CATT Shares her Creative Process
“Creativity is about making something that wasn't there before. Routines can not be a part of it.”
Kuf Share their Creative Process
"The most important thing is to play together – sometimes for hours without a break."
Tools of Creation: The Harp
Marion Ravot about an instrument of beauty with gymnastic requirements
Andrew Weathers about Field Recording
"Listening is a way into an interior without touching its edges."
Josienne Clarke Shares her Creative Process
“There's a perfect combination of boredom and pressure.”
Lambert about Improvisation
"My instrument probably wants something from me. I should respect that.”
Ronald Seibt of HHV about Anniversaries, Vinyl Culture and the Changing Faces of Hip Hop
"Hip hop has become more commercial. But it has also diversified.”
A Certain Ratio Share their Creative Process
"Production isn’t as important as the idea itself."
Craig Armstrong about "As if to Nothing" and working with Massive Attack
"The electronics got bigger and bigger. It began to feel like the speakers couldn’t contain the sound.”
Petros Klampanis about Improvisation
"The bass is a physical instrument. You have to be fit to make the beast sing.”
Skerryvore Share their Creative Process
"Ultimately you’re likely to never be truly satisfied - no matter what you do."
French 79 about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I recorded at Jean-Michel Jarre’s studio - I felt like a kid in front of all those legendary synths!”
Carlo Mombelli about Improvisation
"There are articulations and phrases that make me sound who I am. I am not scared to repeat them.”
Hans Nieswandt Shares his Creative Process
"If you have a clear idea of how the finished song should sound, you end up being disappointed."
John Atkinson Talks Sound
“On some level I think we should have EPA standards for noise pollution just like we have standards for air pollution."
Synne Sanden Shares her Creative Process for Unfold
“These songs felt like they were pushing through my veins.”
Ringhold Share their Creative Process
"Ringhold is a slightly bumpy ride. But we have a plan at the wheel."
Nicoleta Raicu and Nicolae Baldovin of CVLTARTES Magazine about Music Journalism
“For artists, or journalists, music is an endless stream of energy. We're constantly borrowing creativity from it.”
Umru (Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“The best music usually isn’t the most original, never-before-heard thing.”
Anchor and Burden about Collaboration and Improvisation
"A democratic approach can be very tiresome in a band context. It can cost years of productivity."
Ramsey Neville about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I’d take a laptop and headphones over a fancy, multi-room recording studio any day.”
Tina Davidson Shares her Creative Process
"When a new piece of music stirs within me, I feel it in my stomach."
Schlindwein Shares his Creative Process
"As soon as making music becomes like making a cup of coffee I will quit."
L.Dre on Interpreting Classical Music from a Lofi Perspective
“Lofi Symphony is my masterclass of interpretation.“
Sergio Díaz De Rojas about Music on the Last Day of Your Life
“Words aren’t compassionate. They won’t offer solace — that’s what music does.”
Mike Polizze of Purling Hiss Shares his Creative Process
"Once I've finished an album I don't listen to it for a long while."
Victor Ruiz about DJing
“People think the DJ is the most important part of the party. They’re not.“
Gamut Inc About Robotics and the Music Machine Tradition
"If you let the idea of a soul separated from the body go, you lose nothing."
Lucas Santtana Shares his Creative Process
"Creation is not data processing. It is human, erratic, uncertain, doubt, fickle."
WILSN Shares her Creative Process
"The days of me doubting myself and my musical choices are over."
AVAION about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Timelessness plays a big role in my music.”
Duplex Share their Creative Process
“I love the moment when entire musical landscapes are born out of nothingness.“
Richard Carr Shares his Creative Process
"Recording August Dreams was risky. Like jumping out of an airplane together."
Ryan Cole of Desert Storm Shares his Creative Process
"The impulse to create is dialled into all of us within the band."
Oscar de Jong of Kraak & Smaak about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“You can be as creative in the mixing process as in the recording process.”
Vinny Villbass of LAFT about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Don't believe the hype! Quality, simplicity and emotions will always win in the long run.”
Jenn Howard Shares her Creative Process
"It's best to get out of my own way, and let the song grow as it pleases."
Nate Fredrick Shares his Creative Process
"Once an idea is started, it is always being reimagined."
Doc Martin about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The best thing is when I hear someone play a record I made in '94, and they make it fit into a set today."
Anchor and Burden Share their Creative Process
"Once we get started, it's almost like jumping off the cliff."
Tomas Järmyr (LAFT, frml Motorpsycho) Shares his Creative Process
"Control is the last thing I need."
Mark van Tongeren about Overtone Singing
“Overtone singing was kind of addictive for some years.“
Sophia Hansen-Knarhoi about the Connection between Music, Dance and Choreography
"Dance allows me to connect to music through another medium. It gives me a new perspective on composing."
Markus Reuter of Anchor and Burden about why Expression is Over-rated
“I want you, as a listener, to experience something. Not to express myself.”
Megan Alice Clune Shares her Creative Process
"Uncovering what kind of album it’s going to be can be a little difficult."
Jung Jaeil Shares his Creative Process
"Everything starts from improvisation. It fails most of the time."
WAAN about Improvisation
"Improvisation is a world in itself. It is difficult to grasp it in a couple of rules.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Me, Charles
Sophisticated and Sensitive, Shallow, and Self indulgent
Madison McFerrin Shares her Creative Process
"I’ll try writing a song after the next time I make scones."
Destructo about DJing
“I may have it all laid out. Then, I walk into the room and change the entire game plan.”
Cole Kamen-Green about working as a session musician for Lorde, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé
“Lorde asked me to make some guttural sounds. She demonstrated this by basically turning into an amazing rabid animal.“
Gregory Macdonald (Sloan, Night Plow, Cola Wars) about Collaboration
“I try not to say no to anyone. One can learn from even the least likely partnership.“
Begonia Shares her Creative Process
"Something sparks a memory - and everything about the song changes!"
Ryan Adams Shares his Creative Process
"I don’t do doubt. Or fear. It has no place in my work."
ATŌMI about Acoustic Ecology and the Widened Spectrum of Vibration
"The widened spectrum of vibration, including sound, is the key element of material and immaterial existence."
Maita Shares her Creative Process (2023 Edition)
"I might sing a line and realize: That’s what I want to write about."
Thomas Burkhardt about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“A studio should offer to you everything you need. Not everything you want.”
Dustin Wong about Cultural Transitions, Memory and the Explosiveness of Hendrix
"My music works vertically, like playing Tetris, or Lego. It's about making something out of simple shapes and materials.”
Fluffy Maybes 松软许诺 about Improvisation
"We are even using sounds from pots and pans. Breaking rules and limits is what we want to achieve through this project.”
Tools of Creation: Roland Juno-60
Thomas Lemmer about a synthesizer so unique it's hard to replace
Synne Sanden about Healing Sexuality and True Intimacy
“I feel the fear of releasing this album. But the need to share these experiences is stronger.”
Bruce Sudano (Michael Jackson, Donna Summer) Shares his Creative Process
“I sometimes lament how a picture of your dinner can get more likes than the project you’ve spent a year working on.”
Fiction Life aka Reade Truth Shares his Creative Process
“There is a wonderful world of unique and weird music that is being suppressed. We all have to do our part to free it.“
Green Rays (formerly of My Sad Captains) Shares his Creative Process
“Music sits in a totally different sphere to anything else in my life.“
Jonathan Bockelmann Shares his Creative Process
“Forcing myself will never help me find the right ideas!“
Ian Hawgood Talks Sound
“My focus is on how to protect natural environments and their soundscapes from human impact."
David Newman (Monogoto, Soft Generator) talks Sound
"Sounds are more important than music. We should always start with sound."
Kraków Loves Adana Shares her Creative Process
“Creativity is more of a state of being instead of simply producing a bunch of artworks.”
Joona Toivanen Shares his Creative Process
”When you can go world-class fishing, writing music would be a total waste of time”
Grand River Shares her Creative Process
“My process doesn't have any limits. Probably the limit is my patience.“
Kid Arrow about Human Intention, AI, and Expanding the Imaginable
“The Cure's Disintegration would have been very easy for an AI to create."”
Tools of Creation: The Guitar
Brad Allen Williams about a massively popular instrument that doesn't have a single classical archetype
Thomas Lemmer Shares his Creative Process
“Music is about emotions. It's crucial to prioritize them over structure.“
Gogol Bordello Share their Creative Process
“If there is nothing coming at the moment, you haven't lived it yet to write about it.“
WAAN about Collaboration
“Trust is a big thing. When there is trust, things can start to flow.“
Sobolik about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“If you take away all the tools, and leave only “creativity” you just have ideas - and no actual music.”
Frank Popp Ensemble Share their Creative Process
“Brainstorming with red wine makes a lot of sense.“
Sham-e-Ali Nayeem Shares her Creative Process
“Music expands a poem’s emotional reach. It is the place of wordless secrets, codes, maps and math.“
Jim Snidero About Improvisation
"There’s a misunderstanding when it comes to jazz improvisation: That you’re making it all up as you’re going along out of thin air.”
Alexander Church about Sonic Healing, Psychoanalysis and Creativity
“Without music as an outlet, I would hold onto a lot of the feelings and triggers I picked up in the therapy room.“
Mivos Quartet about Interpretation
“Rhythm is the most fundamental aspect. Traditional classical conservatory training does little to equip you for that reality.“
Hey Hey My My Share their Creative Process
“Good lyrics for me should be perfectly musical before being meaningful.“
Tools of Creation: The Guitar
Marisa Anderson about a resonant instrument that can really sing.
Will Epstein Shares his Creative Process
“Lyrics can feel like a necessary evil. But they can elevate the music as well. That’s the heart of the struggle.”
Ralph Lawson about DJing
“Music is communication - when it’s a two-way conversation it’s electric.”
Albrecht Schrader Shares his Creative Process
“Small things make song lyrics great. Because the music does the rest.”
Duplex about the Art of Collaboration
“It's always comfortable working with musicians you know. It feels like an old couple.“
Rezident about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Most things in nature seem very creative without a consciousness.”
Wendell Harrison about his Development as an Improviser
"I like having more colors in the crayon box.”
Tomas Hallonsten Shares his Creative Process
“Okay ... What malfunctioning old instrument can we work with today?”
Elina Albach about Interpretation
"Sound immersion should become much more important in historical performance practice."
Dave Seaman about DJing
"Being able to travel the world as a DJ seemed utterly ridiculous when I started.“
Satoko Fujii Shares her Creative Process
"There is only one correct note. Sometimes I spend an hour finding it."
Seven Davis Jr. Shares his Creative Process
“It’s all pure instincts, intuition. And occasionally chaos.”
Charlotte Brandi Shares her Creative Process
"The last ingredient should always be megalomania. I often miss that in women.”
Tuvaband Shares her Creative Process
“The pleasure I get from creating a song is beyond every pleasure in life.”
Simon Scott Shares his Creative Process
“There is something transcendental about losing yourself to the moment and hyper focussing on listening.”
Dubmatix about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“What tool can have a deeper impact on creativity? Learning. Learning will help improve the creative output for any artist.”
