One of my fav Prince stories – which I tried to do an article on but couldn't get off the ground – is when he played at a college for Deaf people. 1984, height of Purple Rain fame, selling out arenas etc, but he popped in to do this show. Here he is saying "I love you” in sign language to the crowd.

Brilliant first event for @danieldylanwray.bsky.social and Groovy, Laidback and Nasty last night, with big thanks to the Heath Bookshop, host Lias Saoudi and all who came along. And it’s just the start… geni.us/GroovyLaidba...

Happy to announce the companion fanzine to my upcoming book. Features 25 + new stories from Cabaret Voltaire, Pulp, Clock DVA, I Monster etc about their musical memories in Sheffield. From post-punk supergroups to Russian enema artists via recording Phil Oakey in the bog. @whiterabbitbks.bsky.social

haha! Thankfully I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would once I was up and running - and luckily my wife does coms for a living so was very helpful, plus there was wine - but def a very strange and uneasy thing to be doing.

Always been promo pressure, sure, but now it's year-round self-filmed content on top of all the standard interview stuff etc. tbh, I was more wanting to explore what it feels like for people having to engage a new skillset that's been dictated to them that often has v little to do with their jobs.

Yeah, I’ve literally just done one this week and the difference in reach/engagement is hugely noticeable. Didn’t really sign up to be a kind of budget TV presenter of my own life - and so somewhat resent it - but also silly to not do all I can to promote my book in a way that’s most effective.

‘This craving to go viral is tiresome’: the artists who’re sick of the pressure to promote on social media From Stewart Lee in his wolf costume to Werner Herzog’s big steak sizzle-up, artists are now under huge duress to ‘chase the algorithm’ and reach audiences. Many of them are hitting burnout – and hitt...

As someone who (begrudgingly) turned the camera on themselves on insta this week for promo, I wanted to speak with artists - musicians, comics, writers, actors, gamers - to see how they are feeling about the pressures of making short form video content. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Pre-order links and tickets to launch events in Sheffield, London, Brighton and Brum - all here:

geni.us/GroovyLaidba...

I’ve checked out of BS a bit so apologies for just being promo guy BUT I have a book to promote. (out May 7). Had some lovely quotes come in from early readers, so huge thanks to @luketurner.bsky.social, @simonreynolds.bsky.social, @adellestripe.bsky.social, @msmirandasawyer.bsky.social.

17 April: BIRMINGHAM with Lias Saoudi
7 May: SHEFFIELD with @elizabethalker.bsky.social
11 May: LONDON @thesociallondon.bsky.social with Ben Beaumont-Thomas
22 May: BRIGHTON @resident-music.com with Stephen Mallinder

Plus some incredible DJs joining in Sheffield and London. See you there!

To celebrate his book on Sheffield’s immense music history, @danieldylanwray.bsky.social is heading out on tour - with some very special guests joining him along the way…

Find all ticket and pre-order links at geni.us/GroovyLaidba...

Wild Horses, by Alexis Taylor from the album Paris In The Spring

Really like the new solo album from Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor that's out today. It's a risky move but right at the centre of the album is a country-dub-techno drum machine cover of The Rolling Stones' Wild Horses and it kinda hits. alexistaylor.bandcamp.com/track/wild-h...

Bless you, thanks Hannah!

Apologies in advance for all in the insufferable promo over the coming months but I do have a book to promote. First little tour announced today. More dates and cities to come. Link to all tickets and pre orders here. 💅🏼

geni.us/GroovyLaidba...

Cheers!

‘We had no future. So we made a future for ourselves’: the untold history of Welsh reggae sound systems A country known more for rock and choral music was a hotspot of the dub reggae sound system scene in the 70s. Rival crews recall Cardiff’s riotous parties – and racist hostility

Loved doing this piece. Some amazing work being done to document, preserve and celebrate a properly incredible yet overlooked bit of UK music history.

www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

Thanks Simon!

Here’s @danieldylanwray.bsky.social with an early copy of his book Groovy, Laidback & Nasty. With over 150 original interviews, it's the first ever truly definitive history of Sheffield music and the city’s incredible array of artists, movements and moments. Out 7 May: geni.us/GroovyLaidba...

Gotta be Mr BlubStep surely

Not Going Home: photographing ’90s UK clubbers in the early-morning afterglow Shot during the summer of 1998, Mischa Haller’s Not Going Home photobook is a window into the UK post-night out landscape. Daniel Dylan Wray learns more

Shot in the summer of 1998, Mischa Haller’s Not Going Home photobook is a window into the UK post-night out landscape 📸

@danieldylanwray.bsky.social spoke to Haller about some of the collection’s standout photos

djmag.com/features/not...

It’s over six pages and is wonderfully designed by Michelle Thompson.

This is taken from a feature i've got on Threads in the latest issue of @empiremagazine.bsky.social, which is out today.

Thanks Luke! Big fan of Dark Entries and was a real pleasure to write this one and speak to such lovely people for it.

Archive on 4 - Taxi Driver at 50: New York, Then and Now - BBC Sounds The film Taxi Driver is 50 years old. Michael Goldfarb looks at New York then and now.

Magnificent documentary by writer (and one time New York taxi driver) Michael Goldfarb, about Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, 70s New York and the transformed city of today www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

‘It’s more productive than doomscrolling’: film-maker Ben Wheatley on his secret life as musician Dave Welder While playing with nine-figure Hollywood budgets, the Kill List and Meg 2 director has become a prolific music producer. Next up is his experimental film, Bulk

Keen to delve into the extensive back catalogue of a solo artist? Maybe try Dave Welder, the secret alias of film director Ben Wheatley who has knocked out nearly 30 albums in the last year. Cloak unveiled, I had a chat with him about it for the first time.
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

‘It's a strange time to be in this country’ Artist Corbin Shaw on flags, identity, and whether he’s still proud to be English

Corbin Shaw has been working with flags for years, taking objects often seen as symbols of belligerent nationalism and subverting them with humour, emotion and vulnerability.

After a year in which flags have dominated our discourse, how does he feel about them today?

✍️ @danieldylanwray.bsky.social

He was on really good form. Def worth getting to the London date if you can!

The strange story of The White Hotel Notorious. Experimental. Piss-taking. For 10 years, Salford venue The White Hotel has been the centre of the North’s alternative nightlife. Here, the…

This month, The White Hotel is 10. In 2026, they launch The Black Lights festival in Blackpool.

For The Face, I spoke to aya, Blackhaine, Space Afrika, Finn, Rainy Miller and lots more DJs, promoters and regulars to tell the inside story of the notorious Salford club.

theface.com/music/the-wh...

3 hour set in Manchester on Monday! But also sadly no Lidl Christmas jumper.

I caught them on Monday. Did he tell the very long and deranged story about tracking down Billy Joel to murder him?