Ableton Live 11, Max 8.1.x, are both live now; ask anything

Live 11 is now available – not a beta, final release. And there’s a slightly different Max version out this week, too. Here’s the quick overview:

Behind the scenes of a sci-fi 3D music video, as Defasten takes us deep into Notch

Notch is the latest “it” real-time visual effects tool. So as motion maven Defasten produced a dazzling science fiction video for my latest release, I asked him to share how it all works. Enter the nodegraph.

Senyawa to infinity: Alkisah is a 44-label release, a decentralized festival, and more

From Beirut to Berlin, Perth to Orange County, Moscow to Nanjing, 42 labels are joining the Indonesian underground in imagining a decentralized musical future. Even as DIY duo Senyawa planted the seeds, Alkisah seems a movement as much as an album release. The idea might seem crazy at first – share all the materials for […]

These instruments work with MPE right away, for an expressive Ableton Live 11 launch

What is this MPE “polyphonic expression” about? Well, you can get your hands all over the vintage test tone goodness of Fundamental, and a bunch of synths will be easier to control in Ableton Live 11 out of the box. Let’s explain.

Beads is the new sequel to Mutable Instruments’ Clouds, and an instant classic – again

Mutable Instruments’ Clouds defined granular instruments even beyond the modular world. Beads – making a surprise debut today – is a brilliant-looking follow-up, retaining the design but improving almost every element.

Jockey could be the custom OSC controller we’ve been waiting for (iOS, macOS)

You’ve got an iPhone or an iPad, and you want to control …. a Max patch, a live visual or VJ app, Unreal Engine, a live-coding synth in Tidal/SuperCollider. Finally, there’s a worthy, fresh option for making it happen – one that makes making layouts uncommonly easy.

Get a free Memorymoog: Syntronik Memory-V freebie from IK Multimedia

No obscure Moog synthesizer past is left out – it’s like a party. The latest is IK Multimedia, the 1981 Moog Memorymoog, and – it’s available for free (with mailing list sign-up).

Ableton Live 11 has a release date on 23rd – what’s new, what do you want to know?

Ableton Live 11 has its final release on Tuesday, 23 February. Near-release beta is available, too. Here’s a refresher on what’s new – and an open thread on what you might like to know.

Focus your distracted mind with Tonepaper – music, plus Serum and Ableton Live sound pack

How do you set the mood to concentrate, especially in times of distraction and anxiety? Adjust the light, open a window to allow some air flow? Here’s a unique set of sound design tools and music to match that accomplishes that with audio.

Deep testing: new Dreadbox Typhon firmware, new powers for this monosynth

Analog synth + Sinevibes digital effects – the Dreadbox Typhon is one of the most compelling synths of the moment. So we turn to one of its bug testers to let us know how to get the most out of this week’s big new update.