Cosmicat about DJing
“I would like to maintain a human touch and errors as much as possible.“
Eddie Chacon Shares his Creative Process
“I don’t prepare. The significance of that somehow freaks me out.”
Kresten Osgood about Improvisation
"I insist on creating new art when I improvise. I hate when people pretend to have a language and stick to that.”
Brad Allen Williams Shares his Creative Process
"Creating feels less like something I do and more like someone I am."
Sakina Abdou about Improvisation
"I can't dream of anything better than incinerating myself in sound and spreading myself endlessly in ears and hearts.”
Duo Gazzana about Interpretation
“It's fundamental to play each piece as if it were the very first time.“
Unwed Sailor Shares his Creative Process
“If trying to get an idea is difficult, I’ll walk away from it.”
Meg Baird Shares Her Creative Process
"Feeling good, grounded, playing with matches all can help feel more connected and worthwhile."
Karma Fields about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“It's silly when people use drum pads and single-finger drums like it's 1980.”
JAMIIE about DJing
“Tracks in a DJ set can nudge and catch each other. They transition seamlessly into an eternal track.“
Nicholas Maloney / Blanket Swimming about Sound
"I would like to create a piece that lasts several days but does not cause ear fatigue."
Christian Meaas Svendsen about Improvisation
"All I can do, is to be of service of the music. If I do a good job at that, the music will figure itself out.”
Conrad Pack about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I’m a total romantic. I find the idea of being surrounded by an unhealthy amount of cables appealing.”
Gebhard Ullmann Shares his Creative Process
“The music emerges day by day ... until late at night.”
Tim Lefebvre (Night Plow, Michael Wollny, Uri Caine, Black Crowes) about Collaboration
“I love how someone else can take your idea and run with it.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo of Larsen
Every Single Fucking Day!
Valya Kan about Living with Unfinished Music
“I wanted to change this music as little as possible. The girl who wrote it doesn't exist anymore.”
Michael Begg about Sonic Creativity and the Tenderness of Groaning Metal Beasts
"I try to be organised. Honestly, I do. But it just repeatedly turns to shit."
Terence Fixmer Shares his Creative Process
“I'm in a kind of auto hypnotic euphoric trance state when I'm creative.”
David August about Necessary Utopias and the Social Impact of Sound
"We undermine our potential compared to the ones "in power". But physically and spiritually, each of us plays a role in this equation."
Kid Arrow about What, Ultimately, is Creativity
“I dreamt of a record store where I would find my holy grail. I have now found a way to print that record myself - as many copies as I want.”
Malin Pettersen Shares her Creative Process
"This is my kind of “spirituality”: How we are all connected through communication."
mmeadows Share their Creative Process
“Sometimes it feels to me like a melody is simply begging for a certain lyric.”
Blossom about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Production techniques and the creative outside of the song can work in tandem in a beautiful way."
Lea Bertucci Shares her Creative Process
“I practice non-attachment when making art. Ego death is possible.”
Başak Günak (AH! Kosmos) & Büşra Kayıkçı about Collaboration
“Collaborating potentially comes from our furious need to connect.”
Kurt Uenala aka Null + Void Shares his Creative Process
"Often the magic happens at night. So it helps that I live in a country with only 4 hours of sunlight in Winter!"
Imogen Clark Shares her Creative Process
“I try to go with the flow - as much a neurotic, anxious songwriter can!”
Interview with Manuel Göttsching about Vibrations, Inspirations, and Irritations
A Sublime Form of Historiography
Øyvind Morken about DJing
“I’m part of the tradition that the music is bigger than anyone of us.“
Debashis Sinha talks Sound
“In some theatres they know if I’m coming they’ll have to hang extra speakers.“
De Staat about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“If the beat is a bit weird from the start, you’re in a good place.”
Dust Bowl Faeries Share their Creative Process
“Listening to music, I've had broken bones, bruises, and a car in a ditch. Creativity can be treacherous!”
Robbie Lee of Earth Room about Improvisation
"There are plenty of people who treat improv as a competition. I try to keep away from them!”
Oliver Darling about Traditions, Guitars and Hands on Autopilot
“The best make it look easy. But they deceptively display taste.“
Stany about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I like abusing effects. Technology should allow me to be crazier."
Michael Begg about his Biography in Sound – and the Sounds he can't Bear
"I passed a roadworker with a pneumatic drill, and I felt tears well in my eyes. This wall of noise filled me with such a sense of melancholy."
Ezra Feinberg of Earth Room about Improvisation
"In Earth Room there was a shift from leader to no leader. I found that really freeing."
Jarrod Dickenson Shares his Creative Process
“I try not to think too much about the creative state. I'm afraid of spooking it, and scaring it off.”
Masha Mar about DJing
“It’s not motivating to play harder when people aren’t around to move to it.“
Leland Whitty of BADBADNOTGOOD Shares his Creative Process
“With this project, it was easy to get lost in the idea of infinite layers.”
Jean-Michel Jarre about Sound, Abstract Painting and Synaesthesia
“Art is made of illusion. Books were the first examples of Virtual Reality.“
Massimiliano Pagliara about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"At some point, machines take control – and drive me to paradise!"
Stella Sommer Shares her Creative Process
“That sensation after finishing a record? It's a bit like post-natal depression.”
Kid Arrow about the Final Remains of Humanity in Music
“A MIDI file is just pure, stupid data. But that data can carry an emotional meaning.”
The Gathering about Invisible Movies, and Sonic Experimentation
“Dolby Atmos is really overwhelming. You have to be careful not to get addicted.”
Portable Dogs about Improvisation
"The challenge is always the same for me: to not think too much.”
Searchlight about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"In 2022, “studio“ is not a place anymore. It's a state of mind."
No Tongues Share their Creative Process
“No Tongues is an experiment. Strict control is not really possible.”
Henry Dagg about Instrument Design, Björk & The Stage Cage
"I don’t have any expectations that any of my instruments will become a mass-marketable product."
Robert Osterberger of Dubblestandart about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I let go of equipment that I seem to ignore. Well at least I try to."
Paul Dunmall about Improvisation
"Getting to the core of the music is a deep search within yourself - basically walking a tightrope.”
Franky Wah about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I always write and produce from scratch."
Kjetil Jerve Shares his Creative Process
“The material and measurable part of our Universe only represents a fraction of its totality. This experience affects me in all aspects.”
Viels about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"When I’m low on ideas I always try to buy new hardware or software to find new inspiration."
Marja Ahti & Judith Hamann about Material Sound and Intimate Attunement
"Music is not about creating an illusion. It is about investigating what is."
Mark Knight About Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I’ll have an idea and I’ll see it through."
Evgueni Galperine Shares his Creative Process
“When our ego gets small, it loses control over what we are doing. It lets us work in peace without judging every step.”
Alexander Robotnick about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"The result of my work is always a surprise to me. Sometimes it's a good surprise, sometimes it's bad."
Bruxa Maria about Collaboration
“As long as people are on the same page and honest, people write how they want to write ...“
Guro Skumsnes Moe of MoE about Collaboration
“My will to create was always so much stronger than my doubts.”
Alva Noto Interview about the Mathematics of Music and Reshaping the World through Art
“Everything we are capable of imagining we can also realise.”
Scott McCaughey (Minus 5, No Ones, R.E.M.) Shares his Creative Process
“The more I try to stick to a plan the worse the song turns out.”
Gabriel Levine of Black Ox Orkestar on Collaboration
“If your idea works, great. If it doesn’t, onto the next one.”
Tools of Creation: Disklavier
Deru about a piano that embeds digital sequencing tools in an acoustic instrument
Theo Bleckmann about Improvisation
"My work is sometimes weird - I need a collaborator who wants to go there with me."
Tools of Creation: The Guitar
Oliver Darling about an instrument that adds a unique blend of rhyhm and texture.
Mat Muntz about Alternative Tuning Systems
"My ultimate goal is to have a band with as many tuning systems as there are instruments."
Isaac Watters about Architecture and Music
"I would have loved to hear Corbusier as a songwriter."
isomonstrosity Share their Creative Process
“This project grew in bursts, in fits and starts.“
Joachim Spieth talks Sound
"Words sometimes only distract. Focusing on sound trains the imagination of the listener."
Dobrawa Czocher Shares her Creative Process
“Some of my colleagues think suffering is the best factor for creating. This is very different for me.”
De Staat about Staying Excited, Fast Music and Slow Lyrics
“I like to write about all kinds of things. But it has to be something I’m a little obsessed with.”
Pale Blue about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I’m selfish. I just want to find the best and easiest ways to make original music."
Tools of Creation: Korg MonoPoly
Eddie Hale about a highly tactile synth for alien expressiveness
Phil Gibbs about Improvisation
"The greater experience of life, like music, is the direct experience that you are more than this personality, more than a physical material being.”
Johannes Motschmann about Composing with Artificial Intelligence
"Our task as musicians is to take composing back from those people who produce music out of purely economic calculation."
Katie Munshaw of Dizzy Shares her Creative Process
“A lot of my best lyrics have come from the seed of something dumb.”
Sandbox Percussion about Interpretation
“We're not trying to mimic somebody else’s interpretation. We're trying to learn what could be possible in any interpretation.“
Theodora Shares her Creative Process
"I feel happy when the sacred and the mundane go together."
Hög sjö (Charlie XCX, Lana del Rey) Shares his Creative Process
"Lyrics are the toughest part. What do I really have to say that millions of people need to hear?"
Michael Begg about Data Composition and Music for Human Survival
"I haven’t found God yet. But you might say that I have found the place where God should be."
ATŌMI about how his Personal History led him to the Art of Sounds
"When I was four, the resonance of a bass drum made my chest and belly vibrate. Right there, something awakened inside me."
Scott Thomson about Improvisation
"If I act belligerently at a dinner party, I shouldn’t be surprised if I don’t get invited back! Music-making is similar."
Kings Elliot Shares her Creative Process
“I love following the endless trail that leads to a song.”
Roger Street Friedman Shares his Creative Process
“Writing music can feel like I’m communing with my own soul.”
Andi Pupato about Collaboration
“Unleashed creativity may appear chaotic. But it can be an infinite source of new ideas.”
Nerk & Kirn about Production, Technology and Creativity
“We’re always building on tradition. There’s never really a blank slate.”
Selina Martin Shares her Creative Process
"Sound manipulation brings me joy. It’s like being a part of evolution."
Noémi Büchi about sound as matter and “late-futuristic symphonics”
"Electronic music allows any sonic fantasy to become reality."
Tools of Creation: Mellotron
Nylenda about a legendary proto-sampling keyboard enabling auditory time travel
Sarah Ruth Talks Sound
"Growing up in old farm houses, the wind whistling through was often my lullaby."
Emmaline Rasmussen of Sound Nutrition about Food, Creativity, and Performance
"Touring performers are subjected to similar conditions as athletes."
Redi Hasa about Interpretation and Arranging Nirvana for the Cello
"It’s incredible to witness the birth of a harmonically and rhythmically rich structure."
