"Music is the only thing that will give and give and give and not take." — Amy Winehouse Fifteen years after her tragic passing on July 23, 2011, the voice of Amy Winehouse remains startlingly immediate. It is a voice that is intimate, sharp, intensely funny, jazz-schooled, and entirely irreplaceable. Though she released only two … Read more
Changing the Narrative: Inside the Partnership Between Rough Trade and CALM to Eradicate the Stigma of Suicide Executive Overview Every year on September 10th, the global community observes World Suicide Prevention Day, an initiative designed to foster collective awareness, dismantle generational stigmas, and reinforce a singular, foundational truth: suicide is preventable. For 2026, the guiding … Read more
Executive Overview In an era dominated by algorithmic homogenization, hyper-targeted pop charting, and the creeping homogeneity of generative AI, contemporary music culture continues to harbor a vital, disruptive counter-current. This movement belongs entirely to the architects of the uncanny—those elusive, masked, and myth-building artists who operate as though they have touched down from another dimension … Read more
By the mid-2000s, the global music landscape was not merely evolving; it was accelerating at an unprecedented velocity. Discovery transformed from a deliberate, physical hunt into an instantaneous, digital reflex. Regional scenes, once bounded by geography and the high cost of touring, suddenly found themselves liberated. Independent artists could cultivate rabid, global audiences on the … Read more
Executive Overview The contemporary British guitar music landscape is experiencing a profound renaissance, driven by bands willing to tear up the conventional rulebook and stitch together disparate musical lineages. At the absolute vanguard of this movement sits Westside Cowboy, a breakout Manchester-based quartet whose highly anticipated debut album, It Goes On, was released on August … Read more
By Huw Thomas, Rough Trade Used Vinyl Assistant "Finally, if Sir Paul McCartney is reading and disagrees with any part of this article: give me a visit at the Rough Trade warehouse, Paul—we can work it out." John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The Fab Four. A band that fundamentally rewrote the … Read more
Executive Overview Released on August 7, 2026, via Fiction Records, Cannonball arrives not merely as a debut album, but as a definitive statement of intent from London’s most fascinating young art-rock collective: Man/Woman/Chainsaw. Striking a precarious and thrilling balance between whispered intimacy and towering, apocalyptic heaviness, the record cements the six-piece as vital torchbearers for … Read more
“Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why, would I wanna be anywhere else?” — Lily Allen, ‘LDN’ (2006) Few global hubs have shaped the modern musical landscape as profoundly as London. For generations, the British capital has operated as a cultural petri dish—a sprawling urban ecosystem where disparate immigrant communities, local traditions, and … Read more
Executive Overview The landscape of independent European music retail is undergoing a transformative shift as Rough Trade Berlin prepares to enter its next chapter. After a remarkably successful two-and-a-half-year tenure on Karl-Marx-Straße, the iconic institution—born from the storied West London heritage established in 1976—is relocating just around the corner to Ganghoferstraße, nestled within the vibrant … Read more
"Whether it’s to mellow you out before your outbound or as a cure to the holiday blues on the inbound—a bit of Air before you’re in the air is always the answer." Executive Overview Music has long served as the fundamental connective tissue of human experience, but its relationship with the warmer months occupies a … Read more
