Even walking J Dilla encyclopaedias who can recite every sample source in their sleep will still learn something here. »Dilla Time: The Life And Afterlife Of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm« not only puts J Dilla's personal history and music into their historical contexts, but also zooms deep into the rhythm magic of James DeWitt Yancey, both linguistically and graphically. Dan Charnas has achieved a rare feat with this comprehensive monograph, for which he interviewed over 150 people and put every B-side under the microscope.

Actually, everything has already been said about Whitney Houston, just not by everyone. Former Los Angeles Times reporter Gerrick Kennedy didn't write a classic biography of the »most decorated artist« with »Didn't We Almost Have It All - In Defense Of Whitney Houston,« but the book is still serves as, for example, a mirror to the media world and what they've made of the »I Will Always Love You« singer. Spoiler Alert: nothing good! Christoph Benkeser

We also listen with our eyes and no one knows this better than Gideon Schwartz. After the expert for audio design already presented quite a blockbuster for the publisher Phaidon with »Hi-Fi: The History of High-End Audio Design,« he now presents the next one with »Revolution - The History Of Turntable Design.« Schwartz makes a good 70 years of design history comprehensible with the help of all kinds of very different turntables and does it in a vivid way: His texts are accompanied by roughly 300 pictures. You can't balance a 1200 on it, but this book nonetheless offers a solid foundation for hi-fi nerds and design freaks alike.

The pandemic, or rather the restrictions that came with it, have rekindled an interest in free-tek and nomadic sound systems, and who better to give all the late-borns a glimpse into the mechanics of a moving wall of speakers than Harry Harrison? He has since settled in the countryside, but once travelled the world on bass frequencies as a member of the sound system DiY. »Dreaming In Yellow. The Story of the DiY Sound System« tells the story of the great spirit of optimism during the nineties that is never really sober and only sometimes sobering to read.

Geschichtsschreibung ist nicht monolithisch und deshalb auch niemals erschöpfend. »These Girls, Too – Eine Feministische Musikgeschichte«, herausgegeben von Juliane Streich und veröffentlicht bei Ventil, ergänzt und erweitert die historischen Interventionen, die der Sammelband »These Girls - Einträge in die feministische Musikgeschichte« durch hundert weitere Einträge, die den Frauen und Gender-Renegat:innen der Musikgeschichte gewidmet sind. Stilistisch wie inhaltlich ergibt sich ein heterogenes Miteinander verschiedener Herangehensweisen und Perspektiven, was wiederum als publizistisches Statement verstanden werden kann. Diskursiv und lehrreich, fun und nahbar. Kristoffer Cornils

You could pin this book to the wall because of its cover, but because at 336 pages, it weighs as much as Madlib’s record collection, you flip through it instead and get stuck in it. Even those who celebrate Biggie as a legend forever should find some news to nerd out about between foreword and index. After all, Justin Tinsley not only put a mic under the noses of Biggie’s former neighbours, friends and DJs, but also talked to the family of the »best rapper ever« (cf. Billboard).

Much, much ink has been spilled over the story of Daft Punk, but seldom has anyone zoomed out to provide a glimpse at the bigger picture. Martin James has now done so, drawing not only from many sources and conversations, but also from his own experiences. »French Connections« follows a reissue of his drum'n'bass or rather jungle bible »State of Bass« and proves once again that James is a narrator who is as knowledgeable as he is sober. Although he himself invented the term French Touch, he does not get involved as a protagonist and is always concerned about painting a nuanced picture. The history of the French Touch sound could have hardly been written down more meticulously than that.

Quincy Jones was behind the controls when everyone from Aretha to the Prince of Bel Air wrote pop history, came home with 27 Grammys and holds an honorary Oscar (whatever that is!). With »12 Notes On Life And Creativity,« the (literally) seasoned record producer gives great advice like »Turn your pain into a goal« or »Do what's never been done before.« If you don’t find solid advice on these 192 pages, that’s on you! Christoph Benkeser

Yesterday's futures are already a thing of the past today, and yet the visions of the future still reverberate. Steve Tupai Francis' exploration of Kraftwerk's 1981 album »Computer World« brings it into the context of posthumanism, cybernetics and cultural anthropology in this, as usual, slim yet dense volume from Bloomsbury's 33 ⅓ series. The central theme he identifies in the seven pieces, which were as seminal (»Numbers«!) as they were prescient (»Computer Love«!), is that of transition, of the passage between different states as much as the change that accompanies it. Kristoffer Cornils

Finally, yet another look at Berlin techno's big bang! The cover of »Tresor: True Stories. The Early Years« doesn’t bear founder Dimi Hegemann’s mug shot, but like Regina Baer, Thomas Fehlmann and Jeff Mills he is allowed to extensively wax poetic about the past. To make the 49,99,- worth your buck, the coffee-table book includes 400 photos, faxes and flyers that no one has ever seen (since way back then, at least). What can one say: true story! Christoph Benkeser