Kim Cascone aka Heavenly Music Corporation about Originality
“The more an artist concerns herself with being “original”, the more likely she is to sound like someone else.”
Julian Lloyd Webber Shares his Creative Process
“Recording ideas should feel unforced and natural.”
Nadine Khouri Shares her Creative Process
“Writing is freedom. Anything can happen between the writer and the page.”
Garrett Saracho about Improvisation
"Improvisation reminds us of our ability to make the world that we want to live in."
Avram Fefer about Improvisation
"Engagement is the key to a meaningful life. Otherwise, why are we here?"
Orions Belte Share their Creative Process
“Ideas come at any given time. Often inconvenient.“
Joshua Burnside Shares his Creative Process
“I often need someone else to tell me that it's done. Not that I ever listen.“
Pedro Da Linha about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Not to be selfish. But it's really important for me to start the entire process."
Ana Moura about Identity, Fado and Casa Guilhermina
“In Fado, souls are communicating – in their own unique language.“
Chad Fowler about Improvisation
"Freely composed pieces don’t carry the baggage of pride. Nobody will recognize them."
Steve Louw Shares his Creative Process
“Songwriting? It's like being a sounding board for spirits.“
Jean-Michel Jarre about the originators of electronic music and his time at the GRM
“Electronic music is coming from our heritage of classical music. It is not originally a pop format.“
Crawlers Share their Creative Process
“I’ve listened to all our songs at least 100 times until they come out.“
Pitou Shares her Creative Process
“There’s always an element of planning. You need to sit down and make space for the creation.“
Pete Cunningham of Ishmael Ensemble about Collaboration
“If it’s an amazing gig, you can share that feeling. If it’s a bad one - you can laugh it off together.”
The Invincible Czars Share their Creative Process
“I’m rarely satisfied with my work. More often, I get sick of it.”
Sawako talks Sound
"We may be able to compose in 5D. But our 4D brain can’t recognize that world."
Casanora talks Sound
"Sometimes I walk through the city and inhale the noise. Sound is all around us, it is in everything."
MUST DIE! about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I use a lot of what people might view as just noise or error sounds."
Interview with Jean-Michel Jarre about Oxymore, David Lynch and Audio Objects in Space
“With some of my music, there is a mixed feeling. It's very familiar. And yet, I don't know exactly how I did it.“
Surya Botofasina about Improvisation
"I feel every piano or keyboard I see wants me to play it."
Letters to Cleo Share their Creative Process
“Songwriting has a magic to it that is unexplainable. It is sort of like god with a small g.”
Vicente Hansen Atria about Alternative Tuning Systems
"Microtonality is the perfect playground for my obsessiveness."
Arovane about Collaboration
“What matters for a collaboration are the quality of the interaction and the music. Names, even famous names, are not important to me.”
Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) Shares his Creative Process
“I’ve found plenty of opportunity to get addicted to peak experiences and undervalue quiet and subtlety.”
Tools of Creation: The Piano
Stefan Schultze about an instrument with an exciting range but limited control
Håkon Kornstad about Improvisation
"I am a very in the moment person. I always forget the last gig after I have done it."
Nick Storring Shares his Creative Process
"I was genuinely concerned that I had somehow lost my creativity."
Tools of Creation: Trident Mixing Console
Dubokaj about a powerful mixing console with a silky sound.
Fiona Brice Shares her Creative Process
“Explore every avenue. You need to find out where they lead.”
Holysseus Fly of Ishmael Ensemble about Cancer, Creativity, and The Rebuke
“Through music you can turn darkness into light. You can take a painful experience and turn it into something beautiful.”
Carl Cox about Electronic Generations, Improvisation and Trusting the Moment
"After an hour of sweating away, there was a finished track. And then another one. It was incredible."
Sarathy Korwar about KALAK, Indofuturism and Surrender through Music
“When we speak of utopias we must be aware of the colonial language that informs its origins.”
Tools of Creation: Eurorack Modular with Akemie's Castle Module
Mads Kinnerup about a module that bridged the gap between analog and digital.
Yosef-Gutman Levitt about Improvisation
"I took ten years off from playing my instrument. I accepted who I was and who I was not."
Der Assistent Shares his Creative Process
“If you are truly in the zone you do not start an insta-story. Maybe that's why so much music sucks nowadays.“
Tools of Creation: Farfisa Louvre
Lake Turner about a bulky organ with an inspiring feel from a bygone era.
L.A Salami Shares his Creative Process
“If you could express things without poetry then you wouldn’t need poetry. Art exists because it must.”
The Young Gods about Repetition, Variation, and Terry Riley's “In C”
“The more I play “In C”, the more I want to take risks and surprise my fellow musicians.”
Editors about EBM, Collaboration and Fighting Friction
"Would everyone find their place in the new Editors? That was definitely a question."
Bill Callahan Shares his Creative Process
“Creativity? I’m recently starting to think of it as a pathology.”
Jesse Harris (Norah Jones, Bright Eyes, Lana del Rey) Shares his Creative Process
“The only ritual I have is the act of working on something.”
Thylacine about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“A good mood is the best equipment ever.”
Black Lilys Share their Creative Process
“Your soul is taking over your mind when you’re creating something aligned with yourself. Like an orgasm is only a few seconds when you make love.”
Jan Philipp Janzen aka Dumbo Tracks about Collaboration
“I feel so much more relaxed when I’m collaborating with others.“
Paolo Baldini aka DubFiles about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Roots music was an important impulse on modernity.”
Tools of Creation: The Cello
Clarice Jensen about a high versatility instrument with a generous range
Marilyn Mazur about Collaboration
“Playing with greats like Miles Davis and Jan Garbarek felt like coming home.“
Matthias Lindermayr and Masako Ohta about Improvisation
"There are only two rules in improvisation: Be free and be honest."
Tools of Creation: Novation Summit
Patricia Wolf about a synthesizer with effortless flow and almost limitless possibilities.
Sunda Arc Share their Creative Process
“We have more of a struggle knowing when a track is finished than starting one.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with J-Shadow
If a tree fell and no-one is around to hear it - does it make 90s jungle?
Daphne Parker Powell Shares her Creative Process
“I will plan a tour. But I never plan a song.”
Jeremy Rose about Improvisation
"You need to know when to act, when to react - and when to stay out of it."
Shlomi Aber about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“If a producer tells you he managed to get exactly what he had in mind, it is sure to be a misrepresentation of the truth.”
Trooko (Beyonce, M.I.A.) about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Many times I sit in front of my computer and hope for the best!”
Lykke Li about Bedroom Experiments and Painting with Sound
"It was going to be an album I made for my 19-year-old self. I didn't want to worry about anything other than making it feel right."
Melawati about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I am sometimes baffled by the rigidness in people protecting a genre from any outside influence or innovation.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Mark Kimbrell (Oort Smog, Upsilon Acrux)
Unexpected Directions
Alabaster DePlume about Improvisation
"When I’m asked how I do the show, I say I don’t know – it depends who is there."
Steve Bates about Colonialism on the Universe and Existence as Vibration
"I like to think of field recordings as completely “made-up”. Like music."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir
A Social Streak and a Curious Mind
L.A.B. Share their Creative Process
“Some of the best songs we’ve written have been smashed out in a day in the studio.“
SPILL (Magda Mayas / Tony Buck) about Improvisation
"A lot of people have a strong sense of what is “musical”. It’s nice to challenge what that means exactly."
The Coronas Share their Creative Process
“After the completion of each of our last 5 albums, I’ve said: I’m not sure if I’ll ever write another song, the well is empty.“
Johanna Knutsson Shares her Creative Process
“If I plan too much I loose myself. The studio is the only place where every hour isn't scheduled.“
Bruno Bavota about Collaboration
“No vanity. Everything has to support the goal of celebrating the music.“
Kids Return Share their Creative Process
“A melody is timeless. It will remain when we are gone.“
Owen Broder about Improvisation
"There are certain aspects of playing jazz that were missing in my education. I’m still trying to make up for it."
Courtney Marie Andrews Shares her Creative Process
“On my new album there's what I call a word vomit song. The chords, words, and melody all came out in ten minutes.“
A Winged Victory for the Sullen about Deliberate Notes, Perfect Drones and Atonal Masturbation
“Music was never something I thought I was particularly good at. It always feels like a constant struggle.“
Chantal Acda about Collaboration
“I have a hard time to really let people in. Through music I can connect.“
Fifteen Questions Interview with Stepha Schweiger of The Moon Is No Door
Extreme and Expressive
Mosaik Kollektif about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Some of our tracks take ten years before they are released.”
Kamran Arashnia talks Sound
"There is music hidden in the sound of boiling water and burning firewood."
Doom Flower Share their Creative Process
"Our new single was written with the visual of riding a horse and shooting a gun in the air."
Jerry Folk about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“For me the computer is the most important tool. I don’t need much to make a beat.”
HamsandwicH Share their Creative Process
"The songs that cause the most torture are usually my favourite tracks."
grentperez Shares his Creative Process
"Who knows, maybe 3 and a half strawberries might help to enter a transient state."
Halina Rice Talks Sound
"I love sounds that have an organic and yet unplaceable feel to them."
Sol Messiah (Jay Z, Aesop Rock) Shares his Creative Process
"It’s a building block thing. Almost like Lego."
Dominic Voz talks Sound
"I disagree that I focus foremost on sound abstractly. This music still has intense melodic, rhythmic, harmonic components."
Brian Auger about Improvisation
"Sometimes I have the strange experience of watching my fingers play, and asking myself: Who is doing this?"
Noise in the Key of Life / aint about me Shares his Creative Process
"I want to feel like I’m in a Murakami novel – I don’t want to know where the thing is going."
Klaudia Kudełko about Fashion & Music
"For impressionist music, I love to wear more gentle colors. But when I play Rachmaninov, I think of red."
District Five Share their Creative Process
"If we like something, we'll record it. Next time time we play it, nobody quite remembers how it was."
Nils Hoffmann about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I’m less productive the bigger the studio is.”
Donald Nally of The Crossing about Interpretation
"As a conductor, you are never the person who makes the sounds – never the person that listeners actually hear!"
Living Hour Share their Creative Process
"It’s hard to explain what I’m doing in questionnaires such as these."
Nick Storring about Music as Cooking and Telling Stories with Sound
"We tend to neglect the more gastronomical elements of composition."
Sean Brosnan (Needwant, Future Disco) about Compilations and Curation
“My eternal holy grail? Trying to find the future of disco.“
Janus Rasmussen of Kiasmos about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“Maybe humans are too weird to put into code.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Sheila Brody (George Clinton, Public Enemy, GAP Band)
Can’t Fake the Funk
KMFDM share their Creative Process
"KMFDM is not necessarily a “lyrical” thing. The words have to hit, to punish and hurt a bit."
Susie Seiter about Scoring for Film
"As long as it’s serving a movie's story, I don’t think the music can be wrong."
Austin Wintory about Scoring for Film
"We’re not really writing ‘music’. We're contributing to the ‘Audio.’"
