Simon Croft interviews the versatile Gerry Kitchingham whose track record includes work with A-Ha.

There's an awful lot of hi-hi-history involved, y'know

David Hughes lends an ear to three well-priced CDs full of synthesizer and drum machine samples.

Royal Engineer

Mark Jenkins meets David Richards, the sound engineer behind Queen's latest album 'The Miracle'.

This long-awaited successor to Roland's evergreen MSQ700 sequencer offers increased song and note capacity, 'microscopic' editing of every single MIDI command and stores both music and rhythm tracks to 3.5 inch disks. Mark Jenkins fills in the details.

AccessoryCheck

The ultimate compromise and the way forward for drummers reviewed by Bob Henrit

Just the ticket? How to do it yourself explained by Richard Walmsley

After the disaster that was the Linn 9000, why would anyone want to build another combined sampling drum machine and sequencer. Rick Davies has the answer.

League leader and Moroder man talks tech to Tony Mills

some strange advice

The return of Roger Linn, as a member of the Akai team, promises much to the world of musical technology. The ASQ 10, bearing the Linn name, is a heavyweight sequencer in all senses. David Mellor assesses its abilities.

Free of Culture Club, guitarist Roy Hay declares his infatuation with soul music and forms a new band. Tim Goodyer listens to his tales of "programming madness".

Learn about Arif Mardin, Glenn Miller, Afrodiziak, DX7s, PCM70s, 9000s, and "One On One".

A subjective and selective round-up of drum machines, old and new, by Mark Jenkins.

The latest from downtown trade and productsville

From the ashes of the ill-fated Linn 9000, Roger Linn and Akai have brought forth the MPC60. Simon Trask takes a look at this powerful drum machine and sequencer.

It's the latest. It's the greatest. It's the mostest. Oops

Emulator SP12

What happens when you give a drum machine the sound-sampling capabilities of an Emulator keyboard? Little short of a miracle, according to reporters Paul Wiffen and Annabel Scott.

Jim Betteridge takes a lesson in love

Lillie Yard Studio

Where can you find a complete audio-video recording system, a Fairlight a separate programming suite and the biggest modular synth in the world? Matthew Vosburgh discovers heaven off the Earl's Court Road.

Johnny Hates Jazz are in the privileged position of being allowed to produce their own debut album. David Bradwell talks to the band about their unusual situation, their techniques and their philosophies.

The man who took the credit for production on Pink Floyd's superlative 'Dark Side Of The Moon' album has since had ten years of album success with his own creation: The Alan Parsons Project. Richard Elen managed to track him down to London's Mayfair Studios, to discuss the appliance of music technology in his recordings.

Annabel Scott talks to one of the synth world's younger composers about a new album of raunchier, dynamic music, the result of his first sessions in Jive Electro's equipment-laden studio, Battery.

news from the front

after the break, news from the front