The Wire – #455 January 2022

“2021 Rewind: The Wire’s essential annual guide to the year in sound and music is upon us, as we consider where we are now after a tumultuous 12 months of underground activity, recovery, false starts and new beginnings. Our specially extended Rewind issue includes our Top 50 Releases of the Year and Archive Releases of The Year charts, cultural reflections from our extensive roster of writers, and our specialist columnists’ charts from avant rock to noise. This year the Rewind section also includes essays by Clive Bell on how new tunings are breaking the stranglehold of Western music; Neil Kulkarni on the complex and problematic legacy of the Fourth World aesthetic in contemporary sound; and Rob Turner on how music formats from LP and tapes to downloads and streams are still changing the way we listen. Invisible Jukebox: Vocalists Loré Lixenberg and Elaine Mitchener take The Wire’s mystery record test. Global Ear: James Gui spends a week in Seoul as the underground music scene opens up after Covid. Unlimited Editions: Robert Barry profiles publishing house and event organiser Grapheme as it explores the role of notation and scoring in music. Unofficial Channels: Punk ‘zine archive Contextual Dissemination. Inner Sleeve: Reiko and Tori Kudo choose record sleeves that have influenced them. Epiphanies: Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux on lessons learned in quarantine and the isolation of a Robert Rauschenberg residency. Plus full page interviews with Matthias Muche, Klankvorm, Giant Claw, and Saadet Turkoz.”