For our Autumn 2026 issue, Spike looks at the growing obsession with SOUND – from algorithmic earworms to immersive exhibitions and music made by machines – and asks: Why is something so elusive becoming our favorite way to set the mood? The answers are eclectic, vibrant, and sometimes dissonant: Aodhan Madden traces hyperpop’s sweet rise and sticky demise; Brian Droitcour diagnoses art’s age of “vibe”; Alex Quicho indulges the guilty pleasures of AI music. Avant-garde icon Laurie Anderson talks to Dan Fox; Travis Jeppesen enters the visceral audiovisual worlds of Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel; Isabella Zamboni listens for silence in paintings by Agnes Martin, R. H. Quaytman, and others; Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) on what sound does to the brain; DJ Courtesy on what art can learn from the club; Ville Haimala of Amnesia Scanner on the musical history of Myspace; Reece Cox on the best sound art LPs; a visual essay by Akeem Smith; and Steven Phillips-Horst decodes the synthetic future in sonic branding. Plus! A backpage audio diary from Tea Hačić-Vlahović.
Spike #88 – Editorial
