With a back catalogue of over 50 challenging albums, it might look like there's no particularly easy way of cracking the enigma of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Not so, says Eden Tizard, looking back at the group's first ECM album, Nice Guys, which was released 40 years ago this month
The Wysing Festival in rural Cambridgeshire last weekend saw a female-artist-focussed line-up on a thrillingly diverse date out that ranged from abstract experimentation to shouty indie and gothic disco jams. Melissa Steiner reports on great sets from the likes of Holly Herndon, Nik Colk Void, Helena Hauff, Woolf, Trash Kit, and various Raincoats.
In the first of a new series on the current Russian alternative music scene, Richard Foster looks at the influence of the social network VK, the power of sentimentality, and making an “alternative Internationale”. And provides an introductory music sampler