Couch Wisdom

Richie Hawtin always pushes the envelope: he started Plus 8 Records with John Acquaviva, formed the M-nus empire and dev... Read more

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is a living link between the digital science of modern hip hop and the flesh-and-blood textur... Read more

An unofficial Janet Jackson remix put Kaytranada on the map, but the Haitian-born beatmaker has emerged as the next in a... Read more

Philip Glass' compositions transformed the world of classical music and, eventually, popular music in general. Time spen... Read more

As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip helped shape the sound of hip-hop in the '90s. The group became a blueprint f... Read more

The Atlanta-born Michael Williams’ journey began with a gift from his father, a Korg ES-1 sampler, followed by his first... Read more

Kara-Lis Coverdale became organist and composing music director at a local church in Ontario at 14. After studying music... Read more

For many young indie music fans making their way through the "alternative" section of their local record store in the mi... Read more

Born in the Bronx, Frankie Knuckles grew up during the early days of disco and was a regular at the Loft and the Gallery... Read more

As the chief operating officer of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, Che Pope is one of the most influential figures in ... Read more

A pivotal figure in the ’90s Chicago rap scene, producer No I.D. is responsible for the bulk of Common’s early output. H... Read more

After discovering footwork while majoring in math at Purdue University, Jlin began studying from genre pioneers like RP ... Read more

Sheila E is a world-class drummer and percussionist who's worked with some of the most acclaimed artists of all time, in... Read more

Born in the Bronx and raised in Virginia Beach, Terrence LeVarr Thornton, AKA Pusha T, is one of the most influential ra... Read more

Susan Rogers dropped out of high school to teach herself sound engineering. By 25, she worked for Crosby, Stills and Nas... Read more

Veronica Vasicka has unearthed countless gems and revived a subgenre with Minimal Wave, the label she founded in 2005. V... Read more

If there’s one thing TOKiMONSTA taught us since attending the 2010 Academy as a participant, it’s that she’s never one t... Read more

Created in the early 1960s, the Buchla synthesizer revolutionized electronic music, but few have pursued its emotional a... Read more

Brian Reitzell is best known for his contributions to films by Sofia Coppola, including 'The Virgin Suicides,' 'Lost in ... Read more

Around Berlin, Rashad Becker’s name is synonymous with sonic brilliance — a mastering engineer at the famed Dubplates &a... Read more