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August 2025
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85 articles
- August 14
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- “Festivals are being cancelled due to extreme weather, and grassroots venues are grappling with rising energy costs”: Brian Eno and others urge government to cancel new North Sea oilfield
- “We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played”: Dave Mustaine announces Megadeth’s final album and farewell tour
- “We were very proud but there was a taste left in our mouths, it was a dark time in so many ways”: Radiohead release surprise new live album
- “He had his own vocabulary. He had his own way of constructing chords. His own understanding of how they go on the neck”: Steve Vai on why Allan Holdsworth – the fusion virtuoso who wrote his own rules – was the GOAT
- Largest subwoofers ever made unleashed: “Incredibly powerful, efficient, and fast”
- “I said to him, ‘I want to be as proud of an album as I am of the Eras Tour.’ And he was like, ‘Do you understand what kind of pressure that is?’”: Taylor Swift on how she threw down the creative gauntlet to Max Martin for new album The Life Of A Showgirl
- "Take your pig squeals to the next level": Ablaze's Screamer is a vocal production plugin "crafted for metalheads, by metalheads"
- “The computer case you can’t buy… 'cause it’s free!”: Teenage Engineering's latest experiment is a free computer case made from one piece of foldable plastic
- “The installation mirrors the song’s structure, step by step, turning lyrics and melody into a visual path”: Wembley Stadium unveils an all yellow Coldplay-related artwork to mark the band’s residency
- “He did this encore. Went off. They made him come out again. Another encore. They wouldn't stop. He came out for three encores”: Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Brad Whitford on the time they were completely upstaged by their support act, a young Rory Gallagher
- “Steven just doesn’t want to tour, and he can’t tour”: Joe Perry confirms no more touring for Aerosmith
- “The most talked-about guitar of the summer is coming to the Gibson Garage London”: P-90s, Light Aging from the Murphy Lab, handwritten Oasis lyrics, signed… The Gibson Custom Noel Gallagher Les Paul Standard has been unveiled
- “One of the executives at Warner Records said, ‘David, you are your own Yoko Ono’”: David Byrne on alienating his audience, Talking Heads and a sideline in stand up comedy
- Left-handed guitarists have been overlooked for too long, but Thomann’s up to 20% off Lefty Deals sale changes that
- August 13
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- “A girlfriend bought me a Portastudio because she said I was wasting my time trying to be a fashion designer… she bullied me into committing to music”: Seal on how a Tascam four-track and two chords changed his life as he found his identity on guitar
- “There are ways to use AI that can actually increase human creativity”: There I Ruined It creator argues for a more nuanced view of AI in music
- “When you need merciless metal tone and speed for days…”: Jackson adds Warrior, King V and Concert Bass to its limited edition Pro Plus Pure Metal range
- “A retro-refined take on a classic Gretsch design”: Like the Jack Antonoff signature Gretsch? Then you are going to love the CVT Electromatic
- “A spontaneous and what I thought would be a fun thing”: Chrissie Hynde to release a new album of duets featuring Debbie Harry, Dave Gahan and Rufus Wainwright
- They can go for that: Hall & Oates appear to have reached a settlement in their legal dispute
- “He was a very untraditional player, even though he had learned the traditional approach to blues to start with”: Carlos Santana on what made Jeff Beck a guitar great, and why he had to get into character to cover Michael Jackson
- “Back of headstock reveals: #1 Edward Van Halen Model”: Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer – also owned by Mick Mars – heads to the auction block. Is this the next multi-million dollar guitar?
