Boiling-Hot Summer: nd_baumecker in 3 Hours of Boiler Room Music

To take us out this weekend, we turn to a wonderfully obsessive DJ and producer, Berlin’s nd_baumecker. It’s hard to introduce Andi without sounding a bit like you’re doing the lead-up to The Stig on Top Gear. “They say he owns more than 20,000 records*…” …and hones a new needle for each, using only his […]

Turning 24 Touch Displays into a Multi-Player OS: Obscura's Steve Mason [NXNE]

15,360 x 3240 resolution on 24 interconnected touch displays: this is no iPad. Toronto-based freelancer Amanda Connon-Unda headed to Toronto’s hottest interactive conference for CDM to catch Obscura’s Steve Mason, revealing what it’s like to design a massively-multiplayer “spatial” OS. It’s been a long journey as the SF firm went from thinking big with projection […]

Turning 24 Touch Displays into a Multi-Player OS: Obscura’s Steve Mason [NXNE]

15,360 x 3240 resolution on 24 interconnected touch displays: this is no iPad. Toronto-based freelancer Amanda Connon-Unda headed to Toronto’s hottest interactive conference for CDM to catch Obscura’s Steve Mason, revealing what it’s like to design a massively-multiplayer “spatial” OS. It’s been a long journey as the SF firm went from thinking big with projection […]

VJ App VDMX Adds Automatic BPM Detection, Lovely Effect, Controller Features

Quick intro to Waveclock automatic BPM detection in VDMX from VIDVOX on Vimeo. Fingers getting repetitive stress injuries from manually tapping out tempos? Pay attention. The popular Mac live visual tool VDMX has long been the deep powerhouse of the VJ app field, with extensive modularity and customizability. Its newest update adds some major progress […]

MFB Tanzbär Analog Drum Machine Arriving, 800€ [Sound Sample]

Amidst a wave of monosynth options, it seems your options for a new hardware drum machine in the classic mode are surprisingly limited. The new Tanzbär from Berlin-based boutique builder MFB could be the one to put in the budget. At 800 €, it isn’t exactly an impulse buy – but it’s also considerably cheaper […]

Melding the Physical with Screens: Prototyping Interfaces, in Videos [vvvv, Book]

Prototyping Interfaces – Interaktives Skizzieren mit vvvv from Prototyping Interfaces on Vimeo. With knobs and motors, wheels and cameras and bits of Play-Doh, a series of elegant interactive experiments provides physical controls to screen interfaces. Prototyping Interfaces, the book, can show you how, all with loads of pictures and examples in free-as-in-beer (for non-commercial use) […]

Logic Pro Tips: X Coexists Peacefully with Previous Versions; Unsolicited Advanced Tools Advice

As a follow up to CDM’s Logic hands-on, here are some additional notes. First, we can confirm that you can keep your old Logic with the new one if you’re afraid of losing compatibility with a plug-in. Second, I have some gentle advice for making sure a new option to hide and show extra features […]

Logic Pro X Brings iPad Control, New Features and Refinement [Gallery, Details, CDM Hands-on]

It’s been four years since we saw a significant update to Apple’s flagship music production suite. But the wait today is over. Logic Pro X is here, along with MainStage 3 and a new, free companion iPad app called Logic Remote. First, if for some reason you’re a loyal Logic user who has been dreading […]

Serato Updates Add iPad Control App, More Hardware Support

Serato’s marketing now pushes the notion of flexibility with a variety of different controllers and DJ methods. But it’s taken some time for their hardware support to catch up with their current generation of software. Today’s Serato DJ 1.2.1 and Scratch Live 2.5 updates continue to close that gap, however, and both now boast an […]

QuNexus: Slim, Expressive Keyboard in Exclusive Hands-on CDM Review ($150 Street)

Computers and other electronic hardware can be anything as an instrument. But that means you may need something different when it comes time to play them. The first thing to say about QuNexus is that it isn’t a piano. But the first thing to say about pianos is that they’re not at all portable – […]