NVIDIA Omniverse hit beta, and all your creative 3D worlds just got more connected

NVIDIA’s Omniverse is in open beta. Even saying what it is is hard to do because something like this hasn’t really existed before, but now working together on 3D in real-time got way easier. And if 2020 demonstrated anything, it demonstrated how much creative technology needs that collaboration to progress.

Free 606 Koncept drum plug-in for Windows – with extras

The free stuff keeps coming. Now for PC users on any 64-bit VST host, you get a banging remake of the TR-606 drum machine – with some interesting twists.

The gorgeous boutique Roland Juno hardware recreation meant to work only with a plug-in

When arguing merits of vintage synth reproduction, invoking a “plug-in” is often a derogatory slur. Not here – this high-end boutique hardware is made to work with software alone.

How to make dirty, dark techno basslines and percussion with MeeBlip and Riemann

This year has brought screen fatigue and club withdrawal alike, so here’s our friend Florian Meindl to cure both of them at once. Get ready for hands-on hardware – even on a tight budget.

Nyege Nyege Tapes compilation, and general excellent music overload

If you didn’t get to live-stream Uganda’s Nyege Nyege Festival – or you’re ready for more goodness for Kampala – you’re in luck. There’s great music from “across the continent and the wider African diaspora.”

Nodes is a creative visual patcher for people who love code – or is it the other way round?

Love eye candy? Love patching together node-based tools – but don’t want to give up serious JavaScript coding for AI and 2D and 3D graphics and augmented reality? Nodes might be for you. Free, Mac/Windows/Linux. This tool is now coming into its own – and just as winter 2020, amidst bringing a world of hurt, […]

Review: Finding inspiration in a compact mixer again, with 1010music Bluebox

Maybe it’s not about being DAW-less or having particular software or gear. Maybe it’s just having your hands touch a box from the future that gets you into that state of music play. Andreas gives us an in-depth review of the $499 Bluebox.

Arturia’s V Collection 8 makes the massive instrument library bigger; here’s what’s new

It’s the virtual equivalent to someone dropping off the keys to a massive vintage studio. Version 8 leads with new retro additions, a vocoder, and various improvements and features suite-wide.

Free, intimate piano instruments to indulge yourself in

There’s been plenty of talk of comfort foods. For some of us, piano is a comfort instrument. And here are a couple of especially cozy piano instruments to add to your computer – for free.

Exceptional under-the-radar releases worth buying direct, not streaming

There’s too much great music. Let’s impulse buy this great stuff. Strap in, because these releases can sooth you, cheer you, move you, groove you, and remind you of what we’re doing on this planet.