Joe Houghton

My Recent Work

NME •

The Femcels aren’t afraid to get weird with their erratic electro-twee-punk

Through the unassuming door of Peckham’s Vespers Club and down its dark steps, Rowan Miles, one half of The Femcels, is absent-mindedly licking a lollipop the size of her face as the sound system blares screaming bass around her. She welcomes NME warmly, peeking out from behind her brunette fringe, completely unbothered by the deafening noise. In the other corner of the room, an Amy Winehouse impersonator is running through her scales.
The Femcels are a London-based duo who make erratic dance mu...
NME •

Xaviersobased – ‘Xavier’ review: the polarising New York tastemaker is still brilliantly chaotic

Rapper and producer Xaviersobased is firmly rooted in the DIY tradition of New York skate culture. His vast Soundcloud back catalogue brings to mind the graffiti art and Xerox-copy zines of generations prior. While he hasn’t always landed his sonic tricks, his restless experimental approach has positioned him as a pioneer in the underground scene – and on his debut album ‘Xavier’, the 22-year-old is ready to show the wider world what he’s all about.
Xaviersobased – real name Xavier Lopez – bring...
NME •

Ceebo: the Lambeth rapper giving a voice to his generation’s struggles

Ceebo’s power lies in his ability to tell stories both specific yet universal. The 23-year-old rapper’s perceptive, raw lyrics paint portraits of very particular characters and circumstances, but contain experiences, emotions and details that resonate on a far broader scale. His lyrical lens floats from gang members tortured by guilt to uni girls stuck in cycles of self-destruction to addicts on the street. With narrative deftness, he encourages us to empathise with each and recognise ourselves...
Global South World •

Elon Musk's promise of free internet in Venezuela draws concern: Video

The announcement has been met with scepticism by users online, with some claiming the move "isn't charity, its strategic." In the wake of the U.S. operation to seize Maduro, parts of Venezuela lost power. Starlink coverage will allow Venezuelans to contact loved ones, even if future conflict causes more outages. It will also allow citizens to bypass government blackouts, as it has in places like Iran, where Starlink use is criminalised.Starlink isn't currently available in Venezuela — the compan...
Global South World •

Did big oil companies use the COP summit in Brazil for their own agenda?

The study by the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition (CAAD) and the Climainfo Institute found the number of Big Oil ads in Brazil increased by 2,900% in the run-up to the COP30 summit. Researchers behind the study have called this an “unprecedented greenwashing campaign”.Using data collected by the Centre for Climate Communication and Data Science (C3DS) at the University of Exeter, the researchers found that Big Oil companies were pouring money into Google ads targeting Brazil. Thes...
Global South World •

Trump hopes to secure U.S. mineral rights as he hosts peace talks between Rwanda and DRC

The leaders hope the peace deal can end the latest round of bitter fighting in eastern DRC, most notably between government forces and M23 rebels linked with Rwanda. Trump, on the other hand, has his own stake in brokering peace: mineral rights.The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world, with an estimated wealth of $24 trillion in natural minerals. Many of these minerals are vital for expanding the IT and AI industries, on which the U.S. relies. So fa...
Global South World •

Jaipur's giant air filters tackling India's pollution: Are they just a ‘PR gimmick’?

Memes online have compared the purifier towers to “water filters in the ocean” or “an AC outside your house in 45-degree heat”. Officials say each box can cleanse a small zone roughly 20 metres in radius, sucking in polluted air and filtering out the dangerous fine particles, like PM2.5.PM2.5 is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, particularly dangerous as it can penetrate deep into a person’s lungs and enter their bloodstreams, bringing severe health risks.The critics s...
Global South World •

The Global South is leading a drone revolution in agriculture: Video

The scale of this transformation was evident this week at DronTech Asia 2025. The expo highlighted the advances and growing popularity of drones, especially in farming. Over 300,000 agricultural drones now operate globally, treating more than 500 million hectares of farmland around the world. This is dramatically improving sustainability in the farming sector. A 2024 report by DJI found the use of drones reduced water usage by 210 million metric tons and pesticide usage by 47,000 metric tons. Th...
Global South World •

What has sparked protests in Peru?: Video

The unrest began as a ‘Generation Z March’ against pension reforms and has grown due to anger over ‘government corruption and violence’.The reforms require all citizens over 18 to enrol in either the state-run Office of Pension Normalisation or a private Pension Fund Administrator, a mandate that experts warn will burden workers in a country where around 70% of employment is informal. Many believe it will worsen inequality and disproportionately affect low-income Peruvians.The marches were led b...
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