Editor's letter

In this dazzling world of modern entertainment, it is often hard to tell who's truly talented. Candidly discussing her tough-as-hell upbringing and classical training in this month's OMM, Alicia Keys reveals why a stellar cast of peers regard her as the true future of soul music.

There is also an art to discovering talent and in our second brilliant interview, Malcolm McLaren announces his discovery of 'the new punk'. Ever the arch impresario, he even has a unique offer for you, the readers of the magazine, in the form of an EP to give away.

Of course, you could just listen to a musician to work out if he's any good. In a fascinating journey through the Cajun country of the southern USA, John Harris gets to hear the Hackberry Ramblers, two men now in their nineties, who have been performing for 70 years. The tragedy of their situation is that their pre-lapsarian culture is facing a long twilight.