wed 23/07/2025

New music

CD: Adventures in Dubstep and Beyond Volume 2

Ministry of Sound offers up a tour of popular music's cutting edge

Dubstep has now permeated pop. Drum and bass was the last British underground bass music to rub up against the mainstream but back in the mid-Nineties the major labels didn't know what to do with it. Apart from launching Goldie's career and...

Read more...

CD: Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What

It's a long way from 'Mrs Robinson', but Paul Simon hasn't run out of things to say

"How terribly strange to be 70", sang Simon and Garfunkel in "Old Friends", back in 1968. Paul Simon will be 70 in October, so this isn't a bad time for him to be taking a panoramic look at life, love, loss and the universe in this latest set of...

Read more...

David Gray, Royal Festival Hall

How much did I like this show? Well, here’s a clue: at the end, the only really bad thing I could think of was that the bass guitar could have been a bit louder. I’ve seen David Gray on stage quite a few times now, and this was easily the most...

Read more...

New Music

Quota p mth: 16 reviews\, 4 features (roughly 4 revus\, 1 feat ure per week) - Peter hub. CDs are additional - Thos hub

Read more...

Martin Rushent, 1948–2011

Although record producer Martin Rushent was firmly identified with the punk and post-punk eras, the biggest records he had worked on before then were those of Shirley Bassey. His production of The Human League’s epoch-defining Dare changed that....

Read more...

Q&A Special: Electronic Musicians Bonjay

Bonjay's Ian Swain and Alanna Stuart take a break from bass-heavy dancehall futurism

A potent combination of growling electronics, sub-bass frequencies and expressive vocals seems to have moved back to the centre of the UK's pop landscape in recent months, whether via the likes of James Blake, Magnetic Man or even the unlikely...

Read more...

CD: Huntsville – For Flowers, Cars and Merry Wars

Music from Norway can have moods and textures that aren’t found elsewhere. Templates are thrown away and boundaries between genres are non-existent, bringing a thrilling unpredictability. Huntsville, a three-piece with roots in improv music, jazz...

Read more...

Donovan, London Contemporary Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall

A question passed through my mind before last night’s Donovan show. Special guests were billed for this celebration of his classic psychedelic album Sunshine Superman. Perhaps they'd include Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page, both of whom played on Donovan's...

Read more...

CD: Battles - Gloss Drop

'Gloss Drop' by Battles: 'A lot of this record boogies along with a surprising amount of fun'

They started as a band of hyper-accomplished musicians aiming to play fiddly electronica in a guitar-band format and thereby creating a rather witty new kind of progressive rock. Now, minus key member Tyondai Braxton but plus a few leftfield star...

Read more...

Showtime! - UK dancehall on the rise again

Lady Chann: The face of the new wave of UK dancehall

This month sees an audacious attempt to showcase British dancehall music, when the Cargo venue in Shoreditch hosts the multi-artist revue Showtime!. The Heatwave collective have brought together vocalists from various UK underground scenes, linked...

Read more...

CD: JuJu - In Trance

JuJu: The new progressive rock? Only in the best possible way

Over the past five years, Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara have made two albums and an EP together, but it’s only now that they’ve got round to doing what most bands can’t wait to do, which is give themselves a groovy band name. Even though I’m a poo-...

Read more...

CD: Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo – Songs of Mirth and Melancholy

It may have taken just three days to record, but this new duo recording from sax player Branford Marsalis and pianist Joey Calderazzo has 13 years of music-making behind it, dating back to when Calderazzo replaced the late, great Kenny Kirkland in...

Read more...
Subscribe to New music