As Laibach return from their controversial visit to Pyongyang, North Korea, Alexei Monroe looks at the frequently unhinged Western media reaction to the trip, and asks where it sits with their long-standing ambigious exploration of totalitarianism. Photo by Jorund F Pedersen
Laibach are one of the most misunderstood groups going, with their uniforms and martial music wearily misinterpreted. Here, they guide Luke Turner through significant moments in their 30 years of subversion, from being banned in Slovenia, providing grist to Žižek's seditious mill and provoking phonecalls from Slobodan Milošević to this year's Tate Modern triumph
Following sad news that Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider has died, we present a specially compiled Baker's Dozen of artists including Michael Rother, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Marie Davidson and Mark Lanegan on their favourite music by the _kosmische musik_ masters
Norwegian jazz/metal firebrands Shining recently released their latest album, One One One. Dayal Patterson catches up with band leader Jørgen Munkeby to discuss the spiritual connections between jazz and metal, and being led by the heart rather than the head
Polish trio kIRk create a post-industrial, improvisation-based "soundtrack for sleepwalking, hypnotism, undeath, and all liminal states of consciousness". They meet Pavel Godfrey to discuss last album Zła Krew, losing all their equipment and the evolution of the Polish music scene
On the release of a new Uniform single and video for 'Permanent Embrace', Michael Berdan writes about the harsh realities of bulimia nervosa. CW: some readers may find this article disturbing. Band portrait by Joshua Zucker-Pluda & Sean Stout