Roger Sanchez speaks Egotrip and US Bleep
Scratch any “British” form of music and 100 different different international influences will seep out. Bleep techno may have been one of the first strains...
The Clockwork Orange soundtrack messed with my childhood
As a music-obsessed child, my parent's record collection was like a comfort blanket stuck through with pins: warm, welcoming and familiar but with odd spikes...
Caledonia, the Colonel and Kool & The Gang - Boards of Canada’s hidden history
Like many music fans, pre-internet, I thought that Boards of Canada emerged fully formed with Music Has the Right to Children in April 1998. I might, I...
Pigs, production and pianos - an interview with Matthew Herbert
Matthew Herbert is one of the most brilliant minds in modern music, a man who has sampled a pig from birth to plate; formed a Brexit Big Band; and headed up...
The Micronauts - Paris’s twisted answer to Bleep and Chicago
Chicago had Phuture; Sheffield had LFO: and Paris has The Micronauts, the originators, chosen sons and bastard offspring of the acid flame. Which is to say:...
It’s All In The Groove: a guide to Manchester house dons Rainy City Music
Rainy City Music were the connoisseurs’ choice of Manchester house music in the 90s; the kind of act passed on in reverent whispers by those in the know. The...
Massive Attack’s 100th Window - the Anti-Massive masterpiece
Blue Lines, Massive Attack’s debut album, makes me think of warm summer days and lingering sunshine; 100th Window, their fourth, evokes icy English houses,...
Who has the best melodies in electronic music? Eight masters of the overlooked art
What unites the top 20 songs in Resident Advisor’s recent guide to the best electronics tracks of 2000 to 2025? Melody. Not just that, obviously: they have...
An interview with the Line Noise artist of the year: Basic Unit
In 2024, I awarded the Line Noise album of the year to Xylitol, for the devastating Anemones. This year I took a slight change in tack. I want to give the...
Maria Somerville and the never-fulfilled promise of shoegaze electronica
You’d think that in this world of near infinite music offering, of 80k tracks uploaded every day to streaming platforms, that music lovers would never want...
Singles going steady - new music reviews
This week on the Substack I did something a little different: 13 pictures from the Sublow don Jon E Cash, with his own commentary. I hope you enjoyed it. And...
Tranquil indeed: Why Oneohtrix’s latest album leaves me cold
Tranquilizer, the new album from Oneohtrix Point Never, has sent me into an emotional tail spin this week. Not so much the music, which is, on the whole,...
The Three strangest records in my collection
Before I start, can I just say that this piece was inspired by Stephan Kunze’s post 3 Of The Strangest Albums Ever Recorded, which he published in 2024. Go...
An ode to Royal Trux - or perfectly imperfect humanity in music
What does it mean to be human? For me, the answer is Royal Trux. And I don’t mean that in the sense of being relatable, warm, decent or any other of the...
Burn It Up - or how Hans Zimmer, Rick Astley and Steinski ignited British dance music (with Bill Brewster)
Side one, track one, of Burn It Up, Bill Brewster’s new compilation of the best British dance music from 1986 to 1991, is Coldcut’s Beats + Pieces, a song by...
An interview with Lawrence, the last of the great pop stars
Have you read it yet? Well have you? Soon enough the world will divide along the lines of people who have read Will Hodgkinson’s remarkable book Street Level...
A guide to Masters at Work - aka the most influential duo in dance music: Part three
Two weeks ago I have you part one of my guide to the most influential duo in dance music. Last week: part two. This week, it’s part three (of three), in...
A guide to Masters at Work - aka the most influential duo in dance music. Part two.
First, some news: I have a new book coming out next year: It’s called Space Age Batchelor Pad Music: The Story Of Stereolab In 20 Songs and it pretty much...
A guide to Masters at Work - aka the most influential duo in dance music. Part one.
Putting together a Masters at Work best of is like trying to force a particularly obstinate tent back into its bag: you think you’ve got it in hand only for...
High Contrast - bringing French House funk to D&B: Part two
Last week on the newsletter, I looked at the early career of Welsh D&B don High Contrast, taking us right up to 2004’s High Society and Racing Green. This...
