The Wire's latest 20 track CD, free to all readers with The Wire 381 November issue

• Magma :

The monumental music of the fabled French ensemble has been pouring from the mind of its leader Christian Vander for more than four decades. Keith Moliné travels to north east France for an audience with the man behind the mythos

• Heather Leigh :

The former Charalambides member is recasting the pedal steel as a means to warp the fabric of space, time and the human voice. By Stewart Smith

• Kamasi Washington + Thundercat :

The Flying Lotus associates are applying their virtuosity to develop a strain of cosmic fusion that’s accessible to all. By Joseph Stannard

Invisible Jukebox: Jam City DJ and producer Jack Latham lays aside his earthly cares to face The Wire’s mystery record selection. Tested by Dan Barrow

• Bites :

Rabit: The Texan producer casts a post-industrial hex on the dancefloor. By Joe Muggs

Seth Cooke: Ex-Hunting Lodge drummer takes a hands-off approach. By Andy Hamilton

Elaine Mitchener: Intimate moves underpin the work of the London singer. By Philip Clark

• Global Ear: Austin

Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten has galvanised the Texan capital’s underground scene. By Christopher Brown

The Inner Sleeve: Bridget Hayden on Can’s Tago Mago

Epiphanies: Jon Savage has a gut feeling about Devo

Print Run: New music books: free music in London, Kristin Hersh on Vic Chesnutt, the legacy of John Peel, Alvin Curran in annotated sound, and the final years of Lee Hazlewood

On Screen: New films and DVDs: Laurie Anderson’s Heart OfADog

On Site: Recent exhibitions: Brion Gysin in London, Kaffe Matthews in Coventry, and Hanna Tuulikki in Edinburgh

On Location: Recent festivals, gigs and clubs: San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, Space- Time: The Multiverse, Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival, and New York Vision Festival

• Soundcheck :

Animal Collective, Anthony Child, Clay Rendering, Ian William Craig, Creeping Pink’s Future Acid Family, Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura, Tashi Dorji/Marisa Anderson, Marco Eneid Streamin’ 4, James Ferraro, Masayoshi Fujita, John Foxx, Charles Gayle Trio, Russell Haswell, CM von Hausswolff & Leslie Winer, Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, Hieroglyphic Being & The JITU Ahn-Sahm-Buhl, Philip Jeck, JME, Jason Kahn, Pak Yan Lau, Levantis, George Lyle & Fritz Welch, Kode9, Drayco McCoy, Michael Morley, Qasim Naqvi, The Necks, Joanna Newsom, Oneohtrix Point Never, Rich Osborn, Elle Osborne, Primitive Motion, PUR Collective, Quantum Trio, Skepta, Special Request, Ghédalia Tazartès, John Tilbury & Keith Rowe, United Bible Studies, Mark Van Hoen, Christina Vantzou, VI, Byron Westbrook, Wolf Eyes, Zomby

• The Columns

• Size Matters

• The Boomerang :

Abominable Putridity, John Coltrane, Patrick Cowley, Harmonia, Laraaji, Lucifer, Evan Parker, Sun Ra And His Arkestra, Various Chekhov’s Band: Eastern European Klezmer Music From The EMI Archives 1908–1913 63 Various Folksongs Of Another America: Field Recordings From The Upper Midwest, 1937–1946, Various Ola Belle Reed And Southern Mountain Music On The Mason-Dixon Line, Various The Incredibly Strange Music Box: 60 Songs From The Cramps’ Crazy Collection, Link Wray