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February 2026
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213 articles
- February 28
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- "Boy, do people hate it": 10 of the most divisive products in music tech history, from iLok to the Akai Timbre Wolf
- “All the emotions in the song are real. When I was writing the lyrics, my wounds from it were still fresh”: How a heartbroken bellboy took his revenge with one of the biggest indie anthems of all time
- “I said, ‘Oh, Joni, that’s gonna sound terrible. You need an amp, man! You need some tubes vibrating. You need some air! She goes, ‘Would you just try it?’”: Robben Ford reveals how Joni Mitchell helped him nail his guitar tone on a ’70s classic
- “I wasn’t just unable to write, I started avoiding the studio altogether”: Apparat tells us how he regained his creative demon to make his first album in seven years
- February 27
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- “He was like, ‘Yeah, we just layered, like, 10 different guitars to get that guitar tone.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that's pretty amazing’”: How a warped sample and some Anderson .Paak magic helped Ravyn Lenae to create Love Me Not, her viral hit
- “We can be in the middle of the worst gig in our lives, but when we go into that song, everything changes. The audience is on its feet, singing every word. It’s like God suddenly walks through the room”: The epic U2 anthem that drove its creators half mad
- “No one was more deserving of a life to himself than he was… We were torn, and sympathetic. At the same time, we felt we had unfinished business”: Geddy Lee on honouring Neil Peart and why he and Alex Lifeson are getting back together as Rush
- “We want to find the hidden musical magic across Europe”: Thomann are on the look out for customers of theirs whose stories “move people and spark inspiration”
- February 26
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- "Spark ideas in your DAW, pilot any synth or patch modular without breaking your flow": Arturia unveils KeyStep 37 Mk2 with redesigned interface, extended connectivity and generative tools
- "Some excellent creative features that help you enhance and manipulate patterns": Arturia KeyStep 37 mk2 review
- “The hijacking of the world’s entire treasure-trove of music floods platforms with AI slop and dilutes the royalty pools of legitimate artists from whose music this slop is derived”: Artists’ pressure group launches Say No To Suno campaign
- "Music in general right now I feel has lost the art of dynamics. There’s so much storytelling that can be embedded in a song through just having it very soft and then growing it": In an era of loudness, Laufey is flying the flag for light and shade
- With up to 35% off PA equipment in Sweetwater's Live Sound Month sale, there's never been a better time to upgrade your band's onstage presence - including over $800 off a Midas mixer
- "I've never been interested in it because it's a digital synthesizer": Mike Dean shows off the "crazy rare" wavetable synth that everyone wanted in the '80s – and still sounds great today
- “Wu wouldn’t have come to fruition without Power. His passing is a profound loss to us all”: Wu Tang Clan mourn the death of their associate Oliver ‘Power’ Grant
- “An intimate look at their uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their global army of fans”: A career spanning Iron Maiden doc is coming to cinemas this May
- “I got a call from Burt Bacharach: ‘Can you come to the studio right now?’ So my friend has to move his car so that I can get out – and he runs over my dog!”: How a singer’s beloved pet cheated death during the making of a star-studded ’80s No.1
- February 25
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- “Together, Bruce, the E Street Band, and I are going to turn a spotlight on the current threats to democracy and human rights happening all around us”: Tom Morello to join Springsteen on the Land Of Hope And Dreams tour
- “I wasn’t told I shouldn’t listen to the Beatles. At the same time I was exposed to this incredible Motown music, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and all of that”: Living Colour’s Vernon Reid on inspirations, unsung heroes and the emotional power of a sample
- “Merely a commonplace ‘circle of fifths’ chord progression”: Miley Cyrus’s lawyers bring music theory to the fore in a fresh attempt to show that her hit song Flowers doesn’t copy Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man
- Google's ProducerAI can create customized instruments and effects in your browser
- "I'm totally uninvolved. I'm like the dad that wants to be there and know everything and she's just totally doing her own thing”: Dave Grohl says he had nothing to do with daughter Violet’s record deal
- “What’s the worst part about being dead? You can’t listen to music”: Liquid Death and Spotify have come up with a solution - The Eternal Playlist Urn
- “The guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically. There was a song we wanted to use, and one of the guys said, ‘You got it. Go.’ And the other one was basically like, ‘There’s just no way’”: Melania producer discusses music rights issues
