Toots and the Maytals’ Live: From Stage to Wax in 24 Hours
The story behind Island Records’ unique marketing ploy to release a live record from the famed reggae group the day after a 1980 London concert.
Magazine
The Birth of Psychedelic London
“Swinging London” has long since lapsed into cliché, but its birth remains an inspiring tale of different art forms coming together.
In Search of the Air Horn
Now ubiquitous, Jeff Weiss tracks down the first time an air horn was ever used on record.
Everyone Chases the Frogs: The Changing Sound of Video Game Music
In modern games, a handful of sound designers are asking philosophical questions like, “Who is the player?”
The Mixtape Is Dead, Long Live The Mixtape
In 2004, Anthony Obst couldn’t bring home enough mixtapes from the streets of New York. 2013 is a different story.
A (Not At All Definitive) History of Hip Hop Mixtapes
Noz details how the cassette tape industry helped to spread the genre far and wide.
Funk Archaeology: Digging Down Under
Our resident cratedigger goes to Australia to search for local finds.
Library Music’s Peculiar Thrills
Jonny Trunk explains why pop music never made as much sense as the Mastermind intro.
From Disco to Disco: New York’s Global Clubbing Influence
Paradise Garage. Studio 54. The Loft. The heady influence NYC’s clubs have exerted on global dance culture.
Dark Days: The Ominous Sounds of NYC
From rock to techno, the past few years have been devoted to exploring colors bleak to black in New York City.
Secret Circuits: New York’s Early Electronic Music Mavericks
Raymond Scott, Tod Dockstader and Louis and Bebe Barron helped make electronic music part of the fabric of the world.
Philip Smart: New York Reggae Foundations
How Philip Smart’s HC&F Studio became a lynchpin of New York’s reggae scene.
Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes: New York Reggae Foundations
Reggae historian David Katz profiles the founder of Wackies, one of the most influential labels to emerge from the Bronx.
New York Stories: Andrew “Monk One” Mason
A DJ discovers art and chaos in early ’90s Williamsburg.
New York Stories: Sal Principato
The making of Liquid Liquid’s legacy.
New York Stories: Piotr Orlov
Listening as a mode of survival.
Celluloid Heroes: New York Cinema and its Soundtracks
What the soundtracks of New York movies say about the city.
22 Iconic Music Logos Explained
We break down the stories behind nearly two dozen of the most iconic logos in New York music history.
Litefeet: New York’s New Dance Step
A London writer goes in search of the New York’s next hot dance craze and finds it in Union Square.
New York Stories: Vivien Goldman
A post-punk professor remembers an electric bandleader of the Lower East Side.
