Emptyset live was an experience that blew my mind, and my nose. Let me rewind – if “Electronic Body Music” weren’t already its own thing long before Emptyset came along, the term would be a fitting description of the music that Paul Purgas and James Ginzburg make together. The curves, blood, and nerves are all […]

Deafman’s set of retro themes for Ableton Live, originally inspired by Silicon Graphics workstations, impressed when I first wrote about them. This summer, Clem has a bunch of updates: improved themes, a theme editor, a new pack, updated fonts (with Retina and bold versions), and easy installers. It’s a one-stop makeover kit for Ableton Live. But it’s more than that: it’s a mood enhancer. I smiled, like, literally.

Live performance requires practice. And creating a truly performance-oriented module also requires a long process of iteration and refinement. Sampleslicer MKIII, the live sampling-looping-slicing labor, by Jan Willem (ginkosynthese), is the culmination of that process. And it just keeps getting better: today’s beta update, just announced, adds features like momentary reverse, non-repeating one-shot, and gate-triggered resets.

FL Studio, the everlasting DAW that the uninitiated think is way less powerful than it is, just got more powerful again. And if you were perplexed by it in the past, it has a new AI-powered chat to help you out, called Gopher. The good news is, you’ll need help less, thanks to in-Playlist audio editing and Mixer tracks finally working the way you’d expect. FL continues to be underrated, overpowered, and seriously fun, so let’s take a look.

Mark Snow, the mind-bogglingly prolific composer behind scores for Blue Bloods, Smallville, and the X-Files has died at age 78. From TV to film to games, Snow’s take on electronic music scoring has left a mark on many of us. Here he is talking about his take on music, and some reflections on that unforgettable X-Files score.

Has that DAW grid got you down? Do you feel like you’re caught in the 1980s looking at a multitrack editor? Have your friends stopped talking to you because they want more breaks and intelligent rhythms so they can put those new sneakers to proper dancing use? Renoise is back with features like a phrase scripting engine powered by the new open-source pattrns (with Tidal notation support), full tuning support, sub-signal effects splitting, and more. $88 new. Holy mother of God, it’s nerd Christmas in July.

Tom Oberheim may be in retirement, but the instruments and his legacy are just getting started. Artists are rediscovering vintage classics, and instruments like the new TEO-5 are taking off. So to celebrate his 89th birthday, here’s a recent conversation with the man behind that famous synth name.

Sting 2, Iftah’s follow-up to the acid-generating Max for Live device, is packed with new features like accessibility and Push support. But that’s not the best way to describe it. It works on acid. It works on melodies. It works on percussion. You may wind up smiling as much as its UI is. Imagine a one-click source of pure joy.

The uneasy relationship between cultural spaces, states, private funding, and artists has spawned widespread outcry and boycotts this year. That’s a good reason to turn your eyes to Wrocław, Poland, where activists have criticized a festival with a financial giant right in its name. BNP Paribas Nowe Horyzonty, an international film festival that also features musical acts like Kangding Ray, Mo Ayoub, and soft, stands accused of ties to genocide through its lead sponsor.

Heat waves are crossing Europe; stress is rising planetwide. Sudanese artist Zaher Nasr, aka Taz Waves, has an alternative. Inspired by time in Amman, Jannah Al Yasmeen (Jasmine Heaven) is as sweet and calming as its namesake.