OTT, the “over the top” multiband compression preset that began life in Ableton Live, was due for a modern refresh. It gets just that with Squash, a new free plug-in from Minimal Audio. And if you’re celebrating Buy Nothing Day instead of Black Friday today, you’re having a decent run.

If I had to guess what would best fit the current audio zeitgeist, “free” and “violent distortion” would probably be exactly it. Obliterate, released today by Newfangled Audio, delivers. Get angry. Destroy everything.

Fall discounts have gotten hard to track, with most makers offering some discounts around now. But here is a select running list of some of the most exceptional deals.

In an unexpected US Thanksgiving Day announcement, Image-Line has a new version of FL Studio. Here’s what’s new, including various goodies but, importantly – more scalable UIs and a fix to monitoring settings for solving recording latency issues.

Need to escape for a while? Rooms is a delightful set of miniature interactive voxel worlds that can be toys or games, all living for free in the browser (or iOS app). In version 3.0, Rooms adds interactive actions in addition to coding.

The first Dr. Rhythm device, the DR-55, was used by post-punk artists and the likes of Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, and Thomas Dolby. And now its sounds are in a free plug-in.

The free/FLOSS DJ tool Mixxx has quietly evolved into a powerful software DJ tool that rivals commercial alternatives. And it’s open to whatever hardware controller you want, thanks to developer and community support. The just-released 2.4.2 for Linux, macOS, and Windows builds on that with new and updated controller compatibility.

There’s a critical new feature in Ableton Live 12.1 if you’ve been frustrated in the past by tracks recorded with unwanted lag.

What began in a hospital bed as a Reaktor ensemble for making music into a video has become a fully generative, morphing take on a groovebox and music studio. Tim Exile is back in action with Shapeshift, out today. And this being in 2024, there’s even a promise: no generative AI.

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 […]