CDM Does Not Break NAMM Embargoes; Why That’s Good For You and When to Tune In

(Harry Potter book shipment.) Photo: Michael Henderson. When should you tune in tomorrow to get the news? Thanks to the fact that some folks do send CDM press releases under embargo, some big announcements should happen at: Thursday, 1:00pm Eastern Time: This is the opening of the NAMM show, so it’s when many embargoes are […]

Code Your Own Sequencer? Archaeopteryx Generates MIDI with Ruby

Archaeopteryx: Ruby Self-Generating Pattern Sequencer from giles goat boy on Vimeo. Who needs NAMM? Well, sure, you could wait 48 hours for the mind-bogglingly awesome announcements I’m sure we’ll be scooping on this site know absolutely nothing about. But that’s 48 hours you could be spending right now, coding your own sequencer. And unless Ableton […]

MGFest Motion Graphics Fest Coming to Chicago, US Cities, Starting 1/19

There’s a ever-expanding scene that appreciates digital motion graphic design and art worldwide, but while the US has the awesome research shindig SIGGRAPH, it’s been tougher for the community around digital motion to come together. MGFest has been working to change that. Its first five years have done a lot to promote the best in […]

Alternative Sequencers: Elysium Generative Mac App and the Joy of Hex

Switching tools isn’t a panacea, but it can inspire new ideas, by changing the way you structure your music. Elysium is a powerful new sequencer in development for the Mac the creates generative patterns on a beehive-shaped hexagonal grid. For the hardcore, you can even extend the tool with Ruby and JavaScript. Elysium is a […]

New Gear and Software: NAMM News Coming; Stay Tuned For…

Can we cover less, but get some deeper information? That’s my goal for CDM this year at NAMM, the music manufacturers’ US trade show. There’s plenty of new stuff that comes out annually at NAMM. From CDM’s New York City nerve center, I’ll be honing in on the stuff about which I think you’ll care […]

Live Touch Control for Visuals: TouchOSC and vdmx, TouchOSC Editor Coming, the Future is Near

Much as I’m an advocate for live visualists becoming like musicians with eye candy, the needs of the VJ just aren’t quite identical to those of someone doing music, even DJing. But here’s the upside: I think people doing live visuals have even more reason to be excited about control possibilities with devices like the […]

Visual Turntablism: Jaymis Live with Sampology on Serato Video-SL

Last year dj rndm and Robotkid gave us a review of Serato’s Video-SL plugin for Serato Scratch Live. Recently I was able to collaborate with Sampology, a local turntablist, for the last Game On night of 2008. Sam used Video-SL to put together a gaming-themed AV set, and I added a selection of security cameras […]

Like a DIY NAMM: Handmade Music Preview, with Gestural Gadgets, Mannequin Parts, More

The GCE-2 by Mouse & the Billionaire is just one creation at this month’s Handmade Music, many from createdigitalmusic.com readers. What’s new in the world of music technological creations? It’s stunning how much people are creating in their private workshops and bedrooms. I’m pleased to have the chance to share it virtually here, and Thursday […]

Protect Your Work, Movage Your Storage, and Stop Using DVDs for Archiving and Backups

Kevin Kelly recently posted about digital continuity on The Technium. He references David Pogue’s experience of having problems reading DVDs which were only 4 years old. No problem, I thought: I’ve got all of the original iMovie projects backed up on DVD, in clear cases, neatly arrayed in a drawer next to my desk. (My […]

Exclusive: Renoise 2.0 Launch 1/15; What’s New, How to Connect to Your Workflow

Ever feel music creation apps are too similar? Imagine an alternative universe in which music making software evolved along different lines. In this universe, the “tracker” isn’t some arcane novelty, but the detailed, bottom-up music editing approach that becomes the basis of music construction tools for any genre. Now imagine a breakthrough software release in […]