ON THE COVER: Raster-Noton - Sound sculptor and electro-minimalist Carsten Nicolai tells Ben Borthwick about the art of number crunching
FEATURES: Invisible Jukebox: Will Oldham, Z'ev, 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, Luigi Russolo, Larsen, Wolf Eyes, Busdriver, Ergo Phizmiz
ON THE COVER: Aphex Twin - David Stubbs meets Richard James and his Rephlex partners on the eve of the label's 12th birthday tour
FEATURES: Invisible Jukebox: Christian Marclay, Taku Sugimoto, Primer: Spectral Music (from Varèse to Saariaho), Gloria Coates, Earth, Erik Friedlander, Tim Hecker, Burning Man, Will Menter
ON THE COVER: Great Lost Recordings - Reissue this! We pick 50 forgotten albums screaming out to see the light of day
FEATURES: Miles Davis, Rhythm & Sound, Invisible Jukebox: Peaches, Rechenzentrum, Carla Bozulich, Perry Robinson
PLUS: The Wire Tapper 10 - free double CD featuring Animal Collective, Kim Hiorthøy, David Sylvian, Erik Friedlander, Clogs, David Grubbs, Alias, Sagor & Swing, and many more
ON THE COVER: Matmos - David Toop tries to keep the peace as Björk confederates Drew Daniel and MC Schmidt recreate the Civil War
FEATURES: Kaffe Matthews, Invisible Jukebox: David Byrne, Mike Kelley, Ron Geesin, Borah Bergman, Robert Wyatt, Erase Errata, Leafcutter John, Eric Glick Rieman
ON THE COVER: New Weird America - Sunburned Hand of the Man are spearheading the groundswell of the US free folk revolution. By David Keenan
FEATURES: Primer: Fela Kuti, Robert Ashley, Phew, Mike Paradinas, The Pastels, Niobe, Cedric Im Brooks, Tu m'
ON THE COVER: Michael Gira - From public sex god to Angel Of Light: Gira outlines how far he's come since flying away from Swans. By Alan Licht
FEATURES: Invisible Jukebox: Daevid Allen, Stereo and the Space Age, Off Site: Japanese whispers, Arne Nordheim, Borbetomagus, Animal Collective, Sam Shalabi, MF Doom, Lydia Lunch's epiphany
ON THE COVER: Yo La Tengo - In New York, David Keenan sups with the 20 year old avant rock trio who got hip to free jazz
FEATURES: The Ex, Invisible Jukebox: David Sylvian, Mauricio Kagel, Primer: Soft Machine, Nina Simone, Asmus Tietchens, Sightings, Cliff Martinez, Semiconductor
ON THE COVER: Matthew Herbert - Electronica's self-styled mechanic of destruction has matured from sampling the sounds of domestic bliss to programming critiques of capitalism and social injustice. But where does the brass band fit in? By Rob Young
FEATURES: Invisible Jukebox: The Cramps, Eddie Prévost, The rise of Mego, Nonesuch Explorer Series, Jaga Jazzist, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Sarah Peebles, Akio Suzuki
ON THE COVER: Autechre - With their new album Draft 7.30, Autechre's Sean Booth and Rob Brown continue pursuing their oblique strategies in electronica, delivering on the decade-old Artificial Intelligence manifesto: never look back. By David Stubbs
FEATURES: Invisible Jukebox: Colin Newman, The Magic Band, Primer: Fluxus music, Tom Cora, Donna Summer, Califone, John Tilbury
ON THE COVER: Faust - They may have signed a pact with the Mephistophelean record industry, but the Neanderthals of Krautrock never stopped shaking their fists. David Keenan charts the group's journey to combat boredom with "all known sounds"
FEATURES: Steve Roden, Heiner Goebbels, Paul Dolden, Joe McPhee, Invisible Jukebox: David Toop, Black Dice, Maja Ratkje, Martin Siewart, Daphne Oram, Ryoji Ikeda
ON THE COVER: Lou Reed - The great naysayer has just delivered his most sprawling work since Metal Machine Music: a sonic drama based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. In New York, he reflects on a lifetime of imbalance. By Alan Licht
FEATURES: Alan Silva, Primer: Mutant disco, Invisible Jukebox: Spring Heel Jack, Supersilent, Helmut Lachenmann, Out Hud, Charalambides
ON THE COVER: Asian Dub Foundation - Rooted in Community Music, the East London posse have built a broad popular base for their sample-loaded and politically charged music, bringing down barriers between high/low and East/West. By David Stubbs
FEATURES: 2002 Rewind: Records of the Year, Albert Ayler, Shandar, Invisible Jukebox: John Sinclair, Schimpfluch, Henry Grimes, Oxbow, Gert-Jan Prins