Beirut 20/21 presents a music production scene in its own image, with Khyam Allami

In a time of crisis atop crisis, we’ve followed the diverse musical voices of Beirut artists as they found a way to keep making music. Here, as part of a larger project and assembled by musician and tuning champion Khyam Allami, is a sampling of music from this past year.

SOMA’s upcoming REFLEX is a polysynth with timbres you touch directly

SOMA’s “romantic engineering” just hit some crazy new level – their upcoming 6-voice digital polysynth is paired with a multidimensional sensor-controller.

BLEASS brings tape stop and slowdown and Granulizer to Mac and PC – plus CDM bonus

Stretch, bend, and mangle those sounds, because BLEASS’ tape and granular effects from iOS are now PC and Mac plug-ins, too. Plus we’ve got a CDM exclusive bonus for ROLI hardware owners.

Fractured – Seefeel revisit their brilliant, tough 90s and reveal what’s coming this decade

The frightening, darkly beautiful music of Seefeel was revelatory from its early-90s debut. And now with a set of reissues and new projects, it’s the perfect time for David Abravanel to talk to the current Seefeel group. -Ed.

RIP Berlin synth, drum machine legend Manfred Fricke of MFB

Manfred Fricke was democratizing analog machines for music and pioneering Berlin electronic invention over 5 decades – years ahead of this city becoming known for such things. We’ve lost him this month.

Note Raum is a perfect, free MIDI echo for Ableton Live and Max for Live

Just like a fresh herb or spice, there’s some potential beauty in seasoning your musical ideas with something different. Note Raum does that with MIDI patterns – and it’s free, provided you’ve got Max for Live.

Peter Zinovieff, UK synth pioneer and EMS co-founder, has died

It’s a tough moment for a whole generation in electronic music history. This weekend claimed the British legend Peter Zinovieff – deserving a look back at him and EMS and the VCS3.

Latest Endorphin.es modules make it easier to play live using samples, transitions

Influenced no doubt by their own Julia Bonar’s live sets, the folks at Endorphin.es are focusing their latest two modules on making it easier to play live.

Beirut Synthesizer Center is a home for Lebanon’s artists, even when electricity is scarce

Lebanon’s DIY scene simply won’t quit. On Friday June 25 an informal new space opens, a gathering spot for electronic music even in challenging conditions.

Spatial sound, Suzanne Ciani, a free workshop online, and the joy of quad, with KamranV

With the likes of Apple pushing the concept, spatial audio is fresh again. KamranV connects past, present, and future and talks to us about how we can get quadraphonic when we work, in advance of a free workshop online this Friday.