Giya Kancheli
The spiritual silences punctuating the music of this Georgian composer are loaded with meaning, harbouring mute protests against the ex-Soviet Union's oppression of his homeland. By Ian MacDonald

Invisible Jukebox: Caetano Veloso
The great Brazilian Tropicalista airs his enthusiasm for the music of betty Carter, Bob Dylan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Arto Lindsay, Yoko Ono & John Lennon and more. Tested by Peter Shapiro

Angus MacLise
20 years after the death of The Velvet Underground's original drummer, former colleagues John Cale, Tony Conrad, la Monte Young and Ira Cohen recall his impact on New York's 60s avant garde. By Alan Licht

Matt Herbert
Now working to an architectronic blueprint, the artist also known as Wishmountain and RadioBoy has devised a new form of house music pulsing with the heart and soul of its inhabitants. By Kodwo Eshun

Death From Above
Since Apocalypse Now merged rotary action with rock 'n' roll and Wagner, helicopters have cast a deadly shadow over the music of Psychic TV, Cabaret Voltaire, Ice T, Stockhausen and more. By Ken Hollings

Mark Perry & Alternative TV
In the late 70s, the founder of Sniffin' Glue and ATV quit punk when it rejected his embrace of Industrial culture and improvisation. 20 years on, his music and attitude still sound spiky. By Ben Watson

Undercurrents #12: Worship The Glitch
Concluding our series uncovering the hidden wiring of the 20th century, Rob Young celebrates the sound of music reaching an advanced state of decay in the noises of Mego, Coil, Oval, Autechre and more

Diamanda Galas
On the eve of the London premiere of Defixiones, Will And Testament, her powerful new work about genocide, the apocalyptic new York diva discusses the ramifications of her art with Ian Penman

99 Rewind
The definitive charts of the year in music assembled by The Wire's crack writing squad; plus commentaries from key players such as Company Flow, Holger Czukay, Jim O'Rourke, Pole, Genesis P-Orridge and more