- “I didn’t know garage very well, so I made a slightly skewed version of this sound – which is what ended up being my USP”: MJ Cole on the making of UKG classic Sincere
- “Lars and I saw him headbanging at the Whiskey. ‘Let’s get that guitar player… oh, he’s playing bass!’ This skinny dude with bell bottoms, playing a wah solo. ‘Wow, we need him!’”: James Hetfield on the life and death of Metallica legend Cliff Burton
- “She carved out her own path with unparalleled freedom and vision”: Tributes paid to electronic music pioneer Éliane Radigue
- “The breadth of control, countered with the joy of random probabilities, is simply fun”: ADDAC System 511 VC Stochastic Voltage Generator review
- Built for musicians, DJs and events, the Yamaha DHR12M is the flexible floor monitor that can also be used as a powerful loudspeaker
- It’s funny because it’s true: Soulseek is suddenly full to the brim of crazy Homer Simpson covers
- “I have never been to the Grammys in my life… it means less than nothing”: John Mellencamp isn’t impressed by awards
- February 24
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- “I think Mick would be totally astonished that he’s still being talked about in such a positive way. This guitar just adds sparkle to an already legendary life”: Gibson unveils Murphy Lab replica of Mick Ronson’s Bowie-era 1968 Les Paul Custom
- “I’m looking at this ‘hot chick’ who's got everything going on – or at least that’s what you think – and she wants the song about being Beautiful? How vain is that?”: How Christina Aguilera ended up recording a Linda Perry song that she's now reclaimed
- “The synths only let you play one note at a time, which was great as we couldn’t play chords anyway”: How Depeche Mode launched their career with one of the most important synth-pop records ever released
- “The beating human heart of those incredible men and women, the struggles and sacrifices they are making every day for the most sacred thing on this planet – freedom”: New U2 video features footage taken from behind the frontline in Ukraine
- “I don’t think we’ll have to go out into the desert and take peyote and puke like we did in the old days – when we were the hip young LA cowboys”: How Don Henley and Glenn Frey remembered the Eagles’ wild years as they created the band’s swan song
- "There's nothing quite like it": The singular genius of Laurie Spiegel's Music Mouse, with Eventide's Tony Agnello
- “When you've been in a band you’re always, in the back of your head, thinking, 'Well, maybe this is it.' And I don't mind that feeling. I don't see it as a sad thing”: Mike Patton on feeling closure at the end of Faith No More
- Audiomodern's Soundbox is a new kind of instrument ecosystem – and it's free for developers
- “He says, ‘Well, I've got it here,’ and he plays it. He gets Austin to sing it with him, so Austin and Sir Paul are doing an Elvis duet”: Uh-huh? Baz Luhrmann says that Paul McCartney convinced Austin Butler to sing an Elvis song with him on a train
- "Quite literally, I did not have a microphone, but I had a karaoke game on the Nintendo Wii and they gave you a mic": PinkPantheress becomes the first woman to win Producer of the Year at the BRIT Awards
- ACME Synth Works unveils “world’s first” hardware clone of the Roland Jupiter-8 – but don’t get too excited just yet
- “A cost-effective wavetable synthesizer you could fall in love with”: Waldorf Protein review
- “I mean, it’s a terrible position to put someone in. They would always be compared to the man”: Geddy Lee on why he and Alex Lifeson chose Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles to fill the late, great Neil Peart’s role in Rush reunion tour
- February 23
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- “An absolute steal when it comes to quality and value for money”: Harley Benton ST-Modern Carlos Asensio CGM review
- “I can’t go on Instagram - my reel is all hardware and I get sucked in”: Electronic producer and artist James Adrian Brown on how his synth obsession fuelled his debut record
- “I’m out of tiles. I'm out of wood. I just don't have it. So the only way for me to come up with a new idea and get some new inspiration is to just step away”: Tobias Forge explains why Ghost are about to go on hiatus
- “My advice is play the song. Can you find a part that is tailored to the music – with hooks that don’t get in the way?”: Cory Wong’s tips for better rhythm guitar playing – and why his favourite Vulfpeck chord is “a bit like tofu”
- “A fun, unique way to express yourself”: Google adds AI music creation app Lyria 3 to its Gemini assistant
- Abbey Road releases its first virtual instrument in collaboration with fashion house Charles Jeffrey Loverboy
- Jigsaw Falling Into Place?: Radiohead fans speculate as band form a new limited company
- “How did the zap migrate from its association with Klingons, to its more common description of Hi Q?”: How to conjure the spirit of early techno and trigger your own retro zaps in software
- “A new way to put meaningful control of the algorithm directly in your hands”: Can Spotify’s Prompted Playlist feature put you back in the driving seat when it comes to your music listening?
