A few weeks ago I was honored to be invited to a magazine launch party. Normally I shun these types of industy-esque type events, but in this case the magazine in question features Stylus writers and contributions from the site. Most notably, Nick Southall gets a shout-out in the table of contents for his takes on M83, Four Tet and Manitoba on the inside of the magazine. Other contributors included Gavin Mueller (Dizzee Rascal), Olav Bjortomt (Arab Strap), Clem Bastow (Warren Zevon), Lisa Oliver and Todd Hutlock (Top Ten Artists to Namedrop).

Measure Magazine impetus is described by its editor, Ben French, as such: “I basically wanted Measure to help nurture that same musical zeal I see through NATN’s small collective of outspoken enthusiasts. I hoped that by connecting a number of NATN-minded publications to one another for solidarity’s sake we might be able to bring some new blood, show folks there are other magazines to buy, other sites to visit, and most importantly, other bands to discuss.”

Something on the order of 20-30 publications contributed to this compendium of music writing and it features some rather fascinating interviews, features and reviews that I would’ve never gotten the chance to get to otherwise. What I was perhaps most amazed at, though, was the way the magazine was put together. It’s organized as a hefty zine with numerous pictures and stunning design. Ben and his designers did a great job with this essential aspect, especially since many of the items weren’t written to conform to word-lengths.

Copies should be available at large record stores in major cities (Reckless, Other, Amoeba, Sonic) and online at insound.com.