The Art of Sampling

Part 1: The Art Of Sampling. Keyboard programmer Paul Wiffen offers valuable advice on squeezing the most out of your sampler.

Four years on from the successes of The Flat Earth, Thomas Dolby has moved to LA for his follow-up LP, Aliens Ate My Buick. Tim Goodyer discovers that aliens have a lot to say.

Chris Smith continues his series on synchronisation

The The's Matt Johnson talks about production, outwitting the lawyers... and hillbilly blues

I used to work with this prat once who thought that I'd mis-spelt compleat when I used it in an article - sometimes you just can't win, can you? Dave Hastilow, however, is well sussed and brings you sound at a stroke.

Tim Goodyer pays Genesis' legendary keyboardsman a visit to hear all about life in one of rock's most longstanding and influential bands and their 16th LP.

Mission In Action

Instead of recording their latest opus in expensive pro studios, the Mission have been laying tracks in a rural barn. It might seem they've fallen from grace; Robert Michael finds it ain't necessarily so.

From his formative days experimenting with Torchsong, William Orbit has made good through his remixes and a new outfit called Bass-o-matic. Tim Goodyer watches time catch up with a techno-prophet.

Laurie Anderson, pioneer and populariser of avant-garde electronic music, and arguably the performance artist, recently brought her 'Empty Places' show to the UK. Interview by Mark J. Prendergast.

Rivalled only by War and Peace for its length and emotional content, this article by our own Neville Unwin presents both sides of the 'blank tape levy' argument.

Paul Ireson converses with 50% of Switzerland’s most exciting export since milk chocolate - Dieter Meier of Yello.

Sold on the 3-Minute Song

Erasure's fifth album sees the duo of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell going from strength to strength, delivering electro-pop at its finest. But the doyens of synthesizer pop recorded Chorus with almost no MIDI instruments at all. Vince Clarke tells Paul Ireson how he made a hit album with 10-year old technology.

Digital Audio Recorder

David Mellor explores the higher echelons of audio technology and finds a machine which is destined to become a classic of its time: Soundstation II from Digital Audio Research.

Mr Papathanassiou leaps off the cover and speeds headlong to page 23. Pausing merely for an intake of breath he settles in his fave armchair and reads, 'Vangelis has superb keyboard technique...' And smiles.

Back in the '60s it was Jefferson Airplane, then it was Jefferson Starship, then it was simply Starship. Brad Leigh Benjamin compares notes with the Synclavier king of one of rock's institutions.

Record Pressing

Part 3 completes our short series with a detailed look at record pressing, labels, sleeves and promotion.

Facts on the Rak

Denyer gets the Rak job at last, figuring that Mickie Most really ought to know something about putting a studio together. Seems he does.

Mark J. Prendergast looks behind the anonymous front of the KLF, riding high on the success of 'What Time Is Love' and '3am Eternal'.

Bill Nelson, Magma

Cult masters of industrial funk talk hi-tech sounds, performance CDs and popular commerciality to Nicholas Rowland; the code of the '80s.

All good things come to those who wait... David Mellor samples Yamaha's version of the 'ultimate instrument', the MIDI sampler. Does it improve on all that have gone before or have Yamaha taken technology beyond the point of usability?

Riding the ambient house wave, The Orb have released a concept album that mixes dance beats with new age textures. Tim Goodyer tunes in to Alex Paterson and Thrash as they chill out with technology.

When Norman Cook walked away from The Housemartins he walked into hi-tech record production and remixing: now he's topped the charts with Beats International. Tim Goodyer talks to a computer convert.

through the year darkly with One Two

Helden, Laurie Anderson, Fad Gadget, The Enid