- “Brian Wampler’s take on those fire-breathing amps that defined the sound of the 1980s”: Love hotrodded Plexi crunch and Mesa high-gain drive? Wampler’s Golden Jubilee serves up both in one sparkly green stompbox
- “We play the machines, and sometimes the machines play us”: Delving into the inner workings of the title track from Kraftwerk’s most influential record
- “We dearly hope you will come along and help us celebrate 50 years of Rush music, while giving Neil the long overdue tribute he so richly deserves”: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are bringing the Rush reunion tour to the UK, Europe and South America
- "It wasn’t just me… we were like, ‘Hey man, that was awesome. That was such a blast, but we are going to move on and find another drummer”: Dave Grohl explains the simple reasoning behind Josh Freese’s Foo Fighters exit
- “It was fantastic to have Paul come in every day, and we hung out with him quite a lot as well. The studio was absolutely crammed with our gear and his”: 10cc's Graham Gouldman on working with Paul McCartney at Strawberry Studios
- February 22
- February 21
- February 20
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- How Alan Braxe and Fred Falke made an all-time house classic with just a sampler and a bass guitar: “When we did this 25 years ago, it felt like we had no clue of what we were doing”
- “One of the greatest national anthems ever”: How Charlie Puth used jazz harmony to “pull off something pretty spectacular” at the Super Bowl - and send online music theory educators into a frenzy
- “It was John’s original inspiration, I think my melody, I think my guitar riff. That’s my recollection”: Lennon might have written the lyrics, but as McCartney remembers it, he “wrote the tune” to one of The Beatles’ greatest and most poignant songs
- February 19
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- “Those fridges are probably the fourth best musical group to come out of Sheffield”: Supermarket goes viral for the chilled ambient drones of its freezer section
- “Taylor and Travis Kelce have been listening to my music loads together and have requested that I remix Opalite”: Chris Lake said yes to a Taylor Swift remix before he'd even heard the stems, then had to spend two weeks solid producing it in Ableton Live
- Arturia's FX Collection 6 adds an ambient plugin specialising in "novel, emotive textures" and a souped-up H910 Harmonizer
- “It’s definitely one of those songs that I’m never gonna be ashamed of. Hell, it opened a lot of doors for us!”: Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill laughed when he first sang the words to this song – but it turned into a No.1 hit
- “The single biggest leap we ever made. That's when we really started making music the way we wanted to”: Brian May reflects on Queen II, as it's confirmed that the 1974 album is about to get a lavish reissue
- “Joe Satriani said, ‘Every time I do an album, I feel like the first song I have to prove that I can play guitar. I wish I could let that go.’ I thought, ‘I know exactly what you mean’”: Paul Gilbert on why it’s so hard to resist the urge to shred
- “I’ll be having fun with this for a long time to come”: UJAM's Voxcraft delivers creative vocal manipulation without the menu-diving
- “A metalhead named Ron Quintana had a list of names for his fanzine. Lars saw that list. Ron chose Metal Mania – but Metallica was on there. So Lars ‘borrowed’ it. Forever”: James Hetfield on Metallica’s early days – when they were happy to have five fans
- February 18
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- Billy Idol Should Be Dead: New documentary "digs deep" into star's "emergence as a prototypical punk rocker" and transformation into an MTV superstar
- Could the Line 6 Helix Stadium Floor be a serious rival to the Quad Cortex? An 8” touchscreen, all-new AI-driven modelling tech and the capability to automate your live show gives it a fighting chance
- “Between that and the ABBA hologram show there’s really nothing left of our ideas": Damon Albarn suggests that Gorillaz helped to lay the groundwork for the success of KPop Demon Hunters, and reflects on the "mismatch" that led to Blur's Coachella debacle
- "She was lightyears ahead of her time": Eventide releases reimagined version of Laurie Spiegel's Music Mouse, four decades on from its release
- “These chemicals are not just additives; they may be migrating from the headphones into our body”: Research shows nearly all headphones contain chemicals that are dangerous to human health
- “You can have a great amp but if the speaker sucks it won’t sound good”: Sylosis' Josh Middleton on the most important link in your signal chain – and how a remarkable find from Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood helped him nail Andy Sneap’s tone
- February 17
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- “When I was a child, I had a poster on my wall of BB King playing his signature Lucille… I just wanted to be a part of that world”: Gary Clark Jr channels the King of the Blues for limited edition Gibson Custom Shop collab
- "The tones may not quite be best of the lot, but it's comfortably the easiest and most enjoyable modeller to use": Line 6 Helix Stadium XL review
- “Every time you put on that bald cap, you know you’re about to have the time of your lives”: Pitbull fans will attempt to break a world record at Hyde Park gig in July
- “I was super flattered to be invited back into The Simpsons universe, and particularly with this grand message of great hope”: Michael Stipe returns to Springfield to sing a rewritten version of one of REM's biggest hits
- “Those first two days we got along like brothers, but then after we did the album thing, it was like, ‘This isn’t happening’”: How the gift of a divisive Rolling Stones album scuppered the chance of a collaboration between Nile Rodgers and John Mayer
- “Cruise Ship Designer sounded so weird, I would have been scared if you’d said it would ever become a single”: We speak to Dry Cleaning about the making of the Cate Le Bon-produced Secret Love
- “I brought two speakers, keyboards and a vocal mic, and moved the dining table”: Producer Mike Sabath on starting Raye’s “outrageous” second studio album at an Airbnb in the mountains, and the “crazy” reaction to Where Is My Husband!
