Global Ear: Australia
Robin Rimbaud scans the sonic recesses of some Antipodean cities

Bites
Cujo 31st century schizoid beats Kaffe Matthews Virtual-violin virtuoso Ellery Eskelin Jump-cut jazz head Rude Mechanic Multimedia machinations Label lore: Pork Recordings

Jon Tye/Lo Recordings
From an East End studio, one half of the Ambient duo MLO is providing a meeting point for some of the global electronic network's most disaffected citizens. Story by Matt Ffyche

Eric Drew Feldman
How an American teenage guitarist got to play with his hero Captain Beefheart, and went on to collaborate with Pere Ubu, The Residents, Frank Black and PJ Harvey. Interview by Mike Barnes

Chris Meloche
He's an urban mythologist, an electronic imagineer, and an acoustic ecologist. Plus, he hosts the Canadian radio equivalent of Mixing It. Profile by Rob Young

The Ilbient Alliance
In the New York pressure cooker, artists like Bill Laswell, Byzar, Olive, the Wordsound collective, Badawi, Soundlab and others are practising bass-driven drum 'n' dub alchemy. Story by Peter Shapiro

Jeru The Damaja
Sidestepping the ultraviolence, misogyny and corporate deals of the rap mainstream, this Brooklyn avenger is on a supernatural quest to recover the soul of HipHop. Interview my Jake Barnes

Charlemagne Palestine
Cognac, clove cigarettes, stuffed toy animals, bleeding fingers and bell-ringing - just some of the unlikely components in the amazing music of this Minimalist eccentric. Story by Edwin Pouncey

The Primer: Karlheinz Stockhausen
In the first of an occasional series, we present a guide to the must-have recordings of names we like to drop a lot. This month: Barry Witherden tackles the avant garde Tonmeister

The Sound of Celluloid
While experimental musicians continue to be inspired by the sound of films like Eraserhead, the Hollywood studios are providing the last refuge for musical philistines. Paul Schutze dishes the dirt on a deaf industry

Invisible Jukebox: James Chance
The No Wave splatter-saxophonist contorts himself as Ben Watson plays him James Brown, John Coltrane, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, The Cramps, Derek Bailey, Ornette Coleman and more