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XLR MAG

Dissect

25 stories

DissectVoicesJ. Cole's Best Features Dissected Line-By-Line Our three-part series dedicated to hip-hop features begins with J. Cole. We trace the history of Cole’s feature catalog, explore his two legendary feature runs, and dissect his best bars along the…

DissectVoicesRapsody Dissects 'God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops' Rapsody breaks down her fantastic new album 'God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops.' Learn about how her trip to Africa inspired its themes and sound, the reverence she has for hip hop, and why she views…

DissectVoices10 Year Anniversary Mailbag Dissect is 10! To celebrate, Cole dissects "Dissect" - sharing how and why he started the show ten years ago. Then he answers a ton of questions submitted by Dissect listeners.

DissectVoicesCrowning Tyler The Creator's Best Song Ever | Last Song Standing (E8) It all leads up to this. After revisiting Tyler The Creator's entire discography over 7 episodes, Cole and Charles debate their song selections until they crown the last song standing: the single…

DissectVoices'DON'T TAP THE GLASS' + B-Sides! | Last Song Standing (E7) Our journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever continues by revisiting 2025's 'DON'T TAP THE GLASS' as well as diving into Tyler's extensive b-sides catalog.

DissectVoices'CHROMAKOPIA' | LAST SONG STANDING (E6) The journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever continues with his most personal album to date CHROMAKOPIA .

DissectVoices'Call Me If You Get Lost' | LAST SONG STANDING (E5) The journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever continues with a deep dive into 2021's Call Me If You Get Lost .

DissectVoices'IGOR' by Tyler The Creator | LAST SONG STANDING (E4) The LSS Boyz journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever continues with 2019's IGOR . Cole & Charles revisit its release, quiz each other with album trivia, and nominate its best songs.

DissectVoicesIsaiah Rashad Dissects 'IT'S BEEN AWFUL' Isaiah Rashad joins Dissect to break down his new album 'IT'S BEEN AWFUL' in intimate detail. Host: Cole Cuchna Guest: Isaiah Rashad Engineer: Sarah Reddy Editor: Iulia Ciobanu Producer: Justin…

DissectVoices'FLOWER BOY' by Tyler The Creator | Last Song Standing (E3) Cole and Charles continue their journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever by revisiting 2017's Flower Boy - a pivotal album that changed the trajectory of Tyler's career.

DissectVoices'WOLF' & 'CHERRY BOMB' | Last Song Standing (E2) Cole & Charles continue their journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever by revisiting his album's WOLF and CHERRY BOMB .

DissectVoices'BASTARD' & 'GOBLIN' by Tyler The Creator | Last Song Standing (E1) Cole & Charles begin their journey to crown Tyler The Creator's best song ever by revisiting his first two projects Bastard and Goblin .

DissectVoicesWhat is Tyler The Creator's Best Song Ever? The Debate Begins June 30th. Last Song Standing is returning Tuesday, June 30th! In Season 5, Cole and Charles are debating their way through Tyler The Creator's entire catalog in order to crown his best song of all time.

DissectVoicesCrowning Daft Punk's Best Song Ever Part 2 of Cole and Charles journey to crown Daft Punk's best song of all time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DissectVoicesE12 - 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk [PART 3] SEASON FINALE! Our dissection of Daft Punk's entire career concludes with the second half of Random Access Memories before looking holistically at the narrative their four studio albums creates.

DissectVoicesE11 - 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk [PART 2] Our dissection of Random Access Memories continues with a journey through “Within,” “Instant Crush,” “Lose Yourself to Dance,” and the album’s emotional centerpiece, “Touch.” Connecting Changes…

DissectVoicesE10 - 'Random Access Memories' by Daft Punk [PART 1] Our season-long exploration of Daft Punk continues with their final album Random Access Memories . Turning away from the electronic mainstream they helped create, Daft Punk entered real studios with…

DissectVoicesE9 - 'Human After All' & 'Alive 2007' by Daft Punk Our season-long dissection of Daft Punk continues with a turning point in their catalog, as we unpack the stark minimalism and dystopian vision of 2005's Human After All.

DissectVoicesDrake Drops ICEMAN...and Habibti...and Maid of Honour. Why? Cole is joined by The Ringer’s Charles Holmes and Justin Sayles to discuss Drake’s three-album release stunt.

DissectVoicesWhat is Daft Punk's Best Song Ever? [Season Intermission] We’re taking a brief intermission from our Daft Punk season - but don’t worry, we’re still talking Daft Punk in a special episode of Last Song Standing , the show where Cole and Charles Holmes debate…

DissectVoicesE8 - Dissecting "Veridis Quo" & "Face To Face" by Daft Punk Our season-long examination of Daft Punk continues with a brilliant three track run on Discovery : "Voyager," "Veridis Quo," and the sampling masterpiece "Face To Face." Connecting Changes…

DissectVoicesE7 - Dissecting "Something About Us" (& More!) by Daft Punk Our deep dive into Daft Punk’s Discovery continues with a sweeping journey through the album’s middle stretch, from the ecstatic genre-collisions of “Crescendolls,” “Superheroes,” and “High Life” to…

DissectVoicesE6 - Dissecting "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk Our deep dive into Daft Punk’s Discovery continues with “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” a masterful achievement where the vocoder is used to sonically embody the accelerating arc of technological…

DissectVoicesE5 - Dissecting "Digital Love" by Daft Punk Our dissection of Daft Punk’s Discovery continues with “Digital Love,” a dreamlike love story where harmony and sound design beautifully mirror its theme of unrequited love.

On the calendar

· Trade shows and launch events, this week's stories from each corner of the industry, and what its press is covering.

On view

This week, from that corner the newest stories from the corner of the industry you picked

The wire their own posts, translated

How records get made in 2026 from the industry's own reports

Sources

Fetched every six hours, linked to the original

About

Three pins, and nearly every signal in this business passes through them.

The magazine is named after the cable: the microphone in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX run that fires the lights. Studio, stage and rig share the same cable. Most magazines pick one of the three. This one covers all of it, because the people we read do too — the engineer mixing a record on Tuesday is on front of house by Saturday.

Around a hundred and sixty sources, in English, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Chinese and Italian: makers and their release notes, reviewers who put a hand on the thing, studios and touring crews, the producers and collectives surfacing this month and the scenes they came out of. Synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lighting. What the trade is talking about is counted and plotted. The editor's letter has just started; it will find its rhythm.

For each story: a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link out. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the maker or the photographer. A German review appears in German and a Japanese one in Japanese, as the writer published it; the link goes to the original.

Nothing is sold on this site. When a link leads to a shop, it is the maker's shop, not ours.