Music
How playing heavy metal in Iran can put your life in danger
Rock in a Hard Place — Journalist and life-long heavy metal fan Orlando Crowcroft spent six years penetrating the rock and metal scenes in the Middle East, finding a new generation of rockers, rappers and metalheads who are flogged, imprisoned and exiled for writing songs that give a voice to those otherwise unheard. This is an extract from his book, Rock in a Hard Place.
Written by: Orlando Crowcroft
The rise, fall and rebirth of electro pioneers Silver Apples
A long, strange trip... — From '60s space cadets to modern-day mavericks, the far-out sounds of Silver Apples are finally getting due recognition.
Written by: Cian Traynor
Punk band Pissed Jeans will have you screaming at the kitchen sink
Why Love Now? — Back in 2013 we caught up with Matt Kosloff from Pissed Jeans, a noisy punk band based in Philadelphia. With the release of their LP Why Love Now, and some UK tour dates coming up, we pulled this from our archive.
Written by: Shelley Jones
A beautifully blunt interview with Omar Souleyman
From wedding singer to dance sensation... — Syria's funkiest export is as no-nonsense as they come: rocking the same style and attitude, regardless of success. In the week he puts out a new album and plays Field Day London, the legend granted us a bullshit-free interview.
Written by: Cian Traynor
Beautiful Alice is London's purest DIY music festival
Beautiful Alice Festival 2017 — Losing someone you love is painful, especially when they're the kindest, most giving person you'll ever have the good fortune to meet. Alice Barnett was one of those people, but at Beautiful Alice Festival - 3 June 2017 - she'll be celebrated and remembered, with headliners including Dub Pistols, The Japanese House and Freestylers.
Written by: Harry Jefferson-Perry
Punk band LIFE still believe in the radical power of youth
So should you... — Trump, Brexit, austerity – these are all subjects the Hull punks behind LIFE are tackling on their debut album, reminding us of the power of anger and hope.
Written by: Biju Belinky
From music to politics, GIRLI is sick of young people not being taken seriously
No shits given — When 19-year-old GIRLI got started in the music industry as a teenager, promoters and punters laughed in her face. Now she's demanding all young people be listened to, whether it's on stage or at the ballot box.
Written by: Michael Segalov
Photographing UK punks before the movement took over
The Spirit of 76 — Music journalist John Ingham photographed and interviewed the original punks, before the movement hit the tabloids. In his book, The Spirit of 76, we see the year that changed UK music forever through the eyes of an insider.
Written by: Biju Belinky
Too hippie to be punk, too punk to be hippie
Black Lips — Ahead of the Black Lips' first album in three years, the band's Jared Swilley talks the Devil, the gospel of punk and everything in between.
Written by: Biju Belinky
The strange, intimate relationship between surfing and music
Sound waves — Catch a ride through the evolution of improvisational surf music, from Hawaii to the Lower East Side, with Ethnomusicology Professor (and surfer) Tim Cooley.
Written by: Tim Cooley
