Recording

With the cult triple album 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt established himself as one of the most remarkable songwriters around. The Future Bible Heroes' new album sees his trademark lyrical cleverness paired with Chris Ewen's distinctive, organic electronica.

Like many other musicians, the impact of modern computer-recording technology brought a huge step forward in the quality Ron could achieve with his home studio setup...

Pioneering electro-pop duo Soft Cell are back with a new album, seeking to combine the best of old and new production techniques.

The Avalanches' acclaimed debut album Since I Left You is composed almost entirely of samples from other records - but there's nothing lazy or unimaginative about their approach to recording...

One of the UK's most successful instrumentalists, Mike Oldfield is now embarking on a pioneering attempt to combine music and virtual reality.

From Rain Man to The Lion King, and Gladiator to Mission Impossible 2, Hans Zimmer's music is known by audiences worldwide. With business partner Jay Rifkin, Zimmer is also responsible for Media Ventures, a music studio that offers a unique environment for media composers.

Mali Music is one of the most ambitious collaborations yet between European and African musicians. The brainchild of Blur frontman Damon Albarn, it also represented the first big break for producer Simon Burwell.

Originally from Singapore, Phoenix does all the engineering and production herself in a home studio based around a Roland VS1680.

The creative force in the modern pop music business seems, increasingly, to reside with songwriter/producers like Gary Miller, who specialise in getting the best out of artists in collaboration.

What's the connection between SOS, a set of bagpipes and Richard Branson's round-the-world balloon escapades?

Dance-rockers the Sneaker Pimps have spent years in the studio together. For their next move, they're going to split up - virtually...

One of the most influential jazz keyboardists ever, Herbie Hancock is renowned for his innovative use of electronics and new production techniques.

We visit another group of enterprising SOS readers: TMS (which stands for The Musical Shed) is a six-man business partnership producing hip-hop and garage music for white-label release.

Over the years, Iceland has produced more than its fair share of innovative, experimental pop music. The country's latest hot exports, Sigur Ros, are currently recording an album in a disused swimming pool...

What can you do when you've reached the limits of technical innovation? According to Garbage, the answer is to go back to the basics of songwriting.

The Strokes' Is This It was many critics' choice for the best album of 2001, and has gone platinum in the UK. Remarkably, it was recorded in a basic New York project studio by a then-unknown producer.

UK garage is the biggest underground dance music phenomenon for years, and has taken London collective So Solid Crew to the top of the charts. Crew member Swiss talks to SOS about their approach to production.

One-time SOS writer Mark Cunningham hadn't produced an album for almost 10 years — until a soulful ex-prisoner inspired him to get back behind the desk...

Recorded on eight-track cassette, cLOUDDEAD's extraordinary debut album is an object lesson in lo-fi production and the creative use of budget equipment.

This month's Readerzone doesn't have a home studio at all, but instead has chosen to concentrate on location recording — and with his modest Portastudio-based setup he's achieving a degree of local success.

BT revitalised the sound of boy band N'Sync, composed some of the most radical soundtracks to appear in mainstream films, and has a good claim to have invented trance. And he still finds time to talk to SOS...