George Fitzgerald: I love having stuff that other people don’t have

London beatsmith, George Fitzgerald, concocts a shadowy brew of garage, house and techno that has the tickled the fancy of both Aus and Hotflush in recent times whilst he also tends to his own label, ManMakeMusic. We caught up to talk five-a-side football, future releases and the undeniable joy of having tracks that only you have access to.

By Errol Anderson | Arts, Music | Friday, 25 May 2012 at 4:00 am

DJ Fresh: I’ve never been so excited about making music

“I wouldn’t say I’m going for my third consecutive number one,” says Dan, “It’s dangerous to become too concerned with chart positions as there are so many factors that govern how well something does in the charts.”

Dan, better known as DJ Fresh, answers my first question astutely. In the last eleven months, he has made history twice, with two number ones, taking both dubstep and drum’n'bass to the coveted top spot in the UK music charts.

By Sam Moir | Arts, Music | Thursday, 24 May 2012 at 9:15 am

Lady Gaga corrupting youth, Bieber Fever and other reasons for gig cancellations

Are pop concerts the latest battle ground of moral superiority? Well, with Lady Gaga’s Indonesian concert being cancelled after moral hardliners picketed against her corrupting outfits and dancing, as well as physical threats, it seems so. It’s hardly the first time gigs have been targeted for displays of moral outrage. The Americans have it down to an art form, with the seemingly anti-everything Westboro Baptist Church staging high profile protests outside concerts as varied as Justin Beiber, Radiohead and Kiss.

By David Newbury | Arts, Music | Tuesday, 22 May 2012 at 12:00 am

Heidi: I don’t want my night to ever fizzle off, I want to finish it with an explosion

In Miami last year I discovered a DJ named Heidi Van Den Amstel, who played a brilliant set at Sunday School one of the closing events during Miami’s annual party week (WMC) in March. When I got back to London I made sure I checked her out again as soon as I could, the next time I saw her play was an eight hour long set, during which time she kept my friends and I dancing all night.

By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 21 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Lung: I thought they wanted a chat…but they offered me a record deal

A lot can happen in the space of twelve months, just ask Lung. Today, he’s the latest wunderkind signed to Hospital Records spin off Med School, but this time last year he was “mugging off college to sit in my cupboard-of-a-room in my old student house writing music, trying to drownout the sound of my mate screaming at the TV downstairs because he was so rubbish at FIFA.”

By Emma Gritt | Arts, Music | Saturday, 19 May 2012 at 12:00 am

Something For The Weekend in London: May 18 -20

The spring weather might be a little tempermental in the capital this mid-May, but at least we’ve always got a brilliant array of cultural happenings to rely on – so this weekend, why not check out a brand spankin’ new Photographer’s Gallery, pay homage to a hip-hop great, go digging for rare vinyls, mull over spoken word or simply sip wine in a new Soho haunt? (Just don’t forget your umbrella.)

By Matilda Egere-Cooper | Arts | Friday, 18 May 2012 at 12:00 am

Doorly: I’m nowhere near where I want to be yet

Doorly’s profession has taken him from humble beginnings back in Yorkshire through a 2011 DJing for none other than Usher, playing at every nook and cranny in Ibiza and touring the planet like a self-confessed psycho. Now half way through 2012 – and with a spot on Rinse FM to boot – he chats about Usher, weird DJ moments (including raining bottles with Prodigy) and a certain Yorkshire terrier named Timmy.

By Errol Anderson | Arts, Music | Thursday, 17 May 2012 at 4:00 am

Soul Clap: In our culture there’s so much pressure to crack on

Soul Clap are one of my favourite DJ duos on the circuit, and it’s not just me who loves them – they have a huge following around the world and their parties are always an essential destination for anyone in search of a good time.

By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Wednesday, 16 May 2012 at 4:00 am

In Pictures: The 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Why do jazz and photography go together so well? Few other forms of music have so fascinated photographers. Images from jazz’s golden age, the forties and fifties, have filled many a coffee table book – hundreds of pictures of instrumentalists on the poky stages of smoke-wreathed New York jazz clubs.

By Tim Woodall | Arts, Music | Monday, 14 May 2012 at 2:07 pm

“I just want to make beautiful, next level art”: Pretty Lights on his audio-visual ambitions

Making music only to give it away for free may seem like a strange notion, but in an age where file sharing and illegal downloads are widespread, adopting a different approach to spreading your musical message is sometimes the only way to achieve success. Pretty Lights (AKA Derek Vincent Smith) did exactly that and he recently joined electronic music superstar Skrillex on tour as well as amassing his own huge following.

By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 14 May 2012 at 4:00 am