Andy Barker of 808 State has died

This time of loss continues, and another gone-to-soon obituary to write. Andy Barker has died at age 53 “after a short period of illness” according to the group.

Listen to this mix of sounds and music on the theme of phase transitions of water

Robert Lippok (raster media) prepared a beautiful mix as a companion to this year’s Glacier Music II release. It’s now available to hear on-demand on SoundCloud from Iranian radio project Beshknow, so definitely don’t miss it.

In Glacier Music, sounds and songs capture urgency, deeply-felt and real

It’s heard in drips, in flows of water. It’s counted in numbers, echoes in poetry, called into the air in plaintive cries, sighing instruments, and the decay of piano notes. When a crisis reaches us somewhere that even words fail, maybe we need sounds and music to tell the story alongside science.

Unity 2021.2 is full of artist-friendly stuff, from rendering to mobile face capture

Hey, that other engine starting with the letter ‘U’ is looking pretty amazing, too. Unity 2021.2 Tech Stream is here, with loads of artist-friendly features. And you were worried what to do with your winter (southern hemisphere summer).

Bitwig Studio 4.1: color palettes, note FX with physics and more, Sampler release chaining

Bitwig users get a bunch of goodies in the just-announced 4.1. There are tons of Note FX devices with various features for organic and musical and simulated physics-based playability, plus a really smart way of handling color palettes, chains that trigger when you release Sampler notes, and more. She’s like a rainbow If you’re on […]

open·control is a Kickstarter-backed controller for Ableton Live triggering, looping, everything

Live just turned 20 years old, but there’s still no end to personalized ideas for how to control it. The latest is open·control, and it’s focused on quick, customizable triggers for the Session View, Looper, and editing – as a pocket-sized remote or via pedal inputs.

At Instruments series by Morphine Records, physicality and improvisation meet invention

In a world when so much seems virtual, remote, simulated, and yet oddly pre-scripted, Berlin’s Morphine Records turned in the month of October to something else. It was musical technology in raw and spontaneous form – intimate encounters, together in a room.

Eventide and Newfangled plug-ins are now Apple Silicon M1-native – and more on the way

The floodgates are open, and not only are we seeing new Apple hardware, but M1 native plug-ins to take advantage of it, too. Eventide is the latest, bringing a massive arsenal of essential stuff. And the fact they run on iLok suggests more iLok-based plug-ins from other vendors are likely inbound soon, too.

MadMapper will now let you control lasers, with MadLaser beta

garageCube, makers of MadMapper and the software that helped popularize projection mapping, are now about to take on frickin’ lasers. (Safety rules do apply here – very, very seriously.)

teenage engineering are now selling their own custom PC case, computer-1

If Apple and PC makers aren’t inspiring you, there’s always teenage engineering. The Swedish maker of synths, sound gear, and electronics are now offering up their own custom PC case – orange, aluminum, with carry-handle, for mini-ITX and dual-slot GPU. It could be the start of someone’s killer portable music/gaming/VJ rig.