‘Behind the scenes’ blogs can follow a format. They usually start with the programme maker’s initialdelight with the commission tempered by just how daunting a prospect it is. Then the odyssey is embarked upon. There are peaks and troughs. The jeopardy of the quest. Finally, just when it all seems to be doomed- success! ‘How The Brits Rocked America’ loosely followed this tradition but what I...

New year, new music. BBC Album Reviews Editor Mike Diver looks at some of the collections coming the listening public’s way in the first three months of 2012. Hi, readers. Now, there are lots, and lots, of great new albums forthcoming in early 2012. But this selection of 10 represents the most interesting sets I’ve had the pleasure of investigating – some at length, some through teasing snippets and cheeky samplers. I...

New year, new music. BBC Album Reviews Editor Mike Diver looks at some of the collections coming the listening public’s way in the first three months of 2012. Hi, readers. Now, there are lots, and lots, of great new albums forthcoming in early 2012. But this selection of 10 represents the most interesting sets I’ve had the pleasure of investigating – some at length, some through teasing snippets and cheeky samplers. I...

Words cannot really express the excitement I feel in being given a platform to express and play some of my favourite music on BBC Radio 2. This is a “no-holds-barred” perspective on music from around the globe, looking at music for exactly what it is – a universal language. All my work over the last 25 years as a producer and composer, whether through my albums, with orchestras, through film, television, dance, as a...

As promised on last week’s BBC Music Writers’ Top 25 Albums of 2011, here are the top fives from all of our contributing critics. How the positions were scored: 10 points for first place, five for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. (Numbers in brackets indicate where this album placed in our overall top 25.) Sean Adams 1. The Antlers – Burst Apart (4) 2. SBTRKT – SBTRKT (12) 3. Tim Hecker...