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

How Marissa Zappas turned John Early’s dark new satire into a perfume

September 22

John Early’s send-up of foodie content culture provided unusual inspiration for the indie perfumer’s lactonic Maddie’s Secret EDP, which isn’t quite a gourmand.

Read at The FADER ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

How Marissa Zappas turned John Early’s dark new satire into a perfume

More from The FADER on XLR MAG

Sceneskimj and kuru on Wasia, the Kardashians, and “hyperpop jail” The FADER

ScenesMaking Time ∞ 2026 brought ear, Kim Gordon and more together The FADER

ScenesDanny Brown announces ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ 10-year shows and rerelease The FADER

Scenes83 candid photos from New York Fashion Week spring 2027 The FADER

ScenesThe Opener: Camille Blackman’s bedroom folk pulls from Vonnegut and Beach House The FADER

Scenes7 surprising takeaways from New York Fashion Week spring 2027 The FADER