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Sound systems have driven the development of music in the UK, powered by hard work, passion and innovation. But preserving UK sound system culture, its knowledge and history, while also pushing it forward, is no easy task today. Ria Hylton traces its path through ska and reggae at blues dances in West Indian households, to soul, boogie, hip-hop and house in ’80s warehouses and at the Notting Hill Carnival, to nationwide tours and global popularity, and finds out how initiatives like the Sound System Futures Programme are seeking to secure its future 

Nookie’s ‘Gonna Be Alright’ dropped as hardcore was morphing into jungle at the beginning of the 1990s. It lit up the raves and set Nookie up for a production career with Reinforced, Metalheadz, Moving Shadow and other key labels as the decade unfolded. Ben Murphy learns its story and speaks to Nookie about how, as the ‘20s roar into action, he is charged up all over again
 

For three decades, Yen Sung has been at the beating heart of Lisbon’s club scene. As a longstanding resident at Lux and its downtown predecessor Frágil, and as a producer of timeless house tracks, she’s rightly earned her legendary in Portuguese dance music. But as April Clare Welsh learns, she’s busier and more energised than she’s ever been. Alongside a thumping On Cue mix of pure dancefloor energy, she shares her story

After years in the UK underground as solo artists, brothers Tom and Ed Russell, formerly known as Truss and Tessela, have made huge strides as a duo in recent years as Overmono. Lauren Martin learns how they’ve built a sound and A/V live show that taps into UK dance music legacies, all while staying true to themselves