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Soundsystem artwork 1

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 

It’s the Thursday before Notting Hill Carnival and Linett Kamala, board director of Europe’s biggest street party, is weaving through the streets of Kilburn. Her...

From the underground mixtape beatmakers, to those crossing over into the rap mainstream and drill scenes at home and abroad, Colin Gannon asks — who...

Like dance music, rap has a tendency to splinter into specialised subgenres. Back in 2012, Chicago producers Young Chop, DJ L and Smylez began warping...

A guide to dance music's pre-rave past...

We've drafted in Greg Wilson, the former electro-funk pioneer, nowadays a leading figure in the global disco/re-edits movement and respected commentator on dance music and...

Funk-dripped drum & bass head plays us his most inspiring tracks

Always that most steadfastly independent genre, today drum & bass is splintered into a panoply of micro camps. In one corner, the giant, fizzy-pop electro chords and high fructose rushes of labels like Hospital; in another, the clipped, dark minimalism and sub bass caverns of its most underground soldiers, the Critical crew.

We got speaking to Kate Simko, Solomun, Nick Curly, Huxley and Will Saul about how they deal with the ups, the downs, the delays, the...

THE FEMALE PERSPECTIVE
Kate Simko
Chicago house heiress Kate Simko has toured as a DJ and with a live show, and explains how life on...

Fatboy Slim talks us through his classic record, 'Praise You'...

By the mid-'90s, Norman Cook had been involved in three UK No.1 records. First there was the acapella 'Caravan of Love' in 1986 with Hull-based...

Photo of Louie Vega wearing a black shirt and hat with a white blazer

After four-plus decades of DJing and with a incredible list of releases — much of it produced with longtime partner Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez as Masters At Work — the pioneering Louie Vega would seem to have little to prove. Yet he’s working harder than ever, with the same energy he had as a young kid coming up in the Bronx. In the run-up to his date at DJ Mag’s Miami Pool Party 2024 at the Sagamore Hotel on March 20th, Vega took some time out of his hectic schedule to talk about how he got to where he is today

Sitting in his Manhattan studio on a weekend evening, wide-brimmed hat on his head and, behind him, shelves crammed with thousands of records — most...

Discovering their shared roots, both geographical and musical, Dutch duo Steffi and Martyn started a friendship that eventually led to the studio. The resulting project...

If the '90s was an area of rainforest, natural home to the much sampled rave loon, then its rate of deforestation would have long passed...

12 emerging artists you need to hear this May

The latest and greatest DJs and producers rising to the top this month. From deep Afro-house and trance-infused techno to atmospheric jungle and beyond, here's May 2022's list of upcoming talent you should be keeping track of

A rising star among deep and Afro-house lovers, vocalist and producer Miči’s Instagram feed reads like a blow-by-blow account of her story so far. The...

With a series of brilliant singles and a starring role on the new Juan MacLean album, Nancy Whang is an accidental dance music star...

“We would have just looked at it as a free trip to someplace cool,” Nancy Whang says on a steamy summer afternoon in New York...

Modular software delight

In the late '90s there was a perception of DJs as vinyl-hugging technophobes who relied on a 20-year-old turntable design and swore by headphones launched in the '80s. It used to be an utterly fair stereotype — after having reviewed the very first Traktor back when it ploughed into the scene, trying to convince my clubland chums that it was “the future” I was met with pity and derision.

Self-releasing your music in 2022: which distributor is right for you?

When starting out in the industry, musicians and producers have what can often seem like an insurmountable number of new skills to learn outside of making music. With seemingly countless distributors offering widely varying features and products, choosing how to get your music on streaming services can be confusing. This guide seeks to demystify one of the most confusing aspects of releasing music

Digital distribution is the process of releasing your music to various digital streaming platforms (DSPs) and services. In the past, distributors would take care of...

Techno rises in the heart of the Midwest and with it, a bold call to action.

 

DJ Mag meets Lisa Smith on a winter afternoon in The Black Madonna’s crowded Chicago apartment. A large film crew is staging lighting...

Electronic maverick Squarepusher’s new album finds him breaking his own rules, and drawing from the past for inspiration — but being him, it’s no simple nostalgia exercise. DJ...

In 1996 Dutch production company Lola Da Musica made a documentary, simply titled Drum & Bass, that has acquired cult status on the internet. Featuring...

We hook up with the Dutch teenage hotshot ahead of an appearance at Ultra in Miami...

Across the world right now are thousands of 17-year-old kids dreaming of making it big in the gold rush days of EDM, dance music's biggest...