- “He was a guy in my neighbourhood who played... I was scared to say it at the time, but he played at the level of John McLaughlin!”: Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid pays tribute to a lost genius
- “His lyrics often began as deeply personal reflections, transformed into anthems in which millions found themselves”: Tributes paid to Billy Steinberg, co-writer of Madonna's Like A Virgin, The Bangles' Eternal Flame, and Cyndi Lauper's True Colors
- “It revealed what went on behind the doors of Kling Klang, and for once the truth is almost up there with the fiction”: What we’ve learned about the inner workings of Kraftwerk’s mythical studio via a recent auction
- “I can’t wait for everyone to hear and see what we’ve created. I hope Eurovision is ready to get synthesized!”: Famed for his crazy musical inventions, the UK’s shock Eurovision 2026 entrant is none other than Look Mum No Computer
- After being sampled by Eminem and Kanye West and seeing 1971 song Bless the Telephone going viral on TikTok, Labi Siffre is returning with Unfinished Business, his first new album this century
- “I can’t play the violin. I bought this crappy, cheap violin, and I’d be in the booth and Charli would walk in like ‘what the...?’”: Charli xcx and Finn Keane on the "nails-on-a-chalkboard" strings behind the Wuthering Heights soundtrack
- “I got to design a guitar that gave me exactly what I was looking for in contrast to my Strats”: How Cory Wong embraced humbuckers to reimagine Ernie Ball Music Man’s iconic bass for a signature electric with “that George Benson sound”
- “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to write a song with just one chord?’ And in the restriction of writing with one chord I found a freedom that I’d never found before”: When Neil Diamond broke new ground with The Band’s Robbie Robertson
- February 16
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- “One day it was nothing but laughs. We're on stage and Dave's looking at me every night like, 'You're killing it, dude!!!' And then it was just... over": Josh Freese is still puzzled as to why he was fired from Foo Fighters
- Ableton Live co-creator Robert Henke updates a classic Live effect with free M4L device Filter Delays
- “We are seeing free parties rise, mid-tier venues disappear… extraordinary resilience, but resilience is not a policy”: New report into UK electronic music brings mixed news
- “It’s one of the earliest heavy metal records made. Paul’s contribution was the way Ringo played the drums”: Did the Beatles really pioneer hard rock as early as 1965? John Lennon certainly thought so
- Get golden-era guitar tone with $600 off thanks to the awesome Presidents' Day sale on Vintera II guitars over at the official Fender store
- “I think we’re the perfect band for that. We’ve been talking to those guys”: Tool are looking into a 2027 residency at the Las Vegas Sphere
- “I would never have played bass without him, and without him I would never have been in a rock band. He taught me so much”: Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea remembers the band’s original guitarist Hillel Slovak
- February 15
- February 14
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- “One day in Berlin, Eno came running in and said, ‘I have heard the sound of the future’”: How to replicate the trailblazing pulse of I Feel Love
- “They needed something slow for the romantic scenes with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis… The components are the five-note motif, the melody and the distinctive bass sound with a key change in the middle”: The genius of Giorgio Moroder in an ’80s classic
- “It says on the record: ‘No synthesizers’. That’s so cool. And I love Ogre Battle – danga-danga, ‘Waaaaah!’”: Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith names his favourite Queen album
- “Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia and Sinead O’Connor in wigs to do backing vocals… Brian Eno on an Omnichord”: Dave Stewart recalls a bonkers late-'90s TFI Friday appearance
- February 13
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- “Powerful, extremely versatile and creatively refreshing, it offers a ton of inspiration if you click with it”: LAG HyVibe 10 HV10ACE review
- “A joy to use, offers some interesting opportunities for patching and can grow with your rig too”: ADDAC System 814 6x6 Stereo Matrix Mixer review
- Hack your disposable vape into a mini wind synth with this DIY guide
- Behringer clones the Lovetone Ring Stinger, a cult classic ring mod/fuzz pedal heard on Radiohead's Kid A
- “Premium design detail coupled with excellent sonics delivers a listening experience that doesn’t disappoint”: HEDD HEDDphone D1 review
- “That’s called the lazy musician’s way”: Greg Phillinganes schools Clyde Lawrence on how to play the piano part in Toto’s Rosanna correctly
- “It’s quite funny when people ask us what it means. We had no clue that it would connect with so many people”: How Wet Leg's breakout hit was created in “teenage sleepover mode” and written in a single day