Andy Klingensmith Talks Sound
"Noise is an essential and natural part of our everyday existence. A beautiful chaos."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Matteo De Vito (C'ammafunk)
Creative Flexibility, Flexible Creativity
Steven Dayvid McKellar Shares his Creative Process
"The conception of something is where the fire is at. Something can only be born once."
Blaue Blume Share their Creative Process
"I can’t be creative, use my intuition and police myself at once. That’s too pop, that’s too noisy, that’s too corny."
Siavash Amini Talks Sound
"When I was in a professional studio for the first time, the possibilities seemed endless. I still feel they are."
The Human League about Production, Producers and the Primacy of Ideas
"We've got a tendency to go into 48 tracks and wonder: Oh, what's that triangle doing?“
Morphing Roles
Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir about stretching collaboration to its limits on "strengur".
Dubokaj about Dubbing the Swiss Alps, Lee Perry and Painting with Sound
"I've always been interested by things other people would discard."
Oberst & Buchner about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“A Juno-60 does not have many faces. But the few things a Juno can do are close to perfection.”
PINK COURTESYPHONE Talks Sound
"We are all just a collection of vibrations, some vibrating more dramatically than others."
Lissie Shares her Creative Process
"My ambition is not to say anything unless I have to. I don’t want to fake it."
Tools of Creation: TR-909 Rhythm Composer
Moderat about the arguably most recognisable Drum Machine of all time.
Felix Taylor talks Sound
"Sound is an invisible presence. It has the ability to completely occupy and fill a space it's in."
Local Suicide about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“We rarely have a concept in mind when going into the studio.”
Fifteen Questions Interview with Julius Windisch of the Windisch Quartet
Working Through it - Together
Timmy Kinsella Shares his Creative Process
"I would have no idea how to write a song if someone asked me to."
Abstract Division about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“With the birth of granular synthesis, the whole world changed for us.”
Erik Truffaz about Originality
"Your tools are not important. Originality should first and foremost be the result of an internal journey."
Emme Moises about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“We are already becoming cyborgs. Our intertwinement with machines is getting deeper every day.”
Tools of Creation: The Cello
Theresa Wong about an instrument that feels like a soundbox with infinite possibilities.
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Shares his Creative Process
"So many things go nowhere and I love it."
Beacon about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“The most creative moments with equipment are when you don’t quite understand it.”
Terry Lee Hale Shares his Creative Process
"Don’t be too precious about the process. Face the fact that you might not be the best songwriter in the world."
Bertrand Gauguet about Improvisation
"Improvisation turns the brain into an alternative tool of perception."
Bells Larsen Share their Creative Process
"It can be hard to know when a song is done. Especially when I’m posting sixty second fragments of half-written things online all the time."
Howard Shore about Scoring for Film
"In the Cronenberg films, we are often working around the edges of the subconscious."
Denzel Curry about the Relation between Beats and Lyrics
"You just made a post? Well, you don't get a fucking medal."
Rich Aucoin about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“I was given 15 minutes at Abbey Road. I ended up getting enough stuff for 2 records.”
Tools of Creation: The Hardanger Fiddle
Erlend Apneseth about a local instrument with truly original sound qualities.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Collisions (Ciaran Morahan, Tom Hodge, Ollie Howell)
Photo in Time
Paul Kendall about the Influence of Technology on Creativity
"The Doctor Who theme music shattered any preconceptions of traditional timbre."
Nick Storring about Inspiration, Innovation and Imitation
"Imitation still remains a crucial ingredient for me."
Tools of Creation: Revox B77
Jérôme Noetinger about a tape machine that gives him the utopia of having the sound in his hands.
Ströme about Production, Technology and Creativity
"It is great to have quite a bit of equipment. But there is a point when it gets too complicated."
Chris Liebing Shares his Creative Process
"First, I need peace in the studio. Then, I let chaos take over."
Dienne Bogaerts talks Sound
"I don’t like putting sounds in corners. Street noise can be as fulfilling as a pop song."
Tool of Creation: Roland 303
Force Mass Motion about a tiny bass synthesizer that left a fingerprint on hundreds of monumental tracks.
Shafqat Amanat Ali Shares his Creative Process
"Bringing something fresh to a song is welcome. But you can‘t create a revolutionary national song if your brief is to write a romantic one."
Pleasurekraft about Artificial Intelligence
"Algorithms are clearly making aesthetic judgements - even if we don’t want to grant them such agency."
Asger Techau of Kashmir Shares his Creative Process
"When I start composing, I almost never know where I’m going."
Kid Loco Shares his Creative Process
"I’m a romantic anarchist blended with a communist spiritual guy."
Bob Driftwood Shares his Creative Process
"What’s nice about music is the effort to uncover something so intangible. You’ll never be able to touch or see it."
TRY about Production, Technology and Creativity
“We want to create things that people haven’t seen before.”
Smomid about Building and Composing with his own Instruments
"Every synth guitar, or midi guitar I’ve played, except for mine, completely sucks."
Kahani about Giving the South Asian Diaspora a Voice
"Indo house is the next frontier. And I’m here to bring it to the world."
Kristin Oppenheim about Working with her Voice and the Magic of Words
"We all hear voices in our head. They are private moments, some darker than others."
Tools of Creation: Rhodes Chroma with Enabler
Mathew Jonson about an analog synthesizer that captures performances in ways that other keyboards can’t.
Caleb Wheeler Curtis about Improvisation
"One moment we are talking about our day, week, life. In the next, we are knee deep in sound."
Greg Davis about Alternative Tuning Systems
"Everything throughout space and time is interconnected, dying and being reborn at every moment."
Hot Chip Share their Creative Process
"The idea of musicians as vessels for superhuman ideas is over rated."
Emily Elbert Shares her Creative Process
"Our stories are full of beauty and meaning. The first job of an artist is to have the vulnerability to dig deep into that story."
Ran Nir Shares his Creative Process
"Music requires less personal interpretation. It doesn't require your intellect."
Lasse Marhaug talks Sound
"My perception of sound is visual. It’s almost a kind of controlled hallucination."
DEHD Share their Creative Process
"This is my best advice to writers: Allow yourself to suck."
Tools of Creation: Sequential Prophet 6
CoastalDives about an analog poly-synth that makes simple ideas sound unique.
John Monkman about Production, Technology and Creativity
“In the world of modular synthesis I’m in discovery mode.”
Kutiman Shares his Creative Process
"I must create all the time. Doing nothing is something I just don’t know how to do."
Carlita about DJing
"Too much production or AI can take away from what you’ve really come for."
Nate Wooley about Improvisation
"To improvise is to embrace as many possibilities as possible."
Mafro Shares his Creative Process
"A writing session without a jumping-off point gives me anxiety."
The Midnight Share their Creative Process
"I'm a ditch digger in my own personal mythology: You just shovel dirt."
Tools of Creation: Behringer 2600 Gray Meanie
Wehbba about a semi-modular clone that doubles up as a time machine.
Monkey Safari Share their Creative Process
"It's important to remove the pressure that something should be perfect. It never is."
Fripp & Eno: No Pussyfooting (1973)
Dirk Serries about an album that created structure from time.
Paulina Fae Shares her Creative Process
"Writing a song is a pulse that takes me beyond the earth realm."
Tools of Creation: The Violin
Tobias Preisig about an instrument that has become part of his DNA.
Damsel Elysium talks Sound and Neurodiversity
"I hear whole symphonies when the tube screeches and hallows."
Tools of Creation: Moog DFAM
BRUX about an analogue percussion synth that is keeping her on her toes.
Patrick Holland fka Project Pablo Shares his Creative Process
"I wrote the majority of my record in a windowless room lit by a grow light."
Gimenö about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Working without a DAW totally changed the way I write music."
Rüdiger Gleisberg about Scoring for Film
"If the chemistry is right between director and musician, great moments of cinematic art can arise."
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch about finding Closure and Confronting Loss and Grief with Music
"Trying to put the passing of my father into words was limiting, reducing it to something too small. Music was a better transcription."
Paul Kendall (Depeche Mode, Barry Adamson, Nitzer Ebb) Talks Sound
"I witnessed Stockhausen’s Mantra in concert as an 18 year old. The entry of the ring modulation still sends shivers down my spine almost 50 years later."
Katy Guillen Shares her Creative Process
"I forget how I worked creative time into my schedule before the pandemic."
Ludivine Issambourg Shares her Creative Process
"I love losing control. I'm constantly looking for it."
Paul Beaudoin Shares his Creative Process
"It is a common perception that all work begins at the beginning. It doesn’t."
Model Man about Remixing Debussy and the Hidden Connections between Club and Classical
"My remix is kind of like I’ve eaten a Debussy risotto. The rework is next day’s arancini balls."
Lewis Thompson about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I usually find that a good song is easy to produce. Try producing a bad song, it’s really hard."
Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire) Shares his Creative Process
"Little things eat away at you. Then they begin to take form."
Colin Baldry aka Ambient Jazz Ensemble Shares his Creative Process
"Often, I’ll be awake at night and my head begins to swim with ideas."
Goon's Kenny Becker Shares his Creative Process
"I adore lyrics that are simple and childlike. If a kid could have written it, I will probably love it."
Tools of Creation: MFB Synth Pro
Phairo about a rare analogue synth capable of some really, really nice chords
Automatic about Defiance, Limitations and why it's more Fun to Synthesize
"It felt natural to write about extreme excess and greed."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Brandon Coleman (Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus)
Ancestral Connection
Telenova Share their Creative Process
"I was staring at a tree and cried. The bark and the leaves and the birds and the pollen drifting like little snowflakes, were just so beautiful and so perfect."
Kanye West: Jesus is King (2019)
Tobias Fischer about an album that sacrificed itself for a higher goal.
Martin Taxt about the Connections between Architecture and Music
"Architecture is a constant movement between the space, its surroundings and consumers. There are endless individual stories."
Jeff Cardoni about Scoring for Film
"I knew this was going to be a challenge of the best possible kind - every note was dissected, and discussed."
Ches Smith About Improvisation
"I like getting into other people’s systems. It keeps me growing."
Doe Paoro Shares her Creative Process
"I yearn for my releases to connect to the sacred … instead, I'm feeling the profane."
Doctor Dru Shares his Creative Process
"In the unknown, just guided by the moment – isn't that exactly where you want to be as a creative?"
Nick Millevoi of Grassy Sound about Nostalgia and the 50s-80s-2020s continuum
"The research for this record has been a lifelong project."
Delicate Steve Shares his Creative Process
"Getting started is like leaving the house: you just need one reason to do it. From there you can go anywhere."
Manni Dee about Production, Technology and Creativity
"It’s ideas, not technology, that instigate everything."
Zimoun about the Connections between Sculpture and Music
"My pieces create spaces that one can enter, stay in and leave again. There is no true beginning or end."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Friederike Bernhardt aka Moritz Fasbender
Digging like a Dentist
Fifteen Questions with Raffy Bushman of NuShape Orchestra and Unit 31
Therapeutic Brain Workout
Finding Fresh Air
What makes rock great - and the pleasures of not seeing Jack White in concert.
