Sinevibes Stator plug-in is tape wobble, phasing, chorusing – and something different

Sinevibes’ Artemiy Pavlov keeps working away in Ukraine. Stator is a tape wobble simulator, yes, but in typical Sinevibes fashion, the sound and interface take something familiar into a place that’s personal and unique.

Dave Smith brought us all closer together; Sequential and MIDI legend has died

Dave Smith was someone who brought all of us in electronic music instruments closer – and I don’t only mean through his contributions to MIDI. News reached us yesterday that the legendary engineer had died at age 72. I’m not at all surprised that it happened as he was doing what he loves, following up […]

Live 11.2 public beta: AUv3 support for plug-ins across iOS and Mac, refreshed Reverb, more

Ableton Live 11.2 has hit public beta. You get AUv3 support – which means your iPad effects and instruments may have just gotten way more useful – and improvements to Reverb and more. Let’s dig in (and compare the 11.2 Reverb to the one available since the Cretaceous period).

NYC: Explore modular free with Reaktor Blocks in this free workshop (and dinner after?)

Well, New York – city that once birthed CDM – I’m back this week. Come meet in person at 343 Labs on W 23rd St. Thursday night and I’ll talk about some experimental sound design techniques with modular and how they can fit techno, all using free tools. Free workshop, free software, no gear needed.

FRANK is a free plug-in with a “best-of” analog EQs, and it looks and sounds pretty

Analog Obsession is creating some beautiful free plug-ins. And for all the various analog EQ emulations out there, here’s a unique take – combine them into a single set of easy-access “best” bands.

Ukrainian artists jam live today in Endlesss as Web3 fundraiser: Tolkachev, Kotra, Zavoloka, more

It’s dubbed Ukrainian Music Forces, and it’s an online event you can watch from 6PM Kyiv time. Tim Exile and Endlesss have gone full online jam and full web3 with this one, down to NFTs that fund Ukraine’s Ministry of Health. And there’s a terrific lineup of underground Ukrainian artists to catch. Details:

Beirut Synthesizer Center at Superbooth, on sharing and music in times of crisis

What good is music and music technology in moments of crisis and trauma? Beirut Synthesizer Center co-founders talk about just that – and how much it has meant to those not specializing in music as well as those who do. Now as this project grows, they’ve also had a chance to learn how to make projects effective and sustainable – lessons worth sharing in your part of the world, too.

GEMA is a delay pedal effect-synth that rumbles like an earthquake, by Senyawa x Squaresolid

From Yogyakarta, Indonesia comes a glitchy, powerful delay effect unlike any other. It’s a stompbox with an earthquake setting. And it’s a special collaboration – between Yogya’s engineer of sound and mayhem Andreas Siagian aka squaresolid and instrument builder and musician Wukir Suryadi of the band Senyawa.

Catch Berlin CTM Festival talks, music, and audiovisuals online, from anywhere

CTM Festival in Berlin remains one of the more adventurous international music festivals on the European scene – but in case you aren’t here to enjoy it, there are more ways than ever to take it in online, for free. Of course, I’m biased – things with three-letter acronyms the first of which is ‘C’ and the last of which is ‘M’ always warm my heart. (What do you mean, it’s confusing? Bah.)

Animistic technology: MusicMakers Hacklab CTM Festival flashback…

CTM Festival is here, rescheduled to May, so with it another collaborative performance laboratory – MusicMakers Hacklab. I find myself revisiting the ideas of former co-host Tad ErmitaƱo and “animistic technology,” perhaps now as essential a time as ever.