Tied & Tickled Trio
Alongside its sister groups, The Notwist and Village of Savoonga, this Electro-jazz collective has put the small German town of Weilhiem on the post-rock map. By David Keenan

The Primer: James Brown
Peter Shapiro gets on the good foot for a beginner’s guide to the recordings of Soul Brother No 1, Mr Please Please, The Original Disco Man, The Minister Of The New New Heavy Funk, etc, etc

Alan Licht
The New York guitarist counts the likes of Rashied Ali, Jim O’Rourke and Loren Mazzacane Connors. AC Lee meets a connoiseur of art rock, free jazz and Heavy Metal excess

Bob Dylan’s Voice
He may not have a voice like Caruso, but Bob Dylan’s larynx is a roaring instrument that illuminates the deepest recesses of the soul. Biba Kopf comes to praise the singer, not the song

Invisible Jukebox: Squarepusher
The original scientist of drill ‘n’ bass enters our mystery listening booth and tries to identify tracks by by Jaco Pastorius, Soft Machine, Alec Empire, Throbbing Gristle, Iannis Xenakis and more. Tested by Rob Young

Björk
In Reykjavik, the ice queen of avant pop talks to Louise Gray about the ‘soulful experimentalists’ , from Stockhausen to 808 State, that keep her world turning

Eugene Chadbourne
Ben Watson gets a handhold on one of the most disruptive elements in American music, a virtuoso prankster bouncing from free music summits to hillbilly versions of Bach

John Mayer’s Indo-Jazz Fusions
In the midst of 60s Swingin’ London, a Calcutta-born violinist helped broker the world’s first successful fusion of free jazz and Indian ragas. Rob Young hears the story of a historic heat exchange