News archive
August 2026
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77 articles
- August 14
- August 13
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- “I don’t want to say The Beatles cleared it, but somebody at EMI or Apple. So whoever you were that did it, thank you. Thank you, Sir Paul”: Mike D on how the Beastie Boys got away with sampling five Beatles songs on Paul's Boutique
- “Music has always been my first language. Justice has always been my inheritance. Contra-ICE is where those two lineages meet”: Ad-Rock, Tom Morello, Kathleen Hanna and others team up for Anti-ICE benefit album
- “As a bona fide guitar nerd this is the epitome, this is the high-water mark”: Martin unveils a pair of Joe Bonamassa signature acoustics based on a 1937 pre-War vintage unicorn
- Watch Ritchie Blackmore perform onstage with Deep Purple for the first time in more than 30 years: "A couple of days ago I got a message from a local lad, ‘I only live ‘round the corner – do you mind if I come and jam?’
- Brian May asked AI to recreate the cover of Queen's The Game. He wasn't happy with the results: “So this is the kind of intelligence that will soon be ruling the world??!”
- Reissue, Repackage, re-evaluate the songs: Morrissey And Marr have collaborated on new Smiths Rough Trade archive release
- August 12
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- AI's ties to major labels deepen as Suno strikes licensing deal with BMG
- Fender refreshes the vintage-inspired US models that offer “a near 1:1 comparison with their original predecessors” – adding classic finishes from the paint room
- Rod Stewart cancels the rest of his US tour following heart surgery
- inMusic reportedly closes down Native Instruments’ UK office as senior leadership exits company
- Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver apologise for hospitalising fan with guitar throw: “I’ve reflected deeply on the overwhelming burden and heartache I have caused this person due to the inadequate response”
- Ritchie Blackmore to play with Deep Purple for the first time since ’93 tonight: “Well, it is a secret, and I don’t want anybody to know, but I’m probably going up to do an encore”
- Spotify finally get tough on AI slop as platform adds ‘Persona Badge’ to mark out AI-generated ‘artists’
- August 11
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- Dimebag Darrell’s favourite rack unit is reborn as a compact pedal: MXR unveils the Flanger/Doubler pedal – BBD-driven analogue mojo for ‘70s and ‘80s flavours or fatter metal tones
- “There are people in my band who are questioning whether they’ll perform it with me. And those people will be fired”: Boy George says he’ll sack any bandmates who refuse to play his ‘pro-Israel’ song We Will Dance Again
- “I haven't really listened to Rush music… I never stumbled into the catalogue”: Anika Nilles on her preparation for Rush’s 50 Something tour
- "I will be restraining you, sir, if you do not stay seated!": DnB producer Bou samples cabin crew's altercation with angry passenger then invites flight attendant to his show
- “This short and highly strung man in cowboy boots lit a hand-rolled smoke in a little room, asking me to play something”: How did Angine de Poitrine get so very weird? Khn’s maverick but brilliant guitar teacher might explain a lot
- “We got this wrong… We do not support AI-generated music, and our process will reflect that going forward”: D’Addario admits generative AI was used on string demo video after all
- IK Multimedia just totally revamped its Tonex Player and made its tone ecosystem a lot easier to use: “It extends the capabilities of Tonex software and hardware alike, creating a single connected workflow from capture to studio, rehearsal and stage”
- “Oh, it was a nightmare. I was becoming physically sick just thinking of going to the studio each night. I used to love working with the band. By that point, I dreaded it”: The Beatles’ most trusted engineer on their studio tensions
- "Imagine what Bucket faces every day, because he don't talk to people. He talks with his guitar. And that's pretty much it.”: Bootsy Collins on his friendship with oddball guitar virtuoso Buckethead
- “It’s much less tension and pressure than directing a movie... It’s kind of our first heavy metal album”: John Carpenter on why he’s happier making music than films these days
- August 10
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- Watch early camcorder footage of early Oasis, unearthed and made available to watch
