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REVEALED: Rough trade - The Real Truth

"He came into the kitchen, gave me a tape and said, 'Listen to this. It’s not just any tape'." How a mouthy teenage guitarist scored his band a record deal with Britain's coolest indie label, and kickstarted a musical revolution

How the career of one of Britain's most influential bands was launched in a London warehouse

Louder

Gen Z is having more of an impact on physical sales than you might think

The first generation of digital natives have started spinning wax

What Hi-Fi?

Hi-res streaming hits record stores as Rough Trade and Qobuz announce global partnership

Recently launched online and in stores, the collaboration is bridging the gap between streaming and physical media

What Hi-Fi?

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

‘Major labels are trying to scoop up everything’: the chaotic future for indie music companies – and why vinyl isn’t working

As stalwarts Sub Pop and Rough Trade celebrate big anniversaries, insiders speak candidly about the challenges they face. Can streaming ever ensure their survival?

The Guardian - UK

I’ve started collecting vinyl records of this unusual music genre – and it’s been a lot more rewarding

More consistent quality and beautiful packaging than new music pressings

What Hi-Fi?

‘We wanted to put a mark on the world’: the sweaty, singular indie music scene of early-00s Brighton

From Bat for Lashes to Brakes and the Pipettes, misfits on the south coast made fearless music amid cheap rents and salty air. Could this ever happen again?

The Guardian - UK

‘A lot of late 70s bands wore grey. But we were determined to have fun’: the return of the mega-influential Swell Maps after 46 years

Championed by the BBC’s John Peel and signed to Rough Trade, the band were punk when that meant DIY, psychedelia and prog as well as screaming chords. What’s more, they loved Pink Floyd …

The Guardian - UK

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"Ya think it’s all poetry and clovers, when it’s raincoats and police Land Rovers. Salt of the earth, looking over their shoulder." Kneecap share moody and intense new single Smugglers & Scholars

Belfast/Derry trio Kneecap serve up a second taste of forthcoming album, Fenian

Louder

Tyler Ballgame: For the First Time, Again review – cosplaying singer-songwriter courts comparisons to 1970s greats

The much-hyped LA singer – who has been compared to Tim Buckley, Elvis and more – certainly has a beautiful voice, though he can lean too eagerly on his influences

The Guardian - UK

"It's a more sinister sound, because these are sinister times." Kneecap announce new album Fenian, share its politicised, hard-hitting punk-rave single Liars Tale

Kneecap announce UK shows around release of new album Fenian, share video for single Liars Tale

Louder

“He phoned me up at seven in the morning and played about ten seconds of the EP over the phone. That was the moment”: Twenty-five years ago, five rowdy New Yorkers released a three-song EP that changed the course of rock’n’roll

The Manhattan quintet whose emergence in 2001 opened the floodgates for a whole new generation of guitar bands

Louder

Rough Trade celebrates 50 years with vinyl subscription club and special shows

The legendary music brand is celebrating its anniversary with some tantalising releases for vinyl fans and some special in-store shows

Evening Standard

"Please take a moment to check in with your loved ones so we can stop this happening to our young men": Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, Black Midi guitarist, dies aged 26

The co-founder stepped away from the band in 2021 to focus on his mental health

MusicRadar

“A unique, genuine, and fierce guitar player”: Black Midi guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin dies at 26

The influential, boundary-pushing guitarist helped Black Midi become one of the most prominent bands in British indie rock

Guitar World

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The Independent UK

Black Midi guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin dies aged 26

The guitarist helped form the experimental rock band in London in 2017

Evening Standard

Sleaford Mods: 'The Apocalypse has already happened'

Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson has been the genius, foul-mouthed voice of working-class Britain for more than a decade — now he’s eyeing up the fate of the planet.

The Guardian - UK

‘I took mushrooms before my audition’: Smiths drummer Mike Joyce on wild gigs, Marr’s jim-jams and Morrissey’s genius

Breaking dancefloors, recording in the dark, crying at I Know It’s Over, winning in court, splitting over chips … the musician relives his tumultuous years in ‘the best British band ever’

The Guardian - UK

The Fiery Furnaces reissue a cult classic: ‘We knew we wouldn’t seem like an also-ran NYC band in leather jackets’

As the divisive duo re-release Blueberry Boat for its 20th anniversary, they talk being unfit for success, how indie got soft and the ‘dream come true’ of getting 1/10 in NME

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news in one place.

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The Guardian - UK

‘The musty whiff of a yard sale’: why is Morrissey attempting to sell his share of the Smiths’ catalogue?

The frontman advertised the sale of one of indie’s most significant catalogues in a shockingly cavalier manner. With estranged bandmates among the other stakeholders, legitimate bidders may be hard to find

Guitar World

“I used to have a really crap 335 copy – I think it was a Hohner. It would just never stay in tune. Fortunately it got stolen”: Pulp’s Mark Webber explains the happy accidents, thefts and uncontrollable pedals behind the British indie icons’ guitar sound

The fan-turned-bandmember on how More came about, why he’s glad four of his guitars were stolen, and why he’s retired the Crybaby from his pedalboard

The Guardian - UK

US singer-songwriter Tyler Ballgame: ‘It shocked me out of depression. I had this spiritual awakening’

The musician was living in his mother’s basement when he blagged a job in LA. Soon, his mesmeric live shows sparked a bidding frenzy. He describes how finding his wavelength on stage can fill audiences with joy

The Guardian - UK

‘The army were on the streets – and we were bored’: Stiff Little Fingers on making Alternative Ulster

‘There wasn’t time to sit down and discuss politics and the future of the world, or your aims and aspirations. You just did stuff’

Louder

Steven Wilson's The Overview at No. 1 in the midweek chart

Steven Wilson will make a series of record store signings this week in Nottingham, Bristol, Southampton, Brighton and London

Evening Standard

The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Barât's legendary east London party flat on sale for £850k

The band held guerrilla gigs in the flat’s front room, and nicknamed the property ‘the Albion Rooms’

John Lewis gets into vinyl as sales of turntables soar

John Lewis has teamed up with Rough Trade to offer selected vinyl LPs in store and online

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