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Music
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The Wu-Tang Clan rapper on Islam, vegan treats and why he is hooked on DIY telly -
The Suede frontman on his latest musical discoveries, the brilliance of Michael Clark and the enduring appeal of mudlarking by the Thames
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One of pop’s biggest, and most outspoken, young stars, the Swedish musician now wants to leave her Twitter beefs behind – but she’ll never stop talking about the issues she cares about -
Olivia Rodrigo’s global hit Drivers License is the epitome of new-school pop songwriting, where sexuality is complex, emotions are specific and bombast is traded for intimacy
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One contributor is notably absent from the new film about Britney: herself. But from Rihanna to Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, female stars have always struggled to tell their stories
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, Guardian writers pick the songs that deserve to have made more impact -
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Famed Bristol music fan Jeff Johns is staging a virtual exhibition of his paintings inspired by his love of live shows -
After surviving drug-related psychosis, the teenage busker-turned-overnight global sensation has found space in the pandemic to slow down
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After parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers, the ‘Dennis Rodman of the NFL’ swapped the pitch for the studio. ‘I want to be as free as possible,’ he says -
Belinda Carlisle's teenage obsessions I was going to be Anita Ekberg in Rome, but ended up in a band
The singer recalls the joy of 60s California pop, being enthralled by Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and the Go-Go’s first gig
Best music reviews
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4 out of 5 stars.
Alexis Petridis's album of the week SG Lewis: Times – soaring, subtle disco for kitchen dancefloors
4 out of 5 stars.Given the British producer’s skill for emotionally attuned nightclub elation, his debut shouldn’t suffer from the shutdown of its natural habitat
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5 out of 5 stars.
The Observer Ghetts: Conflict of Interest – one giant leap for grime
5 out of 5 stars.Cinematic in scope, movingly honest, with a phalanx of big-name guests, Justin Clarke’s major-label debut is a dazzling piece of storytelling -
Obituaries
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‘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 -
The late audio engineer revolutionised recording with an innovative EQ design, his innovations used by everyone from the Queen to Dave Grohl
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Herbalism, biology, martial arts and sculpture informed Graves’s unique style, which drove the new music and made sophistication from jazz’s deepest origins
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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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Heilung jam with Siberian shamans and play with human bones, while Wardruna record songs submerged in rivers and on burial mounds. Now this vibrant undergound music scene is finding a wider audience -
When not treating patients, Kishan Bodalia has found musical fame on social media
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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.
Glasgow’s post-rock giants launch their 10th album with a thunderous filmed playback that cries out to be heard live -
From primitive instruments and sacred chants to today’s minimalist electronica and metal, drone music has a long and mystical history. A new book investigates -
4 out of 5 stars.
Hip-hop Sal Dulu: Xompulse review – boom-bap dreamscapes
4 out of 5 stars.Jazz, ambient and soul harmonise in the Dublin-based producer’s gently daze-inducing debut
You may have missed
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It took Joe Muggs until his 30s to get into Mitchell’s grown-up music, but once it clicked, the whole history of music was rewritten in his head -
Hiding musicians in yards and back rooms, this fearless community leader protected Afro-Brazilian music and traditions that live on a century later -
Fashion boutiques, shop-fitters and others advertised alongside raves on early 1990s pirate radio. Now, a new compilation is rediscovering a slice of the underground
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Heilung jam with Siberian shamans and play with human bones, while Wardruna record songs submerged in rivers and on burial mounds. Now this vibrant undergound music scene is finding a wider audience
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In our series on musicians with a formative influence on our writers, Alexis Petridis on his relationship with the band for whom ridicule was nothing to be scared of -
James Taylor, Roberta Flack, Tori Amos, Joan Armatrading, Rufus Wainwright and more on the 70s masterpiece
Most viewed
Artist of the week Mogwai: As the Love Continues – extremely loud and incredibly close
4 out of 5 stars.