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

NMEScenes

Fontaines D.C. kick off ‘Dopamine Chamber’ arena tour in Lisbon

10.22

Fontaines D.C. kicked off their 2026 arena tour in Lisbon last night (Wednesday October 21). Check out the footage and full setlist below.

Read at NME ↗

More from NME on XLR MAG

ScenesTalking Heads announce first ever authorised book ‘New Feeling’ featuring unseen archive material NME

ScenesKraftwerk announce two huge UK gigs in run-up to Glastonbury 2027 NME

ScenesWatch Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jessie Reyez and more celebrate 20 years of ‘Back To Black’ with Amy Winehouse’s band at London’s Roundhouse NME

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

Fontaines D.C. kick off ‘Dopamine Chamber’ arena tour in Lisbon

More from NME on XLR MAG

ScenesTalking Heads announce first ever authorised book ‘New Feeling’ featuring unseen archive material NME

ScenesKraftwerk announce two huge UK gigs in run-up to Glastonbury 2027 NME

ScenesWatch Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jessie Reyez and more celebrate 20 years of ‘Back To Black’ with Amy Winehouse’s band at London’s Roundhouse NME

ScenesGrian Chatten says Fontaines D.C. had no idea AI was used in ‘Marianne’ video: “I don’t condone it” NME

ScenesNoel Gallagher to appear on final season of ‘Chicken Shop Date’ NME

ScenesGlastonbury 2027: coach tickets oversold in admin error NME