Fruity loops. Photograph (CC-BY) Sherman Tan. Like well-stocked studios of hardware, software has become personal, idiosyncratic, and stuffed with functionality. Computer producers are passionate as always about what works. And that has made FL Studio a kind of subculture all its own. Image-Line has a unique way of encouraging loyalty: while the company still peddles […]

NOVAK 3D DISCO™ EVENT SAMPLER from Novak Collective on Vimeo. It appears Novak have hit on a winning formula for making live audiovisuals more complete and more immersive. The 3D glasses are just one part of that; they’re adding dimension to their parties in more ways than one. Toby Harris sends along this reel of […]

Google’s Android has been a relatively slow starter for mobile music software, but a gem like Adam Smith’s free Ethereal Dialpad proves it’s a viable option, and the app is an inspiring musical toy, to boot. Perhaps more important than that, behind the scenes, Adam is employing a really beautifully audio engine of his own […]

Kaleido Demo from Agnes Chang on Vimeo. Part of the beauty of working with code is that it can refine the way you think, challenging you to make design ideas into systems. But what’s often a challenge for beginners – heck, sometimes even for experienced coders – is thinking through the ways in which component […]

The limited edition version of the album is actually an object you might care about. So, yes, as the digital album evolves from strange plastic jewel cases into ephemeral download form, it’s evolving the other way, too. If anyone had listened to the predictions, albums would be irrelevant by now. Instead, finding a way to […]

Youtube MIDI interface from Gijs on Vimeo. Among Gijs Gieskes many mad creations, this artist has hacked the browser as well as hardware. (“Browser bending,” anyone?) With all the talk of browsers, he reminds us of this previous work, which combines hardware, server software, and browser software to make a MIDI sequencer for YouTube. http://gieskes.nl/browserjockey/hardware/yt-midi/ […]

Bloop HTML5 Instrument inspired by Brian Eno’s Bloom from Bocoup on Vimeo. HTML5 and Javascript Synthesizer from Corban Brook on Vimeo. Pioneers like Max Mathews’ Bell Labs team taught the computer to hum, sing, and speak, before even the development of primitive graphical user interfaces. So it’s fitting that the standards that chart the Web’s […]

The software synthesizer has come full circle. What was once possible only with a mid-range desktop computer is now easily accomplished with a sub-$200 device that rests in your hand and sips power. That transformation, once something people regarded in some vague time in the future, is now one that’s very present. I expect a […]

ReBirth, the Roland groovebox emulation that helped launch the popularity of soft synths, is now on Apple’s mobile devices for US$6.99. (I woke up to a note from Propellerheads’ CEO Ernst left in my inbox overnight, so thanks, Ernst, for the tip!) This is not the native iPad version MusicRadar predicted after an interview with […]