Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Kendrick Lamar. Dive into the sounds of those who shaped the rapper from Compton.

In terms of music, he is Our Father. No need for a calling card, his immense works, even more than that of Mozart, speaks to everyone. Whether you want to meditate or dance amongst the stars, Bach is there, the master of rhythm and enchantment. The proof comes in the number of musical genres that continue to pay tribute to him.

Jimi Hendrix, a Room Full Of Covers, a selection inviting you to rediscover the great composer behind the famous guitarist.

One might feel guilty at enjoying Prince covers, as he openly despised the idea of it and having no say to prevent them. Defying any eternal damnation, here’s a carefully selected bunch of guilty pleasures. 

Prince penned, gave or/and contributed, openly, incognito or under a moniker, songs to an impressive and eclectic list of fellow artists. Here’s a joyful playlist to reveal the tip of that iceberg. 

Lully’s trumpets, Rameau’s musical revolution, Couperin’s and Poulenc’s melancholy... join us on a journey behind the scenes of this founding century of French aesthetics.
 

The voice of the queen of neo-soul reflected in the singers of Generation Y.

Welcome to an imaginary radio show with The Clash at the (complete) controls. We have cover versions from all over the world, songs that inspired the band, artists that collaborated with them as well as a few Clash originals here and there.

We look at the artists who left their mark on Blur without whom their pop may not have tasted quite so delicious.

The music that shaped Autechre.

One of the greatest rock bands of all time draws its inspiration from blues as much as folk and the psychedelic scene. Sometimes, the influence was subtle, sometimes it was more obvious…

Legendary, unknown, or unexpected, hear some of the musicians who have inspired David Bowie all along his incredible journey.

From 1991 onwards, Kraftwerk has favoured reworking, restructuring and constantly updating their former compositions.

The recent passing of Charlie Watts, aged 80, provides us with an opportunity to look at his background and examine his role in the alchemy of the Stones. Who was this gentleman with the elusive personality?

Songs written for some, production done for others, rare tracks and star duos. Here we discover the (more or less) hidden side to the career of the former Beatle.

In addition to the beginnings of rap with the Last Poets and gangsta rap with Hustler's Convention, to some of the great classics of what is called Jazz, we also owe Alan Douglas for having allowed several generations of music lovers born after 1970 to listen to Jimi Hendrix without moderation.

Before hitting the top of the charts, Kid Creole and his faithful Coati Mundi were the champions of an exciting underground, creating the soundtrack to an era somewhere between the vertigo of swing and the surge of disco.

A cult figure for generations of samplers weaned on his sounds and celebrated by lovers of the cinemascope format, producer and arranger David Axelrod is still a name that too few have heard.

A cross between synthetic and industrial music, the Venezuelan producer’s work can feel like being at a contemporary art exhibition where anything can happen and things might get shaken up. From Björk to Kanye West, Arca is called upon to make music innovative and weird.

A look at how Theo Parrish's reputation as a DJ and producer over the past three decades has placed him as a cult figure in dance music

Henri Salvador sounds like no one else. Here we celebrate the first years of the most beautiful voice to ever sing in French, from crooner to entertainer, cool to upbeat.

A genius producer, Moroder introduced the synth to film scores and revolutionised disco and electro pop with an impressive roster of hits.

Gregory Edward Jacobs, known as Shock G, the frontman for Digital Underground, was found dead on Thursday 22th april in Tampa. He will always be remembered as one of most unique talents in hip-hop history. The world of beats & rhymes owes him a funkin’ lot: reviving P-Funk spirit in the 90s, introducing his friend 2Pac to da world, elevating sampling to an art form. 

The Portugese composer and guitarist crafts creamy dreamy pop, mixed in with some rather surprising inspirations!
 

A major figure of the French Touch movement as part of the duos Motorbass and Cassius, Philippe Zdar was also a much sought-after producer in the 2000s for his ability to mix dance, rock, pop and soul.
 

Thanks to a flow that’s as fast and elusive as the wind, Myka 9 has rubbed shoulders with and inspired everyone from Busta Rhymes to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. 
 

A living legend on the US rap scene, Tech N9ne has built up an independent empire thanks to his originality and an eclectic taste that stretches from gangsta rap to metal. 
 

Her enigmatic 40-year career has proved that anyone who thought she was a genius at 19 was right.

Out with the truckers and the kickers and the cowboy angels. Hear the story of the infamous Gram Parsons from his tangy fingerprint on music’s biggest icons to his fiery desert burial in the sands of Joshua Tree.

From spiritual jazz to deep improvisations, a trippy evocation of the creator who had a masterplan.
 

Entwined in the history of hardcore, the group Sick Of It All (or SOIA to their friends) is a beacon, the cornerstone of the scene. On the circuit for 34 years the Koller brothers, Craig Ahead and Armand Majidi continue to run the effortless marathon that is hardcore in New York.

Cast your minds back to one of the bands who delighted us the 1990s by forging their own unique path of slacker rock in the wake of the grunge movement. Embark on a road trip in the heart of Americana which kicked off in California but soon spread all over the world.

