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Music
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The glam rock ‘yob’ relives the days of glittering faces, mighty stacks and timeless anthems
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4 out of 5 stars.
Kitty Empire's artist of the week Bicep: Live Global Stream II – 90 minutes of pure throwback pleasure
4 out of 5 stars.The duo transmit a steady stream of rapturous, 21st-century rave nostalgia and retina-burning visuals into living rooms around the world
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Inspired by his influential father, the south London rapper takes drill to the next level on tracks addressing his recent spell in prison -
Inspired by everyone from the Purple One to Kendrick Lamar, the maverick star’s bold new album confronts depression and racism -
In 2015, Nathalie Warmerdam was killed by an ex-partner. Now her brother Joshua Hopkins has teamed up with the author to write a song cycle highlighting such everyday atrocities
Best music of 2020
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Our countdown is complete, topped by a mercurial work of sprawling invention by a woman who has dug deep to survive. Taken as a whole, these choices contain drama, solace, poetry and fire, a fitting selection for a turbulent year -
In an unusual year that’s kept us most of us away from live music venues, Hlcarpenter.com writers pick the songs that deserve to have made more impact -
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The Rotherham electronic musician is using his skills to tackle dementia, teach children and collaborate across the globe – and dreams of a club where the dancers play the drum machines -
The singer, 36, on not going raving, her inspirational mum – and being licked by Dave Chappelle -
When the shock-rocker returned to the place of his birth in the 60s, he found a raw paradise of unsegregated rock’n’roll. As Cooper releases an album celebrating the city, he and his peers relive one of the US’s greatest music scenes -
The Norwegian group are so close that they write songs from their bandmate’s perspective. ‘It feels like a secret diary,’ they say
Best music reviews
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4 out of 5 stars.
Alexis Petridis's album of the week Jane Weaver: Flock – triumphantly twisting pop music to her own ends
4 out of 5 stars.Having earned a cult audience for her psychedelia, Weaver makes her version of a pop record, where Kylie-level hooks are set against hallucinatory backings -
4 out of 5 stars.
The Observer Tommy Flanagan: In His Own Sweet Time – a masterly touch
4 out of 5 stars.He played for everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to John Coltrane, but solo the pianist is a truly captivating force -
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The Observer Adrian Younge: The American Negro – a profound undertaking
4 out of 5 stars.
Obituaries
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The Jamaican star, who has died aged 73, returned to his roots after global fame with Bob Marley to deepen and diversify reggae with a powerful sense of creative freedom -
His inspired technique made toasting into an international phenomenon, yet he was endearingly modest to the end -
‘The originator’ of toasting on record helped revolutionise soundsystem culture in Jamaica – and inspire the birth of hip-hop -
The Fania All-Stars player and record label-impresario worked with Latin music giants including Celia Cruz and fostered a more intense, political salsa sound
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Twelve years after Kirsty MacColl's untimely death, Michael Hann talks to her friends and family as the singer-songwriter's first four albums are re-released
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By genre
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The German metal band’s outrageous antics unsettled my parents, but they opened my mind to a continent and a culture -
Total of 1,300 people take part in event designed to aid decisions on how to reopen safely despite coronavirus -
For our fandom series, Tara Joshi describes the childhood thrills – and dubious tonsorial choices – inspired by Beyoncé and co
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4 out of 5 stars.
Indie Arab Strap: As Days Get Dark review – less callow, more crafted
4 out of 5 stars.The caustic duo forge existential stories from tinny beats on their first album in 16 years -
The Rotherham electronic musician is using his skills to tackle dementia, teach children and collaborate across the globe – and dreams of a club where the dancers play the drum machines
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As Netflix airs an intimate documentary about the late hip-hop legend, we pick his finest moments, from sublime braggadocio to gripping storytelling
You may have missed
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The rapper’s arrest shows Spain has a problem with freedom of ideology. But people shouldn’t be scared to write songs that stand up to power -
Skrillex, Erol Alkan and those close to the French duo chart how they went from being industry outsiders to defining the trajectory of dance music -
The first digital-native superstar has far more music industry power than her pop predecessors, but she still faces toxic levels of scrutiny
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They hung themselves from meat hooks, pelted their audience with offal – and blazed a trail for radical queer performance in Australia -
For a teenager steeped in Welsh choir music, Michael Stipe’s kaleidoscope of artistic influences – and mega-success – were too irresistible not to follow -
After the Bauer Media music title’s pandemic-triggered demise last July, Q’s former staff are launching a weekly direct-to-inbox publication
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'On stage, there is the possibility of magic' Love letters to live music