Features archive

March 2026

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51 articles

March 31
- “I was never a huge Beatles fan. But I learned recently that John Lennon said that it’s the one song he wished he would have written”: The disco classic that sold 11 million copies and influenced famous songs by Lennon and ABBA
- “David didn’t seem happy about it. I told him he could come with us but he declined”: Tony Visconti reveals Bowie's reaction to Holy Holy, the supergroup that would be performing his songs
March 30
- “It’s essentially a ballad, but we put a pounding beat to it. It turned into a power track”: The classic ’80s No 1 by A-ha that inspired a U2 anthem
- “They describe themselves as a Mantra-Rock Dada Pythago-Cubist Orchestra, and the band name translates to ‘angina of the chest’”: The microtonal music theory behind viral math-rockers Angine de Poitrine
- “Electronic gear was expanding. The Fairlight was being used all over the place. All those things were going on and we wanted some of that”: Rush legend Geddy Lee on the making of the band’s groundbreaking ‘80s classic
March 28
- “I decided it would be funny to write a song about how he was holding us all down, how he was trying to mess it all up, sabotaging our great works of art”: The story of the Beastie Boys' incendiary Sabotage
- “You start putting expectations on yourself. ‘OK, I’ve got to compete with Bach and Beethoven and Mozart and The Beatles!”: An in-depth conversation with rock guitar’s most maverick virtuoso, Paul Gilbert
- “An insane killer, a lunatic, he’s going to do something bad. Give him a ride, why don’t you? But when the end comes, you realise Jim’s singing a beautiful, romantic song": The story of the Doors' beautifully bleak masterpiece
March 27
- “Bon liked a drink, but he wasn’t just a wild man. And he was great to us. He’d ask us, ‘Got any money?’ When we said no, he’d pull out a huge wad of tenners and give us 20 quid to buy some beers”: The life and times of legendary AC/DC singer Bon Scott
March 25
- “Human heartbeats can become kick drums, birdsong and whale calls can become melodies”: Exploring the new industry of AI-integrated hardware effects pedals
- Eventide’s Music Mouse turns your mouse into a MIDI controller
- "It's like being in a toy shop": Abbey Road is reinventing itself as it brings in the "most comprehensive collection" of gear in its history
- “I might not be good at making streaming numbers but I can make music that is emotionally engaging. That’s more important than just getting a hit on a digital platform”: We speak to Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor
- “I remember the fracas. Simon stood in the middle and said to Rodgers, ‘If you want to hit anyone, hit me’ – so he did”: The multi-million selling supergroup whose last big hit was the punch that the singer stuck on the drummer
March 24
- “I had vocal polyps. It was really intense. I didn’t sleep for an entire month. There was no sound coming out. But I learned how to talk again. I learned how to sing again”: How Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan found her falsetto and made her comeback
- "Apparently it was the one song that got John recording again. I think John just thought, ‘Uh oh, I had better get working, too’”: The story of the last entry in Lennon and McCartney’s musical conversation
March 23
- “Prince had rented out the theatre with free popcorn, snacks and drinks for everyone. Then we found out he wanted to watch Finding Nemo!”: Cory Wong on the night Prince broke up a Paisley Park jam session to guffaw in front of a Pixar family classic
- “On the spur of the moment I said, ‘I’m going to do the backing vocals in Spanish’”: How The Clash created an iconic ’80s hit that’s lived on thanks to Levi’s, Kylie and Stranger Things
March 21
- “We wrote 24K Magic when Uptown Funk was No 1. So if you hear the same spirit in that song, that's why”: A decade on, we look back at the musical theory and retro gear that shaped Bruno Mars’ 2016 classic
- “I said, 'tomorrow I’m going to go into the studio, find some place, make up a tune and make this record'. So I said to Jeff ‘do you want to help?’": The story of the Traveling Wilburys, the star-studded supergroup that made it all look fun
March 20
- “We hate AI slop. We don't want the fun to be taken out of music making": We tried to vibe code a custom looper pedal with Polyend Endless – here's what happened
- “People have told me they’ve heard it at weddings – with a guy singing it at the organ. Oh God! I can’t imagine what that was like”: Bryan Adams and the ballad that ate the world
March 19
- “You shouldn't even know about that. I’d rather not speak about it”: The contentious origin of the David Guetta monolith that brought Sia to mainstream attention
March 17
- “I tried to write a love song that wasn’t corny, that didn’t sound stupid or lame the way many do. I think I succeeded”: How Talking Heads crafted the delicate beauty of This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
- “I created the guitar parts. I was super jet-lagged and loopy, but I was able to focus, and we created the song. Natalie’s version is extremely similar”: How Paul McCartney’s guitarist Rusty Anderson helped to shape the sound of a classic ’90s hit
