Joe Muggs

Reissue of the Week: Orbital 2 (The Brown Album Expanded)

'The Brown Album' pays testament to the thrilling, sometimes contradictory power of rave as a culture, just months before it splintered, says Joe Muggs

Organic Intelligence

Organic Intelligence XXXVIII: The Legacy of Broken Beat

In our latest antidote to the algorithm, Joe Muggs hymns the potent legacy of broken beat and picks five tunes where you can find it today, from D'Monk to Kokoroko and Jorja Smith (pictured below)

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Reissue of the Week

Reissue Of The Week: Electribe 101’s Electribal Memories

A timely reissue of a UK house classic LP helps challenge rockist (and IDMist) notions of lasting worth in dance music, says Joe Muggs

Black Sky Thinking

I Can’t Accept That: University Challenge, Jungle And How Glibness Creates Bad History

A viral question about jungle on University Challenge gave everyone the chance to be an expert and get a few laughs – but it also revealed some pernicious underlying assumptions, says Joe Muggs.

Strange World Of...

The Strange World Of… Moving Shadow

Moving Shadow's entire catalogue has finally made it to streaming services. Here Joe Muggs offers ten points of entry into this groundbreaking hardcore, breaks and drum & bass label

Reissue of the Week

Reissue Of The Week: Happy Land

Joe Muggs listens to two new compilations of 'alternative' British electronic music from the mid-90s and gets transported to the Old Weird Britain of rural raves, chalk horses, burial mounds and tense stand offs with the police

Organic Intelligence

Organic Intelligence III: Wonky Techno

The Low Culture Organic Intelligence playlist is back, this time with dance controller Joe Muggs repping hard for the Brighton sound or wonky techno

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Baker's Dozen

The Places I Make Sense: Carl Cox’s Baker’s Dozen

From Chaka Khan to Diana Ross via Prince, Herbie Hancock and more, Carl Cox picks 13 classic tracks that made him the renowned DJ he is today

A Quietus Interview

That’s Where I’m From: Idris Elba On Making The Yardie Mixtape

As Idris Elba releases a mixtape of music inspired by Yardie, he tells Joe Muggs about his life in music, style, and inspiration of UK hip hop

Black Sky Thinking

Why The Rehabilitation Of Plagiarist Johann Hari Is Irresponsible & Dangerous

Despite repeated incidents of journalistic plagiarism, Johann Hari is back. Joe Muggs argues that we should be wary of his celebrity-endorsed new book about mental health rammed with dubious 'facts'

Previously Read

Anniversary

Around The Bend: Pearl Jam’s No Code Turns 20

JR Moores looks back two decades and finds it was No Code that provided Grunge's Kid A moment, not In Utero

Reviews

Black Sabbath
The Ten Year War

The first decade of Sabbath - all those brilliant early Ozzy albums - remastered and re-released in a lavish vinyl boxset.

Books

Rock & Hard Places, An Extract: Andrew Mueller Goes To Woodstock

In a chapter from his recently expanded _Rock & Hard Places_ travelogue, Andrew Mueller recalls the horrific oomska of 1994's second Woodstock festival. Plus a Q&A with the author by Alex Ogg.

Black Sky Thinking

Unfulfilled Promise: Toronto, Drake & So Far Gone

After Dhruva Balram's family emigrated from India to Canada, he came of age in a new city, the optimistic soundtrack provided by emerging megastar Drake. Here he celebrates the breakthrough mixtape which provided the background to first love but also looks back and asks, what went wrong?

Books

From Dusk Til Doom: Reading Harry Sword’s Monolithic Undertow

New book Monolithic Undertow promises "an outer stellar orbit of sounds underpinned by the drone”. Mathew Lyons follows the thread from the dawn of time to Sunn O))) and Sarah Davachi

Reissue of the Week

Reissue Of The Week: Lou Reed’s Words & Music, May 1965

To understand Lou Reed, we must start with the world in which he grew up, one he was always looking back to and never really wanted to entirely escape, says Darran Anderson, on the release of a set of previously unheard 1965 reel to reel demos

Electronic

Hyperspecific: February And March’s Electronic Music

For the first edition of Hyperspecific this year, Christian Eede looks at new releases from upsammy, Leif, Midland's recently launched Intergraded label and more.

Columns of the Year

Columnfortably Numb: The Best Psych-Rock Of 2017

Trying not to get too distracted by what’s on his tellybox, JR Moores rounds up his top ten psych records of the year

Black Sky Thinking

Remembering Yasmine Lakhaney, The UK’s First Female Nightclub Bouncer

Audrey Golden, the author of I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women At Factory Records, celebrates the life of the Haçienda’s mould-breaking security person and examines the history of female bouncers

Black Sky Thinking

Taylor Parkes On The Continuing Brilliance Of Half Man Half Biscuit

Listening to new Half Man Half Biscuit album 90 Bisodol (Crimond) Taylor Parkes explains why they're one of England's darkest, funniest, smartest groups. HMHB live shot thanks to Steve Toner

Live Reviews

Dream Baby Dream: Unsound Festival Reviewed

Luke Turner and Rory Gibb head to Krakow for a week at Poland's Unsound Festival, the theme of which is The Dream... the likes of The Bug, Cyclobe, Zamilska, Ksiezyc, Powell and Russell Haswell send them into a heady, other place... Photos by Anna Spysz and Camille Blake

Black Sky Thinking

Why We Need To Stop Seeing Grassroots Venues As Mere Rungs On A Ladder

With music venues in crisis, does celebrating them as places where bands appeared on the way to fame overshadow their true purpose as the places in which music is played for the sake of communal joy, asks Luke Turner

Books

Black Teeth And A Brilliant Smile By Adelle Stripe: A Playlist

Author Adelle Stripe compiles a list of assorted tracks to accompany the bruising backdrop of West Riding in the Thatcher era. Her debut novel, Black Teeth And A Brilliant Smile, is published this week

Black Sky Thinking

Absolved! The Quietus Writers’ 50 Favourite Guilt-Free Pleasures

Why exactly should the enjoyment of a great piece of music be marred by guilt? Following last week's Black Sky Thinking about the problems (and positives) of the concept of the 'guilty pleasure', the Quietus writers declare their undying, entirely non-ironic love for their favourite uncool songs. Introduction by Jimmy Martin

Live Reviews

Do You Think It’s Sexy? Rod Stewart Live At The O2

Tariq Goddard and Carl Neville went to see Rod Stewart live at the O2 just days after the General Election last month and were faced with a distressing vision of the past, present and future

Rum Music

Rum Music For May, Reviewed By Jennifer Lucy Allan

This month Jennifer Lucy Allan opens her ears to new music for gamelan, old music on the Atari ST, and fresh Manc workouts

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Reissue of the Week: Orbital 2 (The Brown Album Expanded)

Reissue of the Week: Orbital 2 (The Brown Album Expanded)

Organic Intelligence XXXVIII: The Legacy of Broken Beat

Organic Intelligence XXXVIII: The Legacy of Broken Beat

Reissue Of The Week: Electribe 101’s Electribal Memories

Reissue Of The Week: Electribe 101’s Electribal Memories

I Can’t Accept That: University Challenge, Jungle And How Glibness Creates Bad History