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.

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Watch Blossoms’ Tom Ogden join Niall Horan on stage in Manchester for ‘Charlemagne’

September 26

Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden joined Niall Horan on stage in Manchester last night for a surprise performance of ‘Charlemagne’ – watch footage below.

Read at NME ↗

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Watch Blossoms’ Tom Ogden join Niall Horan on stage in Manchester for ‘Charlemagne’

More from NME on XLR MAG

ScenesHere’s what Olivia Rodrigo played as she kicked off the ‘Unraveled’ tour NME

ScenesLongtime Paul McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. joins Pearl Jam at Ohana Festival NME

ScenesEd Sheeran’s shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium and other huge events have been cancelled after all – thanks to “severe weather warnings” NME

ScenesNoel and Liam Gallagher react after Manchester City reportedly found guilty of 114 of 115 charges NME

ScenesU2 celebrate 50th anniversary with concerts in Dublin and former high school, and pay tribute to “king busker” Glen Hansard NME

ScenesPortrait of The 1975’s Matty Healy shortlisted at British Photography Awards NME