Rez Abbasi's Acoustic Meditation on Loss and Impermanence
Three decades into his career, Abbasi returns to acoustic guitar for 'Sound Remains,' processing personal loss while questioning what it means to let go in both music and life.
5-Tier
Everything Is Under Control — Matt Black of Coldcut Gets RAW
The pioneering audio/visual artist reflects on how Robert Anton Wilson's "think for yourself, distrust authority" philosophy shaped both Coldcut's sound and Ninja Tune's thirty-five-year mission.
We Are Floating in Space — Jane Ira Bloom's Jazz Odyssey
Saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's album 'Songs in Space' brings together her pioneering approach to surround sound jazz, a vision of music in zero gravity, and a belief that silence gives the brain time to process music moving through dimensions.
Kicking Down Fascist Art With OMD's Andy McCluskey
The Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark frontman discusses why Kraftwerk matter more than the Beatles, how political resistance sparked 'Bauhaus Staircase,' and why his band refuses to make "shit records."
Leo Chadburn Broadcasts a Radiophonic Lullaby of Industrial Decline
The experimental composer's album 'Sleep in the Shadow of the Alternator' transforms his childhood memories of Coalville's mines and factories into a dreamlike narrative about the East Midlands' vanished industry.
A Tale of Two Cities — Isaac Sherman's Handcrafted Electronics
Isaac Sherman's debut 'A Pasture, Its Limits' spans years and cities, built from hardware synthesizers, gibberish vocals, and a belief that "the humanness comes through music when you strip away all the glitz."
A Monster With Three Heads — KOMARA Battles Expectations
The progressive trio of Pat Mastelotto, David Kollar, and Paolo Raineri constructed their second album from a rejected mafia film score. The result trades their debut's density for space and accessibility.
Sean Imboden Finds Community Beyond the Big Band
The saxophonist and composer left Broadway's steady income to lead a seventeen-piece ensemble in Indianapolis. His latest album, 'Communal Heart,' proves that creative independence can flourish outside traditional industry expectations.
The Microphone as Sword — Hip-Hop Against Fascism
Anthony David Vernon argues that hip-hop has lost its rebellious edge, but embracing anti-fascist resistance could restore the genre's defiant power and give artists something meaningful to fight against.
James Holden and Wacław Zimpel Surrender to the Sound
The British music producer and Polish clarinet virtuoso built 'The Universe Will Take Care of You' in four spontaneous London studio days, capturing the act of playing without thinking.
Heavy Tonal — Lingyuan Yang's Harmonic Friction
On 'Cursed Month,' the young composer uses microtonal intervals to create intensity without relying on volume or overdrive. As Yang explains, "Heaviness comes from the playing itself, not just the sound."
Clarinet Meets Circuit — Glenn Dickson and Bob Familiar's Unlikely Alliance
Two musicians from different worlds found common ground in their rejection of static electronic music. The result is 'All the Light of Our Sphere,' an album that treats improvisation as narrative and loops as living things.