About the Editor

A Quiet Obsession with Sound, Craft, and the Artists Behind Both

Richie Styles is an independent music publication for listeners who care about what they're hearing — long-form reviews, candid interviews, and editorial that treats records like arguments, not products.

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The Editor's Note

Built from a Bedroom Studio and a Long-Standing Argument with the Algorithm

Richie Styles started in 2017 as a plain-text blog written between late-night recording sessions. The first review was a 1,200-word defense of a B-side that nobody had covered. It wasn't trying to become a publication — it was trying to make sense of why certain records still felt urgent a decade after release, and why the streaming era seemed allergic to that kind of question.

Eight years later, the site is still independently run, still ad-light, and still committed to the idea that a great album deserves more than a star rating and a hot take. Every review on Richie Styles is written end-to-end by a human who has lived with the record — usually for weeks, sometimes longer. Every interview is edited for clarity, not for clicks. And every playlist is built around a thesis, not a mood: things like "the second albums that broke their makers," or "post-rock's quiet turn toward electronic composition."

Richie Styles
Editor-in-Chief & Founder
Mission & Values

What This Publication Is For

Three commitments guide every piece of editorial that runs on Richie Styles — the same commitments that have shaped the site since the first review was published in 2017.

Independence Over Reach

No label PR relationships dictate coverage. No paid placement, no sponsored editorial, no affiliate links in reviews. The site is funded by readers and a small annual patron program — that's the entire business model.

Criticism as Conversation

A good review doesn't settle a record — it opens it. Every piece on the site is written in long form by writers with specific musical expertise, and treats the reader as a serious participant in the discussion.

Artists Treated Like Adults

Interviews are uncut in spirit and generous in length. We don't manufacture controversy, and we don't chase viral quotes. When an artist has something difficult to say, the room to say it is the entire point.

8 yrs
Publishing Independently
1,200+
Long-Form Reviews
340
Artist Interviews
0
Sponsored Editorial
Editorial Standards

How a Piece Gets From Pitch to Published

Transparency matters when you're asking a reader to trust your taste. Here's exactly what the editorial process looks like — and where the lines are drawn.

01

Listening Period Before Writing

No review is written after a single play. The minimum listening period is two weeks for albums and EPs, with notes taken on each pass. If a record doesn't hold up by the third listen, the writer is expected to flag it before drafting.

02

No Embargoed Access, No Advance Listening Favors

We do not accept pre-release streams under embargo. Every review is written from the public release version, on the same day as the listener. The only exception is interview coordination, which is clearly disclosed at the top of the piece.

03

Writers Are Named, Conflicts Are Disclosed

Every piece carries a byline. If a writer has a personal or professional relationship with a covered artist — past collaboration, friendship, label affiliation — it's stated in the author's note before the first paragraph.

04

Corrections Are Public, Not Quiet

If a factual error is identified after publication, the article is updated with a dated correction note at the top. Edits to argument or opinion are never made silently. Readers can see the full revision history on any piece.

05

No AI-Generated Editorial Content

Every word on Richie Styles is written by a human contributor. AI tools may be used for transcription and research scaffolding only. The use of AI in any generative capacity for a published piece is grounds for removal.

The Contributors

The People Writing the Reviews

A small, deliberately slow team. Each contributor covers a defined territory and brings years of listening behind the keyboard — not as credential, but as context for the argument.

Richie Styles

Editor-in-Chief

Founding editor. Covers post-rock, ambient, and the long tail of British guitar music from the 90s onward. Has strong opinions about side two of OK Computer.

Mara Okafor

Senior Reviewer · R&B, Soul, Jazz

Twelve years writing on Black American music traditions, with particular focus on the quiet revolution in UK jazz and the return of analog soul production.

Devon Kowalski

Reviews Editor · Electronic & Experimental

Writes on techno, IDM, and the noisy margins where electronic music meets composition. Maintains a deep archive of late-90s Warp Records interviews nobody else seems to have kept.

Aisha Nakamura

Interviews Editor

Leads the long-form interview program. Background in music journalism and oral history. Has conducted over 200 artist conversations, ranging from 20-minute phone calls to multi-day studio visits.

Pitch & Submissions

How to Reach the Editors

We read everything that lands in the inbox, though response times vary. Two addresses below — please use the right one, and please don't send the same thing to both.

Music Submissions

For artists, labels, and publicists sending new releases. Include a streaming link, a one-paragraph artist bio, and a single sentence on why the record might be a fit. No attachments, no zip files.

[email protected]

Pitches & Editorial

For freelance writers, interview requests, op-eds, and corrections. We commission roughly 12 outside pieces a year — pitches should be 200 words, with three writing samples, and an honest list of what you won't cover.

[email protected]

General Press & Partnerships

For festival partnerships, panel invitations, university guest lectures, and podcast appearances. We respond to about one in three of these, depending on the calendar — please don't take a non-response personally.

[email protected]

Reader Letters

The best part of running an independent publication is the mail. Disagreements, corrections, recommendations, and the occasional kind word — all welcome. Selected letters are published in the monthly print zine.

[email protected]