- “I was so surprised Rihanna didn't take it, because I thought it was the greatest song in the world at the time”: How Sia went from songwriter to superstar with one of the 2010s' biggest tracks
- “Who do we really support, and what kind of ecosystem do we want for live music in Europe?”: New research shows the vice-like grip four companies have on Europe’s live music
- February 12
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- “Developed with Kirk Hammett’s guidance and built from specifications taken directly from the actual PAF humbuckers on that world-renowned guitar”: Gibson unveils the $449 Custom Shop humbucker set that will make your Les Paul sound like ‘Greeny’
- "His creative contributions were immense, and his presence – both musical and personal – will be deeply missed”: Greg Brown, co-founder of '90s band Cake has died
- “This is the king of synths. It will always be my favourite”: Howard Jones takes you on a tour of the synth he’s owned since 1983 that “sounds like no other”
- “Give your agent a music career”: New AI-only online radio station launches
- Inside Harley Benton’s 2026 mega-drop: Fresh colours and a baritone for the SC Custom III, a metallic makeover for hot-rodded S-styles, all-solid acoustics for under $250 and more
- "Not that Kirk doesn't get enough solos, but Cliff took his solo, which I think is just so cool": Robert Trujillo on the time Metallica mixed up their solos
- "Welcome to the dystopian future we only dreamed about three years ago": Deadmau5 blasts DJ using his AI-generated deepfake to promote music
- A whopping $900 discount on a stunning Gibson Les Paul is the headline act of Guitar Center's early Presidents' Day sale, plus a generous up to 30% off a range of music-making gear
- “Income from streaming simply isn’t enough to sustain most artists and that 99.9% them face a funding gap”: New app launched that could provide grassroots artists with a much-needed revenue stream
- “Thank you for everything, for your friendship, your wit and your generosity of spirit, and of course for the music, forever a true friend and brother”: Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken has died, aged 72
- February 11
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- Harley Benton just dropped an 8-string for southpaw players that has a multi-scale build, high-gain humbuckers – and it offers change from 300 bucks
- “He knew one day someone would come and look through this stuff. They’re not objects for veneration to be kept in a box": Rare footage of Bowie from 1978 to be included in new ‘immersive’ show
- Waldorf Protein hands-on: Four layers, '90s wavetables & MPE in a $399 mini synth
- “The reason everybody knows Eric Clapton’s name is not because he’s a great guitar player”: Billy Corgan says virtuosic guitar solos mean nothing in the social media age – and argues guitar influencers need to make a bigger impact on popular music
- “Every producer bows down to Dilla, whether they like it or not”: How J Dilla and his MPC changed beatmaking forever
- “She’s happy with the sale and has been celebrating by spending time with her kids”: Britney sells her back catalogue for a rumoured $200 million
- Cherry Audio’s SH-MAX takes on a trio of classic Roland monosynths called upon by everyone from Kraftwerk to Tame Impala
- “We weren’t like a normal group that’s ready to take a knock. We couldn’t fight back”: Carl Palmer on how punk killed ELP
- The Beatles-approved J-160E makes its return as Gibson unveils a trio of Original Collection flat-tops celebrating the golden era of acoustic guitar making
- “Offers power, warmth, charm and usability, in a highly convincing virtual analogue reproduction, with real heart and soul”: Cherry Audio SH-MAX review
- February 10
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- “The legendary sound and feel, now reimagined for your DAW or desktop”: Amp modelling titan Fractal Audio unveils its first guitar plugin suite
- “If we could make this stuff too hot to handle, that’d be great!”: Chris Buck appeals for help to find his stolen Peli cases
- “I cheat, really. I’m not a great technical player at all. Because I was always writing for myself, I could avoid the things I couldn’t play”: Tony Banks says that virtuoso technique was never his priority, but avoiding "lazy" chord progressions was
- Improve the impact of your basslines by quickly learning the basics of bass compression
- “There were probably 20 people at that first Rush gig. I don’t recall whether those 20 people were impressed or not. I’m guessing that they weren’t!”: Alex Lifeson recalls the humble beginnings of his legendary band
- Ableton Live 12.4 introduces Link Audio and updates Erosion, Delay and Chorus-Ensemble devices
- “This whole song came from a mistake”: The fateful circumstances that led to Coldplay’s biggest ever song
