Music
The ‘musical pilgrim’ blending funk with Cuban elegance
Meet Cimafunk — With his infectious grooves and progressive message, Erik Iglesias Rodríguez is one of the biggest names in Cuban music. A new documentary from filmmaker James Partridge tracks his journey from underground sensation to bona fide star.
Written by: Rhys Thomas
‘I’d drink to lose my hangover – it was a never-ending thing’
Tim Burgess talks — The Charlatans frontman on his new album, the success of his Twitter listening parties and how he discovered transcendental meditation after getting clean.
Written by: Jeremy Allen
The secret life of a 1980s house music manager
New York underground — New York music manager Michele Saunders dusts off her three-decade-old photo albums to pay tribute to the city’s club scene.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Pete Kember on the highs and lows of a lurid life in music
Lessons Learned — The creative force behind Sonic Boom and Spaceman 3 has navigated synthesisers, psychedelics and famous fall-outs during his 30-plus years making music. To celebrate his latest release, he shares what he’s picked up along the way.
Written by: Jim Ottewill
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
How X’s Exene Cervenka found solace in her mistakes
Lessons Learned — The seminal frontwoman looks back on a life spent at the forefront of subculture – a journey in which the lows have been just as valuable as the highs.
Written by: Jeremy Allen
Rip it up: the anarchic designs of punk and post punk
From 1976 to 1986 — A generation of graphic artists fused the political and surreal, concocting a visual language as explosive and influential as the punk movement itself.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The life-changing power of being a fangirl
Sue Webster reflects — In a new book, YBA artist Sue Webster celebrates her teenage obsession with Siouxsie And The Banshees: ‘It taught me to be fearless.’
Written by: Miss Rosen
The many faces of Kim Gordon
Lockdown Longread — Kim Gordon first came to us in the 1980s, as a member of Sonic Youth. Fiercely independent and resolutely experimental, her belief in self-taught creativity would inspire generations to come.
Written by: Stevie Chick
Nas: ‘My beef was with the system, not another crew’
Lockdown Longread — As one of the greatest emcees of all time, the New York rapper pushed hip hop into bold new realms. He lived through a dark time – but with one hand on the mic, he survived to tell the tale.
Written by: Shelley Jones