Lyra Pramuk’s Hymnal is an ecstatic, prophetic vision, a hybrid of synthesis and organicism in an improvised compositional structure with processed voice and strings, conveyed with striking intimacy. Lyra talks to us about inventing culture and reconnecting with musical roots while unlearning, all at once.

Sonic Pi creator Sam Aaron is building something new. It’s early days, but Tau5 promises to be a “next-gen” creative coding environment. You can use it with your favorite tools, including Ableton Live, hardware, TidalCycles, Hydra, and others. And you never have to feel alone: you can jam with others, code with friends, and even code with AI — or keep it all-human if you prefer. Let’s explain.

AirWindows, if you aren’t already in the know, is a planetary treasure. Developer Chris Johnson has built a massive playground of DSP, available for free/Patreon donationware. And this time, he’s created something he says is “not normal.” What was supposed to be a brutal guitar sound went off the rails. But don’t let that stop you from getting onboard.

Soundtoys is here with the 5.5 upgrade of their flagship suite, plus a free update for everyone with resizable UIs. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new, what’s free, what’s paid, and more. And there’s a sale on, too.

Fugue Machine Rubato is an advanced sequencer capable of spawning elaborate, shifting patterns. Drum Trigs are a new addition to Fugue Machine that allows you to weave drum hits into your melodies. Here’s your guide to getting started.

Torso Electronics S-4 already looked compelling – hard-core granular sampler hardware just when that genre needed a boost. But we were waiting on the 2.0 OS to deliver on that promise. Now it’s here, with macros, scenes, varispeed recording, unlimited sample length, dynamic modulation, and more.

Apple updated Logic Pro for iPad and macOS today. They’re leading with stem splitting enhancements and sound packs, but advanced users may be more interested in a bunch of improvements across the mixer, automation, Spatial Audio, accessibility, and more. Here’s what long-time Logic users might most want to know. (Hint: undo history saving!)

Have you ever, half-asleep, felt a melody drift with ease through your brain, humming with electricity, only to lose it again? In The Vapornet, Claudia Khachan and Ziad Moukarzel mind-meld in a collaboration that makes that moment come alive.

Steinberg Dorico remains the commercial scoring tool to beat. Dorico 6 for macOS, Windows, and iPadOS adds a bunch of new features, but I’m particularly excited to see features like Lutosławski-style cutaways, system-attached items, and full OpenType glyph positioning and glyph substitution features. For advanced contemporary music, this is exactly the flexibility we were waiting for across the evolution of Sibelius and then Dorico – and it’ll be welcome news to those arriving from the now-discontinued Finale.

Hey, kids, look, it’s the Easter Bunny! And listen to the way the beast helps your beautiful song to evolve! Okay, if the folks at Caelum Audio wanted to sell us on their new DynaBit plugin, this isn’t the worst way – especially as even this holiday freebie has some powerful features. They’ve got some other free downloads, too.