About Us

Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as conducting interviews for the XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

Lori has been with XS Noize from the beginning and contributes album reviews regularly. Fav bands/artists: Radiohead, U2, The Cure, Arcade Fire, The Twilight Sad, Beck, Foals, Sufjan Stevens Fav Albums: In Rainbows, Achtung Baby, Disintegration, Funeral, Sea Change, Holy Fire, Nobody Wants to be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave.

Michael first began writing whilst studying at university; reviewing the latest releases and live gigs. He has since contributed to the Fortean Times as well as other publications. Michael’s musical tastes vary from Indie to psychedelic, folk and dubstep.

Randy Radic lives in Northern California where he smokes cigars, keeps snakes as pets, and writes about music and pop culture. Fav artists/bands: SpaceAcre, Buddy Miller, Post Malone, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, and he’s a sucker for female-fronted dream-pop bands.

Sandra mainly writes about indie/rock bands and has written many features, album reviews and interviews for XS Noize. Favourite bands and albums is a long list but to name a few Horslips, REM, Love, The Doors, Let It Bee – Voice of the Beehive, Velvet Underground and Nico album. (Ozric Tentacles live), October Drift. Sandra likes yoga, reading a good book, watching films, Netflix and drinking wine.

Fav Band: Depeche Mode Fav album: Violator - Depeche Mode

Amanda is passionate for electronic music and in particular her devotion to Depeche Mode, a band that has remained a constant throughout her life since she saw them for the first time at Hammersmith Odeon in 1983, aged 15. Amanda contributes to album reviews mostly but has also written several “introducing” type features. Amanda loves discovering and writing about new music. Fave band : Depeche Mode Fave album: Violator

Ben P Scott is a writer and DJ from Somerset, UK. In his teens, he wrote the indie fanzine Supernova from 1997 until 2000 and has been writing for various music sites since 2010, including his own Rewind/Fast Forward site. He has many favourite bands and artists including Manic Street Preachers, The Fall, Blur, David Bowie, Mansun and Oasis.

Sean is based in Manchester; his favourite artists include James Brown, MF Doom, The National, Bon Iver, Radiohead, Eric B & Rakim, Aretha Franklin, Serge Gainsbourg, John Lennon and Public Enemy. Sean has also been a promoter, DJ and a failed musician. Nowadays he resides in the Northern Quarter of Manchester and is a vinyl junkie, sneaker collector and MCFC fan.

Rebecca writes about pretty much any and all music but is a big pop-rock-indie fan. She loves the likes of Panic!. Fall Out Boy and Green Day, but is pretty old school too with Roxette and ABBA on many of her playlists. When not writing, she enjoys travelling far and wide, attending theatre and music shows, reading and spending time with friends.

Favourite band - Bad Religion Favourite album - Stranger Than Fiction

Alina is a professional journalist and linguist who loves attending gigs. She's been taking pictures and reviewing live music since 2015 for a variety of different websites. Alina is a big music enthusiast and enjoys all sorts of different genres from nu-metal, industrial and hard rock to jazz, electronic and ambient music.

Fair to say that Lee has an eclectic taste and appreciation in music, however, in the main he tends to veer towards post-punk, indie-pop & rock and folk. Top albums and bands include 'Out of Time' by REM, 'Live Rust' by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, 'Unknown Pleasures' by Joy Division, 'Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac, 'Rio' by Duran Duran, 'Ten' by Pearl Jam, 'Violator' by Depeche Mode

Daniel is a freelance journalist and writer based in Belfast. He plays guitar in several bands and releases their music through his label, Tin Man Heart. Favourite bands - Thin Lizzy, Gaslight Anthem, Tom Waits and Ryan Adams Favourite Album - Elsie - The Horrible Crowes

Fave band REM/The Clash Fave album: UP and Useless by TV Smith and the Bored Teenagers.

With a camera in his hand from an early age and a veteran photo journalist in the UK and Irish music scene, Conor is the senior photographer for XS Noize.

Gareth a writer from the west of Ireland. He got his start in music journalism in 2009 and hasn't looked back since. Music is one of Gareth's main passions in life. Gareth's main contribution to XS NOIZE is album reviews, and will also write the odd live review or feature piece here and there. Fav Bands: The National, Anathema, Frightened Rabbit Fav Album: The National - Boxer

In 2015, Julie was based in Los Angeles and began interviewing and writing about UK bands playing their first gigs on the LA scene - from Wolf Alice to James Bay to Circa Waves. Driven by a passion for emerging artist discovery, Julie will always find her way to the front and centre of a gig in a small venue. Fave band(s): Patti Smith, Wolf Alice Fave albums: Heart, Dreamboat Annie & Little Queen

I’m a writer based in Dublin. Some of my favourite artists are Therapy?, Big Black, Slint, Shellac, Morphine, Suzanne Vega, Bad Religion, Hüsker Dü, Fugazi, Mission of Burma, and The Jesus Lizard

Having started about music by reviewing live performances for Pearl Jam fansites, led to writing for the band's official website which led to writing gig and album reviews for a number of music sites and local newspapers. Enjoying an eclectic taste in genres has been found to relieve the stresses of following Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC! Favourite bands/artists include; Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Brad, The Levellers, Stone Roses, Oasis, Harvey Danger, London Grammar, Ride & Manic Street Preachers to name but a few! Favourite album: Yield - Pearl Jam.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Dan Volohov is a journalist and writer from Russia. Found his inspiration in punk-rock he still continues exploring. From 2016 to 2018 he was a chief reporter at Moscow-based “Radio ULTRA” where he used to cover all sorts of alternative music and interview artists like Billy Gould and Michaele Graves. Since 2015, Dan has been writing for various publications including Distortion Magazine, Maximumrocknroll, Punk Globe, Peek-A-Boo, Metalegion, MetalAddicts, Atmosfear, JoyZine and RamZine. Fav Band: Public Image Ltd ( 1978-1983) Fav Album: The Cure – Wish FavSong: Iggy And The Stooges - I Need Somebody

Iam Burn is a photographer based in the North East of England. Fave bands: R.E.M, The Lovely Eggs, Half Man Half Biscuit, Madness, Inspiral Carpets, Billy Bragg, The Pogues, The Proclaimers, The Ukrainians, They Might Be Giants, The Chats, Matt Berry, Lead Belly, Grace Petrie, The Beautiful South, Carter USM… and many more! Favourite album: Impossible to choose but Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys is pretty awesome. Most embarrassing record still in my collection: Hole in my Shoe by Neil.