- Critter & Guitari's Organelle S2 can be anything you want it to be: synth, sampler, sequencer, drum machine, effects unit and more
- August 12
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- “With the middle pickup from the Modern Eagle V added to the mix, you can easily dial in the classic scooped tones”: PRS promises spanky Strat-esque tones and a lot more from its limited run PRS CE 24 Special
- “How lucky I was to share in a little of Ozzy’s magic?” Producer Andrew Watt pays tribute to his departed friend
- “Most of the tone came from how much timber had taken off the neck, almost to Ibanez levels of thinness”: Bare Knuckle supremo Tim Mills reveals the tone secrets of Jimmy Page’s legendary ‘Number One’ Les Paul Standard
- SampleRadar: 167 free processed 808 and 909 samples
- “It’s pretty hard to find something that Chris is bad at but I think we’ve found it”: Watch Chris Hemsworth’s painful-looking first drumming lesson
- “We’re playing the first album, the second album, the third album and then the fourth one is... a mystery”: Gorillaz set to preview new music at upcoming Copper Box gig
- “Our first true multi-effect, a little museum of the rare and strange for you to wander around”: Chase Bliss invites adventurous players to rummage around the Lost + Found – 12 mixable modes, from Slow-Verb shoegaze to Gen Lite lo-fi textures
- “We’ve redefined the balance between heritage and innovation”: Fender combines old-school mojo with 21st-century playability on the American Ultra Luxe Vintage series
- Taylor Swift announces new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, and drops a strong musical hint that Max Martin is back in the producer's chair
- "He's not using a guitar amp. He's using a Tascam 424": JHS Pedals puts a Portastudio in a pedal to help you recreate Mk.gee's "elastic, lo-fi tones"
- August 11
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- "Once I’ve played those four notes, then I can start to improvise”: Mark Knopfler on the Dire Straits song he's come to accept that he has to start in the same way every time
- Kind of moo: Dairy farmers are playing their cows jazz music in a bid to improve their milk yields
- "We’ve been working on something different": Auxy launches macOS version of mobile music-making app and teases forthcoming hardware instrument
- “We’ve had the privilege of working with many remarkable talents over the years, but this visit was truly special”: Bob Dylan spent two days recording in Albany last week
- “RIP Bobby”: Eric Clapton pays tribute to Bobby Whitlock, the Memphis musician who sang and played keyboards in Derek and the Dominos and recorded with George Harrison
- Nine Inch Nails have just played their first show back with drummer Josh Freese
- Eventide is giving away a killer $99 distortion plugin for free
- August 9
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- “She bounded on in this bizarre, eye-catching outfit of striped stockings and a black leotard”: Local journalist recalls early encounter with Charli XCX at Bishop’s Stortford music fest
- “They had the arrangement and I went, ‘Oh, this is finally my David Gilmour moment.’ The hair on my arms stood up”: Keith Scott on the making of Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You – the record-breaking hit no one saw coming
- August 8
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- “I wanted to bring a new generation to this iconic street. It’s been so integral to British music”: Yungblud launches his B.R.A.T store in the heart of Denmark Street
- “I thought this had blown over. The Who has a new drummer… this is old news and it’s completely wrong.”: Zak Starkey claps back at Roger Daltrey's "character assassination" claims as the drama surrounding his departure from The Who rumbles on
- It might be a little ugly, but Lambda Synthetics' PolyPulse could be the instrument that finally breaks you out of the 16-step grid
- "It’s something that looked and felt like a Fender but was something I could afford at that point": Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee Ochoa says that her Fender signature model is actually based on a Fender copy
- “We were hoping for the best. We wanted it to be the best. Then Ozzy came in singing and sounded great, and everybody was like: 'This is gonna be fine, they’re gonna kill it'": Lars Ulrich on hearing Ozzy Osbourne’s last soundcheck
- "Everybody was screaming out, 'what record is that?!' It wasn't a record – it was the 808": Roland celebrates 45 years of the TR-808 with Rhythm Creators video series
- “I don’t know if that’s just me wanting to like the one that’s less popular”: Laufey and Clairo rank Taylor Swift albums and weigh in on the Folklore vs Evermore debate
- MusicRadar deals of the week: Score an impressive $200 off a Casio piano, $390 off one of our favourite Roland electronic drum kits, and so much more
- "The TR-808's bass drum is undoubtedly the most recognisable electronic kick sound of all time": How to get the perfect 808s
- August 7
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- “Literally the first chord I hit on it after I put it together just gave me goosebumps”: Nirvana tone guru Aaron Rash solves Kurt Cobain’s Heart-Shaped Box guitar mystery – and opens Pandora’s box for the tonewood debate
