When Norman Cook walked away from The Housemartins he walked into hi-tech record production and remixing: now he's topped the charts with Beats International. Tim Goodyer talks to a computer convert.

Phil and Paul Hartnoll are Orbital, and their pioneering brand of user-friendly electronic dance music is a lot more fluid than the traffic on the motorway that prompted the name. So Phil Ward avoids the M25 and heads straight for the heart of the P&P music factory

Live and let live, at least on stage - Tim Goodyer asks the question of where to draw the line between "live" use of technology and cheating.

Dom Foulsham continues our series on the digital ins and outs of sampling, and talks to some arch sampling professionals about the tricks of their trade. Discover how to get a convincing crash cymbal; how to break the rules creatively and stay legal; and 20 things to do with a redundant manual. Read it and weep, Jive Bunny

Letters from the front - a warning message from Beats International's Andy Boucher and a man in search of Amiga music software feature in this month's readers' letters page.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only a solitary keyboard to occupy your time, what would be the instrument of your choice? The professionals make theirs in this anniversary feature.

A long-awaited replacement for Roland's discontinued M-64C RAM cartridge joins the Dangerous CD Company's Danger 1 sampling CD on the spot in this month's Patchwork.

A straightforward guide to producing Dance Mixes using budget equipment.

The first of our new series on the very live issue of sampling, taking all the technicalities into account. Dom Foulsham begins with an examination of the law as it currently effects all involved. An indispensable guide, if you're concerned about clearance and want to avoid that nasty little rubber glove