strand

Photo Courtesy of Universal Music Group Lily Lyons has always lived between places. As a teenager, she spent eight-hour drives shuttling between London and Somerset, tracing the stretch of motorway. Those journeys became her earliest classrooms. In the backseat, headphones on, she absorbed the softness of Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Drake, Nora Jones, and Joni Mitchell, finding in their tenderness a version of herself that didn’t yet have space in her day-to-day world.  Since r

Image by Pearl Murphy courtesy of French Press PR The Grace, long one of my favourite London venues, carried a familiar sense of anticipation that only an intimate venue of its kind can summon, where every note and movement is entirely magnified by proximity. Located in Islington, the iconic music venue has been celebrated for hosting the city’s greatest emerging talents as they find their footing; its past guests only underline the venue’s well-deserved reputation, with arti

Ben Parkin comes to techno from a rather unique position. Despite only being 21, his musical background has influenced him from the get-go; using this to understand conventional genres whilst creating something distinctively his.

The Life of a Showgirl provokes a debate rooted in the emergence of reboot culture and “nostalgia baiting” – two villains against authenticity, serving instead as a magnifying glass on the industry’s dependence on marketing and repetition.

For over half a century, Channel One Sound System has carried the fire of the Caribbean sound system movement: reviving dub and reggae whilst passing the culture's communal spirit onto new generations.

Photo by Steve Gullick courtesy of After Hours PR My Thursday evening during reading week was not spent reading, but rather spent following The Wytches around on the final night of their UK tour at The Dome . As this was my first interview with Strand’s Music column and the Northern line was predictably unpredictable, my solo journey to Tufnell Park was undeniably chaotic. Between frantic texts to co-editor Mahak about my ETA, I received a casual message from the band’s mana

A conversation with Isis (guitar/vocals) and Jonty (bass) from British Indie band 'Lemondaze'

Carol Wheeler from Soul II Soul by Normski Before the bright lights of television and the desks of London’s underground parties, Normski was already capturing culture in motion. Born Norman Anderson and raised in a Jamaican household in North London, he built his first darkroom at twelve years old, teaching himself to develop film before most kids his age had even picked up a camera. Music and photography became his parallel callings. From early days at the London Rock Shop i

Image courtesy of Raph_PH under CC-BY-4.0 via Creative Commons Sabrina Carpenter's seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, had a highly anticipated release following the roaring success of her previous record, Short n' Sweet . However, the singer faced a barrage of backlash after revealing the cover art of her newly announced record in which she stood on her hands and knees whilst a faceless suited man pulled at her hair. While some critics deemed the cover politically tone

A review of Luvcat's debut album, Vicious Delicious.