For every person cut off from their vocation, their livelihood, their reason to go to work, in any industry – it’s been a tough year. But if you need some dancefloor sounds to remind you what those can sound like, today there’s a surprising bumper crop of releases.
Music
Oberheim is back: a special reissue of a classic synth, and the name badge returns
You can’t keep a Two Voice down. The 1975 classic saw a modern reissue by its original creator a few years back. And now it’s back in production again, while also marking the return of the beloved Oberheim badge.
Beatport DJ is in-browser DJing for everybody – a first look, from a producer-DJ perspective
Beatport DJ is a browser-based tool that combines finding music with mixing it right away. It is definitely where the company’s LINK subscription is going. And we’ve got a first look at the interface – plus what it might mean for anyone making and releasing music (and what’s missing so far).
Artists have joined an urgent, epic-length compilation for Myanmar
Independently, musicians are proving capable of banding together and exchanging networks, artist to artist. For the second time in a year, the Syrphe platform is hosting a rapid-response compilation call to action – this time for Myanmar.
Live solo master class: Baseck wailing on an Octatrack MKII is absolutely massive
Disclosure: I hate demos. Hate watching them. Hate doing them. Now, technically, this is a demo. But… uh, wow.
A 1970s Swedish modular you probably never heard of was meant for every music school
Meet the Dataton 3000. The creation of Sweden’s Björn Sandlund, it sports a unique, friendly modular designed for educational use – and at one point, was recommended to be used in every music school. That history was lost, but this teaching-friendly design might just have been ahead of its time.
Procedural visuals for everybody: Houdini is now free for Unreal and Unity
Visualists and audiovisualists, rejoice. A major rabbit hole of 3D eye candy is now free for both Unreal and Unity.
Teenage Engineering are going deeper into consumer design, with startup Nothing
It’s like something out of a William Gibson plotline. Nothing is headquartered in London and will make … something. And apart from tapping alumni of Apple, Twitch, Reddit, YouTube, and a CEO from OnePlus – they’re also bringing in Swedish designers Teenage Engineering.
Monster cheat sheet: what’s new in Ableton Live 11 and how to start using it
You’ve seen some feature lists – and this time Ableton is even doing a 90-day free trial. But how do you actually dig into what’s new in Live 11 and start working? Here’s a deep guide to all the essentials.
Ableton Live 11, Max 8.1.x, are both live now; ask anything
Live 11 is now available – not a beta, final release. And there’s a slightly different Max version out this week, too. Here’s the quick overview: