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Music
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The CBSO’s live-wire music director on her new work-life balance, the inexorable rise of female conductors – and the impact of yet more funding cuts -
Mexican-American crooner with soulful allure and a strong political undercurrent
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Baby Spice dishes the dirt on the Spice Girls’ early years, those Justin Timberlake rumours and Robbie Williams -
A wave of sexual assault cases has swept South Korea – but the lucrative K-pop industry remained relatively untouched. Two cases this month, though, have begun a reckoning -
Hospitality industry claims increase from 4p to 9p per person per hour will ‘wring the last life out of’ clubs, bars, cafes and hotels
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His first guitar was made from wood and bicycle parts and his first songs were shared via Bluetooth in the desert. But the Niger musician has become international – and is taking aim at France -
The Pavement frontman’s new album is inspired by Berlin nightlife and YouTube tutorials. Is he having a mid-life crisis? -
The musician explains how the outfit he wore in the Are You Gonna Go My Way video made him feel powerful and beautiful, and set him apart from every other 90s performer -
‘We used my flat’s rank toilet on the record sleeve with my guitar shoved into it – though I put a plastic bag over it first’
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3 out of 5 stars.
D Block Europe London collective caught in trap cliches
3 out of 5 stars.The US-influenced rap troupe induce a hail of flying drinks and weed smoke with their explosive tracks, but ultimately lack range -
4 out of 5 stars.
Richard Hawley Standing at the Sky’s Edge – ode to Sheffield estate
4 out of 5 stars.This across-the-decades Park Hill musical is cleverly staged, moving through idealism, dilapidation and gentrification -
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2 out of 5 stars.
Dodie – twee-folk singer stumbles from YouTube to IRL
2 out of 5 stars. -
4 out of 5 stars.
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4 out of 5 stars.
Alexis Petridis's album of the week These New Puritans: Inside the Rose – swimming in ideas
4 out of 5 stars.While not as commercial as they profess, TNP’s fourth album is surprisingly direct and romantic -
5 out of 5 stars.
Lucy Rose No Words Left – her starkest, most striking album yet
5 out of 5 stars.Rose’s stripped-back songs convey bleakness and beauty in equal measure – they are her strongest artistic statement yet -
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To honour the passing of Pete Shelley, we revisit Dave Simpson's feature on 40 years since the Manchester band’s first release reshaped pop music with one of the first ever independent releases
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In focus
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Her songs are streamed in the millions and her music is beloved by Janet Jackson. But who is HER, the songwriter who hides her identity with a pair of sunglasses? -
The Canadian rapper’s speech was cut off, further damaging the standing of the ceremony in the hip-hop community, despite championing more women
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My curiosity about this shocking revolutionary performer was sparked by the lyrics of a song
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French pianist and composer who applied jazz improvisation and swing to Bach’s exquisite symmetries
By genre
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3 out of 5 stars.
On a mini-tour ahead of their first album since 2013, the breezy charm of Ezra Koenig’s cosmopolitan band remains undimmed, despite wobbles -
4 out of 5 stars.
Dance Jayda G: Significant Changes review – inclusive manifesto for dancefloors – and oceans
4 out of 5 stars.The DJ’s Chicago house grooves are warmly contagious, steered by her fizzy vocal ad-libs -
3 out of 5 stars.
Hip-hop D Block Europe review – London collective caught in trap cliches
3 out of 5 stars.The US-influenced rap troupe induce a hail of flying drinks and weed smoke with their explosive tracks, but ultimately lack range
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Mexican-American crooner with soulful allure and a strong political undercurrent
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4 out of 5 stars.
While not as commercial as they profess, TNP’s fourth album is surprisingly direct and romantic
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In the early 90s, Norway’s black metal scene turned into a satanic cult as musicians burned churches, self-harmed and killed. As the film Lords of Chaos is released, the real-life protagonists look back
You may have missed
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From architecture to drug policy, nightlife quietly incubates ideas that then flourish in the mainstream. But, with brands moving in, club-cultural innovation is under threat -
The midwestern singer, who has died aged 82, worked with everyone from Berry Gordy to thrash punks – and arguably invented rap music -
Held in a Pontins holiday camp, Bang Face Weekender is a riot of fancy dress, in-jokes and unfashionable dance music – and one of the most vibrant subcultural events in the UK
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An album of unreleased recordings by the late country singer has been released on what would have been his 75th birthday – and you won’t find many songs as sad as these -
The Belgian-Caribbean artist mixes up sweet playfulness and brash sounds in a deliciously unpredictable second EP -
A lecturer in hauntology has turned debris from the Pink Floyd singer’s garden into a piece of music. Should Dua Lipa be worried?
Kitty Empire's artist of the week George Ezra: Britain’s bard of blue-sky thinking
3 out of 5 stars.