Artists and labels unite in Resiliencia following Valencia flooding

Valencia, Spain has suffered unprecedented trauma in the deadliest flooding in decades, flooding made worse both by climate change and by government negligence. Artists and labels are responding in support of the communities, in an epic three-part collaborative compilation spearheaded by Valencia’s Ximo at Industrial Complexx. Here, again, communities and volunteers have become essential to […]

Imaginando TV3 acid synth and bassline generator, free through Dec 1

Imaginando has made a brutal 303 acid synth, complete with a melody generator that supports dragging clips to your host. And it’s free through December 1.

Sumu arrives, with unique semi-modular take on spectral sound design

Madrona Labs’ Sumu, after an extensive development and Early Access period, is now at version 1.0. It’s semi-modular, it’s an additive synth (with the ability to import your own partials), it does FM, it has a powerful fine-grained spatialization tool. It’s simply a spectral sound design and soundscape powerhouse.

Free Supermassive reverb gets a silky, stellar new mode: Pleiades

Few plug-ins at any price can compare with the free Valhalla DSP Supermassive echo/reverb – and version 4 brings what might be its best mode yet. It’s smoother, more natural, more organic, more versatile than anything Valhalla has added before. Plus, let’s go visit that object cluster in space.

Jumping ship to Bluesky? Here’s where to start for music and tech

The exodus from X is in full swing. That opens up a variety of federated platforms. But if you’re missing the Twitter experience, Bluesky might be worth a look. Here’s where to get started. I will refrain from getting on a bandwagon about decentralization here. And I remain most excited about Mastodon, which I’ll talk […]

A fantasy combo of Chicago footwork and Polish folk rhythmic asymmetry

You may need to buy some new sneakers for this one. “Anthropologist-dreamer” Piotr “Gary” Gwadera has combined the intricacies of Polish folk rhythms with Chicago footwork grooves. Catch the CTA to some oberek, kids.

Zoe McPherson track Thumb Governance loaded in Bandcamp with Bandcamp Tempo Adjust plugin controls available - CDJ-style bpm detection, range toggles, and master tempo toggle visible.

Bandcamp and Discogs Tempo Adjust has a new UI, Master Tempo

Hey, girls. B-boys. Bandcamp DJs – here we go! It’s the new version of Bandcamp Tempo Adjust, with a cleaned-up UI and pitch-independent master tempo control. Or – new – now Discogs, too, if you prefer.

Three speculative designs on white pedestals with a white background. A quipu-powered drum machine with knotted pieces of rope, a viola da gamba with a hollow body and amplification, and a skull-and-bone horn.

Imagining an alternate history of music instruments, quipu to skulls

What if Neanderthal music had evolved alongside human sounds, or if Andean quipus shaped computer music, or if Les Paul had played the viola da gamba? Polish design house panGenerator gives us a look.

Sounds from Ukraine after 1000 days

Today, Ukrainians marked 1000 days of terror across the whole country, following over a decade of war and multi-generational struggle. Now is no time to give up on listening to Ukrainians – or their music.

Crum Hum from above - white knobs, triangular touch plates, parameters for sound, effects (reverb, drive), randomization visible.

CRUM HUM, new generative synth focused on soundscapes

More than just a 3-voice synth, CRUM HUM is a generative instrument with touch controls and knobs for dialing in aleatoric chords and melodies. It’s the latest boutique creation from Nyström, maker of the Crum Drum.