THE VOID (audiovisual installation) from TUNDRA on Vimeo. This probably isn’t an installation you’ll enjoy if you’re easily disoriented. In dazzling 360-degree surround, a group of Russian artists create an abstract wonderland that seems to suck the viewer into an abstract-patterned, yawning chasm of space. Built by TUNDRA of St. Petersburg, powered by TouchDesigner, it’s […]

Here’s a really quick tip, but it demonstrates something in one illustrative video: Keith McMillen’s QuNexus is a brilliant, mobile solution for MIDI and analog control voltage. Of course, time was when the mention of control voltage would say to people either eccentric vintage gear collectors or expensive racks of modular. But CV’s appeal is […]

Black Friday, the ominous-sounding American retail holiday named originally for the day when retailers broke even (think black ink), is of course on today. Fortunately, for music and sound, there’s no need to get trampled to land some discounts. Here’s what’s in the CDM inbox – these aren’t paid placements and they’re hardly comprehensive, but […]

Yes, you know the phenomenon – loops sometimes get repetitive, cycling without variation. You can’t really blame the tool; Ableton Live, for instance, certainly allows loads of variation with automation envelopes. But as demonstrated in the latest beta video, Bitwig Studio will provide plenty of functionality for editing changes in audio clips. I’m not totally […]

The challenge: fit everything you really want from a bass synth into a 4″ x 4″ square. Make every parameter hands-on, with full-sized knobs and switches. Give it an analog filter that can be angry, not just nice. Our solution: MeeBlip anode. It’s the new collaboration between CDM and instrument designer James Grahame. Together with […]

Ableton still doesn’t make an iOS app for Live. The software seems to lend itself to direct touch interfaces, emphasizing live performance and improvisation and real-time workflows. But there’s little reason for the developer to make one themselves: there are just too many superb third-party solutions, and they continue to dazzle. TouchAble 2, available now, […]

Audego Motion Graphics Medley from jeanpoole on Vimeo. Arrange, arrange … render. Wait. Wait. Given that you can jam along with music live, why not do the same with visuals? Quartz Composer’s real-time workflows still appeal for that reason. Australia’s Sean Healy, aka Jean Poole, writes to share how he worked with QC and a […]

Acid techno is transformed into dub-y trance in the masterful hands of TM404, aka Andreas Tilliander, aka Mokira (under Type and Raster-Noton). In a beautiful video released this month, a lineup of blinking Roland boxes becomes simply mesmerizing. It is technically acid techno, yes, but here those rhythms rotate gently in hypnotic harmony. Not that […]

I’m here in Berlin where Elektron is introducing the new Analog Keys synth keyboard as part of their Night of the Machines event. (Later tonight, we get the likes of The Field and TM404 playing live.) We also have images and video by my friend Benjamin Weiss of De:bug Magazine — see their report with […]

It seems everyone is thinking in LEGO these days. There’s littleBits, which snaps together analog components with magnetic connections. There’s Patchblocks, which connects digital modules you can then re-program onscreen. And now, there’s Palette, a set of controller blocks that snap together and connect via USB. It gives you knobs, sliders, and X/Y controls for […]