Spike Jonze meeting Björk, in a free zine with photos and … wontons

Turn the clock back to 1995. It’s the era of Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet.” Detour Magazine asks Spike Jonez to photograph Björk, and he’s as smitten as all of us with her creative imagination. Now we get to see still more photos of that day, plus words and a complete chifa wonton recipe – for free.

MachineRoom in Kyiv has a new 16-step trigger/gate sequencer module

The STP16 is a 16-step trigger/gate sequencer for Eurorack, with a twist – hocketing! It’s on preorder now for worldwide shipping, coming directly from Kyiv, Ukraine, where MachineRoom remains a haven for sound.

Sampleslicer MKIII is an all-new version of realtime Eurorack sampler-slicer

It samples! It slices! It dices! The legendary Sampleslicer was due for reinvention with current-generation chips. Now the MKIII is up on crowdfunding site IndieGogo, with a load of new features and an all-new USB keyboard companion.

Selestium’s plucked Quiverer M5 module, as discovered on an alien dig

Selestium Modular isn’t quite like other modular makers – creator Adriana Knouf imagines an extraterrestrial dig on which this creation was unearthed. Add rubber bands and pluck away: the results are otherworldly.

Premiere: “Lips Seeking the Forbidden” video as Tehran’s Sote joins SVBKVLT

With insistent phasing tones ringing in your ears in phasing, tense microtonal tunings, sawing timbres in the background, Sote’s Ministry of Tall Tales for SVBKVLT opens immediately with deep-inflicted wounds. The artist Ata Ebtekar talks to us about desperate mental states as we try to share that pain with the video for “Lips Seeking the Forbidden.”

Smallest MIDI keyboard ever? MidiCard fits on a business card

Alana Balagot whipped this one up and – it’s a gem. The challenge: fit a completely functional MIDI keyboard onto a board the size of a credit or business card, and let it work with anything (USB-C, class compliant). The result: MidiCard.

Ornament & Crime, open module, gets new powers in Phazerville 1.7

Ornament & Crime is the open module that basically is a computer – but a very elegant, minimalistic one. And with the actively developed Phazerville firmware, it keeps getting more superpowers, all on a module platform you can buy affordably or make yourself. Here’s a snapshot of how active that Phazerville development is, as version 1.7 drops.

Hainbach on scoring Qinyuan Lei’s film, machines through a child’s eyes

The One Who Runs Away Is The Ghost sees an electronics market in Shenzen through two young sisters’ eyes – a world of ghosts and monsters. It was the perfect opportunity for the equally fantastic Imaginarium of Hainbach’s electronic music compositions. He talks to us about his process and the connection between machines, memory, and the curiosity of children (including his younger self).

ALM/Busy Circuits’ first plugin is an FM drum synth with step sequencer

Bring that FM drum synthesis in the box, too: ALM/Busy Circuits have made their first soft synth. Akemie’s Taiko Eurorack module is reimagined as a six-voice FM drum synth with step sequencer. And it’s delightful; here’s a quick hands-on guide.

CDM deals: Softube, KORG, Universal Audio plug-ins – last call

If the February doldrums have you, Plugin Boutique has some last-minute software sales now, including a big deal on an SH-101 clone from Softube and 95% off a bundle from Universal Audio. And that could very affordably get you a nice synth fix.