Here’s an hour of the 1985 3D-animated world of Robert Abel

While we’re talking retro, here’s a full hour of the work of Robert Abel, the innovative computer animator who worked on projects like the 1982 Tron.

Mid-1980s GE and Maxell cassette player advertising was next-level

In a post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare, handsome models will find the oppression with their … GE cassette players. Look, it all makes some kind of 1985 sense. This is exactly how people do not feel about their smartphone in 2024. I don’t know exactly what the GE marketing department was doing in the mid-80s – let’s […]

Make your Apple Watch into a wireless MIDI controller: MidiWrist Unleashed

Put your Apple Watch to work. MidiWrist Unleashed transforms the device into a standalone Bluetooth MIDI controller, complete with touch and motion controls, for use with your Mac, iPad and iPhone apps, and even Bluetooth LE devices.

VJ, meet Eurorack: excellent Vidvox VDMX LFO, step sequencer tutorial

It’s all about wiring this into that. So why not connect VIDVOX’s evergreen Mac VJ software to your Eurorack modular, using the LFO and step sequencer as modulation sources? The mind boggles at the potential, and this video shows you how.

Put headphones on your heart and enter Leeni’s magical chip music world

From an ultra-meta cover of Lana del Rey’s “Video Games” on video game consoles to poignant chip ballads and Underworld covers, plus “8-dimensional” spatial electropop, if you don’t know Seattle-based synthpop music artist Leeni Ramadan, now is the time. Oh, and if that hasn’t already made your day, stick around for “doom-wop” covers of Britney Spears.

AAS Multiphonics CV-2 now follows dynamics, pitch from inputs

Applied Acoustics Systems’ software modular, Multiphonics CV-2, just got a big update with the ability to follow an input’s dynamic level and pitch, plus new modules for pitch shifting and working with control voltage math.

Elektron Digitakt II: stereo sampling, multiple FX, more horsepower, storage

Eletkron’s Digitakt II, leaked earlier today, is now official. This beefs up some of the specs under the hood to keep pace with features like expanded effects and modulation, 16 voices (up from 8), 20 GB internal storage, and stereo sampling, all with a more refined shell and display. It’s an incremental update, but it does sweeten the deal.

Class is in session: DeForrest Brown on Black innovation in music

If you want a take on exactly how Black innovators have influenced music, look to this full-length lecture (and performance) from DeForrest Brown. It’s your free ticket to sit in at Harvard.

Grimes update: technical team describes failure, aftermovie

Perhaps taking a page out of pro wrestling, there’s a good chance that Grimes staged her “technical difficulties” at Coachella as a kind of performance art.

VCV Rack 2.5: powerful stackable inputs, cable color customization

VCV Rack, the free and open-source virtual module platform, gets a tidy refresh with input cable stackings and cable color customization. That input stacking opens up more than you might think, too.