Nicolas JaarGet More: Nicolas Jaar, MTV Hive A few decades is a short time in the history of instruments. But something magical is happening: the electronic instrument, the computer, is finally easily shifting into performance scenarios, into improvisation, and into bands. (The performance features Livid’s Ohm64 and Ableton Live, with sax, guitar, and drums, at […]

Amidst the many examples of virtuoso finger drumming and pad performance on YouTube, here’s a potentially-inspiring jam produced by artist Teezva for Vestax. We must have missed this video in the NAMM deluge of last year, but it perhaps remains worth posting. It’s doubly so, as I still haven’t seen any of Vestax’s PAD-One hardware […]

Normally, you hear my voice in words on the screen, so here instead – courtesy the talented video crews at Toronto’s NXNE – is me communicating on camera, prior to a talk on tablets, music, and design. The conversation is one I find myself having with a lot of people these days offline, away from […]

In a world where videos can be afterthoughts, branding and promotion only, the label Ghostly International and founding artist Matthew Dear have been a beacon for real design. So, it’s little surprise that the new video for Matthew Dear’s “Slowdance” off Black City has taken time, and treats viewers to sumptuously-considered layers of texture. Put […]

In a world where videos can be afterthoughts, branding and promotion only, the label Ghostly International and founding artist Matthew Dear have been a beacon for real design. So, it’s little surprise that the new video for Matthew Dear’s “Slowdance” off Black City has taken time, and treats viewers to sumptuously-considered layers of texture. Put […]

In DAWs, there are the familiar names – MOTU DP, Pro Tools, SONAR, Ableton Live, Cubase, Apple Logic. All have functionality to recommend them – hence their longevity. But then, there’s one upstart that continues to win over fans: Reaper. Its developers actually advertise that its upgrades are evolutionary, not revolutionary – which may come […]

When musical traditions meet, handled by people with real mastery of their technique, wonderful things can happen. That can be true of master instrument builders, for one. I got a chance to hear the sounds of the Moog Lap Steel Guitar in June while meeting with the folks from Moog Music. It’s an incredibly-delicious instrument, […]

Sonaur is a US$1.99 ambient toy for Android mobile devices, with on-screen creatures you can manipulate to generate sound. It’s notable not only for being a fun toy – and on a platform that hasn’t had as many fun toys – but because the tools used to create it are also highly accessible and free. […]

Improvising with 3D geometries as though they’re an instrument, Amsterdam-based artist Fabrizio Poce has harnessed Max for Live to play with generative visuals in real-time in a music environment. You can see the work he’s doing, or try assembling your own chains of visuals with his free Max for Live device V-Module. He explains to […]

Kontakt – is it the answer? Is it the reason that everything happens? Native Instruments today launches a new version of its flagship Kontakt sampler with new filters, effects and processing, improved sound quality, and sound design features. NI also refreshes Komplete – including, at last, a Komplete bundle that really does include kompletely everything. […]