Ever used a delay plug-in at random? Now use the excellent Spaced Out like that – for free

“Never have I ever…” mashed video game buttons in a fighter to win? Randomly tried a delay on a track with some arbitrary settings to try to make it better? Yeah, okay – take a drink. And take a free plug-in, BABY Audio’s new Magic Dice.

Dave Smith himself tours the Prophet-5 in a six-part series, one year later

Who better to revisit Prophet history – and its latest iteration – than the synth legend and Sequential founder himself, Dave Smith? Dave’s got a six-part series on the instrument, and… I’m writing this right next to one of the 1978 original designs if anyone has an idea for what to do with it in the next couple of days!

ASIA FUTURIST is the techno compilation we need right now, from Jakarta to Shanghai

It’s not the bpm. It’s not the style. It’s the soul of the humans making the music that matters – and that might be what you’re missing. So grab this Indonesian-Chinese collaboration for an urgent cause, to heal a sick world, figuratively and literally.

Fire, voltage, metal, and thumping groove as Rojin Shafari tears through ‘It Made You Blind’ live

Definitely don’t miss the latest live performance off her new album – and watch to the end, as more abstract gestures collide with insistent syncopated groove.

SoundScaper 1.9.8 – now more compatible, still one of the wildest iOS sound sources + more apps

It’s a laboratory for sound design packed into iOS – which means you can use it anywhere. Any day is a good excuse to talk about Igor Vasiliev’s SoundScaper, but the latest news is an update that improves compatibility.

Meet MeeBlip’s new cubit duo, USB MIDI interface and thru box all in one

We’re pleased to introduce our latest addition to the MeeBlip line – the simple but essential interface and thru box for MIDI we needed ourselves. Here’s cubit duo.

BLEASS Dragonfly is an elegant tremolo effect, even if you never loved tremolo before

It’s not just nostalgia for old tracks driving the vintage look and sound of so many effects — it’s tough to create new ideas in sound and interface. But Dragonfly is a rare “on-trend” new effect you’ll want to hang onto.

Carsten Nicolai reflects on light, emotion – and astrophysics

Noton founder and media artist Carsten Nicolai, known also for his Alva Noto alias, reflects on pure color and perception as his work is installed in London. And Carsten has been busy – new projects are coming shortly.

Unity just bought Weta Digital – yeah, the Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson one

The democratization of visual effects continues at a stunning pace, with or without acquisitions. But it’s hard to beat this example – an Academy Award-winning visual effects studio is now in the hands of a game engine.

Roland now has 4 ways to play their 1991 JD-800 polysynth; here’s a breakdown

Until recently, the only way to get your hands on a Roland JD-800 was to get the early-90s original hardware. But now Roland has this year unveiled two independent hardware and two independent software recreations. Let’s make sense of it all – and why it’s suddenly happening now.