As he releases new Magnetic Fields album 50 Song Memoir, Stephin Merritt doesn't delve into the past for his Baker's Dozen list but instead gives tQ an A-Z of some contemporary favourites, from Japan to Marc Almond, bawdy cockney songs and the BBC Radiophonic Workship. Pic by Marcelo Krasilcic
With his hand on the tiller of _Realism_ – the most caustically satisfying Magnetic Fields album since _69 Love Songs_ – New York’s least excitable raconteur has a few (not exclusively self-chosen) words squeezed out of him by Charlie Ivens
Gill Dread's latest project makes an unruly, ferocious racket that some have branded "noise punk". It's inspired by her Butthole Surfers upbringing, the 2011 riots, uncaring hipsters, intolerant atheists and working as a van driver for other bands, she tells JR Moores. Photo thanks to Jose Ramon Caamaño
Saxophonist, bandleader and best jazz newcomer (officially!), Nubya Garcia is a powerful and precious force on the thriving London jazz scene. Ahead of her set at Field Day, she talks about bebop discipline, dealing with microaggressions, and how to feel the fear and play it anyway