Tired of the lead vocalist in your hardcore thrash death metal band? Why not replace him or her with a parrot? Yes, it's Hatebeak, the band with a parrot (literally) singing — make that "savaging you with feathers of razored steel." (I've heard a few folk singer-songwriters who also fit that description, but I digress.) […]

Eldorado — that's CDM's new correspondent, not to be confused with the Cadillac Eldorado — takes us on a ride into the frontier of digital DJing. If you're ready to blend the best of vinyl with the digital revolution and are looking for a place to get started, you'll want to stay tuned into this […]

CDM got to check out Sasha with his new MAVEN controller (see Music Thing's story) as he played his monthly residency at Crobar here in New York. Forget vinyl — Sasha's setup is all-digital: Ableton Live Apple iMac G5 (looked like 17", but that was after a couple of vodkas) MAVEN custom controller (built just […]

Reflex Products is a newly-launched maker of computer music gear; Jamez writes us to tell about their new Sonia MIDI controller. Vitals: 12 soft-touch knobs, 5 'virtual transport' buttons (or whatever else you want 25 preset memory banks for instant compatibility with Live, Logic, Reason, Cubase, etc. up to 44 user banks for whatever wasn't […]

MIDI is still a reality of life for connecting all kinds of instruments. The most compact MIDI adapters act basically like a MIDI-to-USB cable, but many of those are 1-in / 1-out only and look ugly as hell. Romio from Reflex is different: 1-In, 2-Out (for 32, count `em, channels), and it's simply gorgeous, at […]

Too shy to make funny voices while using your sock puppet? Be the life of a party, with a MIDI sock puppet that can make silly 'singing' noises or play a synth. A single flex sensor (we're guessing) can even manipulate pitch in a mode. Brought to you by UK's Matthew Irvine Brown and, of […]

In this corner, from the Land of the Setting Sun of CA, we have the gorgeous, easy-to-use, "I'm an incredibly-expensive cheese-grater" Power Mac G5. And in this corner, the "Hide me under your desk before I scare small children" utilitarian black box from Austin, the Dell Precision 470. Which will whip through progress bars so […]

Tired of getting sued for sampling? Creative Commons offers licenses for pro musicians that lets them keep their copyright while giving people the right to sample or use their sounds. Artists choose how much control you have, but if they opt for a sampling license, you can get access to sample sources free. I was […]

No, not a USB interface to MTV's Real World. The Muio is a new interface to real-world sensors and devices (motors, robotics, etc.). It works via USB, and sends and receives MIDI, OSC, and a socket/UDP stream using XML, accessed via Windows DLL or Mac OS X Framework. (CDM issues an 'if you have to […]

Synthtopia today interviews NYC multimedia artist Jessica Vale, creator of The Sex Album — recorded sounds of people having sex manipulated into electronica with vocals by Bale on top (pun intended). So how's the album? Well, while some of the found sounds are recognizable, others get mashed into undistinguished digital mush, so with the addition […]