Issue 104 Editorial
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey points to the recent report about Eurpscepticism as proof that fostering unity rather than division is what fuels positivity.
MARVIN POWELL
Classic Americana songwriting is baked into the soul of this Mersey wanderer, which results in a satisfying payoff for an album that’s been more than three years in the making.
FUTURE YARD
What to expect from the inaugural Birkenhead festival, headlined by Bill Ryder-Jones and Anna Calvi.
STEALING SHEEP + FRIENDS
The trio face questions from their fellow artists who have remixed tracks from new album Big Wows.
ISSUE 101 EDITORIAL
Liverpool culture is recognised all around the world, but how do we grasp the multitude of conversations and ideas that make a place what it is, if we're just passing through?
ISSUE 100 EDITORIAL
Our 100th issue asks how we affect change now to shape a better creative future for Liverpool's musicians, artists and doers
HOLLY HERNDON
What if AI exists side-by-side with humans on a creative level? Is human-machine collaboration a new frontier for music?
AUGMENTED CREATIVITY
Does artificial intelligence have a place in music? Test the idea yourself at our AI Audio Lab installation with Dr Rob Strachan
CLINIC
The return of the punk outsiders reminds us why we need artists operating in the fringes to lead the way.
WELCOME TO SOUND CITY
Read our special preview section covering all the highlights of this year's festival
CITY OF LIVERPOOL FC
The club's secretary and founder member, Paul Manning, discusses the community spirit that is at the heart of their manifesto
ISSUE 96 EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey frames our bido100! plans as a way to look at what kind of future we want to create for ourselves.
EYESORE & THE JINX
Satire and psychobilly in West Derby: how to turn Britain’s crumbling façade into high art via a darkly comedic filter.
ISSUE 95 EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey looks at why 'toxic' is 2018's deserving Word of the Year, and what we should do to change the nature of the debate.
MERSEYRAIL SOUND STATION
Opening doors and making connections: how an innovative new artist development programme is helping some of the region's finest musicians.
BIDO MONTHLY RECOMMENDER
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey opens our inaugural monthly recommender playlist with 20 bangers
ISSUE 93 EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey pays tribute to Tony Butler, a true pillar of Liverpool's music community
ISSUE 91 EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief Christopher Torpey embraces the winds of change, as we welcome three new members to our editorial team
NEW BRIGHTON REVISITED
From The Last Resort to Looking For Love: New Brighton through the lenses of three of the most widely revered contemporary British photographers.
ISSUE 90 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey sees the city as the perfect canvas for great art and great artists to be showcased
LIMF ACADEMY: CLASS OF 2018
We catch up with the class of 2018 as they're about to embark on a 12-month long development programme
ISSUE 89 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey embraces the feeling of football fever that has gripped the region, and discusses how important it is to our collective psyche to let ourselves get swept up in sporting fairy tales.
BEACH SKULLS
The smoothest gang in town prepare for a Catalan adventure with the release of a fizzing new LP of hazy, heavy sunshine surf.
BONNACONS OF DOOM
Humanity’s deep-rooted fascination with nature and the rituals associated with its majesty are reflected back at us in the startling debut LP by this from this cloaked collective
ISSUE 88 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey on the spirit of change and the region's appetite for cultural renaissance
ISSUE 87 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey looks at some research that proves how vital art is to our ability to build connections with our fellow humans, and how deepening these links can help us build a more civil society.
PIZZAGIRL
A tasty pie of heartfelt synthwave and cheesy, retro sensibilities is the order of the day of this bedroom pop sensation.
DAWN RAY’D
The anarchist revolution is coming, and it is going to be soundtracked by Dawn Ray’d’s battle-ready, poetic take on black metal.
ISSUE 86 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey praises those giving voice to the working class at a time when our notions of class structures are more fractured than ever.
ISSUE 85 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey weighs the value of nostalgia against the need to look to the future with an open mind, and finds that a balance needs to be struck between the two.
RONGORONGO
A six-piece whose increasingly impressive body of work broods about the state we find our world in, and seethes with threatening, infectious post-punk energy.
MEHMET
Mehmet’s distinctive voice has become a beloved feature of the city, but his background in performing in his native Bulgaria is more suited to prestigious surroundings than busking on the street. Christopher Torpey traces the story of The Bard Of Bold Street.
ISSUE 84 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey muses on the spaces dedicated to music and creativity, how we should value them and create the conditions for even more spaces to flourish
SILENT BILL
The underground street art movement in an overground collision of art and politics, as seen by the People's Artist
ISSUE 82 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey looks to the peeling artefacts on the walls of our city to decipher its cultural history
ISSUE 81 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey believes we must also take more care over our cultural legacy, or we’ll be doomed to repeats of the Hope And Glory fiasco
ISSUE 80 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey discusses how places shape their inhabitants (and vice versa), as well as the impending return of The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
ALL WE ARE
All We Are are back with a brash, punchy record built on their experiences of society’s turmoil
LIMF: GOOD TIMES
Europe’s largest free music festival is on our doorstep, inviting us to join them in remembering the good times – and revelling in them.
AFRICA OYÉ
Reflecting on 25 years of festival buzz and happy vibes from the happiest festival around
WE ARE THE OPPOSITION REPRISE
In the run up to the General Election, Christopher Torpey looks at different ways we can make ourselves heard as voices of opposition
FESTIVAL FUTURES
Too many festivals and not enough bands or punters to go round – or an industry receptive to trialling new schemes that benefit the wider music community?
ISSUE 77 EDITORIAL
Editor Christopher Torpey muses on the passage of time ahead of a whirlwind summer of music and culture in Liverpool
FOREST SWORDS
A discussion on the limitations of language and finding space to be yourself, with Ninja Tune’s new prince of electro dub.
ALI HORN
Don’t Stop – constant forward progress is the order of the day with Liverpool’s blooming cosmic surfer.
ISSUE 73 EDITORIAL
Humanity is a complex beast, which shouldn’t be straitjacketed by boiling our broad spectrum of beliefs into a choice between one side or another.
BALTIC FLEET
It started with the diary of James Darlington in Charnock Richard, and ended in a cathartic, glorious new Baltic Fleet album; Christopher Torpey meets Paul Fleming to discover how
DELTA MAID
Blues, country and American never sounded so good as when crystallised through the strain of the Merseyssippi Delta.
BILL RYDER-JONES
"The whole village IS the record!" Bill Ryder-Jones on how West Kirby seeps in to his sonic world.
PLAYLIST