It’s a wonder there aren’t statues in honor of Melvin van Peebles. He is a true pioneer in an extraordinary array of fields – the first black movie director of the modern age, one of the first people ...

If Detroit techno had a Mount Rushmore, Kevin Saunderson’s face would be carved in granite alongside the other members of the “Belleville Three,” Juan Atkins and Derrick May. While Atkins and May are ...

For many young indie music fans making their way through the “alternative” section of their local record store in the mid-’90s, it was the music of Stereolab, and in particular the voice of chanteuse ...

New York native Veronica Vasicka has unearthed countless analog synth wave gems and single-handedly revived a forgotten musical subgenre with Minimal Wave Records, the label she founded in 2005. And, ...

Every year, artists from around the world came together in a different host city to learn from musical luminaries – and each other – and collaborate in custom-built studios. Many Academy alumni went ...

Get inspired by some of music’s most creative minds ...

Ken Scott started at the top – and stayed there for over a decade. Having got himself into EMI’s studio training program, his first session as an engineer was on the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night album.

A Grammy winner for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele and Ziggy Marley, Andrew Scheps has had an extensive career behind the boards engineering and mixing records for some of the world’s ...

Indie dance don and acid house shapeshifter Andrew Weatherall has been around more blocks than there are in Brooklyn. As remixer extraordinaire, he made sure Primal Scream’s “Loaded” was the ...

On Joe Boyd’s business card it probably says “Record/Film Producer,” but that’s a bloody simple way of putting it. In truth, Joe is a producer like the Vatican is a church. He started out touring ...

Music as we know it would look a lot different (and less colorful) without the contributions of George Clinton. From his early musical beginnings in doo-wop and as a songwriter at Motown, the hugely ...

You’ll have to look at the small print on records to find the name of Russell Elevado, but be assured he’s there, on some of the most innovative soul records of the ’90s and ’00s. As engineer, ...