CATEGORIES

Along For The Ride

With more than 30 studio albums to his name, Canadian guitarist Pat Travers really should be better/more widely known. But, he says, our destiny is not something we have control over.

DISTORTING HISTORY

These days, players can choose from hundreds of replacement pickups. But back in the early 70s Larry DiMarzio single-handedly kickstarted the entire industry with his hot-output Super Distortion humbucker. We met NYC's king of tone to find out more

33% minutes with...Glen Matlock

In stark contrast with the misinformation and backstabbing aimed at Glen Matlock on his departure from the Sex Pistols in 1977, their reunion in 1996 saw the bassist reinstated and his significance in the band’s history re-evaluated. After spending the late 70s and 80s in a succession of shortlived bands, and a stint with Iggy Pop, Matlock channeled the momentum from the Pistols’ 90s revival into an ongoing solo career. On his sixth album, Consequences Coming, his Pistols-era knack for a sharp tune is paired with politically charged lyrics. “It’s a word to the wise,” he tells Record Collector.

"We wanted to sound like Sinatra with a fairlight"

As the UK synthpop scene gathered momentum at the turn of the 80s, a bunch of ambitious modernists from South Yorkshire were thinking bigger. ABC, in a very different yet not entirely unrelated post-punk way to The Human League, Soft Cell, Haircut One Hundred et al, would create a vision of shiny, post-modern pop that endures on their finest recorded hour: The Lexicon Of Love. Leader Martin Fry remembers how, for a short, surreal period, it all went so gloriously right. Alphabet superstar:

Show and Tell

As he releases The Show, Niall Horan reveals how he "lives" for touring, his desire to connect with fans through his songs, and the challenge of going out for chips in his Irish hometown

Bad Bunny conquered the world. Now what?

Bad Bunny conquered the world. Now what?

Janelle Monáe's Pleasure Principle

As she releases her most sumptuous album yet, the triple-threat star goes deep on everything from anxiety to Al to how to "hurry up and live"

The brain behind Barbie

One of Hollywood's most brilliant directors spent the past few years in... Barbieland. Greta Gerwig goes very, very deep on the pinkest movie ever made

The greatest comeback that almost wasn't

At the start of the 80's, Tina Turner was broke, on the run from Ike, and playing cheesy conventions. Here is the inside story of her miraculous second act.

Written in the Stars

The first woman to win Eurovision twice makes Loreen an artist who will go down in music history. Rolling Stone UK meets the curious Libra to talk winning the world's biggest song contest and the inspirational generations of women in her family who all said "Fuck, no" to men

Anything is (Im)possible

As she joins the Mission: Impossible juggernaut for its seventh instalment, Dead Reckoning Part One, leading lady Hayley Atwell reveals what it's like to learn the art of filmcraft from Tom Cruise and how she is redefining what success means to her

future >>>>20

Across the genre map and around the world, these are the artists who have us most excited about the future of music in 2023 and beyond

JUNGLE VISION

After 10 years on the scene, Tom and McFarland Josh LloydWatson, the UK duo behind dance act Jungle, are displaying a newfound confidence. As they release Volcano their second record from their own label - it's clear that they are feeling free to experiment with collaborators and their creativity is pouring forth

Wild At Heart

How the 'best new band in Britain' earned their title...

SO NOIR SO GOOD

With The Cure’s US dates being hailed as the tour of the summer, Siouxsie cutting an imperiously witchy figure at festivals, everyone from Bauhaus to The Mission still active, various releases including a box set, a slew of books, and newspaper articles, Goth seems destined to outlive all other subcultures. The polymorphously perverse post-punk movement that began in a club in London has since seeped into all corners of modern life, from Batman movies to Billie Eilish – even Eurovision 2023 seemed inundated with goth sonics/imagery. Jeremy Allen casts a kohl eye over its origin story and speaks to goth prime movers.