Maude Vôs & Marie Nyx about creative spaces for female, LGBTQIA+, nonbinary and BIPOC artists
"The only people that say art isn’t political are the ones upholding power."
Mansions In The Sea Shares his Creative Process
"I resisted this project for a long time. But you have to follow where creativity leads."
Janine Rainforth of Maximum Joy Shares her Creative Process
"Walking is where a lot of my work happens and starts."
Michael Canitrot About Architecture and Music
"There is a correlation between the structure of a monument and the shape of a track."
Wilhelm Kempff: Die Goldberg-Variationen (1970)
Tobias Fischer about an album whose beauty turned into an object of hate.
Rose Ringed about Moments of Truth, Sprituality and the Three-Sauce-Paradox
"Going to nightclubs and festivals is our new way of going to church."
Marco Cassanelli and Deckard about Production, Technology, and Creativity
“With live instruments and musicians, the music remains fluid until you record it.”
Hilma Nikolaisen Shares her Creative Process
"I put the music out there before I get the chance to regret it. Even if it might seem primitive."
Cenk Ergün about Alternative Tuning Systems
"Equal Temperament has obscured intersections among musical traditions - the ratios everyone from Pythagoras to Al-Farabi, from Itri to Monteverdi thought about."
Chloe Alexandra Thompson Talks Sound
"Sound cannot exist in a vacuum. It is an urgent way to connect more with the world around us."
Buchla 208 + 200e & Strymon Magneto: Tools of Creation
Braxe & Falcon about the Buchla as a limitless sound generator.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jessica Boudreaux (Summer Cannibals)
Filling in the Weak Spots
Ryan Packard (RedGreenBlue) on Collaboration
"Enjoy the failures as much as the successes. They are both pretty special."
Charlie Kirchen (RedGreenBlue) Shares his Creative Process
"To make the music we want it to make, I have to resist certain temptations."
Paul Giallorenzo (RedGreenBlue) about Improvisation
"Even the freest sounding material has a pulse. Or some kind of cyclical experience of time."
Madelene Eliasson aka LonelyTwin Shares her Creative Process
"Most of the time I have very little idea of what I’m going to make."
Denzel Curry about Death, Creativity, and Luke Skywalker
"Once I was finished with therapy, I could no longer be angry for listeners like I used to be. But I can still channel energy."
Andrew Duhon Shares his Creative Process
"When I'm afraid to say a line, that's exciting to me. Because someone else is probably afraid to say it, too."
Heather Woods Broderick Shares her Creative Process
"Songwriting has been with me for so long. We miss each other if we spend too much time apart."
Mike Storm about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Stars emerge, stars die. Just like working with analogue equipment."
Bridges into the Present
Glenn Gould, Max Richter and the Four Seasons – how much Respect do Composers Deserve?
Sebastian Reynolds Shares his Creative Process
"If I could communicate verbally what I want to say with my music - why would I bother making it?"
Mica Millar Shares her Creative Process
"A lot of people questioned whether I would ever finish this record."
Sam Slater talks Sound
"I am often very drawn to sounds that remind me of voices - without actually being from a human."
Fear Falls Burning: Frenzy of the Absolute (2008)
Tobias Fischer about an album that was glorious and self-destructive at the same time.
Tools of Creation: Simmons SDE
Bintus about a ruff as f*** drum expander you could pinpoint a mile off.
Tanya Donelly (Belly, Breeders, Throwing Muses, The Loyal Seas) Shares her Creative Process
"At some point, I’d like to try to just let the emptiness happen."
Binker Golding about Improvisation
"There are a million principles about improvisation. Some of them contradictory."
Manuel Göttsching: E2-E4 (1981/1984)
Tobias Fischer about an album that introduced a new approach to improvisation.
WhoMadeWho about the Art of the Song
"Songwriting is one of the last forms of black magic left in this world."
Dirk Serries about Improvisation
"It's an unspoken rule not to talk, negotiate or discuss how to approach a live performance."
Simon Belshaw Shares his Creative Process
"At the completion of a piece, I often feel: I can never do that again."
Tiger Stripes Shares his Creative Process
"Once I've started working on a track, I can’t wait to finish it. It might be a bit like being pregnant."
GAF & The Love Supreme Arkestra about Improvisation
"Some of us have been playing together for more than 20 years. And we still don’t have a clear answer to how we do it."
Alexander Kowalski about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"Some of my tracks take years to get finished. Some will never be."
Andrew Bernstein of Horse Lords Talks Sound
"Sound is always changing, always in flux. This is the state of world also."
Stefan Goldmann about Tools, Instruments & Creativity
“Instruments come first. What you might call creativity follows.”
Sietse van Erve about the Connections between Autism and Music
"The world would be a better place if more people would listen to drone music."
Hans P. Kjorstad about Capturing Forces of Nature and Mass Extinctions in Sound
"It’s really really creepy that we are not thinking more ahead. What will be going on in 500 years? Or even 100 years?"
Lia Mice about Building and Hacking her own Instruments
"Creating instruments and producing music are part of the same project: To make new music that hasn’t been made before."
DJ Rocca about Production, Technology, and Creativity
"I am a classically trained flutist. Technology has completely changed my mind."
Tools of Creation: Disklavier
Jameszoo about an instrument that detaches humanity from aesthetics.
Peter Coccoma about Death, Decay and a Misdiagnosis that changed him
"Death taught me that you shouldn’t wait.“
Heidi Talbot Shares her Creative Process
"I walk for hours and sing ideas into my phone. If you stay open, it's possible to catch an idea."
Grant-Lee Phillips Shares his Creative Process
"For some, writing songs is a kind of necessary evil. That's something I simply can’t relate to."
jaimie branch of Anteloper about Improvisation
"30 seconds as a duo with Evan Parker realigned my atomic make up."
Carl Stone about Production, Technology and Creativity
"A digital working environment is a two-edged sword."
Bryan Senti Shares his Creative Process
"I wanted to connect my world to that of my parents and ancestors."
Matilde Meireles Talks Sound
"Don’t get me wrong, I do like technology. I just have a very particular focus."
Jenny Berkel shares her Creative Process
"The creative state is the most giving place I can imagine. It can also be the most frustrating."
Eraldo Bernocchi (Sigillum S) talks Sound
"Sounds are a utopia that can be heard. They're possibly the nearest thing to a God I can imagine.”
twocolors about Production, Instruments and Songwriting
"We want to implement 100% of what we have in mind. Like a vision of a film."
Linqua Franqa about Rap as Activism and the Contextual Power of the Word
"If you don't fucking know what you're talking about, it's okay to say nothing."
Louise Quinn of Gates of Light Shares her Creative Process
"When my ex-husband listened to one of the songs, he broke down crying."
Heavee about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I consider myself to be tethered to my studio."
Peter Gregson about Sleep, the Subconscious and the Value of Silence
"Everything is possible in a dream state."
Bag Raiders about Modular Synthesizers
"The modular is the ultimate starting point. A kind of limitless inspiration source."
Tangerine Dream about Improvisation, Collaboration and Speculation
"There are no restrictions in our world."
Dave Tucker about Improvisation
"I was messing about - which in turn became improvisation, of sorts."
Tools of Creation: Waldorf Microwave
Stefan Goldmann about a synthesizer which is rewardingly akward to use.
Síomha about Irish, English and the Influence of Language on Creativity
"I find singing in the Irish language so freeing."
Mazen Kerbaj talks Sound
"My childhood was rocked by sounds of shells, bombs, rifles, and tanks. We made competitions to identify a brand of rifle by its sound."
Tools of Creation: Moog Modular
Hannes Bieger about a synth that you can have conversations with.
Melody's Echo Chamber Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes I am so nerdy and tyrannical about the smallest detail. My producer sometimes thinks it's madness."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Pachakuti & young.vishnu
Always Tradition, always Transition
Christian Winther Shares his Creative Process
"I never wrote for anyone else but me. How can you make anything while thinking about an audience?"
Richard Talbot aka Prospector Sound talks Sound
"The kitchen is always rewarding. Some of my sounds are samples of saucepans."
Xinobi about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I believe in creative mixing. It's the ultimate personality stamp on a piece of music."
Khompa about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I think the element of surprise is fundamental. Isn't that why we make music?"
What do Black Holes Sound like?
"There is a mystery about the inner part of a black hole. I wonder what it would be like to travel there."
Gabriella Vergilov about Healing Music and Dancefloor Existentialism
"It is not beauty that is going to save this world. It's music."
Life On Planets Shares his Creative Process
"I’m not as gifted as Prince. But computers help fill the gaps."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jarboe (SWANS, Neurosis)
Open the Door to the Corridor of Discovery
Paul Beaudoin about the Electricity of EDM and the Illusion of Time
"I had tears running down my face. How can it be that music is powerless to express anything?"
Roger Eno Shares his Creative Process
"In medieval stone carvings the angels are playing instruments. They're not making coffee or watching television."
Abigail Lapell Shares her Creative Process
"Music is the closest thing I know to the meaning of life."
Heidrunna Shares her Creative Process
"I can cry my eyes out while I’m writing some of my saddest songs."
James Heather about Music as a Tool for Forgiveness
"My jaw was wired shut for a month, and all I saw was darkness."
Lord Pusswhip about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Producers with the most broken, fucked up computers tend to make the best beats."
Simon Whetham talks Sound
"Llistening to the environment is a different experience from listening to a pop song. It takes patience and practice."
Bambounou about the Art of Remixing
"You can create a whole new track from just one second of an original."
Rizomagic about Production, Technology and Creativity
"For us it’s really important to imagine the music before putting our hands on the instruments."
Yung Bae about Collaboration
"At first, when I set out to tackle the new album, it was a bit intimidating."
Steven Brown (Tuxedomoon, Ensamble Kafka) Shares his Creative Process
"Yes, I believe in the presence of spirituality in what I do."
Michelle Willis Shares her Creative Process
"The same impulses that direct everyday tasks come through in our songwriting. That’s what gives music a voice, a character, a shape."
Victor Santana about Music, Sounds in Space and Cosmic Exploration
"I hope to be able to make music on Mars one day."
Fifteen Questions Interview with James Singleton
Moving Humans Forward in the Grand Illusion of Time
Kaori Suzuki Talks Sound
"We've reached a point in Western experimental music where artists are incredibly self-conscious and verbose about where their work fits in."
Topic about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I often find myself looking ages for the right snare. It's a little bit like tinder."
Principe Valiente Share Their Creative Process
"Music might be the most physical and direct earthly religious experience you can have."
Felsmann + Tiley about the Art of Remixing
"100% loving a track is the worst precondition for a great remix."
Jacknife Lee of Telefís Shares his Creative Process
"What if nothing comes? That fear now excites me."
Roland JUNO 106: Tools of Creation
David Agrella about a synth that shaped the sound of a decade.
Hayden James Shares his Creative Process & Views on Technology
"When a song is released it feels like it’s born again to me."
FloFilz about Inspirations and Mental Travelling
"Many people have told me that my beats sound quite melancholic. I guess they're not wrong."
Katie Thiroux about Helping Female Jazz Players Stand up for Themselves
"I find females to listen better and to be more instinctual."
