Features archive

November 2024

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36 articles

November 30
- “Man, this is a hit!”: Roger Waters’ vision, David Gilmour’s classic solo and a disco groove - the magic combination in Pink Floyd’s freak Christmas No 1
November 29
- I used a PC to produce music for 15 years, here's 6 reasons I'm picking up a MacBook in the Black Friday sales
- Don’t miss these unbelievable Cyber Season deals on Native Instruments hardware and software
- “Its sounds, and the producers responsible for them, have inspired many big developments in mainstream music”: Exploding the vibrant components of hyperpop
November 27
- “Karen manages to get across both sadness and silliness”: How the Carpenters wowed Lennon and McCartney with an emotive yet absurd No 1 hit
- “It’s rumoured to have been used by everyone from Björk to Aphex Twin”: The history of making music with video games consoles
- “Jimi was brave, beautiful and powerful!”: On Hendrix’s birthday, a tribute from modern blues master Eric Gales
November 25
- “There was a 50/50 chance that I’d be able to sing again - and we were $3m in debt!”: The dramatic story of an ’80s rock blockbuster
- “I could see and hear my brothers dying. It was the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone”: The horror of a rock band’s plane crash - by the guitarist who survived it
November 22
- “There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
- “People have used it as their wedding song. I often think, ‘Hey, did you listen to the lyrics?’”: The classic number one hit with a sting in its tail
- “All the energy we put into that record just exploded on to the world!”: How Chester Bennington remembered Linkin Park’s breakthrough
November 21
- “The music business attracts the lowest form of life!”: How the leader of a multi-million selling rock band took on the industry and won!
- "It's loud, in-your-face, and has more punch than a kangaroo at boxing practice": What is OTT compression - and how do you use it?
- “It was the B-side that became one of the most important pieces of music ever - certainly one of the most sampled”: How breakbeat took over the music world
November 20
- “He didn't want his credibility blown by being named on a Def Leppard album!”: The rockers’ secret weapon was a synth pop boffin
November 19
- “I co-wrote most of everything on the Beastie Boys album”: Rick Rubin on his greatest hits of the ’80s - from the Beasties to Roy Orbison
November 18
- “65% of Gen Z identify as creators, and 8% consider themselves 'Professional Fans' - earning money from their fan activities”: How self-releasing artists can build a dedicated audience in the 2020s
November 16
- “I was thrashing that guitar to pieces, and I don’t play like that anymore”: Prog rock legend Steve Howe of Yes reveals what he’s learned in 60 years of playing
November 15
- “If it sounds like I’m standing over a body that’s just been stabbed to death, then it’s perfect.” The brutal heavy metal masterpiece that had producer Rick Rubin yelling: “More Satan!”
November 14
- Donner’s MEDO puts creativity in your hands
- “I have never heard a better ‘rock’ piano”: From The Beatles to Bowie, Queen to Elton John, how the rich, distinctive tone of the Trident Studios house piano graced the grooves of some of the finest songs ever recorded
- “Don't be scared to load in a track you like into your DAW as a reference”: New to making tracks? Start here
November 9
- “He wanted his version of the song to be a stark, heavy solo-piano thing, but they convinced him to turn it into a grand, crashing, theatrical monster-ballad, complete with orchestra”: The story of Nilsson's Without You
November 8
- “I’m all about Dimebag and Zakk Wylde!”: Tetrarch guitarist Diamond Rowe salutes the giants of metal
- “It’s like there’s another guitar player there - he’s just not actually there!”: How one metal guitarist sounds like two
- “All subscription models are from Satan and there is a special place in hell for those people in charge that went for this business model”: Are music software subscriptions really as bad as some people say?
November 7
- “There’s constant hype about the instruments, synths, speakers and computers that producers use - but will your music sound better because of that?”: Gábor Lázár on sound design, generative techniques and designing his own instruments in Max
- “If you master just 10% of its power, you'll be able to create pro tracks in no time”: New to DAWs? Start here
November 6
- “Beyoncé is a scientist of songs. I’ve never seen anyone work the way she works”: Why Beyoncé's Lemonade remains an enduring 21st century classic
- "We can't quite believe that this is free!": 7 of the coolest free plugins we discovered this month
November 5
- “The core thing to remember is that your beats are slow - 90 bpm maximum - and they are filthy”: Unpacking the dark, sample-based sound of trip-hop
- “Kurt was sitting in the bathtub with a Walkman on, listening to the song, and when the tape ended, he kissed me and said, 'Oh, finally, now I don't have to be the only songwriter in the band!'”: Dave Grohl's evolution as a songwriter
- “He was one of the weirdest bass players in the history of rock”: 5 basslines that capture the genius of The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh
November 1
- “That’s all I had. FL Studio and four plugins made Midnight Request Line”: Skream on how he made his biggest track, why he doesn’t mix his own music, and dropping his 13-year-old son’s tune in a Boiler Room set
- “Some producers will still insist that you just can’t beat the real thing”: Want to record external synths? Start here