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Soaring ascents, the kind that can take an artist from obscurity to stardom in what seems to be the blink of an eye, don’t occur often, in dance music or elsewhere – those who are lucky enough to have that experience often disappear just as quickly. But there’s little chance of a quick fade for South Africa’s Palesa Desiree Shilabje, the DJ and producer known to the world as DESIREE, who in just a few short years has proved to be one of the international festival circuit’s most exciting new stars. Here, Bruce Tantum hears her story, and about how her evolution through music has been as organic as they come

The funding of independent radio stations is always precarious, but the current cost-of-living and energy crises threaten their survival. Following the shuttering of Worldwide FM and Bristol’s SWU FM, we look at the challenges facing these beloved cultural lifelines

Manchester's Happy Mondays drew influence from funk, house, and psychedelia to pioneer the Madchester sound. Here, Ben Cardew explores the lasting legacy of their 1990 album, ‘Pills ’N’ Thrills And Bellyaches’, which dropped in the midst of the Baggy takeover, and defined an era

Since beatboxing first arrived on British shores from the US in the ’80s, the passion and innovation of UK acts have taken the art to unimaginable heights. Jak Hutchcraft charts the development of the scene, speaking to boundary breakers and educators, and finds it in ruder health than ever