Silke Eberhard about Improvisation
"It's always a wonderful feeling to fill space with vibration."
Lola de la Mata about Tinnitus as a Creative Spark
"I've been fighting against my body for most of my 20s. Now I make music in order to … befriend it?"
Breakbot & Irfane about Production, Technology and Creativity
"We are very far from Prince’s vault."
Kaja Draksler about Building new Musical Languages
A musician told me: "I can hear the mountains of your village in your music."
Polo & Pan about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Technology can be in service of creativity. But the concept of surprise is human."
Hyesu Wiedmann about Film Music and Orchestration
"In a film, I want the music to be the unspoken voice."
Matthew Hawtin about Music & Design
"I’ve never consciously attempted to paint music. Yet unconsciously maybe I am."
Larry Tee about Fashion & Music
"Electroclash was so political - and I became its unofficial spokesperson."
Proper. about going from Black Suffering to Black Genius
"There’s no reason a simple tale about a black American can’t be told."
Chilly Gonzales about Collaboration, Negative Space and Consumed in Key
"Many electronic musicians think that sound can replace melody or harmony. No, it can't."
Richie Hawtin / Plastikman about Technology, Collaboration and Consumed in Key
"It was a incredible, frustrating and annoying. Isn't that why we became artists in the first place?"
Danny Clay about Healing with Music and Music for Hard Times
"Music is a powerfully functional tool. It should be used with the utmost care."
Kevin Saunderson about DJing
"People would say: Who's this cat? We haven't even heard of him! But it didn't take too long to prove myself."
Superpoze about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I'm not a fan of spontaneity in music."
Tommaso Moretti Shares his Creative Process
"Sometimes, the seed of a song will haunt me. I have to get it done to have some peace of mind."
KIDSØ about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Sometimes technology stifles creativity. Especially when you're more into technology than music."
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul about Morality, Fun & Uncomfortable Dancing
"Anger is a good starting point to get your point accross. But if you want change, you need to grow past that."
Avery Draut of Night Palace Shares her Creative Process
“I rarely think of starting a song at the beginning.”
Brian Chase about Improvisation
"Whether collaborating or working independently – we can expand ‘who we are.’"
Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Delerium) talks Sound
"Our brains are still adapting to all the noise. There’s a reason why every third person has insomnia."
Vincent Corver about Improvisation
"Life on earth never dies. It goes through stages of life and dormancy, remaining in a state of constant transformation."
Juheun about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Humans are not ready yet to give machines full control. I'm not sure we'll ever be."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
Infinite Worlds, Infinite Ways
Imanbek about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Every single element of a production should reflect my feelings."
Daniel Bell (DBX, Cybersonik) about Early Inspiration, Detroit in the 90s and “Less is More”
"Ultimately, I wanted to create something that broke away from the old order."
Ken Ikeda about Improvisation
"Most soloists are like the main actor in the spotlight. I'm like a stage designer or cameraman."
Étienne de Crécy about Production, Super Discount & Motorbass
"Chaos and accidents are essential!"
Horse Lords about Just Intonation, the Rhyhm-Harmony Unity and Networks of Constraints
Dense, Dazzling Drones
Rizomagic about Identity, Tradition, and the Colombian Electronics Scene
"Music is as an instrument of union. It is a tool to demolish mind veils."
Johannes Albert about DJing
"We DJs are present at a club to play music FOR people. Give and take right?"
Mary Yuzovskaya about DJing
"My taste is very specific and super narrow - I’m not eclectic at all."
Michael Rother about Improvisation
"What is the creative state like? I don't know. In fact, I'm not sure I would even want to know."
Vittoria Maccabruni About Collaboration
"Out of your comfort zone can be a very interesting place to be in."
Alexander Lloyd Blake of Tonality about making Classical Music Socially Conscious
"Gun violence, climate change, mental health, women’s right - I want to create music that gets people really discussing issues."
Massimo Magee about Improvisation
"Once free jazz exploded in my brain, it changed my perception of what music could be. It changed my life."
Madeline Juno Shares her Creative Process
"I've become addicted to feeling hurt by my own lyrics."
FloFilz about Collaboration and the New London Jazz Scene
"The best collaborations are based on trust."
Damian Dalla Torre Shares his Creative Process
“Sometimes I need a good friend to tell me to stop.”
Markus Rom about Improvisation
"I like it when it’s hard to tell if a piece of music is composed or improvised."
Elles Bailey Shares her Creative Process
“So many great lines were written while I was taking a break to make a cup of tea!”
Nyokabi Kariũki talks Sound
"In Africa, musical engagements are often not divided between stage and audience - everyone is a contributor to the sound.”
Roedelius & Tim Story about Collaboration
“The reason to collaborate is dangerous – to work with someone who is not ‘like’ you.”
Bugge Wesseltoft about Improvisation
"Already Johann Sebastian Bach was improvising over contrapunctual concepts."
Joshua Idehen (Deadelus, Sons of Kemet) Shares his Creative Process
"My early versions can be shit drafts. A lot of shit drafts."
The Range Shares his Creative Process
“It’s not uncommon for me to have 100 different saves of a song.”
Eric Chenaux about Improvisation
"When I am improvising I am often in many states at once. A present-tense that has ghosts all over the place."
Lewis OfMan about Production, Technology and Creativity
"It's like there's an ancient civilisation hiding behind the DX7 algorithm."
DJ Vadim Shares his Creative Process
"To know when a track is finished, when it feels right - that's a hundred million $ emotion!"
Blindsmyth about Production, Technology and Creativity
"You don't need technology to be surprised. That's a marketing trick of the industry."
Kajsa Magnarsson & Marta Forsberg talk Sound
"That’s beautiful - you are the adoptive mother of lost and found sounds!"
Sharon Farber about Scoring for Film
"We touch upon the deepest level of human experience - cliché or not cliché."
LB aka LABAT about Production, Technology and Creativity
"What sets your music apart is the percentage of honesty you put in it."
Lissy Fey Shares her Creative Process
"Some of my lines can only be explained in hindsight. Some remain a mystery."
Chrome Canyon about Scoring for Film
"Film music is like a magic trick - you know you’re being manipulated and the crazier it feels, the more wonderful it is."
Julianna about DJing
"Dancing translates another view of our experience in the world. It’s another kind of listening."
Willy Vlautin of The Delines Shares His Creative Process
"My rituals when writing novels? I have to feel good, and I can’t be hungover. When writing songs, I can be hungover."
Jaimi Faulkner Shares his Creative Process
"I often need to retank after making a record. I need to live new experiences, read, walk, laugh, cry."
DunkelpeK about Improvisation
"Improvisation is a willful adventure into the unknown. It can be scary and disorienting for some."
Melt Yourself Down Share their Creative Process
"No amount of cycling, running, meditating, coffee or incense will help if you’re not happy inside."
Ray Angry of Public Domain / The Roots Shares his Creative Process
"Once I sit down at the piano, the music just pours out of me."
Jamie Lawson Shares his Creative Process
"If a singer sings, “I love you,” and believes it, it can be the best line ever written."
Kasztan (Stal, M83) About Technology and his Creative Process
"Every time I start with an idea, it ends up becoming something completely different."
Awkward Moments about Fashion & Music
"Music has always led fashion. Nearly no one has written a song about a dress."
Christina Giannone Talks Sound
"Sound challenges our beliefs of how the universe is supposed to be."
Peter Knight of Australian Art Orchestra Shares his Creative Process
"I can reach part of myself in music that I can’t in other spheres of life."
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay Talks Sound
"Sound travels from one body to another. And on its path it makes connections."
Kate Havnevik Shares her Creative Process
"I'm like a sculptor. I look at the song and decide if it needs a different shaped nose or bigger ears."
Andrea Oliva about DJing
"Everybody want’s to be the headliner. Everybody wants to smash it."
Merzbow about Improvisation
"If I can't achieve sufficient volume and sound pressure, the nature of the Merzbow experience changes."
Thandi Draai Shares her Creative Process
"Africa is so rich in its native languages - and that’s a powerful thing!"
Niall McNamee Shares his Creative Process
"Being hungover awakens the senses. But that can’t be the answer forever."
Pierre Vervloesem Shares his Creative Process
"Do I have certain rituals? Just walking. Everything else is actor bullshit."
Rob Mazurek & Mauricio Takara of São Paulo Underground about Improvisation
"You can transform a whole tone scale, a brown shoe, the blue sky or a rollercoaster.“
Mladen Kurajica & Daniel Garcia of Tupperwear about Improvisation
"It is fun to get lost for a while."
Omar Péne Shares his Creative Process
"I am a creator. I create at every moment. It is my job."
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten about Improvisation
"It's social music. We need the audience as much as they need us."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Maurizio Vitale aka Lolita Terrorist Sounds
Into Non-Identifiable Space
Tall Heights Share their Creative Process
"We’re trying to create something spiritual in an agnostic sense."
Joshua Lutz aka The Road Up North shares his Creative Process
"The experiment is greater than the plan. It always wins in the end."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Torstein Lofthus of Red Kite & Elephant9
Connected by Something Bigger
Fifteen Questions Interview with Even Helte Hermansen of Red Kite
Music helps a party. Music helps a funeral.
Trond Frønes of Red Kite about the Art & Challenges of Collaboration
"We are looking for chaos. But we also want to be on the same page."
Thierry Maillard of MLB Trio about Improvisation
"Without composition, there is no improvisation."
Hans Joachim Roedelius about Ego as an Energy and doing IT
"We are god's creatures. Not selfmade egomaniacs."
Thomas Fehlmann of The Orb Shares his Creative Process
"I like to hoover the studio before I begin. Or clear up the kitchen."
Deri Dako about Illness, Brain Injury and Creativity
"Medicine and music can help us live betters lives."
Zach Chance of Jamestown Revival Shares his Creative Process
"The flaws are what make recordings relatable to me."
K.Zia Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes, I disconnect from physical reality. It’s like I'm channelling things."
The Lumineers Share their Creative Process
"You need to feel those tears from another to be sure a song is done."
Ill Considered Share their Creative Process
"Making music is like speaking to each other. That's how natural it feels."
Les Mamans Du Congo about Women's Rights and the Need to Fight
"Commitment is a very important act. It allows you to defend noble causes."
Eddie Prévost about Originality
"To many, music does not mean anything! This is unacceptable."
Avision about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I never like to build an archive of projects. To me it is one of the worst habits in music production."
thisquietarmy and N Share their Creative Process
"If I switch on the amps and hear the hum, I am in."
Sea Wolf Shares his Creative Process
"I sometimes think being a spiritual person would help me get in the zone."
Boom Dice about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The easier technology makes music making, the more excited I get about the possibilities."
Fifteen Questions Interview with The Living Earth Show
Amplified Jell-O and an Albatross Feather
Satoko Fujii on the Art of Collaboration
"Music can get us to a place where we all agree – no need to talk."
Thomas Hoffknecht about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I hardly ever have ideas in advance. I create everything from scratch."