- “Scars are cool. I’ve never left a show when my hands are a mess and I think ‘I wish I didn’t play the way I did’”: Travis Barker on his drumming style and how his versatility was Blink-182's secret weapon
- “The thing that they do so well, when they’re weaving together and listening to each other and responding to each other is alive and well”: Mick Jagger talks about Keith and Ronnie Wood’s guitar work on new Stones song
- We have “a clear set of principles” that are “always rooted in supporting artistry and creativity” says Suno CEO, as company seeks to limit reputational damage from latest legal defeat
- 1010music updates its Blackbox sampling workstation with a better screen, onboard battery and USB audio streaming
- August 8
- August 7
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- “Oasis’ schedule is booked”: According to a source, the Gallaghers’ masterplan for 2027 is already in place
- “I found my old PS4 controller collecting dust in a drawer and I had an idea”: MIDIpad transforms your gamepad into a musical instrument and MPE controller – and there’s a free version
- “Next year should be a pretty interesting year, because I think quite a few things will reveal themselves”: Lindsey Buckingham teases some possible Fleetwood Mac activity in 2027
- “Will there be music in the future? Absolutely”: Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean are positive that the Fugees will record again
- “There are these fun, crazy sessions where everyone's wild and something comes out of it and then there are ones that are a struggle and suddenly there's a breakthrough – I just enjoy them all”: We look back at a classic William Orbit interview
- William Orbit, the production genius behind Madonna’s Ray Of Light, has died, aged 69
- Nikki Sixx admits that Mötley Crue do use backing tapes, but says that the band members always play their instruments: “Since we saw Queen using some during Bohemian Rhapsody live, we understood that we could bring in elements that we could not do"
- Arturia's Pigments Play is a free version of one of the best soft synths around – and it's more powerful than you might expect
- August 6
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- “The music just comes to me. It’s like that movie Amadeus”: Yngwie Malmsteen emerges from an “avalanche” of ideas with “80 to 90” songs and a scorching new album – and you can hear him unleash the fury on new single Now Or Never
- “That's the version I wish came out originally. You're going to hear a lot of jazz chords, ladies and gentlemen”: Charlie Puth reinterprets his back catalogue – including his huge 2015 US number one – as he performs at the Tiny Desk
- “The ‘90s are back”: Steinberg celebrates 30 years of VST with the Classics Collection, a new free plugin bundle that includes the first ever VST instrument
- Fender CEO clarifies his controversial comments comparing cover songs to AI: “My intent was to talk about how technology can help artists and players learn and grow”
- Alesis and Zildjian forge a "perfect" partnership that they hope will "raise the bar for electronic drums"
- “He never rated himself as highly as everyone else did": New documentary in the pipeline about Rush’s Neil Peart
- Producer claims Kanye did use AI on Bully and sues for unpaid wages: “Despite nearly two years of demands, the defendants have refused to compensate plaintiff for plaintiff’s services”
- “I was on the road with Guns, so we went off and finished what we were doing. And then, all of a sudden, I got that phone call”: Slash says he and Ozzy Osbourne had plans to go into the studio together
- Eno’s Music For Airports to be performed in full… at an airport
- “We played that what must have been 1000 times to work out what it was”: Phil Collins admits that there was one famous drum fill he just couldn’t unpick when he was recording his Motown covers album
- August 5
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- “This guitar means the world to me. My first El Dorado was a gift from my father”: Marcus King’s signature Epiphone is a stunning dreadnought acoustic inspired by his first-ever guitar – and it has the coolest pickguard ever
- “Since we debuted Motion at NAMM, the anticipation has been off the charts”: Fender’s Motion MIDI controllers have finally landed – and they come with a free copy of the Fender Studio Pro DAW
