The Wire, January 2026

Description

Style Counsel: Experimental music’s uneasy flirtation with high fashion. By Lucy Thraves

Against the Stream: DIY radio subverts the hierarchies and algorithms of the mega-platforms. By Paul Rekret

Time out of Joint: Old school instruments and ancient wisdom connects past and present. By Daryl Worthington

Arch Rivals: London’s crumbling infrastructure provides a haven for experimentation. By Deborah Nash

Hybrid Vigour: Jazzing up improvisation via beats, noise and rhymes. By Stewart Smith

Extended Play: Drones and duration versus doomscrolling. By Xenia Benivolski

Hilary Woods: The Irish songwriter’s craft explores trauma and terror. By Leah Kardos

Company: Derek Bailey’s rekindled improvisation meet-up recalled. By Mark Wastell

Tristan Perich: 1-bit electronics hook listeners into the cosmic circuit. By Antonio Poscic

Anna Högberg: The Swedish saxophonist blowing burnout away. By Peter Margasak

Makaya McCraven: Group recordings are reworked to infinity in his kaleidoscopic jazz. By Melvin Gibbs

Carrier: Antwerp beatmaker follows in the footsteps of Torsten Pröfrock with his technoid breakbeat constructions. By Christian Eede;

Hypomanic Daydream: Marie McAuliffe’s creations gene-splice Rock In Opposition, video games and heavy metal. By Kek-w

Erwan Keravec: The Breton piper brings global and experimental approaches to trad sounds. By Francis Gooding

Invisible Jukebox: Ikonika: Will the London beatmaker get all mixed up with The Wire’s mystery record selection? By April Clare Welsh

Global Ear: Chicago’s jazz and blues scene stands tall in the face of racist immigration raids. By Howard Mandel

Unlimited Editions: Warm Winters Ltd. By Antonio Poscic

The Inner Sleeve: Tony Herrington on Here & Now/Alternative TV’s What You See… Is What You Are

Against The Grain: MayDay Rooms’ anarcho-punk archive disinterred by Chumbawumba vocalist. By Seth Wheeler

Epiphanies: Cosey Fanni Tutti reflects on a life in art.