Electronic music? Meh. Electrical music? Now you’re talking. And you’re unlikely to top a giant Tesla coil. In other news: the theme from Super Mario Bros. is the new “Stairway to Heaven.” Featured on the MAKE:blog and sent in by several readers — thanks!

Music personalities gather to look forward: Left to right, Nick Sansano, Bob Power, Harry Allen, Hank Shocklee and Steve Gordon Odds are, you’ve had this discussion over drinks one evening, but some major names gathered in New York last night to look at the big picture: just what does the future of the music industry […]

Yes yes, I know its a faux pas, but I am posting a link I found on Diggs video page. This music video is created solely on an Apple ][ in Basic. No, you don’t need your 2.4 Ghz Macbook Pro portable monster to create compelling work, this is proof. What low tech and highly […]

Who says only hardware gets music people hot and bothered? Tom at Music thing reports that one reader has gotten a Reason tattoo. Will we find out the whole thing is a fake, part of some crazy marketing stunt? Or are people really that cuckoo for Reason? (Synth studios seem to generate more passionate feelings […]

Some sketches from the first day of Ben Fry’s Processing class here at Anderson Ranch. What was striking to me is that you really can cover the essence of setup and coding syntax in a day, even for people not familiar with programming/Java. You’re instantly translating code into visuals, so there’s immediate feedback — not […]

Composer turned sample developer Wilbert Roget, II has just released a new ‘indie’ sample library called Impact:Steel. We spoke with him to find out more about how and why he created the library and how creating his own sample libraries plays into his composition. CDM: First, can you tell us a bit about your background, […]

The Continuum provides subtle, continuous control of software instruments. And now it has a stand that looks like it was lifted from the set of Deep Space Nine. Alternative controllers come and go, but some designers lavish attention and craft on their controllers. The Haken Continuum is one we’re likely to revisit over time, because […]

Felt + circuits = sustainable musical goodness. Powered by USB, this felt calculator can squeeze and squeak to make noise. Plastic, aluminum, wood … why not felt? Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, co-creators of the open source Monome multimedia controller, have long had an interest in alternative, sustainable materials for music and multimedia. They recently […]

Stu Maschwitz has built a lil ol’ forum around his action-movies-on-the-cheap book, “The DV Rebel’s Guide“, and like all good forums, the community is working together to solve problems and helping each other out. The problem: how to create a wire-pull blood bag effect. The solution is loads of fun. Not really useful for your […]