- "I’m not sure about the legalities of it, but I have no problem with him memorialising the greats": Tupac’s stepbrother says he’s OK with Rod Stewart’s AI ‘tribute’ to Ozzy Osbourne and other dead stars
- “It’s not signed, sealed and delivered... but speaking to me and asking my opinion I would love to do it”: After being "blown away" by U2 at the Sphere, Lars Ulrich suggests that Metallica would be keen to play there in 2026
- “It was just the name that rhymed with ‘fan’”: Eminem’s ex-manager says 'Stan' was not a deliberate portmanteau
- PWM declares Mantis "the next generation of OSCar" as V2 update adds original wavetables from the cult classic synth
- "This isn't just a piano, it's the 1901 Steinway B heard across albums from Elton John, David Bowie, and Fleetwood Mac": Spitfire Audio's latest instrument captures the sound of the historic Strawberry Studios
- August 6
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- New David Gilmour tour film and live album confirmed for later this year - watch him dip into the Pink Floyd songbook in the trailer
- “Transforms your audio from phone-quality to studio-ready instantly. Just plug in and create, anywhere, anytime”: Blackstar’s audio interface range just got a lot more portable with the pocket-sized Polar Go
- “We didn’t even have time to run over the performance thoroughly”: Earth Wind & Fire reveal that they had just 24 hours to prepare for their Lollapalooza guest slot with Sabrina Carpenter
- “It kind of spoils it a bit for me": Here's why Paul Weller won’t be going to any of the Oasis reunion shows
- “They are officially on our investigative team right now”: They found Paul McCartney’s missing Höfner 500/1 violin bass – can the Lost Bass Project find Marty McFly’s Gibson ES-345 from Back To The Future?
- “With no tickets left, the FOMO kicks in hard”: A sold-out Swedish music festival is testing the theory that punters would 'give a kidney' for a chance to attend
- “These are time-tested hues that have been popular through decades”: John Mayer’s PRS SE Silver Sky Rosewood gets a refresh with four all-new solid-colour finishes “inspired by traditional American fashion”
- August 5
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- “This launch marks a fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics, and we can’t wait for players to experience them”: Epiphone resurrects a 1963 Dove and five other classic acoustics with some help from the Gibson Custom Shop
- "I don't have the personality or the playing style to fulfill what he needs": Francis Dunnery quits John Payne’s Asia after just one gig
- New American start-up Tiny Vinyl launches some... tiny vinyl
- “They’ve raised me on the greatest songs of all time”: Sabrina Carpenter gets her Let’s Groove on and celebrates September a month early as she's joined on stage by Earth, Wind & Fire at Lollapalooza
- "No complex bus routing and no endless plugin stacks": iZotopeʼs colourful new FXEQ multi-effects plugin lets you “paint” with saturation, reverb, and delay
- “This is the craziest, most disrespectful thing I ever saw in my LIFE”: Rod Stewart’s ‘tribute’ to Ozzy Osbourne has gone down like a bucket of cold sick
- "Ruins transforms the electric guitar into a study of collapse, texture, and spatial memory": Slate + Ash releases experimental virtual guitar instrument developed with Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley
- “Highlights just how often people are experiencing the dangerous side effects of being exposed to loud music”: New survey shows over half of Gen Z have already experienced hearing problems
- “I remember my first concert. It was a very memorable night and I watched this incredible band”: After duetting with Weezer, Olivia Rodrigo wraps up her Guts era by teasing her third album
- “It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting”: Roger Daltrey on Zak Starkey’s reaction to his Who ‘sacking’
- 'Superlungs' Terry Reid, the man who turned down Led Zep and Deep Purple, dies, aged 75
- "This next track is a four watermelon banger": Serato DJ 4.0 overhauls the DJ software's library with new search tools, easier analysis and an emoji rating system
- August 4
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- “Found some cassettes in the attic!”: Former Revolution keyboard player Lisa Coleman reveals that she’s just discovered her own ‘vault’ of classic Prince recordings
- “It makes it sound like the music that I grew up on – the music that made me fall in love with dance music”: Why Silva Bumpa created his own R&B instrumental just to remix it into the garage-inspired Feel Da Same
- With guitar amps starting from just £44, Thomann’s massive Hughes & Kettner sale just made modernizing your rig a lot cheaper
- “I don't know if we're going to get back to Bohemian Rhapsody-length songs, but attention span is slowly creeping back up”: Song lengths are increasing after years-long decline, according to BBC study
- “There was no planning. I was as shocked as everyone else”: Eric Prydz reveals why he’s changed his mind about playing THE hit
- “The highest fidelity playback for serious studio use”: Kali Audio announces new multi-use HP-1 headphones
- August 1