Bo Diddley tells Max Kay a bed-time story

Phil and Paul Hartnoll are Orbital, and their pioneering brand of user-friendly electronic dance music is a lot more fluid than the traffic on the motorway that prompted the name. So Phil Ward avoids the M25 and heads straight for the heart of the P&P music factory

Ex-OMDers Paul Humphreys and Martin Cooper are back with new material and plenty to say on OMD, songwriting, sampling and going independent

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.

The Mellotron: A Historical Perspective

Reviewed

All you ever wanted to know about stereo mic techniques, explained in plain English.

UK Electronica

It was once the UK's biggest celebration of live electronic music, but it didn't fare too well in 1985. Dan Goldstein reports.

Alpha Syntauri Report

Dave Crombie tries the alphaSyntauri synthesiser

A Comedy of Errors

Just when you though it was safe to read the back pages, Ben Duncan conjures up an additional episode which this time really does finish off this enthralling saga.

MikeCheck

A new range gets a polish from Jimbo's moustache

Dynacord Percuter S

Digital drums the Dynacord way. Or as Nigel Lord would put it, a better-than-average electronic drum kit at a higher-than-average price. Is the Percuter worth the extra?

Korg DSM1 & E-mu SP1200

Are the latest samplers from Korg and E-mu Systems really new instruments, or are they simply updates on old machines? Lorenz Rychner counts the bits and checks the clocks.

Part 3 of the 8-track At Home review by Nobby Line

tim simenon turns the tables

Recognising Europeans

Bassist Sara Lee and guitar player Andy Gill discuss sonic invention and positive discrimination.

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.

Oceanic interviewed

Merseyside's pop trio on presets, jingles, Nirvana and 2 Unlimited

A four-section synthesiser complete with breath control, tested by Geoff Twigg.

Personal Services

It’s a tough world out there in the 16-track studio jungle, but Abbeydale’s owners have made a success out of providing a ‘personal production service’ for songwriters and bands. What's their secret? Read on...

Paul Gilby returns with the series that takes a behind the scenes look at companies and design personnel working in the field of music and recording technology. This month: Marvin Caesar, President of Aphex Systems USA - creators of the legendary Aural Exciter.

Having been involved with a bewildering number of projects in the past, Patrick Moraz and Graham Edge, keyboardist and drummer with The Moody Blues talk about their current work.