Digital fashion is beginning to spread. The latest evidence is the dazzling light-up dress for Little Boots, a “Cyber Cinderella” garment that transforms into a blaze of colored LEDs during the encore of her current tour. The Creators Project (VICE) has a short documentary film on the process. Little Boots, an early adopter of the […]
Music
Tbilisi’s music scene is still out in the streets, defiant
Music December 27, 2024
Interview: Michael Vincent Waller connects concert music and hip-hop
Music Stories December 26, 2024
Live radio from Gaza, Khan Younis and Bethlehem-Hebron choirs meet
Music December 24, 2024
GB Packers’ Aaron Rodgers and 13-Year Old Kelly Make Music Together
What unites the Green Bay Packers, Spina bifida, Maschine drum machines, miniBrute, a Milwaukee charity, and a 13-year-old girl? Well, this video. It’s easy to forget that music technology isn’t just about making a handful of superstars. Music making can be an essential part of expression for just about anyone, whether music is their primary […]
Scratch Anything, in a $20 Plug-in: MIDI, Turntables, and Hosts Like Ableton Meet
Turntablism is still alive, but surprisingly, turntable techniques haven’t entirely harmonized with modern DAWs. One of the first products ever covered here on CDM was Ms. Pinky, a combination of software and vinyl, which recently saw a Max for Live iteration. But Scratch Track is about the most universal, easiest way yet to drop scratching […]
Belgian Gabber Music, Rehabilitated by Playing it at Half Speed
Yes, in addition to the revolutionary step of playing audio in reverse, you can radically alter music by playing it at half speed. And so it is that Belgian gabber tunes many would fine unlistenable suddenly sound fresh, grimy, contemporary, and irresistible. Who knows what other life experiences could be transformed by simply altering the […]
Techno as Science: Nicolas Bougaïeff Explains Max for Live, Meta-Music, Steve Reich [Video, Theory]
Got a doctorate? Got a doctorate in techno? Got a techno track with a 12-tone row? Artist and researcher Nicolas Bougaïeff (also of developer Liine) shares his latest work with CDM. It’s about the track, yes, about the music video, about techno and dancefloors in some sense. But it’s also about process: Nicolas shares some […]
You’re Doing it Backwards: REV Builds Sound Library Around Reversing Stuff
Soundware remains a massive market. Products fall in the CDM inbox daily. There’s just not so much to talk about – even when the quality is exceptional. There are good products out there, and sampled libraries are especially essential for anyone working on tight deadlines – no matter the joy of recording material, anyone working […]
Lunchbeat is a 1-bit Groovebox You Can Make Yourself
Friends bragging lately about the quality of the sound of their drum machines? Tell them you can make sounds lower fidelity than they can. LUNCHBEAT is a 1-bit groovebox, making impossibly-dirty digital sounds, with a built-in step sequencer. While we await a proper DIY kit, it’s an ideal learning project: it’s nice and simple, has […]
New Elektron Coming Nov 23 to a Berlin Party; Listen to TM404 Live, Machinedrum Jams Now
Enough of the Web teaser campaigns, the press conferences with bottles of beer at exhibition centers, the trade show booths … let’s party instead. That’s how Elektron, the makers of Machinedrum, will celebrate their next launch. November the 23rd is the date, and, naturally, CDM will be there. Elektron are even coming down from Sweden […]
Powerful Syphon Tricks: Streaming Screen Captures, Mapping, Live Canon SLR Cameras
Since its release, Syphon has demonstrated how visual materials can be more fluid on computers. The open source technology on OS X has changed the way people work with visual apps, become the key enabling tech that helped popularize streaming visuals to dedicated mapping applications, and, probably, convinced more than a few people to splurge […]
Faderfox DJ44: Full, Rugged Aluminum DJ Controller for Ableton, Traktor – in a Case
If James Bond had a DJ controller, it might look like this. Faderfox, known primarily for ultra-small-form factor controllers, this time has something that looks more like a full-featured, two-deck (or four-deck), two-channel DJ controller. And that’s good news for people wanting a general-purpose, all-in-one DJ control surface with the Faderfox feel and features. The […]