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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

One of the most creative modular and software makers at the moment, Noise Engineering has two very desirable-looking modules hitting today. And there’s a new “platform” concept behind them, too – one that might help you keep your modules fresh.