Ben Frost The Australian composer combines elemental harshness and emotional heft in music designed to overwhelm. By Dan Barrow

The electric music hall Theatrical inventions of the Victorian era rewrite the history of electronic music. By Dan Wilson

Orphy Robinson Philip Clark meets the multifaceted vibraphone player and purveyor of archaic Nubian stepdub

Bites

Golden Teacher Glasgow group’s ecstatic dance lessons go on all night. By Robert Barry

Franck Vigroux The French composer and audiovisual artist curates hybrid festivals. By Brian Morton

If Wet… Sonic inventors go wild in the country with a village hall tour. By Emily Bick

Hailu Mergia Ethio-funk veteran joins forces with Berlin improvisors. By Daniel Spicer

Collateral Damage New field recordists put themselves in the sonic frame. By Salomé Voegelin

Global Ear Rome Joseph Stannard learns the secrets of Italian occult psychedelia

Cross Platform Takashi Makino The Japanese film maker layers sound and celluloid in hypnotic rhythms. By Nick Cain

Invisible Jukebox Mike Heron The Incredible String Band originator unpeels the layers of The Wire’s mystery record selection. Tested by Alex Neilson

The Inner Sleeve Grouper’s Liz Harris on The Dead C’s Hell Is Now Love/Bone

Epiphanies Val Wilmer hears a street corner soul testimony

Print Run New music books: the dub diaspora, John McLaughlin, David Grubbs on avant garde records

On Screen New films and DVDs: Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records

On Site Recent exhibitions: Chris Marker in London

On Location Recent festivals, gigs and clubs: Dean Blunt, Sonic Protest, Bristol New Music and more

Soundcheck A–Z 1982 Marshall Allen & Kash Killion Marisa Anderson Black Bananas Ari Brown Martin & Eliza Carthy Tom Chang John Chantler Charcoal Owls Loren Connors CYPHR Diamond Version Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual Trio Jad Fair & Danielson Fhloston Paradigm Floorplan John Frusciante Fareed Haque Robert Hood Zbigniew Karkowski & Brian O’Reilly Kasai Allstars Kucharczyk Steve Lehman Octet Mica Levi Samara Lubelski Meridian Brothers Madalyn Merkey Monkey Puzzle Trio Monobox Prescott Opera Mort Buzz Osbourne The Pheromoans Pigfoot Richard Pinhas & Tatsuya Yoshida Ripley Singing Bowl Orchestra Joane Skyler Soft Pink Truth Sonido Gallo Negro Sudanim Traxman Tune-Yards Iñigo Ugarteburu US Maple Various Hyperdub 10 We Will Fail Wild Rumpus Creative Music Studio Jean Dubuffet & Ilhan Mimaroğlu Kenny Graham Jon Hassell Billy Jenkins Ingram Marshall Joe McPhee Médico Doktor Vibes Roy Montgomery Annette Peacock Rudimentary Peni Max Tundra Various Calypso: Musical Poetry In The Caribbean 1955–1969 Various Happy Machine: Standard Music Library 1970–2010 Peter Zummo