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.

← XLR MAG Archive

The FADERScenes

Coachella 2027 lineup: SZA, Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, and more.

11.11

FADER faves Kelela, Zara Larsson, underscores, and Nirosta Steel will also be in Indio, California, next April.

Read at The FADER ↗

Also covered by: IQ, NME, Jenesaispop, Rolling Stone Music, Bandwagon Asia

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

Coachella 2027 lineup: SZA, Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, and more.

More from The FADER on XLR MAG

ScenesBlancmange to reissue their first three albums on colored vinyl and expanded CD The FADER

ScenesJordan Chanteur wants to be Canada’s next big star The FADER

ScenesWhen Asia’s underground scene united in Itaewon The FADER

ScenesEcco2k announces new album Echo dropping on Thursday The FADER

ScenesAbleton announces Live 13, with ARA 2 support and a new Step Sequencer The FADER

ScenesAlphaTheta’s new DJM-A7 brings the DJM-A9 layout to smaller booths The FADER