Jonny Wildey Shares his Creative Process
"I had this romantic notion of renting a shack in the countryside to work on my masterpiece. I now think that is ridiculous."
Lilly Hiatt Shares her Creative Process
"Simple or complex - I just want to believe what I’m hearing."
DJ Harrison about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The microphone has changed the way I make music."
Pepe Deluxé Share their Creative Process
"If we ever know what we’re gonna do next, that's the day we should call it quits."
Abraham Fogg Share their Creative Process
"We can work non-stop for 10 hours without feeling any need to drink or eat. It’s not very healthy."
Boubacar Cissokho Shares his Creative Process
"To give the world what it needs, we kill ourselves."
Julien Delfaud aka I Hear Disorder about Production, Technology and Creativity
"House music is one good idea that you make last for 7 minutes."
Ladyhawke Shares her Creative Process
"I really enjoy writing from absolute nothing. No concrete idea."
The Takatsuki Trio Quartett about Improvisation
"Even choosing to ignore what the others are doing is relating to the music."
Clinic Share their Creative Process
"It doesn’t feel right to plan too much. It takes the fun out of things."
Olivia Block Talks Sound
"The purpose of music is to tell you how to feel in your world. Field recordings don’t necessarily have those assignments."
Mareike Wiening about Drumming, Doubts, and the Disappearance of Education
"It’s a path with unpredictable situations."
Dustin Zahn about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Do we REALLY need machines with opinions? We already trained these robot assholes to do parkour."
Ferhat about Turkey and the Role of Music in Repressive Regimes
"Nobody wants to shoot my next video. Artists, writers, the press, the public – they're all scared."
Christopher Chaplin Shares his Creative Process
"When creating, a story is being told to the creator - not by the creator."
James Davidson of Subjective & Ulterior Motive about Creativity & Technology
"When you have a vision, try as hard as you can to stick to it."
Wadada Leo Smith Shares his Creative Process
"Music comes from another place. That’s why it is so vital."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Toto Chiavetta
Monotony at the Core, Variety towards the Surface
Lawrence English Talks Sound
"Sound resonates materials - and that resonation gives them life."
Malcolm Jiyane about Improvisation
"Improvisation is expression. It’s almost like being in heaven — it’s total freedom."
Beth Lydi about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I try not to have too many ideas before entering the studio. It's frustrating to recreate something from my mind."
Lindy-Fay Hella on Healing with Music
“It is possible to create a good feeling in the body through placement of sound and your own thoughts.”
Luca Durán about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I like the idea of not really knowing what just happened."
Jamie Stewart of XIU XIU & HEXA Talks Sound
"Little else even approaches the weight and base of sound. I am obsessed, moved and driven by it."
Alan Clark (Dire Straits) Shares his Creative Process
"Keeping fit is important to me because feeling good is essential. Unless you’re writing the blues."
David Behrman Shares his Creative Process
"In the old days an artist would use her skillset for her entire life. Not so any more."
Purple Disco Machine Shares his Creative Process
"My whole studio is built like a wooden, purple coloured space. I need that to be creative."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Jonny Wildey fka Alphabets Heaven
Specific Rooms in Non-Existent Spaces
Kiesza Shares her Creative Process
"I often begin with nothing and let the song unfold on its own."
Gagi Petrovic talks Sound
"I am curious about stimulating the brain with music that is not audible. Are we still ‘hearing sounds’?"
Tobias Freund about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I always like to be surrounded by my machines."
Hayden Thorpe Shares his Creative Process
"Creating music is a regular, methodical searching for wonder."
Someone (aka Tessa Rose Jackson) Shares her Creative Process
"Oh. Did I just say that? Okay, I guess that’s how I feel."
Max Petersen Shares his Creative Process
"I have a lot of ideals. But being creative is not one of them."
Paul Schütze On the Creative Process
“We have woven a kind of privilege into the idea of art making that is nonsense”
Michael Robinson about La Monte Young, Tuning & Indian Classical Music
"Jazz and Indian classical music superseded Western classical music - intellectually, expressively, technically, and spiritually."
Hackedepicciotto Share their Creative Process
"We are spiritual beings with a human experience - not the other way around."
Harry Romero about Production, Technology and Creativity
"At the end of the day I am still a student."
Blockhead about Beats and Production
"I’ve been doing this so long that the idea of “inspiration” doesn’t really exist."
Parallells talk Sound
"It's very hard to make the sound of a dental surgery appealing. But it's a challenge we are willing to take."
Larry Goldings Shares his Creative Process
"If only I could approach music in the same way as I approach making a cup of coffee."
O Yuki Conjugate Share their Creative Process
"I’ve no idea how something will end when I start. I don't want to have."
Almeeva about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Technology is meant to make sounds unique and personal. Sometimes, that means destroying a song."
Philippe Petit Shares his Creative Process
"In my daily life, I have been educated and thus I am polite. Musically I can be the opposite."
Sophie Zelmani Shares her Creative Process
"I know I write in a simple way. But every word is there for a reason."
Barry Adamson (Magazine, Nick Cave) Shares his Creative Process
"An idea comes to you as you wander the earth with a metaphorical butterfly net."
Matt Robidoux about Improvisation
"Sometimes the ideal state and the creative thing are just taking a few deep breaths."
John DeNicola Shares his Creative Process
"Hungry Eyes was written in 10 minutes. It was just a flow that came through me."
Shadient about Depression and the Pleasure of Fucking Up Completely
"I damaged the art to make the pain feel tangible. I'd shake the tape machine as it recorded."
Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) shares his Creative Process
"I have one ritual only: My creative space needs to be clean."
Tim Feeney and Vic Rawlings about Improvisation
"I like to be a little bit hungry - and just a little bit physically uncomfortable."
Squire about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I worry about the day that technology will understand more than our human minds."
Marja Mortensson Shares her Creative Process
"Yoik is giving me a new view of the world. It is as old as human beings are."
Marcus Gad Shares his Creative Process
"My inspiration is my life. I have to live it to sing it, sing it to live it."
Lena Platonos Shares her Creative Process
"I surrender myself to the imbalance of luck. Nothing is accidental."
Charles Richard about the Sounds of Rocks, City Acoustics and Silence
"By making cities quieter, they become more acoustically boring. A little noise is good for us."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans, Herbie Hancock)
Patience of a Hunter
![preview](https://media.15questions.net/thumbs/2021/10/"In group settings, it’s good to adapt and adjust, but above all, be yourself.'-110.jpg.300x300_q85_box-0,221,839,1062_crop_detail.jpg)
Trevor Dunn on Improvisation
"In group settings, it’s good to adapt and adjust, but above all, be yourself.'
Maya Jane Coles Shares her Creative Process
"I prefer not to have too much of a concrete idea before starting."
Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) about Creativity, Studio Work and Bliss through Music
"I think I'd get bored of doing one thing only."
Latroit Shares his Creative Process
"You hope that god walks in with an idea. If that doesn’t happen, you make something up anyway."
Frank Arvonio about Production, Technology and Creativity
"The element of surprise is crucial."
Esther Venrooy talks Sound
"I feel a strong desire to become an alchemist - making an object from sound."
Vels Trio Share their Creative Process
"We’re trying to document a time in our lives, rather than create a masterpiece."
Aki Onda about Improvisation
"Too often we just follow the playbook we are given and get lazy."
Manjul about the Natural and the Magical in Songwriting
"Even an instrumental piece must be guided by a subject, a title, or a chorus."
Taj Weekes Shares his Creative Process
"I don't need to be on a mountaintop for inspiration."
Wheez-ie about Production, Technology and Creativity
"Given the choice of paying the rent or being original, most will choose to get in line."
Rafael Leafar about Improvisation and Recording with Jeff Mills
"Human improvisation is the greatest synth modulation possible!"
Main(void) Shares his Creative Process
"If I knew it'd take me 20 versions to finish a track, I wouldn’t even start."
J-Fresh about Beats and Production
"Hip-hop, Garage, Grime - the whole essence is built on samples."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Theo Katsaounis of Hey!Tonal & Joan of Arc
Sit with the Pain
Fifteen Questions Interview with Dave Davison of Hey!Tonal and Maps & Atlases
Tell, don't Show
Stina Marie Claire aka Honeyblood Shares her Creative Process
"An earworm is a triumph - a euphoric state of being!"
Music and Identity with Colin Riley
"The way people relate to music stems initially from their social background and their upbringing."
Stephan Moccio Shares his Creative Process
"We have lost the ability to make decisive, strong choices in our art."
VITALIC about Production, Technology and Creativity
"I like music when it’s weird and poetic at the same time."
Vapors of Morphine Share their Creative Process
"A song is finished when I no longer hate it."
Porches Shares his Creative Process
"My perspective is: Half out of my body and half deep inside my brain."
CYRK About Technology, Production and Creativity
"We have a lot of "unfinished" projects. We somehow always want to start fresh."
Pokey LaFarge Shares his Creative Process
"What makes lyrics good? When I can know the person by the words they speak."
Myele Manzanza about Improvisation
"The better I get at life skills, the better my music becomes."
Marta Zapparoli Shares her Creative Process
"Without the outside world, I cannot create my music!"
Noizu about Production, Technology and Creativity
"All the important plugins exist already. They just aren't 100% yet."
Matthew Herbert Shares his Creative Process
"It always starts with an absence. And the question – why?"
Fifteen Questions Interview with Nadjib Ben Bella of Montparnasse Musique
Magic with any Method
Judith Hill Shares her Creative Process
"Music opens the portal to another dimension of spirituality."
Meta Dia Shares his Creative Process
"Life is a spinning vinyl record. Listen - and you'll hear it."
James Gillespie Shares his Creative Process
"I'll write one line and realise - wow. That's how I feel about that."
Factory Sequences about Production, Technology and Creativity
"If it sounds decent the next day, it’s a keeper! If not, then I bin it."
Keys N Krates about Beats and Production
"It’s all an experiment that you try to control. We are just passengers within."
Marja Ahti Talks Sound
"If I move the microphone only a tiny bit in one direction, everything's affected."
Luca Formentini about Creating Silence and Tapping into the Sonic Energy Field
"I don't want my music to engage your intelligence."
Matty Took of PLANET Shares his Creative Process
"Writing a piece of music is like splattering down all your feelings into sound."
Cluster Lizard about Production, Technology and Creativity
"If an AI isn't motivated by fame, greed, sex, and popularity – why would it develop creativity?"
Michael Rother about Production, Technology and Dreaming
"I Appreciate the Absence of Music a lot."
Pink Turns Blue Share their Creative Process
"A Good Song Connects your Soul to the Universe."
Gio About Fashion & Music
"Young blacks from the hood are often labelled as criminals. My dress sense is my way of breaking these stereotypes."
Nite Jewel Shares her Creative Process
"There is always a “I wish I had done this or that” for every album."
Jelly Crystal Shares his Creative Process
"I have never managed to make me a good cup of coffee. I guess that’s art too."
Brandon Lucas about controlling the Black narrative in dance music
"My music is a call to action. Black love is revolutionary."
Mara Simpson Shares her Creative Process
"Sometimes it’s only when a song is finished that I understand what it was trying to tell me."
