Holly Combe started reading and contributing to The F-Word in 2002. She joined the blog in 2005, which led to her being part of the blogging collective that emerged in 2008 to help run the site. She also has The F-Word to thank for kickstarting her editing career: this began back in 2011, when she became co-editor of the music section with Cazz Blase (a role she briefly held on her own in 2013 and then shared with Joanna Whitehead until 2015). She went on to take over from Mathilda Gregory as the sole editor of the TV section in 2013, continuing until 2016, when she took on the position of rotating editor for a year. You can follow her on Twitter @hollycombe
Mariam Wallentin discusses musical influences, political causes and creative freedom in the face of the patriarchal-capitalist music industry. This is the second and final installment of Holly's two-part Q&A with Mariam the Believer. You can read the earlier part here
Russian-American singer songwriter Nika Danilova – aka Zola Jesus – is known for her very physical stage energy. Marta Owczarek heads to the Tabernacle in London to check out a gig with J. G. Thirlwell and Mivos Quartet and finds a more low key but nonetheless powerful performance