Can you really tell the difference between encoding methods? Two different kick drum emulations? 16-bit versus 24-bit? These aren’t subjective questions: you can actually test them–with science. (Science!) Here’s a site that lets you create your own ABX tests, or try some pre-built ones. Argue about other stuff instead!
Music
The best lesser-sung sounds of 2026 so far
Best Of Music August 22, 2026
Homesickness and loss in sound, from Detroit to Beirut: Layan Srour
What does it mean to grieve home — being away from home and actually losing home? What does it mean to express that grief in sound, and to create spaces and belong through music? Detroit-based, Beirut-raised Layan Srour asks these questions in her own work, the duo Taqsim, and in an event series called Jalasat.
The best lesser-sung sounds of 2026 so far
It’s time for a sonic refill. David Abravanel is here with a full supply of lush arps, washes of sound, rapid-fire grooves — everything Appleblim to Posthuman to Vladislav Delay Quintet, Suzanne Ciani and a bunch more. Your mission: buy some downloads if you can spare the change, and load up some full-album listens in a player of your choice. And maybe turn off the world for a while. -Ed.
Featured mix: listen to MNJM’s A Homsi and DJ Saliva play layered rhythms
Bored with linear mixing, bland cookie-cutter rhythms, and blunt TikTok-friendly hooks? Let’s tune into Loone Berlin instead, as the Homsi from the bleeding-edge MNJM label joins with DJ Saliva.
A $5 modular drum circuit, a free online course, and how it grows into more
No need to brave the Arizona heat: Glitch’n is a course in electronics that even absolute beginners can enjoy, assembling oscillators, generative beats, filters, and noise on breadboard circuits. But it also helps young people to learn crucial skills that can lead to teaching others and getting jobs. And, for that matter, it could do the same for you. Let’s have a look.
1010music Bluebox 1.5 mixer module and desktop is your do-everything tool
There are all these extra things you need in hardware rigs or Eurorack modular. You need to mix stuff together — and then add effects, and it’d be great to record, and you do still need to connect to your computer. Bluebox 1.5 fills out that wishlist with details that could make this an absolute must-have module or device.
Lucid slices, stretches, and scrubs sound like no other granular FX
Talking granular effects is like talking ice cream — it’s all about the different flavors. So look at what Minimal Audio has given us: Lucid is a pulsing purple granular multi-effect. And it’s capable of everything from bleeding-edge and ambient drones to animated, tempo-synced rhythmic sliced mayhem. It’s in control when you want it — rhythmically, and in key — and totally extreme when you want that, too.
Organismi OR—1, free for iPad: breathing, stochastic pattern generator
OR—1 is an artful, generative MIDI sequencer maker. It’s free for iPad as an AUv3, with a desktop macOS version available for €19.99. And it’s an exquisite experience feeding these into synths.
Handmade experimental synths and DIY from Argentina’s Los Aparatos
From Tucumán, Argentina, Los Aparatos are constructing handmade synths and electronics education and DIY projects. And now you can ship their experimental synthesizer, Auduina MK2, internationally. Plus, those pink controls and creative projects are just irresistible. Let’s take a look.
otophon is a plug-in to play tones inside your head
This one’s for the heads, literally. Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are sounds produced by your ear, ghostly tones emitted from inside the cochlea itself. The phenomenon has been employed in experimental music (and medical applications), but it has been hard to explore on your own — until now.