- “They imbue the essence of their unique design philosophy into every note”: The latest additions to Roland’s Kiyola piano range blend ultra-accurate digital modelling with some world-class aesthetics
- "If any of those wet wipes songwriting teams, all 11 of them, want to have it out on the red carpet, I’m there": Noel Gallagher explains why he deserves his Brits Songwriter Of The Year award, despite not releasing any new songs
- “I walked in… and Joni Mitchell was in baby blue pyjamas. She said, ‘Have a seat.’ And we talked about music. I wrote You Get What You Give the same day”: How a weird dream inspired the New Radicals’ classic ’90s hit
- “Ah man I’m so ready to go broke. When are these launching?” Billie Joe Armstrong debuts signature ‘Dookie’ Marshall amps during Super Bowl LX show
- “I just wanna know when Led Zeppelin's gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame. 'Oh, you can't do that?' Oh, really?”: Gene Simmons mouths off on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the lack of talent required to make EDM and the state of modern music
- “Prince told me, ‘You sound so great, man. Keep doing your thing – because when I hear it, it’s such a sound!’”: Cory Wong recalls his encounters with The Purple One – and names the Prince album that every funk guitarist should listen to
- February 9
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- "It’s the full power of the Quad Cortex, just in a smaller box": Neural DSP Quad Cortex mini review
- “Jam-packed with features and functionality that will serve more experienced users well, and simple enough to use that pretty much anyone could pick it up and start making music with”: Akai MPK Mini IV review
- “A breach of his composer agreement”: Jonny Greenwood and Paul Thomas Anderson ask for track to be removed from Melania doc
- “Of course she wants to record that song - it’s the best song written by a human being”: James Taylor explains how he had to tell Carole King that he’d recorded one of her greatest songs without her knowing, and before she’d released her own version
- “Every child deserves to feel they have a place where they belong, and music has this incredible ability to create that sense of connection”: Guy Chambers to help school kids write their own school anthem
- “When approached thoughtfully, electronic music can act as a kind of scaffolding for the nervous system”: Mastery Studio, Djrum and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on electronic music, sound healing and its potential for positive minds
- “Forgets his lyrics during his song showing all the MAGA Far Right that he wasn’t even singing. What a complete and utter embarrassment”: Kid Rock lambasted for appearing to mime at ‘All American’ alternative Super Bowl half time show
- Slate + Ash's Primaries / Woods uses woodwind instruments as the raw materials for expressive sound design
- “I didn't even mean to release it - I was working on another song and came up with the riff and then I just started freestyling”: A decade on, we analyse the inner workings of one of Beck’s most potent bangers
- “One day, I said to myself, ‘I really want a song on this album that has a Kenny G solo.' But there was an issue. I don’t know Kenny G... but I had an idea”: How Charlie Puth used manifestation and Melodyne to get a sax legend on his new single
- "It is like saying that my love of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather makes me a mobster”: Campaigners hope to make lyrics and videos inadmissible as evidence
- "Challenging? I couldn't remember the words to the songs”: Foreigner’s Lou Gramm on touring the world a MONTH after brain surgery
- February 8
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- “It’s crazy, ambitious and so out of the box. It’s like nothing you’d ever heard before.”: Zakk Wylde picks his favourite Randy Rhoads guitar solo – and explains why Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne were perfect for each other
- “We took a demo tape to A&M Records, who didn’t even know we were signed to them – even though we’d done two albums for them!”: How Roger Hodgson and Supertramp fought their way to the top – and how the multi-million-selling band imploded
- February 7
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- “Ozzy came to see us in Los Angeles and said it was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard, which coming from him is the biggest compliment”: Nina Persson on the Cardigans’ Sabbath covers
- “There was a time I was collecting synths and using as much hardware as possible – maybe it’s a bit weird to downgrade from that”: Ikonika on discovering their voice and going back-to-basics for Sad
- February 6
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- Behringer unleashes the BMX, its $459 clone of the Oberheim DMX
- "This is not a contest or a gimmick. It's a genuine search for the right voice, presence and authenticity to carry Skid Row forward": Could YOU be the next Skid Row frontman?
