Musical Comedy

Musical comedy is a hard genre to crack, and even the brightest stars are often sidelined. Here’s how a so-called niche genre is getting its groove back.

Wild Flag

Wild Flag’s credentials are undeniable. The band has just released their first album to critical acclaim. We caught up with Janet Weiss to talk about the band.

Crunch: The Art and Music Festival, Hay-on-Wye

The 4th edition of Crunch: the Art and Music Festival at Hay promises to be an extravaganza of contemporary art, talks and debates, new music, comedy and cabaret. Entitled Awake in the Universe.

Submotion Orchestra

Submotion Orchestra formed when Ruckspin and hip hop underground label Ranking Records were commissioned by the Arts Council to write and perform a live dubstep piece in York Minster.

Drowning in a Sea of Words

Nothing has hit the world of music writing harder than the social networking explosion. But the ways in which the writing has changed are still up for debate.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme

The Voluntary Butler Scheme is the vehicle for Rob Jones, a singer-songwriter from Dudley. He accompanies himself, with help from friends and his mum.

FOUND

FOUND began as an art collective, who played music at their exhibition openings. This experimental spirit carried through to factorycraft, recorded at Chemikal Underground’s own Chem 19 studio.

App Music

Tablets like the iPad are changing the way music is made – not only how it’s recorded, but how it’s released and marketed. We look at a real game-changer.

Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad’s third album White Night Stand is both intense and touching, taking influence from Liars and Radiohead to American alternative rock.

Digital, Online and On-Air

Online radio is helping musicians break free from their reliance on big-name stations. Want to get your album tracks played? There’s a show for that.

New Connections Within The Polyphonic Whole: Janet Cardiff, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton

Review by Amy Knight Sound has, perhaps more than any other sensory stimulation, a transcendental power that can immerse the listener in an all-encompassing awareness…

Articulating Sounds As Visual Imagery: Sam Belinfante, Penumbra, mima, Middlesborough

Review by Jareh Das As you approach mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) in Centre Square the viewer is confronted by a resounding female operatic…

The Interaction between Classical Music, Theatre and Film: Michel van der Aa, Barbican, London

Review by Nathan Breeze Touring six major European culture halls, Liebestod was a cross-genre performance by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta exploring the interaction between Classical Music…

Esben and the Witch

Esben and the Witch’s uncompromising sound is being heard not only in back rooms and dimly lit bars, but it is also making its way into our musical landscape.

Analogue Sounds in a Digital World

Synthesisers are complex and difficult instruments, but in musical circles, they’re considered some of the most beautiful. Here’s what it takes to build a behemoth.

The Epstein

Oxford five-piece The Epstein’s, debut I Held You Once is a mesmerising mix of warm American West Coast-style folk rock, with a spectral cinematic sound.

Music Packaging

Plastic jewel case? Boring. Although it’s been part of the scene for years, indie artists are waking up to the potential of unique album packaging.

Dustin O’Halloran

Lumiere is a departure from O’Halloran’s previous work, adding strings and subtle electronics to his piano work and using ensembles to develop a deeper texture.

Telekinesis

Telekinesis is Michael Benjamin Lerner, coupled with guitarist Chris Walla. 12 Desperate Straight Lines follows up their debut album, Telekinesis!

Esben and the Witch

Taking their name from a Dutch folk story, Brighton trio Ebsen and the Witch has been building an almost spectral image of themselves since releasing 33 in 2009.