Features

WALL

WALL, aka producer and songwriter Lyla Foy, excels at mellow synth-pop in the vein of Au Revoir Simone or St Vincent. Her minimalist studio-based music is honest and featherweight, translating easily to the live environment where Lyla comes into her own. We caught up with her at The Great Escape last month to record her performing No Secrets to a packed crowd at Brighton's Komedia

By Anita Awbi 24 Jun 2013

Pete Wareham

Melt Yourself Down is the newest musical outfit from saxophonist Pete Wareham. It’s his latest project to flick two fingers at the traditional jazz template and reinvent it with a wild energy few others tap into. Pete looks to the sounds of North Africa to inspire his incendiary deconstruction of the genre. If you're intrigued as to which artists have informed the Melt Yourself Down debut album, then you need to check out his exclusive playlist for M…

By Jim Ottewill 21 Jun 2013

Led Bib

Jazz drummer Mark Holub is doing his bit to overhaul any preconceptions surrounding the genre with his energetic, eclectic group Led Bib. M quizzed this Mercury Music Prize nominated artist on the challenges and opportunities facing the genre…

By Jim Ottewill 20 Jun 2013

Matthew Halsall

Mancunian musician Matt Halsall is an accomplish trumpet player who draws on a combined love of Ninja Tunes and John Coltrane to inform his music. M quizzed him on songwriting, recording and the health of the UK’s jazz scene…

By Jim Ottewill 19 Jun 2013

Doctor Robert And Curtis Mayfield

Dr Robert, singer-songwriter with eighties new wave act The Blow Monkeys, remembers performing on stage with the legendary Curtis Mayfield.

By Jim Ottewill 19 Jun 2013

One To Another

The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess tells how the band wrote One to Another after the death of keyboardist Rob Collins

By Jim Ottewill 18 Jun 2013

Randy Newman: leading role

In the latest issue of M magazine, Paul Sexton meets Randy Newman to decipher the songwriting nous of America’s most consistent creator.

By Kyle Fisher 18 Jun 2013

Review: Madonna, Rihanna & Beyonce biographies

What do Beyonce, Rihanna and Madonna have in common? Other than qualifying as pop’s most prolific and globally successful divas, all three have been the subject of recent biographies. Read Russell Iliffe's round-up here.

By Anita Awbi 18 Jun 2013

Dr Robert, The Blow Monkeys

Songwriter Robert Howard, aka Dr Robert, formed The Blow Monkeys in 1981and has since cultivated a success career spanning 30 years. As a soloist he's contributed to Paul Weller's solo debut album and co-written material Dee C Lee, Kym Mazelle and Beth Orton. Here he tells us why songwriting is like casting spells.

By Anita Awbi 17 Jun 2013
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