DIY
The instrument makers taking DIY music to a whole new level
What does it take to construct a modular synth? How do you turn a block of wood into a double bass? Here, four craftspeople explain why they chose to rip up the rulebooks and build their own music-making machines.
Written by: Daniel Dylan Wray
An intimate portrait of East London’s underground music scene
Short film The Rest Is Noise explores how to stand out and be heard in the capital’s ever-changing musical landscape.
Written by: Alex King
A visual tribute to ’80s Chicago, where house music began
DIY designs — A new book celebrates the power of the DIY party flyer – homemade designs which helped transform the city’s dance scene.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Getting deep with Ian MacKaye, the godfather of DIY culture
Lockdown Longread — The former Fugazi and Minor Threat frontman and Dischord Records owner talks self-preservation, digital obsession and finding your life tree trunk.
Written by: Andrea Kurland
The underground station reviving pirate radio in NYC
Save The Lot — Since 2016, The Lot has been live streaming 24/7 DJ sets from a reclaimed shipping container in Brooklyn – but it’s now being threatened with closure.
Written by: Jonathan Turton
Inside the UK’s most radical indie publishers
Part Nine: Fitzcarraldo — Fitzcarraldo Editions are the stylish, innovative publishing house that puts authors before books – creating an environment where they can grow, and prosper, together.
Written by: Kit Caless
Inside London’s secret sex party revolution
Going underground — The capital’s nightlife is under constant threat, but a new wave of DIY fetish parties is fighting back. Writer Will Coldwell takes a trip to the dungeons.
Written by: Will Coldwell
The nomadic filmmaker living his dream one hustle at a time
Guerrilla independence — After his career as a pro-skater fell apart, Maximón Monihan had to reinvent himself as a DIY director who thinks outside the box. Now, having taken a road-trip across the US with his best friend, he’s realised that true success is doing what you love, regardless of reward.
Written by: Alex King
How to start a record label that matters...
Sound & vision — Crissi Vassilakis is living the dream. Between DJing around the world and putting on club nights to showcase her favourite artists, she runs her own independent label: a home for talent so forward-thinking they defy genre. This is how she does it.
Written by: Alex King
Why Athens is quickly becoming a DIY paradise
Revolution of the mind — Greece has stiffed its youth with a failed economy and a crumbling capital. But if you’re a self-starter thinking big, Athens is alive with possibility.
Written by: Alex King
Polyester: the zine that celebrates faith in bad taste
Zine Scene — Polyester promotes femininity while rejecting the imposition of minimalism. Now they're putting out three special zines to mark their third birthday.
Written by: HUCK HQ
A voyeuristic look into the lives of 1960’s Londoners
Summer in the city — Italian graphic artist Gian Butturini sought to capture the capital as he saw it, beyond the tourist spots and mini-skirts. Now, after years of anonymity, his book LONDON is re-released for a 2016 audience, with an intro by Martin Parr.
Written by: Biju Belinky