Wilco
Chicago's alt Country stars crack the cocoon of success to release the spirits within. By Edwin Pouncey

Phil Minton
The jazz singer turned free vocaliser discusses his twin commitments to Improv and song with Ben Watson

Invisible Jukebox: Asian Dub Foundation
Guitarist Steve Chandra tries to identify music by AMM, Faust, Hendrix, Sun Ra and more. Tested by David Stubbs

Primer: Noise
David Keenan cranks up the cacophony, from Metal Machine Music through Industrial grind to today's sound abusers

Margareth Kammerer
The Italian expat singer casts her Billie Holiday-like voice adrift in Berlin Improv and electronica. By Clive Bell

Beth Anderson
The peachy keen American composer discusses her pursuit of beauty through Cageian simplicity. By Julian Cowley

Hang On The Box
The Chinese splatterpunk quartet get the Beijing blues after being refused visas to tour Europe. By Jim Butler

Global Ear
Yoshio Machida reports on Japanese-Macedonian initiatives in Skopje and Bitola

Epiphanies
Keith Moliné's Prog enthusiasms get derailed by the careening poptones of PIL

Print Run
Minute Particulars, by Edwin Prévost; 100 Modern Soundtracks, by Philip Brophy; Sounding Art, by Kathleen Norman

Cross Platform
Equipped with seismometers, artist Mark Bain can turn architectural structures into giant musical instruments and demolish buildings with sound alone. By Rahma Khazam
Plus: Shhh... Sounds in Spaces at the London V&A, reviews of DVDs by Iggy & the Stooges, John Oswald, and Sonic Youth. And Ian Anderson's Inner Sleeve featuring Fairport Convention

On Location
Sonar Festival, Barcelona, Spain; Le Weekend, Stirling Tolboth, UK; Mutek, Montreal, Canada; Feeback: Order From Noise, London St Luke's