XLR

Latest

On the calendar

· Trade shows and launch events, this week's stories from each corner of the industry, and what its press is covering.

On view

This week, from that corner the newest stories from the corner of the industry you picked

The wire their own posts, translated

How records get made in 2026 from the industry's own reports

Sources

Fetched every three hours, linked to the original

About

XLR is a magazine, a radar and a diary about music gear and the making of music — for the people who make records and put on shows, wherever they do it.

The name is the three-pin connector that every signal in the business passes through: the microphone on stage and in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX cable that runs the lights. Studio, stage and lighting rig share it, and so does this magazine. Every few hours XLR collects what the makers shipped, what the reviewers heard, what the studios and the touring crews are doing, which producers and collectives are surfacing and what they are saying — synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lights, the rooms and the people — from a few hundred sources in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and more, then plots what is moving. The editor writes a letter every few days. Nothing is sold here; when a link leads to a shop, that is the maker's shop, not ours.

← XLR Archive

Crack MagazineScenes

Jorja Smith has joined The O2’s 20th birthday line-up

August 27

The post Jorja Smith has joined The O2’s 20th birthday line-up appeared first on Crack Magazine .

Read at Crack Magazine ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Jorja Smith has joined The O2’s 20th birthday line-up

Related

ScenesLegendary US country singer and cultural icon Dolly Parton has died Crack Magazine

ScenesCasa BACARDÍ is back, and Crack has curated its line-up for All Points East Crack Magazine

ScenesPeter Gabriel’s Real World Studios launches free recording programme for unsigned artists Crack Magazine

ScenesLlais Festival returns to Cardiff this October Crack Magazine

ScenesSpike Island marks 50th anniversary with a night of art, music and performance Crack Magazine

ScenesBiennale Musica 2026 announces full programme Crack Magazine