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The Wire 482

April 2024

+ The Wire Tapper 64

Current issue in shops now

On the cover: Darius Jones: The New York based composer and saxophonist draws connections between Fluxus and US avant jazz. By John Morrison. Plus: Steve Roach: Synthesizer worship with the Arizona ambient musician. By Ned Raggett; [Ahmed]: Revolutionary grooves from the radically minded Anglo-Swedish-French quartet. By Stewart Smith; Clarissa Connelly: The Scottish born, Denmark based multi-instrumentalist meditates on myth, memory and modernity via her singular songcraft. By Leah Kardos; Shovel Dance Collective: The London avant folk ensemble balance the trad and the weird. By Lucy Thraves; Invisible Jukebox: Ka Baird: Will the New York based artist lose their Bearings when faced by The Wire’s mystery record selection? Tested by Ryan Meehan. Also inside this issue: The Wire Tapper 64; Arushi Jain; Kulku; Harmony Holiday; Richie Culver; Unlimited Editions Industrial Coast; Unofficial Channels The Rest; Global Ear: Dublin; The Inner Sleeve by Raji Rags; Epiphanies by Aura Satz; many pages of reviews and much more.

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Mix

Wire mix: Arushi Jain

Wire mix: Arushi Jain

The composer and modular synthesist emerges from the sonic space of her new album Delight with a cleansing mix of music that inspires her

Tracks

Unlimited Editions: Industrial Coast

Unlimited Editions: Industrial Coast

To accompany his Unlimited Editions report on Industrial Coast in The Wire 482, Louis Pattison selects tracks from the back catalogue of the Middlesbrough based activist label

Tracks

Office Ambience 482

Office Ambience 482

Stream a selection of tracks from releases we listened to during the making of our April 2024 issue

Mix

Wire mix: Samson AK

Wire mix: Samson AK

The London producer threads excerpts from his 1980s and 90s cassette tape collection together in a mix of music and moods that influenced his debut release

Tracks

Global Ear: Santiago

Global Ear: Santiago
To accompany his Global Ear report in The Wire 481, Juan San Cristóbal Lizama selects independent releases from the Chilean capital’s underground

Tracks

Wire playlist: Kahil El’Zabar

Wire playlist: Kahil El’Zabar

To complement his Invisible Jukebox interview with Kahil El’Zabar in The Wire 481, Howard Mandel discusses tracks from across the percussionist and composer's long career

Video

Xhosa Cole All Roads

Xhosa Cole All Roads

The saxophonist shares a film in which he dances with his two brothers beneath Birmingham’s Spaghetti Junction

Tracks

Wire playlist: Linda Smith

Wire playlist: Linda Smith

To accompany her interview with Linda Smith in The Wire 481, Claire Biddles compiles and annotates a playlist spanning the home-recording musician’s career

Tracks

Office Ambience 481

Office Ambience 481

Stream a selection of tracks from releases we listened to during the making of our March 2024 issue

The Portal

From The Archive by Abi Bliss

From The Archive by Abi Bliss

Contributor Abi Bliss selects pieces of writing from The Wire’s back pages featuring Laurie Anderson, MF DOOM, Robert Wyatt, Matmos, Evan Parker, Iannis Xenakis, Annea Lockwood, and more. All selected articles are available to read in The Wire’s digital library with a Wire print or digital subscription.

Download

Below The Radar 44

Below The Radar 44

Volume 44 includes tracks by ML Buch, Mpho Molikeng, Mr AKA Amazing, Jacken Elswyth, Kulku, excel dj, Andrew Smiley & Kate Gentile, and more

On Air

Meg Woof presents Adventures In Sound And Music

Meg Woof presents Adventures In Sound And Music

The 1 February edition of The Wire's weekly show on Resonance FM and Resonance Extra featured tracks by aya, Jlin, and Kara Jackson, plus music from Neil Kulkarni's end of year charts, including Kristin Hersh, Fantastic Twins, and more

Essay

Meta machine mantras: the birth of the Buddha Machine

Meta machine mantras: the birth of the Buddha Machine

To mark the recent reissue of FM3’s Buddha Machine, Steve Barker tells the story of its origins, a tale which takes in Chinese temples and a Hong Kong branch of McDonald’s, a Beijing foot massage parlour and dinner with Brian Eno.

