How the Open Music Lab creates safe space for refugees, marginalized artists [Hacklab Inputs]

This is an easy one to relate to: you want space to be creative, to grow in your practice, and to express emotions We got to hear from a volunteer-led effort that makes that kind of space, for refugees and for people who have often lacked access.

Chantlings, an app where animated forest creatures sing along with you, is a marvel of design

Just when you think software has lost its wonder, you’re singing into your iPhone with some cute animated blobs. Chantlings is a joy – and a demonstration of how even existing vocal technologies can be employed in fanciful new ways.

Linux gets native analog modeled plug-ins, Pultec emulations, with VST, VST3, and now – CLAP

Linux has the hosts – Bitwig, Ardour, Reaper, Renoise, Tracktion. And now, it’s got the high-quality analog models, too, including some of the first to support the new, open CLAP format.

Stable Diffusion, generative AI tool, now available in public release

The “hot s***”, open, purportedly ethical generative text-to-image AI generator has now moved from invite-only contexts and Discord to full public availability.

Tracktion Waveform Free gets updates for 2022 – and it’s a solid no-cost starter DAW

Free matters – for beginners, for cash-strapped musicians, for teaching, for exchange with other folks, and as a way to test out a new way of working. So it’s very good news that Tracktion’s free-of-cost entry-level DAW keeps getting better.

Shazam is 20 years old: history, trivia, and tips

It was 20 years ago today – Shazam, now an Apple subsidiary, first launched and changed how the world identifies tunes. Here’s a look back, including some obscure history.

Music videos come to Game Boy Advance carts, in the ultra-chillwave world of Slow Magic

Video killed the radio star, then reality TV killed MTV, then social media killed the Internet. Well, it’s back, all of it. Sort of. The Game Boy Advance will save us. And that brings us back to some retro Asheville chillwave from the more innocent age of 2012.

Lose yourself in this trippy video and Mangled Dreams – WDE x The Microgram

Starting with a cut titled “Birth,” find yourself in lo-fi, acid-washed hallucinations and a bath of music. It’s a lo-fi, vapor-y, glitch-y sort of womb – but where better to feel at home? Detroit Underground does it again.

Soundtoys VST3 beta (with M1+M2) arrives – here’s a round-up of sound design tips and tricks

Soundtoys VST3 public beta is here, for both macOS and Windows but crucially with Apple Silicon VST3 support on the Mac. And since I use their stuff an embarrassing amount of the time, let’s round up some tips.

Watch this video with tricks to get more out of KORG’s west-coast volca modular

It’s still some of the most fun you can get with patching on a budget – KORG’s volca modular. But if you need some new ideas, Audio Wanderer has some cute ones.