- “He wrote some of the best parts of Hotel California and Desperado. He wrote some pivotal lines that I wouldn’t have thought of in a million years”: Don Henley’s praise for his Eagles bandmate Glenn Frey
March 16
- “I find it amazing that people are singing along in such a celebratory way about being involved in a car crash”: We speak to The Smiths’ producer Stephen Street and learn how their most beloved song came to be
- “We didn’t want to be the kind of band that came out with a big song and then went away. But when that song came out, it changed everything”: How Stone Temple Pilots created one of the great alternative rock anthems
March 15
- “This is actually rock music written on electronic equipment”: How to replicate the sample-based sonics of a gnarly Prodigy classic
- “When Tarantino first sent me the script I hated it. I didn’t want my music associated with that!”: Why Neil Diamond refused to have his song used in Pulp Fiction – and ended up regretting it
March 14
- “I thought Motörhead was just a load of noise, to be honest – but good noise. I’d never heard anything like it. It was like a spaceship had come down to land”: A classic interview with former Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell, who has died aged 64
- “I understood it as a great pop song, but I wasn't sure on the very first listen as to whether I liked it or not”: How Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke bottled the sound of heartbreak with Only You
March 13
- “I don’t think we would’ve found any success had I not written any songs or had someone else been the lead singer. Me and the fellas would’ve been playing down at a local club somewhere”: The story of a rock classic that’s now hit over two billion streams
March 12
- “I remember David reaching over to John and saying, ‘No, don’t do it like that’, and John going, ‘Excuse me? I’m the bass player, right? This is how I do it!’”: The tense night David Bowie and Queen spontaneously came up with a classic
- “The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band”: Why this cult classic was hailed as one of the most influential albums of all time
March 11
- Baby Audio's Grainferno can transform any sound in your sample library into something entirely new
March 10
- “We were labelled ‘the new Led Zeppelin’. I mean, wow! But it was a blessing and a curse. There could never be another Led Zeppelin, just like there could never be another Beatles”: The strange tale of a great rock band that had it all – and then blew it
- “We never wanted David Bowie to write the score. It would have been a cliché”: Why Ryuichi Sakamoto’s spellbinding theme from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence remains so captivating
March 9
- “There’s a misconception about the vocals being buried - they aren’t”: My Bloody Valentine’s sound engineer on wrangling the shoegaze pioneers’ huge live setup
- The story of Born Slippy, Underworld’s emotion-stirring dance classic
March 8
- “We should all be proud that British musicians are responsible for this force in music called heavy metal. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest invented true heavy metal music”: How Priest singer Rob Halford remembers the band’s breakthrough moment
March 6
- "I put it on everything - you get this beautiful shimmery goodness out of it": Jasper Tygner on the Soundtoys plugin behind the "filmic" sound of his debut album Blue
- “Even when we went to collect the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1980, I was thinking, ‘How did this happen?’”: This No.1 hit is the pinnacle of yacht rock, but its smooth sound belies its tortuous creation
- “In terms of the guitar solo, he just keeps going! You think, ‘OK, surely it’s time to wrap it up?’ But no, he keeps going and it’s great”: The genius of David Gilmour in Pink Floyd’s greatest songs – by Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Stu Mackenzie and more
March 5
- “It's my favourite piece of gear that I own now – I use it on absolutely everything": Art School Girlfriend on the second-hand dynamic mic that shaped the "intimate" sound of new album Lean In
March 3
- “I thought it would be fun. That was a big mistake. I underestimated just how difficult it would be”: When Phil Collins made a guest appearance playing drums with a Genesis tribute act – and ended up admitting, “It was horrible!”
- “I’m going, ’We’re from North Hollywood! What do we have to sing about Africa?’“: How Toto crafted their deathless classic
- “Maybe I’m Amazed is always a fun song to play and sing. It’s got everything in one incredible tune – plus two guitar solos!”: How Rusty Anderson – a Beatles fan as a kid – ended up playing guitar for Paul McCartney
- “We didn’t set out to do it, but Lily gave everyone permission to tell their stories straight”: We visit the LA house where Lily Allen made West End Girl, and explore the home studio of Blue May
March 2
- “The Koala app is amazing – it’s the best sampler and the deeper you go, the madder it gets”: Shabaka Hutchings on his journey from jazz saxophone to iPad beatmaking
March 1
- “The title was a kind of code word because the song was a preposterous, grandiose thing. Patton wrote the words a week after he joined the band”: The groundbreaking hit that saved Faith No More’s career – and saved the life of Slipknot’s Corey Taylor