Don McLean Shares his Creative Process
"American Pie had to be over 8 minutes long. I wasn’t finished telling the story."
Dances With White Girls about Fashion & Music
"Fashion exposes the lies of what you speak in your lyrics."
Odd Beholder about Identity, Discrimination and why Privilege sucks
"Having a privilege is benefitting from injustice."
Mitch Grassi of Messer & Pentatonix about Fashion & Music
"I want the experience to be a bit bombarding."
The Felice Brothers Share their Creative Process
"Writers want to think that their work is being dictated by a higher power. That's a symptom of egotism."
Martyna Poznańska talks Sound
"We're not better than other species inhabiting this place – we may even be worse."
Aisha Badru about Reforestation and Personal Responsibility
"You don't have to reach a million people. Start local. Start with you."
The Nu Deco Ensemble Share their Creative Process
"I like to put Easter eggs throughout the music."
Nikki Sheth about Field Recording and Building Sonic Panoramas
"Sound and field recording can one hundred percent change our perception of the world."
Matt Evans about Touchless Touch, Grief and Death
"I remember absence being something odd and impossible to handle. It didn’t feel real."
ATB about Production, Technology and Creativity
"AI will optimize some processes. But I prefer to do the job myself."
David Morales Shares his Creative Process
"Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys taught me about intelligent lyrics."
Jim O'Rourke about Improvisation
"Live, you are on the train, whether you want to be or not."
Billy Brett of Buck Gooter about Creating in the Face of Death
"All we have is now. You can’t take it with you after death."
Cochemea about Improvisation
"Once a space is populated with bodies, something else happens."
Jemma Woolmore talks Sound
"We need to be more careful about the effects of noise pollution on all life forms."
Sharif Sehnaoui of Karkhana about Improvisation
"In your early years of free improvising, you are not truly able to listen."
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe about Composing for Film
"It’s about understanding when to remove sound as much as it is to know when to have it in."
Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) about Improvisation
"Playing improvised music is like taking a bath in the past, present and future."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Ester Poly
Searching, Finding, Losing, Searching, Finding, Losing
Fifteen Questions Interview with Anthony Moore (Slap Happy, Pink Floyd, Kevin Ayers)
Either and Both
Duane Pitre About Tuning Systems, Working with MAX & Music of the Spheres
"I like some order in my life. It helps the chaos in my brain."
Agoria about Infinite Remixes, Sound after Death & Audio Intimacy
"Living systems are more powerful than any artificial intelligence."
Cochemea About Identity, Indigenous Culture and Deep Listening
"Colonization severs cultural ties through oppression and violence."
Billy Martin of Martin, Medeski & Wood About Improvisation
"Every sound I make is a performance. No matter where I am."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Wolfgang Mitterer
You can pray in your church, but it is better to sing.
Graham Haynes About Improvisation
"You must be totally prepared. But you must also be empty."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Max Turnbull / Badge Epoch
A Primary Vessel for Consciousness
Ulrich Krieger About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Electronic tools will be the end of the traditional 12-tone equal system."
Ensemble Emoción About Creative Cosmopolitanism and Music as a Universal Language
"We see our different backgrounds as our super-power."
Andrew Shapiro About Minimalism, Mental Health and Mindfulness
"My life changed the second I walked in Philip Glass's door."
Master KG About Jerusalema, African Unity and Musical Activism
"Artists are in a unique position - they raise their voices and people will listen."
Rebecca Lenaerts Shares her Creative Process
‘Creation is bringing to the surface what already exists’
Picard Brothers About Limited Options, Technology and the Super AI
"If I were my computer I would ask for publishing rights."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 25
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Fifteen Questions Interview with Robert Cox of Rimarimba and The Same
Make Noise, Mutate Music
Bushwacka About Helping Musicians Heal
"Being in the studio 80 hours a week affected my health, my relationships, my ability to think clearly."
El Buho About Identity, South American Inspiration and Global Community
"Music moves, it evolves, it is transformed. That's what makes it so rich."
Gerald Cleaver about Griots, Ghost Orbits and Modular Synthesis
"I felt I was hurtling through space uncontrollably."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Hprizm / High Priest (Antipop Consortium)
In a State of No Mind
Parra for Cuva About his Instrument Collection, Technology and AI
"Machines could come up with a new great song. But it wouldn’t be inventive."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Sara Oswald + Feldermelder
Sounds that Make Your Brain Tickle
Steven Weston About His Studio, Gear and AI
"A computer that never crashes, that would have the best impact for me."
Matt Bachmann about Life and Death
"I like the idea of some sort of energetic compost. But also, I don’t know and I enjoy not knowing."
Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) Shares his Creative Process
Mystical and Awe-Inspiring, and Very, Very Personal
Alejandro Valdés About Identity, Roots and the New Cuban Flamenco
"Playing the bagpipes in flamenco drew a lot of attention."
Theresa Wong About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Pitch, tuning, and the sounds we create can effect the world around us."
Yussef Dayes about Body Rhythms, Metronomic Time and Family Ties
"I make sure every drum beat has purpose, power and life force."
Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society, Mind Maintenance) Shares his Creative Process
Keep the Flow Going
Laura Masotto About the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis
"I cried. I was moved. I took some time to witness the pain."
Breakthrough Works: Ten City - "That's the way love is"
"It felt like we were sitting in a futuristic spaceship!"
The Twilite Tone about Sound as a Driving Force and Creative Clearing
"My Intention is to Inspire Freedom."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 22
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Curses about Orwell's Predictions, Chemistry with Machines & Future Nostalgia
"Everything changed after I heard Suicide."
Robert Rich on Alternative Tuning Systems
"Let's not be fascists about who gets to sing a right or wrong note."
Jaberwocky about Gear, Technology and AI
"There hasn't been a major technologic revolution in music since the 2010s."
Fifteen Questions Round Up Week 21
A Selection of the Week's Best Interviews + Reviews & Music
Blood Cultures About Identity, Opressive Ideas and Manufactured Egos
"Ask yourself who you are and what you've done. Are you blameless?"
Rollo Armstrong of Faithless About Technology, AI and the Impact of Streaming
"Without technology, I am nothing."
Alex Patterson of The Orb on Sound, Field Recording and Frog Song
"It's been a very, very surreal ride for me."
Fabio Florido About Sound Healing and using Music Responsibly
"We are literally playing with people's cells and molecules!"
David Dornig of Dsilton on Alternative Tuning Systems
"I have to put in hundreds of hours just to make it sound okay."
Pixel Grip About Identity & Killing Your Old Self
"When someone really weird makes really good art, it’s suddenly cool to be like them."
Georg Vogel of Dsilton About Alternative Tuning Systems
"Your fingers need to learn almost every move from the beginning."
Curses about DJing
"I love the mystery of walking into a club and not knowing how the night will go."
Jochen Rueckert About Technology and Artificial Intelligence
"I doubt AI will offer much beyond saving time or small variations."
Hayden Chisholm About Alternative Tuning Systems
"In some music, you can hear the history of clashing empires."
Stephan Packe of LTO about Gear and Authorship
"I'm still waiting for a technology that enables us to create any sound simply by imagining it."
Angrusori About the Links between Norwegian Improv and Slovak Roma Songs
"Slovakian Roma music is like Lego blocks: It keeps shifting into infinite shapes."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Charlie Nieland (Debby Harry / Rufus Wainwright)
Step Into the Fire
Noah Pred About Challenging Power Structures with Music
"I get upset when I hear fans demand artists stay in their lane."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Christopher Bono of Nous Alpha & Ghost Against Ghost
Geometry in the Mind
Fifteen Questions Interview with Matt Walker (of1000faces, Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins)
When it’s Time to Write, it’s Time to Write.
J. Peter Schwalm about Life, Death and the End of Beauty
"I've sometimes thought: Peter, this could be your last project."
Yuko Araki about Technology and Gear
"I'm very curious to see if I could make music with another me."
TRAX ONLY about Identity and the Queer Nightlife
"Identity as a social concept can be an exhausting spiral."
Malcolm Pardon about Death as a Companion
"These songs opened the door to my subconsciousness.“
Balmorhea about Climate Change and Feeding Activism with Emotions
"We fear the destruction of the natural world."
Sistanagila about an Israeli-Iranian Dialogue in Music
"What is the point of music if it doesn't give you hope?"
Wild Anima about Mantras, Healing and the Heart as an Oscillator
"The day we released the film, a volcano erupted in Iceland."
Zach Phillips About Life and Death
“The dead are always right, according to the proverb, but fundamentally they are always wrong."
Igliashon Jones of Cryptic Ruse About Alternative Tuning Systems
"It was like trying to imagine a color outside the visible spectrum."
Fifteen Questions Interview with Cathal Coughlan of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions
Where Would We Be Without Pretence and Fakery?
Sinego on Shaping a New Identity for South American Music
"Bolero is the life-blood of our music culture."
Satori about Celebrating Cultural Diversity
"The Art is to Understand What a Sample is About."
Fred Hersch about being a spokesperson for artists with HIV/AIDS
"Those $25 contributions really add up."
Fifteen Questions Interview with The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies)
Creativity is a Habit
Fifteen Questions Interview with Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree, Eternal Return & O.R.K.
Space for Failure
Fifteen Questions Interview with Masaki Batoh of Ghost & The Silence
Music is Acupuncture. Acupuncture is Music.
Fifteen Questions Interview with Tim Friese-Greene (Talk Talk, Heligoland)
A Game without Rules
Fifteen Questions Interview with Alessandro Tampieri of Accademia Bizantina
A Condition of Multi-Instrumentalism
Fifteen Questions Interview with Alessandro Tedeschi / Netherworld
Landscapes Wrapped in Silence
Fifteen Questions Interview with Una Sveinbjarnardóttir of the Siggi String Quartet
A Larger Context
Fifteen Questions Interview with Richard Knox of A-Sun Amissa
Small Steps and Bigger Pictures
Fifteen Questions Interview with Mike Coles of Malicious Damage
Images from the Mental Archives
Fifteen Questions Interview with Christopher Farstad of Galaxy Express 555
Living in the Body
Fifteen Questions Interview with Gareth Sager (The Pop Group, Head, Rip Rig & Panic)
The Homemade Sandwich Challenge
Fifteen Questions Interview with Boris Bunnik aka Conforce / Versalife
Everything within Range
Fifteen Questions Interview with Giacomo Bruzzo of RareNoise Records
Participatory Environments
Fifteen Questions Interview with Cory Hills of Los Angeles Percussion Quartet
Finding the Time
Fifteen Questions Interview with Claude VonStroke of Dirtybird Records
From Book Smart to Street Smart
15 Questions Interview with Lukasz Polowczyk on the MNTN Software
Looking for the Coltranes of 3D
Interview with F. Gagliardi & D. Newman on the Lissajous Software
The Creator Inside the Instrument
Fifteen Questions Interview with Cosey Fanni Tutti
Shaping the Sound - Clean Studio, Dirty Mind
Fifteen Questions Interview with Andrew Craighan of My Dying Bride
At the Bottom of the Ladder
