Numerology, Modular Sequencing, Adds Launchpad, More Goodies Coming

Numerology 2.3 & the Launchpad : Demo 1 from Five12 on Vimeo. Remember the sequencer? There seem to be thousands of ways of firing up an FM synth or sampled keyboard, but when it comes to the process of actually assembling musical patterns – you know, the stuff music is made of – your choices […]

Not Everyone Pleased to See After Effects Go 64-bit?

Spin the wheel, get an app! The Adobe wheel of icons, as realized (CC-BY) Charles Williams. When Adobe announced 64-bit After Effects in the fall, they listed a number of benefits users would reap from the transition: Performance for high-resolution formats, like working with 4K images from the RED camera. (They even went so far […]

Worldwide Busking Event Turns Street Music into School-Building Power for Zambia

Could busking – street music performance – be a tool for social change? It’s an idea I’ve heard artists mull before. Here’s one opportunity to do just that next month, in April, in support of building badly-needed school facilities in southern Zambia. And yes, digital musicians can participate, thanks to terrific, affordable, battery-powered amplification. I […]

iPad Gets Networked-MIDI Touch Controller: midipad for iPad, iPhone

Lovely layouts, but it raises the question: will we increasingly see software that simply looks like this, so that the touch controller and soundmaking software are one and the same? The iPad could have its first killer controller app, if you like the looks of midipad. While just a series of screenshots at this point […]

Austin + SxSW Handmade Music, New Kit, Super Show of Music

Austin is whirling with South by Southwest excitement, so why not make some swirly radio noises? Yes, Handmade Music Austin does have a big blowout party in the midst of South by, with a huge music lineup. Wish I could be there, gang, but I’ll be staying here in NYC. On the docket: FREE performances […]

Hacking Ableton Live: Unofficial OSC, Scripting for More Control

Can you hack it? Yes. Yes, you can. Screenshot (CC-BY) Hens Zimmerman / 37Hz. Even before Max for Live was available, hackers had found a way of interacting with “secret” APIs inside Live for custom control, allowing them to customize Live’s behavior and make it work more seamlessly with hardware. That included providing something Ableton […]

Record as Record Player: DIY Turntable, Donuts for Serato in New Releases

Record giant Universal Music Group is cutting prices on the CD, as analysts clamor for still-lower prices. But as for actual records – the kind made of vinyl – odder and odder innovations flourish. If the CD is dying, the vinyl record is an undead, sexually-alluring vampire. Two recent releases not only treat the record […]

Illustration as Stop Action, in Incredible Hand-Drawn Music Video

Via comments, here’s a wonderful video by Brazil’s Conrado Almada (both directing and hand-illustrating the work) for the band Skank. (And, indeed, Skank are in fact better known than the likes of OK Go – at least if you’re in Brazil.) It’s in keeping with this week’s (unintentional) stop-action theme, and a reminder of the […]

Resolume Competition: Make VJ Loops for Kraak & Smaak

Kraak & Smaak – Squeeze Me from Kraak & Smaak on Vimeo. Kraak & Smaak are already on my good list. The Dutch duo/DJ team have contributed not only terrific music, but also wonderful videos like the flipbook-animated “Squeeze Me,” seen again above. (It’s one of those videos that can elicit that scream of “Argh, […]

Jim Reekes, The Man Behind Mac Sound

OMT in San Francisco #3: ‘Let it beep’ from One More Thing on Vimeo. The legend of the early sounds of the Mac remains, apparently, an alluring one. Here, Jim Reekes talks to a Dutch documentary crew (though in English) about his thought process in designing sounds for the Mac, including the famous Mac startup […]