Music fan and music geek living nestled into the South Downs. Can often be found staring longingly at Tumuli while wearing oversized headphones. Favourite Album – Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire De Melody Nelson Favourite Band – Lee “Scratch” Perry

North London born but now living in Norfolk; I have a true passion for music. Favourite artists would have to include Manchester Orchestra, Idlewild, Gang Of Youths, Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Van Etten and Just Mustard. I enjoy a craft beer and support Tottenham Hotspur for my sins.

Sonja is a musician and Youtube vlogger based in Belfast. She has gigged all over the UK and performed at some festivals under her own name. Sonya has a soft spot for cats and coffee. Bands: Radiohead / Hozier / Muse / Vampire Weekend Albums - All of the above + David Keenan (A Beginner's Guide To Bravery) / Ryan Adams (Prisoner) / Bjork (Homogenic)

Imelda is based between her native West Clare, and Amsterdam, where she works for a digital music distributor. She enjoys live music, attempting to make the perfect playlist and of course writing. She prides herself on having a pretty eclectic taste from French disco to ambient, and everything in between. Currently she has Nilüfer Yanya, K. Leimer, and L’Impératrice on heavy Rotation

A Northern Irish photographer, tutor and YouTube creator. Plus, an all-around mischief-maker!

Marija has been a photographer for 14 years. She specializes in portrait, fashion, bands, studio and concert photography as well as CD artworks for music artists. She exhibited her work on numerous solo and group exhibitions. She has been a music journalist for 7 years and has been writing for various music websites, including her own Altvenger Magazine. Her favourite genres are new wave, synth-pop, alternative rock, shoegaze, Brit-pop and many more. Her favourite artists are David Bowie and Duran Duran. She photographed shows by many famous artists, including Gary Numan, PIL, The Stranglers, Erasure, Suede, Dead Can Dance, Midge Ure, A-ha, OMD, Men At Work, Duran Duran and many others.

Neal is a broadcaster, DJ, producer as Cristobal & Jamiez, total lover of Electronic Music across the board for over 30 Years.

Kieran grew up playing and listening to traditional Irish music like Flook and Lúnasa, their innovative styles influenced the music I listen to today. My favourite artists include The Beatles, The Stone Roses, Oasis, Bon Iver, The Prodigy, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West.

Jay is a web developer and music producer, responsible for the smooth operation of xsnoize.com and many other websites. A bassist for many years, he has turned his hand to music production and web development and design. Favourite albums include: Massive attack: Mezzanine, Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Blood Sugar Sex Magic and Rage against the machine (all albums!)

Ashley Kreutter has been music-obsessed since childhood and studied Creative Writing with concentrations in both Music Journalism and Poetry during her undergraduate career. Her favourite genre is post-punk with her favourite bands, at least currently, being Joy Division, The Cure, Placebo, The Smiths, and Interpol. You can often find her brooding with her headphones on and avidly championing the Oxford Comma.

Victoria is a dedicated star chaser and has interviewed almost as many celebrities as Terry Wogan. She loves Rock and Roll so much she has dedicated her life to examining it. Her favourite rock drummer is Keith Moon and her ideal man is 'Animal' from the Muppets.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

The author has not yet added any personal or biographical info to his author profile.

Writer born and bred in Belfast. Self-diagnosed music obsessive and lover of the arts. Written for a few publications starting from my time in University, having always had an interest in music journalism, religiously reading magazines such as Q, Kerrang! and NME. Difficult to pick what my favourite genre would be as I have quite an eclectic taste. However given that guitar-driven music has always stood out to me and that most of this style finds its roots coming from the blues, it would probably be the stand out on my list. Some of my favourite albums of all time include Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’, Robert Johnson’s ‘Cross Road Blues’ and Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’.

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John Clay is the director of #chemicallysinister (a music video production collective), author and prolific interviewer of outsider artists in both music and film. His list of collaborators/interviewees includes Goat Girl, Fat White Family, Meatraffle, Calva Louise and IDLES. He has previously had features via CLASH, DIY, Public Pressure, Joyzine, God is in the TV, Rock at Night, The Zine, RAWMEAT and has recently joined the XS Noize team as a writer. 'Challenge yourself as yourself. The public perception of you cannot help in the private duel.'

Jacob Thompson is a music writer from Manchester, England, and ex-Head of Music for Fuse FM. Fav bands/artists: Big Thief, Talking Heads, The Band, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, Frightened Rabbit, The Replacements. Fav album: Let it Be - The Replacements

Sam Williams was born in the UK but has lived the best part of the last ten years in Taipei. There, he spends much of his free time floating between the city’s live music bars and trying not to drink excessive quantities of bubble tea (the weight gain is real). When not out and about, he writes and edits for a local English magazine, which requires him to be a stickler for good grammar, though he’s admittedly not immune to the occasional slip-up. His taste in music could best be described as eclectic, but if pushed would probably say his favourite genres are blues, grunge, trip-hop, and various forms of rock.