HIGH FLYING BIRD

As the forbidding figure behind New York post-punk noise provocateurs Swans, Michael Gira spent the bulk of the 80s as the sworn enemy of conventional melody, until new creative partners and an unsatisfactory spell with a major label saw new influences come into play. More recently he has ventured back down that original avant-garde road armed with a bigger, more ambitious sound. “I write because I have to,” he tells

RENAISSANCE MAN

Keyboard supremo Lonnie Liston Smith is one of jazz’s pre-eminent sidemen, playing with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis. But it was as a leader that he came into his own, trailblazing a style that blended improvisation with soul and funk grooves. Spreading messages of peace and tranquility through positivist lyrics, albums such as Expansions, Visions Of A New World, Reflections Of A Golden Dream, and Renaissance proved crossover hits. Diversions into boogie followed before his renown among the rap generation led to his involvement in Guru’s groundbreaking project, Jazzmatazz. Tempted back into the studio by producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the keyboardist’s first new album in 25 years rekindles the magic of his 70s recordings. He talks Paul Bowler through some of the key albums of his remarkable career.

Divine Intervention

Having conceded that “addiction took years off me” and spent much of the late 20th century in a personal and artistic limbo, Kevin Rowland is now making up for lost time with a revitalised Dexys. As they prepare to release their new album, The Feminine Divine, this soon-to-be-septuagenarian is keen to express an older, wiser worldview and put the finishing touches to a back catalogue he can be proud of. “We haven’t done that much, really,” he tells Rob Hughes.

The Collector

This month: musician/ producer Chasms

CANDID CANDI

The Southern soul, disco and gospel queen tells Ian Shirley about her acclaimed Fame recordings and how real-life pain helped her deliver those heartrending vocals

THUNDER BIRD

While the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal spawned plenty of globe-straddling rock superstars, some of its less high-profile names still made their mark, even if more in influence than record sales. Tyneside terrors Raven were one such pack of unsung heroes, but their reputation has been rightly rehabilitated since their reformation at the turn of the millennium, and as a new album is released they sound revitalised as they come off a triumphant anniversary tour. Murder of crows: Rich Davenport

Dusting Off Angel

ANGEL GUITARIST PUNKY MEADOWS TALKS GEAR, NEW MUSIC AND THE GLAM TITANS' SURPRISE SECOND ACT

WARREN PEACE

WARREN HAYNES and GOV’T MULE return with Peace…Like a River, a sublime example of longform rock ’n’ soul that draws inspiration from John Lennon, the Doors and the multipart masterpieces of Kansas and Queen

BEHIND THE SOLOS: VITO BRATTA

The reclusive guitarist discusses his classic WHITE LION solos, a poignant conversation with EDDIE VAN HALEN and how he wound up using JIMI HENDRIX'S Strat 50

MY PEDALBOARD: JOHN NOTTO

WHAT DIRTY HONEY’S MARSHALL-DIMING SIX-STRINGER SEES WHEN HE LOOKS DOWN

MOMENTS OF TRUTH

SOPHIE LLOYD BREAKS DOWN HER MAIN RIFFS AND SOLO IN \"DO OR DIE\" AND OFFERS SOME USEFUL PLAYING AND PRACTICING TIPS

Buzz Bin Apogee Jam X

AUDIO INTERFACES COME in all shapes and sizes, but when it comes to being lightweight and mobile and having a clean design — combined with boasting the utmost in studio-quality fidelity — it’s hard to beat Apogee’s notable Jam audio interfaces.

Polymorph

FISHMAN FLUENCE TIM HENSON SIGNATURE SERIES AND SCOTT LEPAGE CUSTOM SERIES

Giants Under the Sun

LIFELONG YES GUITARIST STEVE HOWE WEIGHS IN ON THE BAND'S NEW ALBUM AND HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE 1973'S TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

MELODIC MUSE

STORY TELLING - Describing a chord progression in a solo