- “I'm like, ‘OK, put the drum machine in.' When I played it, she said, ‘Oh, I like that. I like that.' And she said, 'I want to do a song about the nasty boys’”: How Janet Jackson and Jam & Lewis made Control – with a little help from the Ensoniq Mirage
- “A perverse or healthy attraction to crazy ideas”: Soulwax aka 2manydjs are throwing a rave – at Abbey Road Studios
- MusicRadar deals of the week: Save a colossal $500 off one of my favourite Sterling by Music Man guitars, grab $200 off a super cool D'Angelico, plus all the week's biggest sales on music gear
- Not The Same As It Was: Harry Styles announces special one-off Manchester show with cut-price £20 tickets
- Behringer's "supercharged" Roland Juno-60 clone is now available for pre-order
- February 5
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- “I had no idea that song would become what it became. There was nothing on the radio like that. And the recording is so raw, it’s ridiculous!”: The hard-rocking Lenny Kravitz hit that’s full of surprises
- “What the heck were you thinking, dude?”: As Alex Honnold reveals just how much Tool he listened to during his free climb of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, the band’s frontman Maynard James Keenan speaks for all of us
- "I think it helps to not have too much music theory. Taking inspiration from different genres and being open-minded is important”: Dimmu Borgir’s Silenoz on playing a guitar inspired by a shark – and why you can be black metal and still love the blues
- "It ended up as the sound palette for a whole new generation": Inventor of FM synthesis John Chowning honoured with Technical Grammy Award
- Can ROLI's new AI Music Coach really match up to a human piano teacher? We get the exclusive first look
- “I’d have to smoke a big joint to be able to listen to all of it, and I haven’t done that in a long, long time!”: Why Fleetwood Mac legend Lindsey Buckingham would prefer to forget some of his own albums
- “They were my favourite band growing up. Dave was my hero, and this was his keyboard": How The Repair Shop restored The Stranglers’ vintage keyboard
- February 4
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- “This is probably one of the last years where it's only humans on the red carpet... That agent and robot will be here before 2030”: Will.i.am thinks Grammys will be given to bots by the end of the decade
- “Eddie was always experimenting. Keyboards entered the mix, but it didn’t sound like a keyboard because Eddie played this cheap little Wurlitzer blazing through Marshalls”: Van Halen's Michael Anthony on the band’s cult classic Women And Children First
- “No other industry would tolerate this level of loss of life and neither should we”: Science indicates that musicians do actually die younger - but why?
- “I’m just a piano tuner, man”: Could Leo Woodall’s very particular set of pitch identification and safe-cracking skills make Tuner the audiology thriller we never knew we needed?
- "An extraordinary ability to elevate each project he works on… his creative influence spans every corner of contemporary culture”: Mark Ronson to receive Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the Brits
- LALAL.AI brings its AI-powered stem separation into your DAW with its first plugin
- “I didn’t want something too radical but I also wanted something heavy metal”: Mark Morton and Gibson unveil a signature Les Paul Modern Quilt that brings the fire with a “flamethrower” bridge humbucker
- “We did that song, I think, the day that David Bowie died… It just kind of flowed”: Anderson .Paak on how the death of a music legend inspired Dang!, the 2016 pop-rap masterpiece that he would eventually record with Mac Miller
- “I was at school supposedly trying to get an education and all I could think about was that album. Black Sabbath are the gods, man!”: How Pantera singer Phil Anselmo fell under Sabbath’s evil spell
- “She’s kept all of her costumes, all of her clothes, all of her instruments": Is Meryl Streep playing Joni Mitchell in Cameron Crowe's upcoming biopic?
