Tracking the progress of a DIY mix that went official

England's North has consistently produced some of the most innovative electronic music. Simon Trask talks to a band set to take their place alongside New Order and Heaven 17.

808 State - Absolutely Gorgeous

Haying abandoned the independence of Factory Records in favour of the relative safety of a major record deal, ACR are back in the limelight with a new LP. Nigel Lord asks questions of commerciality.

Vie Marshall asks who is A Guy Called Gerald?

You can't discuss the Manchester dance movement without A Guy Called Gerald. Simon Trask talks success and setbacks to one of Britain's most influential young artists.

Dance music with direction

Whatever happened to Thomas Leer? What's become of Propaganda? If you've heard of a band called Act you already know the answers to these questions, if not, David Bradwell is right on cue with this interview.

Adam Mosley chats about producing The Plot Thickens

By ignoring the charts and treating dance music as a live phenomenon, Adamski has won himself a huge following and a chart placing. Simon Trask talks about the live applications of studio music.

One Two listens to Stratists Jeff Beck, Adrian Belew and Richard Thompson. Plus a Hendrix compilation.

What have David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, King Crimson, Frank Zappa and Jean-Michel Jarre got in common? They've all employed the services of Adrian Belew, one of the world's most inventive guitarists, and a man with a passion for creating new sound textures.

Al Hospers, chief executive officer of Dr.T's Music Software in Boston, paid a flying visit to the recent PC Show during a whirlwind tour of Europe. Paul Gilby asks him about the past, present and future activities of this prolific music software house.

A British playwright looks into the future and sees a composer locked away from the world with a machine that makes music for him. John Walters talks scripts and Synclaviers.

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.

Portrait of the artist as a (suffering) young man

or how to keep THESE men happy and stay alive

roadie to the stars tells all

On Fenderising his Gibson and varying his technique

Dan Peek of the English band that everyone thinks is American

An interesting interview with Andre Jacquemin who just happens to be the man responsible for the recording of the Monty Python madness that's surfaced on film and vinyl over the last decade or so.

Sound engineer with Sky chats about his work and gives advice about recording.

A successful composer of minimal music or would-be writer of pop instrumentals? Tim Goodyer isn't sure so he challenges the man himself for the answers.

This premier producer, conductor and arranger discusses his solo album 'The Best of the Alan Parsons Project'