Free, Legendary, and Now More Open: Csound 5 Upgrade

Geeky, powerful (if tricky to master), free — it’s Csound 5. This audio program, which can trace its lineage directly to the first ever digital audio synthesis tool, doesn’t get major upgrades that often. So the just-released version 5 upgrade is big news, if nothing else because it makes Csound interoperable with lots of other […]

Nam June Paik, 1932-2006

I’m sad to report that composer and artist Nam June Paik died Sunday evening January 29 at his home in Miami. The funeral will be this Friday here in New York; information at the Nam June Paik Website. Contributions can be sent to Electronic Arts Intermix, the nonprofit arts organization devoted to digital art and […]

PSP Sequencer in Development; 2.60 Firmware Hacked

Okay, Sony PSP owners: get ready to make still more noise. We’ve just seen another major release for the superb PSP Rhythm 3 drum machine. Now, get ready for a PSP sequencer: PSP Seq Ver 0.00 has begun development with basic sequencing functionality all in place. Features are bare-bones — song and sound design functionality […]

Faderfox Live/DJ MIDI Controllers Hit 2nd Generation; Worldwide Shipping

Like many, I’ve been eagerly anticipating trying the ultra-compact Faderfox “micromodul” controllers. They’re small enough to fit over the QWERTY keyboard on a laptop or to be propped atop a music keyboard, and are specially designed for applications like Ableton Live and Traktor DJ. With multi-function triggers, joysticks, and cross-faders on top of the usual […]

Giant DJs Continue to Play God with Universe; Scratching Reality Itself

. . . well, at least they do thanks to the magical powers of special effects in online videos. Last summer, we saw Spin, a short film in which a DJ had to weigh the power of life and death. Now, in a film that’s less ambitious metaphysically but more so visually, a DJ appears […]

NAMM: Latest Music Technology . . . You Know, for Kids!

Children and young adults were everywhere at the NAMM show. They ranged from musically-inclined tots like the one shown here to teenage musical stars. And in addition to teaching musicianship and musical creativity, there’s a new emphasis on teaching them technology. Here’s a quick look at the latest efforts to bring music to a new […]

Flash-Based Super Mario Bros. Super Synth [Updated]

Got too much time on your hands on this lazy Monday? Head over to Nintendo news-site 4 Color Rebellion: Super Mario Bros. Super Synth! And play with the Super Mario Bros. Super Synth! A collection of samples from the classic NES title, this will either make your office-mates laugh, cry, or go completely insane. Enjoy! […]

Recording NASA’s Spacesuit Satellite Sounds

In the ongoing quest for sounds from the hearts of space for use as digital music sources, I give you NASA’s SuitSat. The crew of the International Space Station has equipped the Russian Orlan spacesuit with batteries, a radio transmitter, and sensors; it’ll transmit power and temperature info Earthward. To pick it up, you just […]

NAMM: Neutrik Adds USB Connector, USB a “Real Audio Jack”?

USB has arrived in the sound world. Just ask Neutrik. For those of you not in the know, Neutrik is the major manufacturer of sound connectors. Their brilliant XLR/TRS combination jack, finally allowing you to swap mic and guitar/line cables in a single jack, is so popular that most people call it simply a “Neutrik” […]

NAMM: Edirol’s R-09 — SD-based, Portable USB Recorder

Finally, ultra-portable digital recording is catching on. Edirol got the party started with the R-1, a CompactFlash-based USB device packed with a decent built-in stereo mic, effects, a metronome, and tuner. The extras on the R-1 are nice, but the unit was big and boxy, so when M-Audio introduced their cuter, iPod like MicroTrack, also […]