CATEGORIES

SOUL ΤΟ SOUL

IN THE STUDIO, NO ONE WAS CLOSER TO STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN THAN HIS HANDPICKED PRODUCER/ENGINEER, RICHARD MULLEN. IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FROM 2003, MULLEN DETAILS HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH SRV AND HOW HE CAPTURED THE OTHERWORLDLY GUITAR SOUNDS ON TEXAS FLOOD AND COULDN'T STAND THE WEATHER

Got Their Mojo Working

HOW GA-20’S MATTHEW STUBBS AND PAT FAHERTY CRACK DOWN ON THE SLICK, OVERPRODUCED SOUNDS OF MODERN COMMERCIAL BLUES

Dead Cross

MICHAEL CRAIN AND JUSTIN PEARSON TAKE YOU DEEP INSIDE THE HARDCORE PUNK SUPERGROUP’S LATEST RABID EFFORT, II

Crobot

THE PENNSYLVANIA HARD ROCKERS’ LATEST RECORD IS A CELEBRATION OF STRAIGHT-UP, FAT-FREE RIFFERY

Jordan Ashman hits the heights

Percussionist takes BBC Young Musician 2022 crown

Playing for her life

Hélène de Montgeroult risked the guillotine during the French Revolution – but there’s far more to this talented composer than her remarkable survival, as pianist Clare Hammond tells Rebecca Franks

The Sound of Silence

As the conflict in Ukraine prompts the barring of contemporary Russian works and artists from global stages, Erik Levi looks at how Britain similarly censored German composers during World War I

Herbert Howells Requiem

Though Howells wrote his Requiem in contented times, it would go on to become associated with personal tragedy, as Jeremy Pound explains

The genius revealed in Franck’s fiery visions

Julian Haylock introduces two works which totally changed the reputation of the Belgian-French composer

To be Franck

César Franck has sometimes been unfairly dismissed by critics as plodding and passé, but as we mark the BelgianFrench composer’s 200th anniversary, Roger Nichols says there is much to admire in his colourful melodic language

Shining a light

Awarded by composers to composers, The Ivors have propelled a wealth of outstanding British talent to the forefront of musical life during the past two decades, as Kate Wakeling discovers

"When you detune it feels more subversive!"

How alternative rock stars Bush got heavier than ever before

Alter Bridge – "The Guitars Are Breathing"

A deep dive into the heavy new Alter Bridge album - with Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy, two guitarists in perfect balance.

The 1975 – "In one song there's nine guitar parts going on simultaneously"

How the two-guitar dynamic works in The 1975-by the band's lead player and secret metalhead Adam Hann

GA-20 – "Some of our songs don't even have a solo"

Two guitarists, zero showboating: inside the retro-chic blues of GA-20

COME CLARITY

KELLIN QUINN TELLS THE STORY OF HOW HE AND HIS BAND TOOK THE PAST FEW YEARS TO RECALIBRATE, REFOCUS AND GET BACK TO WHAT THEY DO BEST.

ANY QUESTION ANSWERED DANI WINTER-BATES BURY TOMORROW

DANI OPENS UP AND TELLS THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF HIS EARLY LIFE AND CAREER SO FAR, IN HIS OWN WORDS.

EXISTER

VUKOVI HAVE NAVIGATED WATERS THAT WOULD HAVE SUNK MOST BANDS. HERE, JANINE AND HAMISH EXPLAIN WHY ON NEW ALBUM 'NULA' THEY AREN'T JUST STILL STANDING, THEY'RE BETTER THAN EVER.

FOR THE DREAMERS

PINKSHIFT'S CAREER COULD HAVE BEEN OVER BEFORE IT EVEN TRULY BEGAN. BUT NOW, THEY'RE WINDING UP TO TAKE ON THE WORLD WITH THEIR DEBUT ALBUM.

THE FIRST...RYAN POTTER THE HUNNA

RYAN RECOUNTS HIS BABY STEPS IN MUSIC.

Part Of The Band

L.S. DUNES IS A BAND UNLIKE ANY OTHER, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE INCREDIBLE COLLECTIVE OF MUSICIANS WHO ARE INVOLVED. AS THEY PREPARE TO UNLEASH A DEBUT ALBUM THAT'S BEEN IN THE MAKING FOR LITERAL DECADES, FIVE FRIENDS TELL THE STORY OF HOW THEY SET ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING TRULY SPECIAL.

BUCKET LIST ALEX THOMPSON WITCH FEVER

ALEX WALKS US THROUGH THE CAREER CHECKLIST.

Rocky Mountain High

Bob Weir and Company take classic Grateful Dead songs to bold new places on live in Colorado, his first live album with the Wolf Bros. Also up for discussion? Stage fright!

The Beatles – It was 60 years ago today...

On the very first day of 1962, The Beatles failed their audition with one of the biggest record companies in the UK. On the final day of 1962, WITH they had a No 1 single in the can and played their last gig on the Hamburg club circuit – on the verge of conquering Britain in 1963, and the world in 1964. How could just one year change their fortunes so vastly? As the 60th anniversary of Love Me Do approaches, we offer a full appraisal of their 1962 recordings, and the myths and mysteries that continue to surround them. Richie Unterberger delves into the archives.

Billy Idol – "I was a proper 80s rock star"

With pin-up good looks and a refusal to toe the Year Zero party line, Billy Idol was dismissed by the music press as a major-label plastic punk. Yet 45 years on from his recording debut with Generation X, his music has survived to tell a very different story, one of masterful songwriting and unashamed showmanship. Here, the ace face of the late 70s charts his transition to leather-clad staple of 80s MTV on the back of hits such as White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face and Rebel Yell, and confirms his aversion to stasis. "You can't always stay in your comfort zone, it's boring," he tells Lois Wilson.

Alexisonfire

DALLAS GREEN AND WADE McNEIL EXPLAIN WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE THE BAND’S LAST ALBUM — FROM 13 YEARS AGO! — INCLUDING THEIR GUITAR DYNAMIC

Royal Flash

ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN MAJESTY 8-STRING

Light Reading

GW CATCHES UP WITH DEVIN TOWNSEND, WHOSE PREDICTABLY UNPREDICTABLE 21ST SOLO ALBUM, LIGHTWORK, WILL SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY LATER THIS MONTH

A Gigaton of Charm

JOSH KLINGHOFFER WAS A RED HOT CHILI PEPPER — AND NOW HE RECORDS WITH EDDIE VEDDER AND PERFORMS WITH PEARL JAM. WHAT IS IT ABOUT HIM THAT ALL THESE (HUGELY SUCCESSFUL) ACTS WANT?

Poly Sci

On Remember That You Will Die, instrumental prog-rock's resident devils achieve startling new levels of intricacy and wow-factor mayhem. Below, Polyphia's Tim Henson and Scott LePage talk gear, practicing, their Steve Vai collab - and the album with the feel-good title of the year