The best music of 2019: as genre erodes, new gems emerge

Sure, years are arbitrary markers. But the annual ritual of listening to selections from guest music aficionado David Abravanel makes it worthwhile. And this is a perfect producers’ list – music that dissolves genres, bears up to repeated deep listening, and suggests still more possibilities could lie ahead. Here’s David with his latest selections to […]

Tesla just added music-making tool Trax to their car dashboard

Update your Tesla, get a (simple) DAW. Trax 0.1 has simple percussion, melody, and step-sequencing and arrangement tools for the car dashboard.

It’s made from Santa’s Fire Trucks, but this free Ableton Live pack makes chilled-out sounds

Brian Funk aka AfroDJMac continues his epic run of sound packs for Ableton Live, with a Christmas freebie made from sampled fire trucks.

Bitwig Studio just added a free vocoder, because Xmas

Blah blah, more holiday greetings, oh and — yay, some software asking for an update. But lo, a miracle – this one is just there to give you a free vocoder.

Hey Metronome: this $1 iOS app doesn’t threaten privacy or require online access

Now you can get hands-free metronome features while you practice and play – without worrying about privacy or needing signal.

2020 = 303 + 808 + 909, literally

As many have observed (even before Roland themselves caught on), the year 2020 is the sum of 303 + 808 + 909.

Get a free plug-in version of the 1176 Peak Limiter

The pre-Christmas week is turning out to be a great time to load up your plug-in folder. Next – an IK Multimedia rendition of a landmark dynamics processor.

Kijimi, key planet in new Star Wars flick, is named after the synthesizer

J.J. Abrams, mega-nerd – not only is the Star Wars writer/director a scifi fan, but synth fan, too. No spoilers here, but his love of a certain synthesizer comes out in Rise of Skywalker’s script.

In Japan, the promise of unique, more organic audiovisual aesthetics

At last week’s MUTEK.JP festival in Tokyo, amidst familiar touring works, you could spot a subplot – returning to color and fluid expression in live AV sets.

Creative work by ANTIVJ gets ripped off in new Microsoft Xbox launch

The launch video for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console “borrows” from work by ANTIVJ (and a ground-breaking indie game, too).