Currently opening the show for the Megadog Midi Circus, Toby Marks (aka Banco de Gaia) is living proof that one man and a rack full of gear can get an audience to its feet and keep it there. And as Phil Ward discovers, Toby enjoys meeting people, likes to travel and drives a small red van.

Canada Dry

Michael Brook, inventor of the Infinite Guitar, is a guitarist, composer and producer with a good deal of talent and a taste for the unusual. Paul Tingen met him to talk about his forthcoming Cobalt Blue album.

Does BBE's new box of psychoacoustic tricks offer a new way of livening up a mix? David Mellor takes his music to the max.

Feel Every Beat

Are Electronic, mutant offspring of New Order, The Smiths and the Pet Shop Boys, the first electro-supergroup? Does it matter? Mark J. Prendergast ignores the hype, sidesteps trivial speculation, and talks technical to Bernard Sumner.

More than a decade and a half after they first fell out of Manchester, New Order's most married couple are still at the nerve-centre of the band's activities. Helping them come to terms with it all - Phil Ward

EMU ESI-32

Affordable sampling from an original thinker

Contemporary American composer Steve Reich talks about train journeys, music video theatre, and the ethics and aesthetics of sampling. Simon Trask goes along for the ride.

Poolside Drums

When the London Sample Workshop decided to sample drums with real reverb, they chose a swimming pool to do it. Tim Goodyer gets in deep with the Poolside Drums.

The Stereo MC's' Connected was for many the album of 1992; their live shows are currently one of the highlights of 1993. Phil Ward makes his own stereo connection and discovers just what it takes to get the balance right.

psychoacoustic equaliser

Sound enhancement at both ends of the spectrum - and something in the middle.

Digital Soup Editing Software For The PC

It's very cheap and immensely powerful. Read our review to find out more...

Your questions answered

Well established as sampling innovators, the Art Of Noise have just released their fourth LP. David Bradwell talks to the Art's JJ Jeczalik about Fairlights and fairplay.

Felton Pilate's success spans "traditional" funk to the rap revolution - just now he's writing, producing and playing keys for Hammer. Nick Batzdorf raps tech with the Hammer man.

Multi-Pattern Tube Microphone

Andy Longhurst broaches the issue of equipment compatibility.

Do you live in peace with your cassette recorder? Or is your life full of mangled tape misery and longings for lost high frequencies? Confirmed reel-to-reelie David Mellor explains the problems that bedevil the cassette format, and offers some advice to make the medium work for you rather than against you.

Mixing Desk

Q: Just what is a Minister Without Portfolio? A: A leading member of the Government who hasn't got Soundcraft's nifty new portable mixer, that's what. Nicholas Rowland raises questions in The House

Roland M480 & M240R Rackmount Line Mixers

The competition to squeeze the maximum number of inputs and effects busses into the smallest possible rack space continues, as Kendall Wrightson discovers.

JBL MR825S

Last month’s review re-born

Part 2: The Edit

Last month we looked at how you can use a domestic format like S-VHS to shoot footage good enough for use in a video demo. But getting the right footage is only half the battle as Paul Wiffen and Darrin Williamson found out. This month we follow them through the editing stage.

Foreign phrases for tour survival

handy phrases for foreign tours

Chick Corea has helped pioneer the use of electronic instruments in jazz music - now 49 LPs down the line, he believes there's still more ground to cover. Scott Wilkinson talks to a musical legend.