Mattias IA Eklundh is not only an internationally cherished guitar virtuoso, composer, and the creator of Freak Guitar Camp (which I've been to three times since our first interview), but also, for some time now, the head of his own guitar company, Freak Guitar Lab . His signature guitar, the ULV , is now available as a 6- and 7-string version in addition to the 8-string model — even though Eklundh himself has been playing exclusively eight-strings for years. More recently, i

A few weeks ago, at Guitar Summit 2025, I had a conversation with Anders Nicklasson of True Temperament – partly for a feature I was working on for Rolling Stone Germany ( you can read that here ). True Temperament shared a booth with Mattias “IA” Eklundh, whose Freak Guitar Lab instruments are also equipped with the company’s distinctive fretting system. For anyone unfamiliar, True Temperament is the Swedish company behind those instantly recognizable “squiggly frets” — a gr

(c) Damian Irzik Doc Wenz is back. With Doc Wenz & The Melancholics , the former frontman of the legendary Mardi Gras.bb is set to release the debut album of his new project on March 28, 2025 . On „ The EPs Vol. I–III “  (off label records, dist.: Broken Silence), the Doc is in top form – a singer-songwriter somewhere between Americana, the desert and Memphis. It sounds refreshingly different, yet unmistakably like Doc Wenz. In this in-depth conversation with Markus Brandstet

Photo (c) Markus Brandstetter for ROLLING STONE A while ago, I was asked to write a brand story for ROLLING STONE x THOMANN . I visited...

You can find Tim's new book "Melodic Blues Guitar Soloing" on guitarvivo.com. Also make sure to subscribe to Tim's YouTube channel and check

"FLASH SALE": Antoine Mikhtarian about the new MIKH MAKH album, moving to Sweden and his influences

A conversation with Iiro Rantala about his new HEL Trio and their new record "Tough Stuff", upcoming projects, beauty in Jazz and more

For Mark Knopfler, the River Tyne is more than just a river. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1949, Knopfler moved with his family to the...

Norwegian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Vegard Sverre Tveitan, better known under his moniker Ihsahn, rose to fame in the...

Snarky Puppy's Bill Laurance and Michael League have released a duo record called "Where You Wish You Were" — an intense and atmospheric...

The eyes of the rock world have been on Wolfgang Van Halen since he was a child. Now 32, he played bass in his father's band in his teens...

Stewart Copeland is not only one of the greatest drummers in pop history, he is also a fantastically funny interview partner. During our...

For the english version of this interview, click here Till Brönner ist zweifellos einer der bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten Jazzmusiker...

For the German version of this interview, click here Till Brönner is undoubtedly one of the best-known and most successful jazz musicians...

Peter Frampton says goodbye — although thankfully only to touring. The British singer, songwriter, rockstar and – first and foremost! –...

Click here for a German version of this article To celebrate its 30th birthday, the renowned German jazz label ACT celebrated together...

Click here for the English version of this article Das renommierte deutsche Jazz-Label ACT lud zu seinem 30. Geburtstag für zwei Abende...

Knobs is without a doubt one of the most creative beloved pedal channels on the internet (although "pedal channel" does not do him...

AI art is the new thing — and out of all the Artificial Image Generators that I have tried I'm blown away the most by Midjourney AI. From...

Eastman Guitars are known for affordable, but high quality guitars and mandolins. While their jazz and acoustic guitars and their...