A two-minute break for some MPC hacking – friend of the site Servando Barreiro hacks his MPC for better performance, and demonstrates the results in a video. It’s a reminder that a little mechanical thought can improve the life of your musical gear. “So, that’s all. Goodbye.” (Other drum pad hacking tips? We’d love to […]

A Studio Visit with Matthew Dear presented by AIAIAI and Ghostly International from Ghostly International on Vimeo. What does the future sound like? For musicians using technology, that question can resonate on two levels. It can be an attraction to imagined futuristic worlds, and the connection of synths and gadgets to that world. And, even […]

2012 may be without a clear landmark album (at least so my producer friends keep complaining), but the singles scene (ahem) has been terrific. Perhaps that suggests a musical landscape in which electronic artists prefer exploration to tightly-controlled packages. Whatever is going on, techno is dirty and grungy again. Just ask the UK’s Untold. Last […]

Generative Gestaltung from Benedikt Groß on Vimeo. “Generative design,” as a concept, describes design that goes beyond the direct hands of the creator, to the work that can emerge from rules and systems in organic fashion, in productions that require computer code – and with it, mathematic thought – to realize the realms of imagination. […]

“I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It,” a John Cage title, might well be the creed of the blogger – doubly so this music technology writer. So, here we go again. The notion of John Cage at 100 is humbling in itself. The idea that Cage is a century old cements the […]

There’s a drool-worthy new keyboard synth this week bearing the name KORG. The surprise: it comes one day after a widely-anticipated product announcement, and it comes from a single hacker, not KORG. One $25 embedded computer plus one controller equals one hackable, lovely instrument – with knobs and patch cords, no less. So, it’s hard […]

Apart from a new workstation keyboard (well-covered by Synthtopia), the hardware news from Korg today is all about making the microKORG line more appealing to customers. That includes an XL+ model with additional sounds, and new color options across the board celebrating the microKORG’s tenth anniversary. (Japanese and UK sites from Korg apparently pre-empted a […]

In this age of maximalist, aggressive productions, the leafy green imagery for Pole’s waldgeschichten (literally, “forest stories”) fits perfectly. The trilogy of releases, the latest arriving at the end of last week, is easy-going and reserved. Each sound is precisely placed, gently shuffling interlaced dub-like patterns set against calm swells, sometimes resembling the cry of […]

Translating between the visual and the musical is never a perfect science. But maybe that’s the point — maybe it’s the oblique quality of transforming a picture into a sonic score that’s so appealing. SonicPhoto is the latest application to attempt the feat. Following in the footsteps of MetaSynth and Photosounder, it makes each pixel […]

Mapping interactivo sobre maqueta “Piano & Mapping” from Perro Verde on Vimeo. In an audiovisual etude, a piano player is translated to architectural projection mapping in a new work from Barcelona. The translation is not overly strict, but instead makes a kind of counterpoint, a duet between pianist and building. No word yet on whether […]