In this revealing interview with Michael Cragg, the elusive New Zealand chanteuse comes out from behind her trademark blonde bob to discuss fame, performance and her visionary video for “Chandelier” – the track we recently crowned the best of the year.
It's been quite the year for Gloucestershire's Tahliah Debrett Barnett – once just a back-up dancer for Kylie Minogue, her tenacious sensuality and sinuous choreography are now captivating the world. For one of the most inspiring and insightful interviews of her career so far, editor-in-chief Tim Noakes got up close and personal with the hypnotic avant-pop auteur.
FKA twigs wears leather bomber jacket by Jean Paul Gaultier; shirt by Alaïa; hoop earrings by Smith/Grey; pearl ring worn on thumb by Delfina Delettrez; necklace and rings by Pamela LovePhotography by Inez & Vinoodh, Styling by Karen Clarkson
Her Minajesty's swagger, feisty sexuality, and eccentric rhymes have without doubt turned her into one of the most definitive pop culture figures of 2014. In this interview – released just as the “Anaconda” attacked – she spoke candidly to Phoebe Lovatt about men, music and mean girls.
Nicki Minaj; all clothes and accessories by ChanelPhotography Jeff Bark, styling Robbie Spencer
Offering an appetising slither of the secrets that lie behind iamamwhoami's strange and subversive fantasy world, frontwoman Jonna Lee met Michael Cragg on a park bench in Stockholm. What followed was an interview as sparse, bewitching and poetic as the audiovisual treasures she's become known for creating.
Jonna Lee wears coat and belt by Gareth Pugh; knickers by La PerlaPhotography by Jamie Morgan, Styling by Emma Wyman
Featuring blunts, Nando’s chicken wings and big bottles of sparkling rosé, digital editor Charlie Robin Jones went big with rap kingpin Rick Ross earlier this year – keeping him company as he rolled through London radio stations on a publicity tour.
Rick Ross smoking his second blunt of the hourPhotography Jess Gough
After spending the majority of 2014 featuring on some of the year's biggest pop hits, Charli XCX is now packing her bags and getting ready to fly solo again. In this interview with deputy editor Owen Myers, the Cambridge songwriter got chatty about pop music, private jets and the impending release of her second album, Sucker.
Producer, singer, and muse to Queen Bee – Miami-born Jordy Asher (aka. Boots) is a man of many talents. After producing the indomitable pop-princess's career-defining album BEYONCÉ in 2013, he spent this year working on Run The Jewel's acclaimed RTJ2 and releasing his own mixtape WinterSpringSummerFall. We travelled with him to a cabin in the Catskills mountains to discuss his musical beginnings and his rapid rise to fame.
Boots wears monogrammed varsity jacket by Louis Vuitton; cotton t-shirt by AllSaints; jeans Boots's ownPhotography Cara Stricker, Styling John Colver
Aimee Cliff travelled to Wysing's women-only Space-Time festival to discuss what it means to be a woman making electronic music today. Featuring interviews with Holly Herndon, Ashley Paul and Helena Hauff, this offered a closer look at the crisis of visibility for women, and whether or not segregation is an effective solution.
Ashley Paul at Space-Time Festival 2014Photography Mike Cameron
Ruth Saxelby took a tour of Merseyside with the 24-year-old producer to discuss his new EP Waterfall and his hypersonic rise from Wirral primary school teacher to Kanye West's right hand man.
Evian Christ wears hooded jumper by Stone IslandPhotography by Bafic, Styling by Elizabeth Fraser-Bell
In this interview, DJ Mustard (otherwise known as the mastermind producer behind Tiga and Tinashe) revealed to editor-in-chief Tim Noakes what it's like to light up the charts, and how he has redefined the world of modern R&B.
