Articles by: Roy Spencer

Attica Blues: "This album opened doors for other people. We played our part so the Little Simz of the world could come through"

By Roy Spencer published 1 June 23

Attica Blues' self-titled 1997 debut album coined a new sound in British Black music. We find out how it was made

DJ Sprinkles on Midtown 120 Blues: "The album is a critique of the commodification of old school deep house. A lot of people miss that point"

By Roy Spencer published 27 April 23

Terre Thaemlitz's 2009 LP calls out house music for the old lie of ‘life, love and happiness’ and tells the stories of the marginalised communities from which it emerged

Palm Skin Productions on Remilixir: "Virgin were hoping for a Daft Punk record, but what I thought was, ‘Now I’ve got a chance to go really deep!’ That’s how you get dropped after one album"

By Roy Spencer published 13 March 23

Fresh from Mo' Wax and signed to Virgin, Simon Richmond plundered the major-label coffers to produce his most daring release yet. Here's how the album was made

Classic album: Om Unit on Threads

By Roy Spencer published 20 February 23

Om Unit unravels the non-conformist DnB of Threads, his 2013 album that fused dubstep, jungle, and garage rhythms with progressive beatmaking and grandiose sound design

Classic album: Clark on Body Riddle

By Roy Spencer published 28 September 22

"I was really skint at the time, basically eating cabbage and bean soup. But, I was the happiest I think I’ve ever been, because I just knew I had this album"

Classic album - Underworld’s Rick Smith on Second Toughest in the Infants: "No plugins, no compressors, no gates… I don’t know how I did it!”

By Roy Spencer published 23 September 22

Back in 2010, Underworld’s production mainstay talked us through the band's seminal mid-’90s long player

Classic album: Fred Everything on Light of Day

By Future Music, Roy Spencer published 14 April 22

The deep house maestro reflects on the making of his 2004 classic

How to stream a DJ set

By Future Music last updated 29 March 22

Twitch, please! Streaming is part of the new normal, and bags of fun. If you’ve been meaning to make the leap, read on

Fatboy Slim on You've Come a Long Way, Baby: "At this point, I’d cracked the big ‘drug build’"

By Future Music, Roy Spencer published 30 October 20

Classic album MTS special! The story behind a multi-platinum big beat masterpiece

10 gamechanging ‘90s electronic music albums that still sound great today

By Roy Spencer published 9 April 20

Classic records made without powerful DAWs and plugins

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

The 20 best electronic music movies and documentaries to watch right now from your sofa

By Roy Spencer published 1 April 20

Clubbing classics, gear celebrations, artist profiles and, er, Zac Efron

Jazzy Jeff’s 6 top tips for scratch DJs

By Roy Spencer last updated 25 April 22

The legendary hip-hop DJ breaks down some hard-learned hints and tips that’ll have you cutting it up like a pro in no time.

Classic album: Danny Byrd on Supersized

By Roy Spencer published 29 May 19

“I was in a state of sheer fear making this album – that was my main memory."

Classic Album: 808 State on ex:el

By Roy Spencer published 8 April 19

Track by track with Graham Massey

Jazzy Jeff: “I don't care how much a machine can do something, it's not going to be enough to replace a DJ”

By Roy Spencer published 10 April 18

The legendary DJ defends Pioneer DJ’s DDJ-SB3 controller, calls out so-called “purists”, and sorts his Christmas list

Pioneer DJ PLX-500 review

By Roy Spencer last updated 16 September 21

A low-cost deck from a name you can trust?

Pioneer DJM-S9 review

By Roy Spencer last updated 16 September 21

£1269
€1799
$1999

The best battle mixer on the planet?

Classic album: Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock

By Roy Spencer published 15 April 14

Malcolm McLaren invents World Music