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Latest by Mike Mettler

Steven Wilson dramatic color stage

On ‘To The Bone,’ Steven Wilson crafts accessible songs that transcend time

Steven Wilson discusses his new album To the Bone, the secrets of post-modern sound construction, and how to make music feel timeless.
Corin Tucker light

The party is the show for Corin Tucker and her Filthy Friends

Guitarist/vocalist Corin Tucker discusses how her new band Filthy Friends keeps their songs feeling current in today’s ever-changing socio-political climate, the current status of Sleater-Kinney, and how to challenge yourself as an artist whenever you play live.
audiophile living colour vernon reid  2017 photo by karsten steiger

Furious times call for furious songs on ‘Shade,’ Living Colour’s righteous return

Living Colour’s new genre-defying album Shade examines a constant dialogue about what it’s like being an American in today’s topsy-turvy modern times.
Deer Tick logo

Deer Tick returns from hiatus with a double-barreled dual album release

Deer Tick is stronger than ever, as evidenced in their two new albums. Acoustic songwriting dominates Vol. 1 and punk-like abandon thunders forth on Vol. 2.
interview moby on photography growing up innocents destroyed img 2395 74

When he’s not on stage, Moby seeks out ‘happy accidents’ behind a camera

When Moby isn’t making electronic music, he’s behind the camera lens trying to photograph familiar scenes in new ways and capture “happy accidents.”
The Blacklist Season 4 Interview

Who is Reddington? ‘The Blacklist’ creator Jon Bokenkamp teases the truth

In an exclusive interview with Digital Trends,The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp talks about the end of series 3, where the show’s going for season 4, and why Blu-ray surround sound offers the ultimate way to watch.
giles martin on sgt pepper at 50 the beatles feat

Finally in surround after 50 years, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ is getting better all the time

Released on June 1, 1967, Sgt. Pepper instantly turned the record album format into an artform that still holds merit to this day.
jamie laurie jonny 5 of flobots feat

Flobots carry protest from the screen to the streets on ‘Noenemies’

Emcee Jonny 5 of Denver-based alt-hip-hop trio Flobots tells us how they tailor their music and lyrics to create calls to social action without being overtly partisan
squarepusher interview the software behind damogen furies audiophile

Squarepusher doesn’t just make electronica, he makes the software to make it

Electronica pioneer Squarepusher takes creative freedom so seriously, he wrote his own software to author the digital beats on Damogen Furies, his latest album.
The Audiophile Bakermat

Bakermat on his upcoming album, YouTube fame, and remixing Martin Luther King Jr.

We speak with breakout YouTube artist Bakermat about his influences, the music he holds dear, James Brown, and why MLK is more relevant than ever.
the audiophile vlado meller lou reed feat

Lou Reed’s digital remasters once brought him to tears

Before Lou Reed's death in 2013, he took to the studio with mastering engineer Vlado Meller to remaster all of his solo records from the original tapes.
The Audiophile: Graham Nash

Graham Nash demands Pandora and Spotify stop ‘ripping off’ artists

We sit down with Graham Nash on his new album This Path Tonight, what he thinks of streaming music, and David Bowie’s Lazarus.
nick heyward

How new wave legend Nick Heyward transformed his musical doodles into songs

Stalwart singer/songwriter Nick Heyward discusses how he turned his “musical doodles” into full songs, and why editing is crucial to the creative process.
slowdive neil halstead orange light

Pop a cork and sit down. For Slowdive, vinyl is all about the ceremony

Slowdive pioneered the sound of turning up the distortion, blaring the feedback, and distorting vocals beyond recognition, and bands like Beach House have taken this post-rock vibe to the next level.
Sharp WiSA Audio System

Sharp Wireless High-Res Audio Player review

Sharp’s Wireless High Res Audio player is a little ahead of its time, but it signals a future where ditching cables doesn’t mean sacrificing so much as an ounce of sound quality.
GREG NICOTERO & ANDREW LINCOLN & LENNIE JAMES & TOM PAYNE AT TWD PRESS CONFERENCE

Rick Grimes and team ready to wage ‘all-out war’ in ‘The Walking Dead’ season 8

The Walking Dead’s next big arc finds Rick Grimes' group and other factions joining forces to finally strike back against Negan.
starsailor press

Naked but never nihilistic, Starsailor charts a course for indie soul

Starsailor’s fifth album, All This Life, connects all the right sonic dots, ensuring each of its 11 songs convey all the honest emotions soulful singers must share in order to reach their audience.
james mercer the shins pointing

Embracing the ’80s and flipping the script with The Shins frontman James Mercer

The Shins completely reworked all eleven songs on their 2017 album, Heartworms, for The Worm’s Heart, and band mastermind James Mercer thinks the Flipped versions are better overall.
Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold is down with Beach Boys covers, but not with going to Mars

M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold tells us how to know when certain songs are the right ones to cover, and the key differences between being an opening act and a headliner.
joss stone light pattern

Joss Stone tossed the script (and recorded her dogs) for ‘Project Mama Earth’

Singer Joss Stone and her four collaborators improvised some exciting new music around a pair of Cameroonian rhythms, Mangambe and Bikutsi.
Silverplanes filter

Silverplanes jet into the ‘Gulfstream’ of modern listening, one EP at a time

Silverplanes’ Aaron Smart on modern audiences wanting to consume music, working with legends, and the differences between digital and analog.
Barenaked Ladies ed robertson tyler stewart jump

Barenaked Ladies cut loose and show it all with ‘Fake Nudes’

Rather than get themselves worked up into a hot, dense state of indecision, the four main men of Barenaked Ladies decided to once again work with producer Gavin Brown on their new LP, Fake Nudes.
The Bloody Beetroots Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo dj

For the Bloody Beetroots, sometimes building bridges means tearing down songs

Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo of The Bloody Beetroots is the ripped masked DJ who lays down some of the sickest beats around while also performing a punishing, physically demanding live set.
audiophile cut chemist

How deep is your crate?’ DJ Cut Chemist digs down on ‘Die Cut’

Cut Chemist resides among today’s top turntablists, who have forged their own identities via the sound and vibe from the records they spin, mix, sample, and create.
cheetah chrome dead boys now grimace

As loud and snotty as ever, the Dead Boys are keeping punk alive

Punk icons the Dead Boys defined the genre’s look, sound, and attitude -- and they’re still at it four decades later
the audiophile lee ranaldo violin guitar

From early Macs to vinyl, Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo digs his tech relics

Lee Ranaldo and Sonic Youth took open guitar tunings and off-kilter rhythms and timbres to their absolute limits like no other experimental no-wave alt-rock bands had ever done before.
Gord Downie suit

Friends, admirers, and collaborators remember Canadian rock legend Gord Downie

Gord Downie leaves behind a recorded legacy with The Tragically Hip that is based in the grit and groove of the finest rock has to offer, along with his beyond-vivid songwriting.
Dhani Harrison guitar

His father did it with sitar, but Dhani Harrison proves EDM can heal, too

An EDM-tinged aura that expands on his film and TV compositional work permeates all throughout Dhani Harrison’s first full-fledged solo album, IN///PARALLEL.
Tom Petty bw coat

Remembering Tom Petty with an unreleased interview on gear, recording, his legacy

The late Tom Petty discussed the sound he was going after in the studio, what makes for a good engineer, and what his vision of The Heartbreakers’ future was.
Neil Finn drama shot

Ever wonder how an album is made? Neil Finn live-streamed the process

Out of Silence shows Neil Finn in the moment as a live-streaming music creator, and he plans to continue to utilize the platform to launch new music.
Kaki King acoustic

Backed by an orchestra, Kaki King shape shifts yet again on ‘Live at Berklee’

Avant-guitarist Kaki King discusses the philosophy behind Live at Berklee, how to bring classical performance and composition into the modern era.
Michael Cudlitz living dead

Interview with ‘Walking Dead’ star Michael Cudlitz

The Walking Dead actor Michael Cudlitz talks his role as loyal solider Abraham Ford, his Southland days, and more.
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Mellower but still a madman, Black Grape’s Shaun Ryder is all about the music now

Black Grape frontman Shaun Ryder talks ‘Pop Voodoo,’ signing vinyl the “right” way, and how his kids currently view his musical legacy.
Audiophile Battle Tapes Josh Boardman on a couch

From floppy disks to $500 music videos, Battle Tapes did it their way on ‘Form’

Battle Tapes mastermind Josh Boardman wanted to flip the sonic script while working of Form, the genre-busting EP that follows up 2015’s Polygon.
Styx Tommy Shaw pose

Styx crosses solar systems and generations on ‘The Mission’

On their new album ‘The Mission,’ Styx revisits the space optimism of 1977’s ‘The Grand Illusion’ with a new mission: Mars.
Matthew Sweet in home studio black and white

‘Tomorrow Forever’ is a long album for an impatient era, but Kickstarter loves it

Matthew Sweet turned to Kickstarter to record Tomorrow Forever, a 17-song forward-thinking melodic riff-fest that somehow never feels long.
The Audiophile Fred Falke

Sunny-side up or scrambled? To Fred Falke, Spotify and vinyl are just like eggs

“No matter how sad you get or what bad things happen, you have to keep going.” He’s got the touch — literally. Fred Falke set le bar for the French touch scene ’round the turn of the century with the throbbing wash of 808 PM at the Beach and Intro, a collaboration with Alex Braxe […]
Gregg Allman

Revisit our interview with Gregg Allman as we mourn the passing of a legend

Gregg Allman was kind, open, soft-spoken, and polite to a fault — all in contrast to the hard-scrabble image that surrounded him.