We didn’t plan it like this, but the rhizomatic gods appear to have been smiling upon us. The monologues and conversations featured in this issue of Electronic Beats form our most inter-referential cultural nexus to date. What we intended as a broader focus on the nucleus of pop turned outtobeawebof mutually influential ganglia. All points of entry are valid: Bernard Sumner on Afrika Bambaataa; Afrika Bambaataa on Kraftwerk; Kraftwerk and German Romanticism; German Romanticism and Wolfgang Voigt; Wolfgang Voigt and Stefan Betke; Gudrun Gut on Terre Thaemlitz; anti-religiousness and Marilyn Manson; Marilyn Manson and Grimes. The common thread here is more method than the content: gathering individual narratives and discussions to cre- ate a map of electronic music, approachable from any direction. Best wishes, Max Dax — Editor-in-Chief