Who needs presets or AI? An idea can start from anything – even extracted from the pixel values of some images you have stored on your phone. Pixel Music tries a different take on sequencing.

Replicant 3 might be the most unique of Audio Damage’s entire stable of plug-ins. The new version is rebuilt from the ground up, comes packed with new slice effects, and yet has a more capable, cleaner UI. It might just be the kind of software update that re-launches IDM as a genre.

Matriarch, Moog’s eminently patchable semi-modular paraphonic instrument, just got a slew of updates for playability. And there are new patch ideas, both in book and video form.

iOS these days can give you wonderful collections of instruments and effects as AUv3 plug-ins. The only problem? Other than some menus in your hosts, there’s nowhere to browse that collection. Enter AUBE.

ReBirth, the software recreations of the TB-303 and TR-808, helped launch Propellerhead (now Reason Studios) and demonstrated acid could be made on a PC. Now, imagine that software in 2023 but – much lower fidelity. Like, much worse. 128×128 pixel UI worse.

News cycles tend to move from crisis to crisis – ignoring what happens as crises deepen. Artists of Turkish, Syrian, and Kurdish heritage deserve more attention in Berlin and Germany generally, so today is a great time for some music, awareness, and action as areas impacted by last month’s earthquake still urgently need support.

Arturia’s V-Collection 9.2 bumps performance, compatibility, tuning and MPE support, and more. That includes all their vintage-inspired instruments, plus the AUGMENTED line and Pigments. Oh yeah, and one more thing – finally, resizable windows. Here’s what’s new.

Happy MAR1O aka “Mario Day” – which Nintendo is going forward with worldwide, various international date formats aside. Any day is a good excuse to talk about the musical invention of Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, whose tunes are as iconic as the games he scored.

It seems to be a season of digital delays, but this is something different. Dedalus is a creation of some beloved devs and experimentalists. They’ve combined delay with distortion, modulation (with drawable curves), and tons of granulation – all in a one-window UI. Calling it a “delay” almost seems like missing the point.

Roland just released the 3.0 software update for its SP-404MKII sampler/sequencer/effects unit, and we’re psyched to share some of the features with you (and try them out ourselves!) Quick overview: