New Music Interviews

Remembering John Prine, one of the great American singer-songwriters

Jasper Rees Wednesday, 08 April 2020

John Prine, who has died at the age of 73 from a Covid 19-related illness, was one of the great American folk poets. Having spent his early adulthood pounding the sidewalks as a mailman in Chicago, he never quite shucked that blue-collar aura of the working man's minstrel.

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10 Questions for Irina Nalis

joe Muggs Thursday, 19 March 2020

Normally we'd put a descriptor - "cellist", "film maker", "techno producer" for example - in the title of this interview, but for Irina Nalis there isn't space. Like, "10 Questions for psychologist, ministerial adviser, festival founder, architectural consultant, digital humanism activist and techno veteran Irina Nalis" wouldn't fit across the page. But that's the multidisciplinary world for you.

theartsdesk Q&A: musician Rick McMurray

Lisa-Marie Ferla Tuesday, 03 March 2020

With them having famously been just teenagers when they released their debut single in 1994 it seems fitting – and not a little tongue in cheek – that the indie rock trio chose Teenage Wildlife for the title of their 25th anniversary compilation.

10 Questions for Techno Musician Carl Craig

joe Muggs Saturday, 23 November 2019

In the eight years since theartsdesk last spoke to Carl Craig, a lot has happened. He moved from his native Detroit for a sojourn in Barcelona (partly for ease of access to his summer DJ residencies in Ibiza), then recently returned.

theartsdesk Q&A: Shakespears Sister

Russ Coffey Thursday, 24 October 2019

When goth-pop duo Shakespears Sister split in 1993, the music press dubbed it the break-up of the decade. Partly it was because at the time they were one of the biggest, and coolest, bands around (their single "Stay" managed a record eight weeks at number one).

10 Questions for musician Craig Finn

Lisa-Marie Ferla Sunday, 20 October 2019

As frontman and lyricist of US rockers The Hold Steady, Craig Finn specialises in vivid storytelling featuring larger than life characters. It’s a writing style that he has carried with him into his solo work too even if, as he says, the stories are “more vulnerable and maybe a little more personal” than fans of his other band may be used to.

10 Questions for conductor Charles Hazlewood

Thomas H Green Monday, 23 September 2019

Charles Hazlewood (b. 1966) has worked across the gamut of orchestral music, his career showcasing the multitude of ways it can be perceived and enjoyed.

Bob Dylan Special - theartsdesk Q&A: Scarlet Rivera

Tim Cumming Tuesday, 11 June 2019

As Martin Scorsese’s new feature film, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, hits Netflix and cinemas, and a new 14 CD boxed set enters the official Bootleg Series, ...

Chamber Music, Brighton Festival 2019 review - Wu-Tang Clan depths divined

Nick Hasted Monday, 20 May 2019

Martial arts mayhem, Shaolin philosophy, a tribe of masked hip hop warriors emerging from the mist of Staten Island, a Funkadelic-Parliament collective sprawling through the music industry in the age of black mass incarceration: the Wu-Tang Clan were all these things, immediately....

10 Questions for Musician Soumik Datta

Mark Sheerin Tuesday, 30 April 2019

“I think we need to get rid of labels, certainly World Music,” insists Soumik Datta, who is both composer and musician, and has lived in the UK since the age of 11. “It is possible to be a musician in the Indian tradition, as well as an electronic musician, as well as a contemporary musician...