Ready for some superior German engineering in your controller hardware? Before the APC or the Launchpad, before the Kontrol X1 from NI, Faderfox was the underground, boutique choice for controllers. “Professionally” made in Germany, the devices really are little tanks. They have incredibly solid-feeling buttons and knobs, and as opposed to the sprawling form factors […]

The ultra-compact but loaded Faderfox controllers have a cult following among lovers of Ableton Live and Traktor DJ. They’re the rare controllers that actually seem to have been designed around software, with smart buttons for triggering Live scenes and clips, a slick X/Y joystick, and the essential knobs and faders just where you want them. […]

Like many, I’ve been eagerly anticipating trying the ultra-compact Faderfox “micromodul” controllers. They’re small enough to fit over the QWERTY keyboard on a laptop or to be propped atop a music keyboard, and are specially designed for applications like Ableton Live and Traktor DJ. With multi-function triggers, joysticks, and cross-faders on top of the usual […]

In the first glimpse of new-generation hardware from NI, the company is offering an MK3 revision of its Traktor X1 controller. The X1 line has always found some fans at for its simplicity and compact size. This version adds additional controls, lots of aesthetic touches, and functionality that incorporates what had previously required user hacks. So what can it do at launch – for Traktor, or even as a MIDI controller for other software?

Watch live sets from Frank, Stas, and myself as we prepare for a new season of Transm::on Berlin – this is streaming of the strange, experimental, glitchy, industrial, and electronically weird sounds from a crew who lives and breathes them.

It’s a rarified way of making music – the ultra-minimal monome grid and norns open music platform. But what is it really about? We turn to reviewer Andreas Roman to find out.

Get lost in a dreamscape of sound with Barker (Ostgut Ton) – who does what you do in a studio. With the clock ticking, he happily loses track of time. It’s delightfully shiny, futuristic music – just what we need in a world that can feel dark and regressive. We spoke to Barker in the […]

Our friends at Resident Advisor took a peek at the techno legend’s battle-tested live rigs. And it’s not so much about gear – it says a lot about musical technique.

Barker’s Utility is a tour-de-force – economical but sensual, precise compositions that nonetheless sound immediate and personal. And there’s deeper thought behind those sounds, too.

Soda for iOS is the first DJ app that is whatever you want it to be – with fully customizable interfaces, powerful specs, AU plug-ins, and Ableton Link.