Free meets free: in a labor-of-love community project, soft synth Surge XT is now available as an exquisitely designed set of modules for VCV Rack. It combines two of the best open-source projects for software synthesis lovers, bringing new ways of patching to both. And that means all this power is on macOS, Windows, and Linux, all three.

Noise Engineering has added new Eurorack hardware: Jam Jam 6HP trigger-and-gate with clock phasing and delay, and Quantus Trajecta 10HP quad envelope modules. Plus if you’re using the swappable-function Versio and Legio modules, you can now buy ready-made overlays.

Thursday night, as part of Vorspiel – the lead-up to CTM Festival and Transmediale – we’re gathering like-minded creative souls at Berlin’s Urban Spree. It’s an all-live electronic night with visuals by DEFASTEN, marking an AV release (on VHS!). Virtual and in-person immersive sounds and imagery collide, whether you’re in the club or watching a screen, which is just how we like it.

Making instruments work in tune with musicians and singers means making them work with more than 12-tone equal temperament alone. So it’s great to see this profile of Hany Manja and his duo Rust with Petra Hawi. Plus Bitwig Studio users can get your hands (and ears) into the action – with a Micropitch download.

I swear this isn’t a parody. It’s just Jan Hammer going full-on Miami Vice to his own theme. There are still gratuitous swimwear shots, but now the camera lingers over the Fairlight CMI interface.

From beautiful toms to alternate LFO modes, here are two Eurorack modules that shine in multiple applications. Take a video tour of the Dead Man’s Catch firmware for Peaks and variations, and Noise Engineering’s Tymp Legio.

For music to blossom, artists needs more than isolation. And Berlin and Los Angeles have increasingly been a corridor for inspiration and cross-fertilization. From Kyoka to Khadija, Rainbow Arabia to Daniel Troberg, Los Angeles x Berlin gives a window into that exchange.

Streaming and recording music and motion apps just got a whole lot easier on the Mac. OBS Studio 28+ together with macOS 13 Ventura now no longer needs complex loopback or capture setups. And OBS is generally boosting its encoder support, making this essential tool for music and visuals even better.

First, there was the hardware keyboard. Then, MiniFreak owners got the MiniFreak V plug-in as an exclusive software companion. Now, anyone can buy the plug-in a la carte – so let’s take a look under the hood and see how the virtual version performs and what it can do.

Today as the United States celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is another opportunity worldwide to reflect on Black identity in music and BIPOC and marginalized roles in music generally. Here’s some reading, including the sometimes challenging relationship between Hip Hop and King.