Julian Marszalek spoke with colleagues and fans of the pioneering musician Rowland S Howard, including Mick Harvey, Lydia Lunch, Harry Howard, Genevieve McGuckin, Jonnine Standish, Daniel Miller and Henry Rollins, in order to get to grips with his work
Amid a whirlwind of drug use, chaotic live shows and within-band animosity, The Birthday Party juddered to a halt in 1983. Daniel Dylan Wray traces the story of the band's messy dissolution, and of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' phoenix-like emergence the following year with From Her To Eternity. Interviews with Mick Harvey, Flood, Jim Thirlwell, Barry Adamson, Nick Launey, Chris Bohn, Henry Rollins, Jessamy Calkin and Hugo Race
The once-obscure Japanese minimalist, whose 1983 album 'Through The Looking Glass' has now become one of the most celebrated ambient releases from the country, talks with Patrick St. Michel about her interest in African music, ahead of her appearance at Le Guess Who? festival
Crafting post-apocalyptic black metal suites with drums and hammered dulcimer, The Botanist's music imagines a future where the remnants of humanity have once again been swallowed up by primordial flora. Louis Pattison digs a little deeper
Our friend and colleague Nick Talbot - who recorded under the name of Gravenhurst - died unexpectedly last week. These reflections, both musical and personal, are written by Pavel Godfrey and John Doran. Portrait by Lucy Johnston, live picture by Maria Jefferis