Producer, performer, catalyst. Richard Burgess has been a musical traveller most of his life - we finally catch up with him.

Once he prayed to the beat behind Re-flex, he's since become versed in high technology and worked with artists as diverse as Kate Bush and Mory Kante. Ollie Crooke talks to a rhythm programmer extraordinaire.

John Keeble is in two minds about drumming for Spandau - an acoustic one and an electric one. Read about his treatment.

'What are this spring's colours?' asks ultra-fashionable Richard Walmsley

An ES&CM exclusive... At home with top synth pioneers Tangerine Dream, in their own recording studio - a three page special.

After spending four years recording The Seeds of Love, Tears for Fears are back and touring the world. Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal talk tears and technology with Dan Rue and Tim Goodyer.

Never mind avoiding presets and programming your own patches... how about rebuilding the whole damn synth? Richard James - aka Polygon Window, Caustic Window, Diceman, Soit PP, Blue Calx, AFX and The Aphex Twin - isn’t happy with his hardware till he’s had the toolbox to it. Phil Ward enters the twilight zone of the lad from Cornwall who’s spearheading the ambient onslaught.

Clarke, Radcliffe & Marlow

Founder member of Depeche Mode and Yazoo, Vince Clarke is joined here by Eric Radcliffe, his partner in a new band, The Assembly, air their views on writing and recording in the 1980's.

Wendy Carlos still loves digital synthesis. Through her pioneering soundtrack work on movies like Tron, and her synthesised interpretations of the classics, she has done as much as Jarre, Kraftwerk and Eno in making synthesisers both respectable and popular. She also used to be Walter Carlos. Daniel Rue investigates

Technical excess brought them success in the 70s, Trevor Horn rejuvenated them in the '80s, now they're working towards the '90s. Deborah Parisi asks the Yes men if there's anything left to say after 20 years.

Tim Goodyer looks past the bright colours of Drum Theatre to find high technology and ethnic tradition working hand-in-hand, and selling records, too. The band themselves explain.

The Fixx are big in American. Chris Holland-Hill, who's big in Hemel Hempstead, finds out why.

Roedelius explains the necessity of home recording and why he's addicted to the colour green!

Richard Walmsley takes a ride with BSA down the R'n'B route and finds out how a green band avoid the Blues

Where you going with that baton in your hand

Pinning Down Blancmange. Chris Jenkins attempts the implausible and gets his just dessert

A Musical Luminary

Bill Nelson remains largely unheard of by the record-buying public, yet his influence on modern musicians has been considerable. Nigel Humberstone visits him at his home studio in Yorkshire.

drum parts and recording arts

Jon Hassell has been at the leading edge of new music for three decades, with major contributions to western avant garde and world music. Following the re-release of two classic albums from the early '80s, Mark J. Prendergast presents a retrospective of Hassell's work.

Instrumental music doesn't sell, the UK dance scene is totally bereft of life, and dance bands never produce decent albums. Wrong, wrong, wrong — and 808 State are back with proof. Nigel Humberstone talked to Manchester's finest during the recording of Gorgeous, their third album.

From Folkie to MIDI. Chris Maillard finds out how the hard bitten acoustic veteran has been bitten hard by the electronic bug

John Chowning, inventor of FM synthesis and the man indirectly responsible for Yamaha's DX synths, receives an interrogation from Simon Trask. In the event, our man scarcely gels a word in edgeways.

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

Are you afraid of the art of Bath? Adrian Deevoy goes into battle with Curt and Roland