Fancy following in the footsteps of Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarret and Chick Corea? Robert Irving did, and now finds himself doing just that, playing keyboards with Miles Davis. Tim Goodyer reports.

Checking up on what's going down

The Alternative MIDI Controllers Session

We explain why MIDI isn't just for keyboard players...

In which five of E&MM's writers pick their fave things of the year. If your personal preferences aren't there, don't take it out on us.

IT's guide through the MIDI jungle

baby ford, golden boy of british acid, drops hints on getting the dancefloor moving

Musical trends come and go but the hi-nrg beat goes on and on... David Bradwell talks to the hi-nrg production team who've released more records in the last 12 months than Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

Here’s your ticket to Amsterdam, Vince will meet you at the studio and show you all his favourite classic synths. A dream? No, a reality, thanks to Ian Masterson and Music Technology. Ian gets an exclusive guided tour around Erasure’s secret analogue powerhouse, just for you. You can almost taste the Amstel beer

update on THE guitar synth

SoftwareCheck

Sometimes Musical Micro just ain't big enough to hold down a piece of really macho software... Tony Mills grabs a suddenly floppy disk, and enters the cage.

The missing sync?

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.

Justifiably unwilling to be written off as just another funk act, Loose Ends talk tactics, technique and technology into Tim Goodyer's Walkman mic.

SPK began by hammering away at anything from the scrapyard but now generate their metal beat on the Fairlight. We investigate the method in the mayhem.

They've been a mainstay of electronic music for over 20 years, they're less expensive than ever before, and they still make sounds the digital machines can't. Analogue synthesizers have been receiving some digital assistance of late, but at heart they're still analogue synthesizers - and if you want to make them perform magic, you need to speak their language. Craig Anderton is your interpreter...

...Beating Like This

...Beating Like This. If your drum machine is too robotic and your drum kit is too static, Matt Isaacson and Chris Meyer's tour of 'alternative' percussion controllers may be right up your street.

In the desert of new age there are oases of music. Scott Wilkinson talks to an American guitarist with a story to tell and the technology to tell it.

Part 6. Resident software specialist Jay Chapman clears up some misleading terminology first, then moves on to relate how the MIDI protocol organises such matters as Program Changes in those humble synthesizers we all take for granted.

The Enduring Appeal Of Classic Synths

Patrick Leonard has a surprisingly low profile for the producer and cowriter of many of Madonna's biggest hits, but his production work and nascent solo career suggest that wider recognition is on the way. Paul Tingen meets a man of many talents and strong views.

Mark Jenkins reports on this recent addition to the popular CZ range of polysynths and suggests that the Phase Distortion synthesis it employs could well be the answer for those of you caught in the 'analogue versus digital' dilemma.

The world's best-known electronic music band have reached a crossroads, with a line-up change, a lengthy concert tour and an uncertain recording future. Annabel Scott talks to them.

Die Krupps: hi-tech and heavy