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

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke shares most important piece of advice given to him by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe

October 10

Radiohead ’s Thom Yorke has shared a formative piece of advice given to him by R.E.M. ’s Michael Stipe as he struggled with fame.

Read at NME ↗

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke shares most important piece of advice given to him by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe

More from NME on XLR MAG

ScenesOlivia Rodrigo shares how she spent “exorbitant amount of money” on iconic piece of The White Stripes clothing NME

ScenesThe Chemical Brothers, Ellie Goulding, Adéla lead latest wave of line-up for Open’er 2027 NME

ScenesArt Garfunkel postpones UK tour after being diagnosed with respiratory infection NME

ScenesInterpol’s Paul Banks is readying an album with a new band he formed with Liars’ Aaron Hemphill in Berlin NME

ScenesThom Yorke says he wishes he hadn’t written Radiohead’s ‘High And Dry’ NME

ScenesFontaines D.C. announce intimate London Roundhouse show next week to raise money for mental health charity CALM NME