From topping the 90s charts to ‘very controlled and predictable’ today: is the remix dead?
The likes of Fatboy Slim and Armand van Helden remixed original tracks into mutant dancefloor beasts, but thanks to streaming and risk-averse labels, this artform is threatened
‘Where honour and ridiculousness collide’: in praise of karaoke’s inventor, on his death at 100
Jazz Monroe
Shigeichi Negishi’s invention invites us to cast off humility and take a shot at singing stardom. His legacy will be credited – and blamed – for us living out our popstar fantasies
Olof Dreijer on the Knife, Swedish nationalism and dancefloor activism: ‘Music gives us energy to overcome’
After disbanding cult pop act the Knife, Dreijer helped migrant musicians and resisted the Swedish far-right. His wondrous new club tracks now reconsider how art can inform politics
‘It was like Blade Runner meets Berlin rave’: the Manchester sink estate with the UK’s wildest nightclub
Hulme Crescents was Europe’s biggest housing estate, and soon deemed its worst. But a vibrant squatter community moved in – along with Mick Hucknall – to make a countercultural mecca
‘Music shouted louder than racism’: the pioneering Black nightclub born in far-right east London
Bentley’s, set up in what was then the National Front stronghold of Canning Town, all too briefly became a legendary weekend mecca for soul, hip-hop and reggae
‘People will do drugs. Why not minimise the damage?’ The charity caring for tripped-out ravers
PsyCare UK offers hydration and colouring books to people who have overdone psychedelic drugs – but hardline government policies are making this kind of harm reduction service harder to provide
‘I’m not winning unless all of us are winning’: the Kenyan DJ programme promoting community and inclusivity
The Santuri Electronic Music Academy supports east African music producers, DJs and sound engineers trying to break into the industry, particularly encouraging female and queer artists