In terms of production, the Scottish artist has achieved the unthinkable: mixing radical experimental works with more recognisable dance and pop, both under the name Sophie (stylised as SOPHIE) and through rich collaborations with Charli XCX, Madonna and Vince Staples.

Let’s bring to light all the tracks that have languished in the shadows of The English Riviera, the album that brought Metronomy to fame. 

Violinist Rachel Podger has established herself as a leading interpreter of the Baroque and Classical music periods.

In record time, the Spanish singer has become one of the most fascinating and elusive artists on the pop scene, brilliantly blending her flamenco roots with hip-hop, R&B and electronic music.

Between 1974 and 1989, The Residents, a band whose members have remained anonymous until today, have accumulated the most delirious of musical experiments ever in popular music.

A love letter to Brigitte Fontaine, an eternal figure of the French underground with a focus on her Saravah years.

A self-taught guitarist, the Nigerien Mdou Moctar is redefining the boundaries of Tuareg music.

How a dozen or so rapper-skater-antichrists pulled off the most beautiful takeover bid of the 2010s mainstream. Odd Future is dead. Long live Odd Future.

Uncompromising, forward-thinking and elusive: the mysterious duo fostered an unrivaled creative tidal wave in underground electronic music.

The band formed by irascible and unpredictable Mark E Smith in 1976 has become a Manchester post-punk institution. A playlist for both the beginners and the fans.

With their first five albums and an early Peel session in a period of just over three years, Roxy Music shaped the future of music.

From 1993 until today, relive 27 years of music from the iconic British electronic in 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Sun Ra, the cosmic jazz prophet, inspired several generations of artists.

DEVO produced hits to make us dance, but also to dismantle mankind’s pretentiousness, which the band pointed out as being the source of all the violence we are able to commit.

The English group established itself as one of the most important groups to have come out of the punk movement.

Pulp were the band of the underdog: the student, the misfit, the quiet, the shy, the bored.

The perfect playlist to get your kids dancing, open them up to the world, and help them develop the same impeccable taste in electronic music as you.

Hard rock is still alive and well and is a genre that the whole family can enjoy.

Born in the 90s, this is the playful and soothing side of electronic music, matching your wildest dreams and maybe even fulfilling them.

Children understand Aphex Twin better than grown-ups...

The perfect playlist to help your kids develop the same impeccable taste in punk and alternative rock as you.

The perfect playlist to help your kids develop the same impeccable taste in classical music as you.

Long drives can easily become a nightmare if the kids get bored…

Built on the heritage of Japanese music’s Golden Age (the 60's to the late 80's), the current Tokyo music scene is vast, hosting many genres, subcultures and niches, and making the city one of the most exciting local music scenes in the world.

An international selection of the best new dancehall and reggae-influenced music from Jamaica in 2021.

A selection of the best new sounds from Jamaica from acoustic reggae to digital dancehall, 2020 to 2021.

In Brazil a new generation of artists are fusing rhythms and shaking up established musical codes. 

It’s where reggaeton meets sensual pop, MC’s scathing flows describe blatant social inequalities and soaring electronica tries to soothe a violent populous. Welcome to the new sounds from Medellín.

A selection of UK rap, trap, drill, grime and garage spanning January 2020 to April 2021.

Rich in European, Latin American and Caribbean influences, Buenos Aires is an open-air musical laboratory, where you can find anything from the most danceable cumbia-reggaeton, to soaring organic electro.
 

A vast metropolis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East, Cairo is once again home to a music scene whose stylistic diversity bears witness to its creativity. It’s a panorama that ranges from club hits to post-punk bangers.

Ever since the cultural revival brought about by the Jasmine Revolution, the electro and rap scenes in Tunis have been blooming.

Morrocco’s rap scene is setting itself free, establishing itself as a source of inspiration, and developing its own rich soundscape. This is the Winter 2020/21 edition of our New Sounds from Morocco playlist.

Far from its iconic harbour and sun-soaked beaches, Sydney's outer suburbs are home to the beating heart of Australia's burgeoning rap and hip-hop scene.

Whilst neoperreo, a digital DIY subgenre of reggaeton, might be a child of the internet worldwide, its flame burns brightest in Santiago.

Defeating the stereotypes rooted in Bristol past, this playlist captured the ongoing cultural and experimental buzz of a city in constant evolution and of its multi-faceted underground scenes.

With its ears wide open to the world, Mexico City’s musical melting pot is like no other.

Did you know that Nigeria isn’t only the home of afrobeats? Here’s a spotlight on some of Lagos’ semi-underground artists.

The continuously crashing crest of modern pop’s wave, found in the up and comers of Atlanta hip-hop.

If jazz has been revived in London then it’s on the dancefloors, thanks to a growing audience of twenty-somethings.

"The lusophone sound is coming" – Dino d’Santiago

Kendrick Lamar, Louis Cole, Khadja Bonet, Flying Lotus, Anderson .Paak, Jonwayne and Tyler, The Creator all come from the same place? It seems neither vain nor overrated to remember that everything happens in Los Angeles.

Chicago has all the musical richness of Great Black Music with a remarkable rise in rap and jazz over recent years.

In the beginning there was Hiatus Kaiyote, a quartet of "future soul" formed in Melbourne in 2011...