- February 3
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- “That whole thing of doing the trades with other players is a really nice thing”: Vernon Reid says he hopes he and Jack White have started a trend for pro guitarists swapping signature models
- “From functionality through to physical design, IK Multimedia has completely nailed it”: IK Multimedia ARC On-Ear review
- “Bonzo’s birthday cake was a wedding cake and George Harrison lifted the top layer straight into Bonzo’s face. Bonzo picked Harrison up and launched him into the swimming pool”: When Led Zeppelin broke a Beatles record and celebrated in style
- “He was distant and uncommunicative… and wore a different wig every day”: Starsailor singer James Walsh on working with Phil Spector
- This free, super-glitchy multi-effects plugin is designed for happy accidents
- “Mars argues that it is immoral for him to be cast aside... I am not unsympathetic to this argument but it is not for me to weigh in on the morality of the band’s decision”: Judge rules Mötley Crüe were within rights to fire Mick Mars
- “It’s a great feeling. I wish we’d had something like this at my school”: Justin Hawkins opens recording studio at Hereford Cathedral School
- “I heard a few of those things he did with Johnny Cash and I was impressed. So that was one of the reasons I was interested in working with him”: Neil Diamond scored his first US No.1 album at the age of 67 – with help from producer Rick Rubin
- “We had nothing to do with it creatively. We hope it sparks interest in him and his work”: Chili Peppers distance themselves from documentary about founder member Hillel Slovak
- “40W of stereo sound with studio-grade tone – packed into a travel-ready design”: Mooer Audio’s flagship Intelligent Amp lets you find guitar tones using AI prompts
- “I put a pitch-shifter on the master bus!”: In the era of lo-fi beats and bedroom recording, does sound quality even matter anymore?
- “Lorne Michaels said, ‘Hey, do you want to host SNL?’ I said, ‘Yeah, can I do the music?’ He’s like, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’m not doing it'": Timothée Chalamet says that he had to self-fund his Bob Dylan musical performances on Saturday Night Live
- You’re Working For No-One But Me: New survey reveals Harry Styles is the UK pop’s biggest contributor to the taxman
- February 2
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- "The EF86 tube is often described as hi-fi, and honestly, that's the perfect way to describe what's coming out of this thing": EarthQuaker Devices EQD ZEQD-Pre review
- APT with a twist: Bruno Mars plays a Gibson Les Paul as he and Rosé deliver a hard rock version of their 2024 hit at the Grammy Awards
- “I remember Lars was unwrapping all these Styx and REO Speedwagon records and I’m going, ‘What are you buying this crap for?’”: Why James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich didn’t always see eye to eye in Metallica’s early days
- “Another huge win for the video game music scene as a whole”: 8-Bit Big Band pick up their second Grammy for their Super Mario medley
- "Once upon a time I was a kid making beats in his bedroom in Canada and now I'm here": Cirkut takes home Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 2026 Grammy Awards
- “It is clear why creators are concerned. Tech firms train models on copyrighted works without permission”: Four in five musicians are “worried” about AI music
- “Festivals generate 25,800 tonnes of waste, 22,876 tonnes of CO2 and use 185 million litres of water annually”: How Massive Attack set a new benchmark for the future of sustainable live music events
- “We were at a club, and some guy was punching on a girl, and James says, ‘Kill him!’ This guy turns around and looks at the two of us and says, ‘Who’s gonna kill me?’ And James pointed at me…": Dave Mustaine on early days with, and split from, Metallica
- Justin Bieber just gave the most literal ‘stripped-down’ Grammys performance possible, playing an ‘80s Yamaha electric guitar and an Akai MPC Live III in just his underwear
- “The only thing more powerful than hate is love, so please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love”: Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish all win big at 2026 Grammys
- “One day I got up and the sun was shining, all the mountains were lit up, and I came up with Mr. Blue Sky”: How Jeff Lynne created his masterpiece with ELO’s Out Of The Blue
- February 1
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- “I turned to him and said, ‘Where did you come up with that amazing bass line?’ He turned to me and said, ‘Oh, you like that?’ Like he didn't know”: The influential Chic classic that spawned one of the most recognisable basslines of all time
- “The solo is his interpretation of war – all this screaming. It’s such a brilliant piece of artistry, such a pure form of expression”: The explosive Hendrix classic hailed as the greatest guitar track of all time by Guns N’ Roses legend Slash
- “A sturdy, interesting and decent-sounding effects unit with tempo syncing and sequencing capabilities”: Polyend Mess review