R-Kontrol, the iOS controller for Bitwig Studio, gets big updates to Clips, Scenes, Remote Control

If you already own a big iOS device, it’s tough to beat that display and touch controls for navigating projects. R-Kontrol, an independent control app for Bitwig Studio, just added some gorgeous improvements for clip launching and Remote Controls for your Effects Slots and Device Chains.

Moog Music has been bought by inMusic, alongside brands like Alesis, Akai, Numark

Moog Music announced today that they are now a part of inMusic, the conglomerate known for its ownership of brands like Alesis, Akai, and Numark.

In 1986, John Cage met Sun Ra at Coney Island’s Sideshows by the Seashore

Let it all hang out. Put together that live set you want. Make a “meeting” happen, “not a planned performance.” Need inspiration? It was a “typical [June] day in Coney Island,” the boardwalk buzzing, and Sun Ra met John Cage for a live set.

Subreddits like r/synthesizers have joined the Reddit protest blackouts

Community boards on one of the largest social media networks have gone dark today, as Reddit boards protest new policies on data and third-party apps, which had disabled tools like Apollo. That includes r/synthesizers.

Moments fragile, brutal, and sublime, in three new releases from Iran’s Zabte Sote label

Zabte Sote is a wellspring of inspiration, not because of some fetishization of Iran or least of all its pain, but as a reservoir of adventurous curation and expressive sound design. It’s a label that consistently has something to say. This year Ate ‘Sote’ Ebtekar has already put out three more gems, and it’s worth visiting all three.

Oberheim is shipping the OB-X8 desktop and Tom is posing in the factory to prove it

What would your splurge synth be? It’s tough to top the OB-X8 for that, now in desktop form with the full sound functionality of the OB-X, OB-Xa, and OB-8. Plus, when you invest your money in this thing, everyone still sees your face – like your actual face and eyes, so you totally won’t be wearing dystopian ski goggles.

Baby Audio’s retro BA-1 synth is now on iOS, too

Baby Audio’s remake of the Yamaha CS01 is a perfect fit for iOS, since the original was cheap, cheery, portable, and full of personality. It’s an ideal instrument for mucking about on your iPad or iPhone, and now it’s running natively on those devices.

BLEASS Voices is the all-in-one vocal transformer for Mac, PC, and iOS we were waiting for

Sing for joy on this one: BLEASS is a vocal transformer / harmonizer that’s easy to use like a synth, and runs on both your computer and your iPad or iPhone (so you can easily take it to go). It’s about time.

Give Ableton Live the cool color scheme of a 90s SGI UNIX system with these themes

Sometimes all musical inspiration needs is a different view on things. So what better than to refresh your Ableton Live vibes than an injection of 90s-tinted color themes inspired by the Silicon Graphics workstation?

Leap Motion is back, so you can add 3D gestures for $139 – with or without a VR headset

An inevitable effect of the renewed mixed reality and Apple hype is sure to be refueling interest in other devices. And that $3499 price also reframes the value of, well, nearly everything. Right on cue, what’s back? The hand tracking Leap Motion, now from the redubbed Ultraleap, at $139 – a device musicians and media artists had already exploited to great effect.