- “AI models built on stolen intellectual property have no protection under the law”: German performing rights society wins significant victory over Suno
- Line 6 expands its Helix Stadium tone ecosystem with a guitar plugin to “enable you to craft tones practically at the speed of thought” – and there’s a free version
- "I was like, 'Bro... Metallica's never been tighter and you want some yahoos to come jump in and try and be Hetfield? Is that what you're saying?' And they're like, 'Yeah'": Pepper Keenan remembers when he auditioned to dep guitar for Metallica
- Susanna Hoffs recalls the time that Prince invited the Bangles to the studio then upped and left without telling them: “We get there and we’re jamming, then suddenly we look around and he’s disappeared. ‘OK, I guess we’re done’”
- “They didn’t call him the Iceman for nothing. I mean, I was on the receiving end when I was a kid”: Joe Bonamassa on how Albert Collins taught him to wield his guitar as “a weapon” – and jamming with him was the ultimate test of his “intestinal fortitude”
- “Some sounds never go out of style”: Universal Audio makes two classic reverbs used by The Beatles, Radiohead and Brian Eno available natively
- “No option and no choice": Glenn Hughes announces he’s retiring from live performance on medical advice
- “He’s like an alien. I mean, he’s better at guitar backwards than I have been at guitar my whole life”: Gracie Abrams is impressed by Paul Mescal’s left handed playing
- A pressing matter: Suno to launch its own bespoke vinyl pressing and shipping service
- August 4
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- “It’s the same open, community-powered spirit that’s reshaping modern guitar tone, now built directly into the rig”: HeadRush rolls out Tone3000 integration and native support for NAM captures on its amp and effects modellers
- “My other little secret is, this right here, this position, that’s supposed to be the neck, right? It’s not”: Chris Payton on the guitars he needs to play a Bruno Mars stadium – and the genius mod that makes his HSS Strat even more versatile
- “I asked him what was going on. He said to me, ‘This is too good for you guys. I’m taking it back’”: Prince collaborator David Z, who helped create one of his biggest hits, has died, aged 78
- Brandon Flowers appears to be having something of an existential crisis: “My dad goes to yard sales. He’s never had any money in his life and he’s happier than I am”
- “I don’t want any undos. There’s no ‘undo’ in good music. It’s a performance”: Raphael Saadiq takes you on a tour of his incredible studio, and explains why he still prefers to record to tape
- “In the very early ‘70s, he was in one studio, and I was in another. And we just hit it off”: Tony Iommi reveals Brian May’s lead guitar cameo on his new solo album – and why the Queen guitarist is its only guest
- “The artists that are against it, you’ve got to be careful because it’s going to come and swallow you like the boogie monster at night”: Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele says “of course” he uses AI
- Introducing MIXVAULT – the fast and smart way to approach EQing
- August 3
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- “Seal said to me while we were doing the first album, ‘I’ve got this song - it’s a bit like Greensleeves.’ I was like, ‘that sounds interesting’”: Trevor Horn on the waltz-time song with the "crazy" vocal harmonies that gave Seal a '90s US number one
- "It only felt right that we played it for the first time in America with the man himself": Olivia Dean puts Sam Fender in the Lollapalooza spotlight as he joins her to sing the song that's just broken a long-standing UK chart record
- “I don’t think it’s overstating it, I don’t think it’s hyperbole – you guys invented rave culture”: Moby praises Britain’s historic contribution to dance music
- "Your analogue sound becomes a sample – then the cycle begins again: a new sound, a new sample, a new idea": Vermona drumDING is a hybrid drum machine designed to sample itself
- "In loving memory of Kieran Foster": Illformed Glitch2 multi-effects plugin made available for free following its creator's passing
- Olivia Rodrigo ticks another name off her alt-rock wishlist as she joins Smashing Pumpkins on stage at Lollapalooza to sing Thirty Three
- “I wish I hadn’t said it, although it did happen. But we’ve made up”: Phil Collins reveals the origins of his feud with Paul McCartney, and how it ended up being resolved