An exclusive look inside Genesis' private studio retreat deep in the heart of Surrey.

Phil Collins explores the Octapads.

All the latest hi-tech goodies, brought to you in glorious technicolour.

Moog Taurus Pedals

Ultimate bass? Legendary synth pioneers Moog once made the best bass synth on the planet: Paul Ward reassesses the power of Taurus in the light of '90s bass mania.

How to speak Musician

Understand record company executives, outwit shop assistants and grunt to roadies on their own level with our dictionary of musical terms.

The Mellotron

Once considered an instrument no keyboard player should be without, more recently regarded as a mechanical monstrosity, the Mellotron was definitely an early sampler, but was it the first? Dave "Crumbly" Crombie reminisces.

Why the Thompson Twins, Genesis and Tears For Fears have plumped for plastic.

Arp Pro Soloist, Korg Sigma & Roland SH2000

In the early days of analogue synths, reconciling electronics and expression was hard work. Gordon Reid looks at the beginnings of pressure sensitivity.

Roland VP330

Roland's VP330 Vocoder Plus not only helped to put vocoders on the map, but has since become a classic keyboard in its own right. Gordon Reid says "synths that make you go Hmmm".

Mark J. Prendergast explores the recording process that surrounded Peter Gabriel's new album 'Passion' and takes a peep inside Gabriel's Real World studio complex.

Scarlet Party

Been puzzled by references to just intoned or even tempered scales, or wondered exactly what the DX7II's "microtonality" is all about? Robert Rich has the answers.

Has popular music really become as stale as you think, or have you simply lost your ability to assimilate it? Tim Goodyer looks at the effects of growing volumes of music on limited listening resources.

This month, Electronic Dream Plant to Elka.

Legal raves demand state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, and Fantazia are the experts. Dave Arcari reports from the dance floor

Lyceum Ballroom, London

John Foxx at the Lyceum.

The non-musician has taken a lot of stick from his educated counterparts, yet he's contributed a lot to musical progress. What separates musicians and non-musicians?

All the snippety little secret bits of musicians' gossip that no-one else would print