It’s been a curious experience attending the Borealis festival in Bergen in recent years. i first went in 2019, and have been on a handful of occasions since, each time recalibrating my understanding of, and relationship with, everything that Borealis has tried to do and be. This year’s was of…

This morning i’m heading back to Estonia, where i’ll not only be getting my usual annual fix from the Estonian Music Days, but also, for the first time, navigating the overwhelming sonic buffet that is Tallinn Music Week. Back in a couple of weeks with words, words, words.

Give me new noise, give me new affectionStrange new toys from another worldI need to see more than just three dimensionsStranger than fiction, faster than light These lyrics come from the final verse of Tuxedomoon’s ‘What Use’, included on their 1980 debut album Half Mute, and they nicely encapsulate the…

Something i haven’t drawn attention to in this Lent Series is the fact that almost every album i’ve explored has been a debut. It’s the case with Suicide, Sakamoto, P-Model, Human League, Leer & Rental, Der Plan and Fad Gadget. John Foxx and Bill Nelson’s Red Noise clearly pick up…

During the critical period i’m exploring in this Lent Series, 1977–81, alongside the assorted group divisions, schisms and reformations i’ve mentioned previously, another recurring problem was artists finding it difficult to get their music heard. San Francisco synthpunk band Units – led by husband and wife Scott Ryser and Rachel…