Two-Handed Software Control: Logitech’s New NuLOOQ Navigator Hardware

Pierre Pinard points us to new Logitech hardware that could work well with music software (and other multimedia, graphics, and creative software): NuLOOQ Professional [Logitech.com]

Raymond Scott’s Electronium, 50s-vintage Automatic Composing-Performing Machine, Sits Silent

Raymond Scott’s Electronium is one of the great, odd sound inventions of all time. Scott developed the machine as an automatic performance and composing machine, a great, mechanical algorithmic music creation device. For an official source of information, be sure to read up at the Raymond Scott site, which has this fantastic music demo: Electronium […]

Futuresonic: Toshio Iwai, Atau Tanaka, Zach Lieberman and Futuristic Musical Art

Manchester’s Futuresonic conference featured some of our favorite people. Fortunately, while none of Team CDM could be there, we do get to live vicariously through others: Toshio Iwai traced his work from childhood to present-day in a talk. Our friend Chris O’Shea has copious notes and images on the talk at Pixelsumo, and Régine Debatty […]

Ableton Live 6 Beta Now; September Release

Ableton Live 6 is now out in beta, but now that you’re reading this, you’re too late: the beta rosters are already full. As with previous upgrades to Live, Ableton is rolling out the beta in waves, and the first wave is the smallest. If you missed the boat, though, previous experience suggests you won’t […]

Numark’s NuVJ as a DJ/Music Controller; No Nudge on iDJ2 iPod DJ Mixer (But Some Won’t Care)

Numark’s new VJ product looks like it could be the missing link DJ controller hardware a lot of us wanted. The Behringer BCD2000 is inexpensive, but availability has been scarce and it doesn’t yet support the Mac, on top of some MIDI implementation oddities. (See shipping and driver complaints, full review on PC.) The US$300 […]

TamTam, Music Software for Kids, to be Fully Open Source; One Million OLPCs in Nigeria

The One Laptop Per Child initiative, aka “that $100 laptop” though it will initially cost more like $140, just got its first leg up. Nigeria has ordered one million of the custom Linux laptops. Now the big challenge will be whether the OLPC developers can deliver the machines on-budget and on time, given its wildly […]

Numark's NuVJ, US$300 DJ-Style MIDI Controller + VJ Software

(Update: I bought one of these controllers soon after they became available in Australia, and found that it had some compatibility issues with various VJ software. Definitely try before you buy. Jaymis.) Numark launched their NuVJ VJ product, a combination of a DJ-style MIDI controller with software from Arkaos, back at Musikmesse in April. The […]

Numark’s NuVJ, US$300 DJ-Style MIDI Controller + VJ Software

(Update: I bought one of these controllers soon after they became available in Australia, and found that it had some compatibility issues with various VJ software. Definitely try before you buy. Jaymis.) Numark launched their NuVJ VJ product, a combination of a DJ-style MIDI controller with software from Arkaos, back at Musikmesse in April. The […]

Hydraulophone: Water Jet/Fountain/Underwater MIDI Keyboard Instruments

Steve Mann, Chris Aimone, et al of the University of Toronto have developed a system for using streams of water to play a musical instrument. They describe the results in theoretical terms for the academic community, referring to ancient Greek water organs and the ability to have greater tactile feedback than other alternative instruments. But […]

PSP Rhythm 6: Samples, Skins, Solo, Stretch, More; Song Writing Contest

Louie Iturzaeta writes to say PSP Rhythm has now hit version 6.0 with lots of new features. It’s pretty incredible to watch this application grow. I know we have some readers using this, so here’s what’s new: New user interface with programming grid, graphical knobs for parameters, oscilloscope. Sample Loading from Pattern Mode with up […]