The Portal

From The Archive by Neil Kulkarni

From The Archive by Neil Kulkarni

The Wire is deeply saddened to hear of the death of writer Neil Kulkarni. Neil was one of the UK’s most original and distinctive music critics. He had been writing for The Wire since the early 2000s, and just last week filed this online essay, in which he picks his favourite writing from The Wire’s back pages. We publish it now as a tribute to Neil. RIP.

The Portal

The Primer: Fred Frith

The Primer: Fred Frith

To coincide with his interview with the British composer, improvisor and multi-instrumentalist in The Wire 479/480, Clive Bell compiles a primer of works from Fred Frith’s vast discography

Tracks

Unlimited Editions: Bead

Unlimited Editions: Bead

To accompany his report on the London based experimental label as it celebrates its 50th year, Julian Cowley selects tracks from Bead's back catalogue

Mix

Wire mix: KAVARI

Wire mix: KAVARI

The Glasgow based artist pieces together a mix of sounds that provided a soundtrack to a sickness caused by black mould exposure and inspiration for her latest release Against The Wood, Opposed To Flesh

Charts

2023 Rewind: Contributors’ Charts

2023 Rewind: Contributors’ Charts

The Wire’s releases of the year for 2023 were compiled from the individual votes of the magazine’s staff and contributors – here are those votes in full

Tracks

The Wire's Releases of the Year 2023

The Wire's Releases of the Year 2023

Listen to a selection of tracks from our Top 50 Releases of the Year, as voted for by The Wire’s contributors. You can read more about the albums featured in our chart, as well as those featured in the Top 50 Archive Releases of the Year, in The Wire 479/480

Tracks

Global Ear: Berlin Deathfest

Global Ear: Berlin Deathfest

Thomas Osman expands on his Global Ear report on the latest edition of Berlin's extreme metal music festival with an annotated playlist

Tracks

Unlimited Editions: bié Records

Unlimited Editions: bié Records

To accompany his report on Meng Jinhui’s Beijing based label in The Wire 478, Josh Feola creates an annotated playlist of bié releases. Translation assistance by Emma Xiaoming Sun

Mix

Wire mix: Nyahh Records

Wire mix: Nyahh Records

Nyahh founder Willie Stewart collates tracks from the Irish imprint’s back catalogue, fusing traditional folk, improvised instrumental and weird experimental

Tracks

Office Ambience 478

Office Ambience 478

Stream a selection of tracks from releases we listened to during the making of our December 2023 issue

On Air

Emily Bick presents Adventures In Sound And Music

Emily Bick presents Adventures In Sound And Music

The 23 November edition of The Wire's weekly radio show on Resonance FM and Resonance Extra featured tracks by Silver Apples & Makoto Kawabata, Tara Clerkin Trio, JJJJJerome Ellis, Yara Asmar, Ragana, DJ Harrison, and more

Mix

Wire mix: Yokel

Wire mix: Yokel

Bristol producer shares a mix of some of the sounds that inspired their recent Bokeh Versions release, Parable Of The Empty Cup

The Portal

From The Archive by John Morrison

From The Archive by John Morrison

Contributor John Morrison selects pieces of writing from The Wire’s back pages featuring hiphop mixtapes, Can, Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore, Steinski, and more. All selected articles are available to read in The Wire’s digital library with a print or digital subscription

The Portal

Carla Bley (11 May 1936–17 October 2023)

Carla Bley (11 May 1936–17 October 2023)
As a tribute to the jazz pianist and composer who has died aged 87 we have made three articles in our online library free to read. The first two articles comprised the cover story of the second issue of the magazine published in 1982; the third is a guide to Bley’s recordings published in 2021.

Video

Watch: Hearsay live

Watch: Hearsay live

The experimental Chicago based trio share a recording of a performance at Spot Tavern in Lafayette, Indiana

Tracks

Office Ambience 477

Office Ambience 477

Stream a selection of tracks from releases we listened to during the making of our November 2023 issue

Tracks

Unreleased music by Tom Mudd

Unreleased music by Tom Mudd

Listen to previously unheard experiments by the composer who uses synthesized physics engines and algorithmic models to extend the possibilities of guitar music