Executive Overview For decades, the standard 33 1/3 rpm 12-inch long-playing vinyl record has served as the gold standard for artistic expression in popular music. Since Columbia Records first introduced the format in the late 1940s—swiftly superseding the brittle, heavy, single-song 10-inch 78 rpm discs—musicians and producers have grappled with the structural architecture of the … Read more
Reviewed by Bruno Irace Milan, Italy — July 6, 2026 Executive Overview Some concerts begin the moment the houselights fade to black. This one, however, started more than a year earlier—anchored by the day I booked the ticket alongside a friend from Naples, embarking on a painfully protracted countdown to finally witness System Of A … Read more
Reviewed by Bruno Irace Additional reporting by Record Collector Magazine Executive Overview There are stadium concerts, and then there are cultural interventions. On Friday, July 10, 2026, My Chemical Romance crossed that threshold at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, transforming London’s historic venue into an authoritarian dystopia. Touring their seminal 2006 masterpiece The Black Parade in … Read more
Executive Overview To the purists and the nostalgic veterans of 1977, the phrase "It’s just karaoke without Rotten" is a familiar refrain, muttered darkly in the shadows of pub beer gardens whenever the conversation turns to the modern incarnation of the Sex Pistols. Yet, as any historian of rock and roll will note, punk rock … Read more
Executive Overview Forty years after its inception in the underground venues of London, post-rock pioneer Bark Psychosis remains one of modern alternative music’s most enigmatic and influential entities. Formed in 1986 by schoolfriends Graham Sutton and John Ling when they were just 14 years old, the group helped lay the foundational blueprints for a genre … Read more
Executive Overview With over 700 recorded credits to his name, two Grammy Awards adorning his mantelpiece, and an esteemed position as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California (USC), legendary percussionist Peter Erskine stands as a titan in the pantheon of modern music. There are few sonic nuances, rhythmic complexities, or stylistic shifts … Read more
Executive Overview Marking a milestone anniversary of punk rock prompts a critical re-examination of the genre’s seismic cultural rupture. The emergence of punk in the mid-to-late 1970s was predicated on an uncompromising ideology: "Year Zero." This philosophy demanded the total eradication of musical history, branding everything and everyone that came before as obsolete, bloated, and … Read more
Executive Overview On one of the most punishingly sweltering summer evenings London has witnessed in years, Alexandra Palace—affectionately known to gig-goers as Ally Pally—abandoned all earthly conventions. While a blistering heatwave gripped the British capital on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, the historic Victorian venue hosted something far removed from standard touring fare. Australian electronic music … Read more
Executive Overview For millions of cinema-goers and television viewers across the globe, the name Dave Lawson may not immediately ring a bell. Yet, his artistry has woven itself into the very fabric of modern auditory culture. As a pioneering force in synthesizer programming, keyboard performance, and musical arrangement, Lawson shaped the sonic landscapes of some … Read more
Executive Overview For decades, lazy consensus within electronic music circles has often pigeonholed ambient music as a monolith of passive, texture-driven soundscapes. However, the staggering, kaleidoscopic back catalogue of Japanese composer Susumu Yokota stands as a permanent, brilliant refutation of that generalization. Comprising roughly 30 original albums released over a prolific career, Yokota’s discography defies … Read more
