IF YOU HAVEN'T noticed already, the music interviews in this issue of MT are both dedicated to the same band, Rain Tree Crow - although many of you will more readily recognise the line-up as that of Japan. Devoting an entire issue's worth of interview space to one band (and hence, one musical perspective) is a first for the magazine, and not something we're likely to repeat in the foreseeable future. The coverage is partly occasioned by the reunion of a band who proved so influential in the early '80s, and partly by the fact that the various musicians are also involved in different projects and have their own experiences and opinions to discuss. Without getting into details, there's also the issue of personal disagreements within the band that mean the reunion is over almost before it's begun. What we've come around to here is the issue of people.

Much as modern music tends to rely on equipment for its sounds, construction and dissemination, people are still an essential part of the process of making and enjoying it. We regularly hear warnings issued about machines de-humanising music, but consider this: even if a machine is capable of composing, recording and playing music without human intervention, the exercise is worthless without people to appreciate it. Without us, it's debatable whether the noises the machine's made actually constitute music.

I'd also go so far as to suggest that the vast majority of people making music need other people to help them - a statement at odds with the currently popular image of the lone musician working into the night with a computer and sampler. How many of us are capable of seeing a piece of music through all stages of its development and still coming up with something other people want to hear? (OK Prince, sit down.) In most of our cases, collaboration with another musician not only helps us out when we're short on inspiration, it can present problems which actually help bring out the best in us - a curious situation that is uniquely human.

The magazine you're reading relies heavily on people too - in more ways than you might readily recognise. Obviously you're important as a reader because without you there would be nobody to write for; advertisers' support provides the bulk of the money that keeps everything running; and musicians who agree to be interviewed provide invaluable insights into their experiences and philosophies. But what about the people who put the magazine together? As MT's editor, let me assure you that finding people with the required experience, knowledge and writing skills is not an easy task. And the right combination of writers with the right range of experience and perspectives is even more difficult to assemble. Let me also assure you then, that I feel confident there's no better team of journalists working in this area of journalism - largely because we're aware of the importance of people (I'm talking about you) as well as the importance of music and, particularly, the importance of equipment.

Returning to the interviews with Rain Tree Crow, had the remarks exchanged between David Sylvian and Steve Jansen been documented by some "reporting machine" rather than a person, I feel certain that further damage to the people involved - and to the music they purvey - would have resulted. Instead, the possession of potentially damaging information was in the hands of a person (myself) who has attempted to respect the other people involved. I sincerely hope it's been handled responsibly.

David Torn observes in the sleeve notes (and lyric) of his excellent album door x, that music is "about magic". You're certainly not wrong, David, but it's also about people.