Hello, we’ve made another issue of Loud And Quiet. We’re delighted to share that our cover star for Issue 161 (out 23 September) is Mike Skinner, aka The Streets – and he’s been kind enough to provide an exclusive track for our latest subscriber flexi disc (more details below, subscribe here to get it while stocks last).

Two decades on from becoming a superstar by virtue of his unique fusion of UK garage, hip hop and kitchen-sink realism, Skinner is about to release his debut feature film, The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light, accompanied by a studio album of the same name – his first as The Streets in 12 years. The film alone has been a decade’s work for him, with Skinner throwing himself into the role of, well, everything: director, producer, writer, editor, actor, biggest investor and worst critic. He’s a uniquely driven, single-minded artist – and this project has pushed him further than ever before. L&Q editor Stuart Stubbs hung out with Skinner several times over the past month to get the inside story on a remarkable feat of creative determination.

There’s plenty of other stuff in this issue as well. Max Pilley meets Courtney Barnett to discuss her beautiful new instrumental album and the closure of her Milk! record label; Wilco and Cate Le Bon discuss the innovative new record they’ve made together, with our writer Sam Walton mediating; Irish songwriter CMAT discusses her underrated favourites with Theo Gorst; indie-pop storyteller Vagabon tells Gemma Samways all about the difficult process and period of isolation that led her to make her boldest work yet; Finnish psych explorer Jaakko Eino Kalevi gives Colin Groundwater a tour of his Athens home; Dhruva Balram chats to Billy Woods and Elucid about their latest Armand Hammer LP, which may be their very best yet; Katie Beswick travels to Paris to meet A. Savage, best known as the frontman of Parquet Courts and a formidable solo artist in his own right; Shaun Ryder tells Dominic Haley all about his favourite song, throwing in a few amazing (and hilarious) showbiz anecdotes along the way; and Luke Cartledge profiles groundbreaking Kampala label and arts collective Nyege Nyege as they celebrate ten years of experimental music and DIY parties.

We’ve also got interviews with our favourite new and rising artists, including MJ Lenderman, Maple Glider, Ratboys, Max Winter and Mabe Fratti, as well as our regular columns, reviews of the most interesting new releases, book and film coverage, and our report from this year’s End Of The Road festival.

Subscribe now to get it all with that exclusive Mike Skinner flexi. Posting out 23 September

Subscriber exclusive flexi disc no. 5: The Darker The Shadow, The Brighter The Light

If you are on a physical subscription plan (or sign up for one here), your issue this month will be delivered with our fifth subscriber-exclusive flexi disc, which is a rare Streets song, only it’s called The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light. It’ll make more sense once you’ve read our interview with Mike Skinner, but the basic story is that he made a “lost Streets album” under the name TDTSTBTL (which is now the name of his movie and new album), and this track (remastered for us) was on that record, which had an album title of ‘The Streets’. We’re making sound more complicated than it is. This edition of the mag comes with an exclusive flexi disc of a rare song by The Streets, while stocks last.

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