Sophia Deboick
18 October 2023
Adventurous playgrounds: where Scandinavian design meets English imagination
After WWII, Britain started building new play areas for its children – and imported its inspiration from Europe
Read the full article27 September 2023
The man who made Marbella
As two TV series and the life of its former mayor show, the Spanish beach resort has become a byword for glamour and corruption
Read the full article20 September 2023
Loving the alien, Klaus Nomi
It may be 40 years since the death of Klaus Nomi, but the otherworldly, avant-garde icon of European pop seems more relevant than ever
Read the full article30 August 2023
Why Málaga is game for a technological renaissance
Slowly but surely, old Europe is giving way to the new
Read the full article25 July 2023
The subversive statue that captures the heart of Vilnius
The city is celebrating its past and future on Saint Christopher’s day
Read the full article25 July 2023
Enrique Bunbury is the resurrection
Spain's rock’s greatest frontman was silenced by “sand in my lungs”. Now, miraculously, he’s back
Read the full article12 July 2023
Meet the rapping shepherd of the French Alps
Felix Portello’s protest rap has earned him a different sort of following from the one he’s used to
Read the full article29 June 2023
The making and breaking of rock’s first openly gay star
Jobriath dreamed of combining Dietrich with Dylan and playing at the Paris Opera. Then reality bit
Read the full article07 June 2023
Sparks still fly on this side of the Atlantic
Sparks still have a truly unique sound but it's yet to be seen how their latest work will influence musicians this side of the Atlantic
Read the full article24 May 2023
Flamenco, the symbol that can’t be tamed
Since the 2008 crash, Spain has been remaking itself. But, the tradition of Flamenco remains unchanged
Read the full article17 May 2023
The war the Eurovision rules could not silence
As Russian rockets rained down on Ukraine, the contest’s political genie was finally let out of the bottle
Read the full article09 May 2023
Eurovision says ‘nul points’ to mediocrity
The impact Eurovision has is too important to be dismissed as a fluffy amateur festival
Read the full article26 April 2023
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Sayonara to a great outernationalist
The Japanese composer’s work was imbued with a healthy disregard for musical and national boundaries
Read the full article19 April 2023
God only knows why they went: The Beach Boys’ Dutch disaster
In the early 70s, the band decamped to the rural Netherlands to make a ‘comeback’ album that nearly finished them
Read the full article08 April 2023
Cologne Cathedral: An inspiring place to make an album
Grandbrothers’ new release Late Reflections matches the landmark’s emotional heft
Read the full article30 March 2023
The sound of genius: The musical legacy of Picasso
It is apparent that Picasso’s name comes to the lips of singers with the same ease as “Jesus” or “Elvis”
Read the full article23 March 2023
Chaim Topol: Forever Tevye
The late Israeli actor and singer performed If I Were a Rich Man more than 3,500 times in multiple productions of Fiddler on the Roof
Read the full article16 March 2023
In praise of Kylian Mbappé, the young god
Arguably the greatest footballer in the world has inspired a plethora of songs across Europe
Read the full article09 March 2023
Iceland’s dark daughters
Kælan Mikla bring their witchy synth-punk to the UK for the first time since the pandemic
Read the full article09 March 2023
Monica Zetterlund: The musical expressionist
How Sweden’s Eurovision loser became perhaps Europe’s greatest-ever jazz singer
Read the full article02 March 2023
Rocking the classics
From The Rolling Stones and The Cure to Jean-Louis Murat: How musicians excel at melding literature and song
Read the full article23 February 2023
Snow Ghosts: a deep sense of unease
The British trio are back with more of their despairing, sinister sounds on new album The Fell
Read the full article16 February 2023
The best days of our lives
Music has long tried to solve the riddle of childhood and recapture the point of view of the child that we all once were
Read the full article09 February 2023
The jukebox of delights
25 years since Mamma Mia! first premiered the jukebox musical is unlikely to go away any time soon
Read the full article02 February 2023
Soldiers of fortune: Sweden’s most controversial historians
An award for Swedish power metallers Sabaton quickly turned sour when a concert in Crimea emerged
Read the full article26 January 2023
Sacha, savvy stereotype
Nearly 20 years after his death Sacha Distel is enjoying an afterlife through his music
Read the full article19 January 2023
The sound of sadness
Europe has long provided the soundtrack to despair and desolation
Read the full article12 January 2023
A teary mascara marathon
Over two decades since he sent shockwaves through the world’s sullen youth, Ville Valo is back with his debut solo album
Read the full article05 January 2023
Turning it up to 11 in 2023
Europe will continue to show it is a musical powerhouse this year
Read the full article30 December 2022
Sturgeon’s secret weapon in 2023: Music
This will be the year Scottish artists put IndyRef2 on their setlists
Read the full article25 December 2022
Europe’s 50 greatest albums
Welcome to your new, continental playlist
Read the full article22 December 2022
Tracks in the snow: how Scandinavians hear Christmas
We have to go far north, to the lands most closely identified with snowy festiveness, to find nations truly invested in Christmas music and embracing songs in their own language
Read the full article