Ableton Live 12.4 enters public beta today. New features include continued refinement of Live’s audio effects and the ability to merge stems and separate stems for just a selected portion of time. And there’s one unexpected twist: Ableton Link can now do audio. Here’s a deep dive into what’s new, based on beta builds leading […]

Apple has just made its release notes for MainStage 4 and Logic Pro 12 public, and we get some extra little details, from MIDI 2.0 in the Logic Step Sequencer to Ableton Link support in MainStage.

It has a “broken” button and an eyelid that you can blink on and off. It lets you record or set feedback to 150%. It overdubs, it loops, it — does it in opposing directions. No, it’s not another tape delay/looper. Every single setting in TapeLeap from Mudjaq, for Max for Live, is bonkers and fantastic.

Pam’s back in town, and she’s learned a new language. ALM/Busy Circuits’ “Pamela’s Disco” sports an Ethernet jack for PRO DJ-LINK — that’s the sync format found on CDJs and other Pioneer DJ/AlphaTheta equipment and compatible gear. You read that right: now your modular has a sync button.

How did the Minimoog take shape – and set the course of synthesizer and musical instrument history? Among many revelations in JoE Silva’s The Minimoog Book for BJOOKS, we learn how the synth’s early prototypes evolved into the instrument we know today. Read the excerpt here.

Take your mind, body, and soul on a holiday to a world of sonic invention. I mean, literally Poland in January is not going to be everyone’s #1 holiday destination pick, but Polish music? That’s another story. this full hour from our friend (Kasia) Gościńska represents the bleeding edge of production at its finest, and Bandcamp lovers, oh yes, we have links. it’s IDM, it’s techno, it’s broken bass, it’s electro, it’s leftfield experimental – you’ve seen those dropdowns when submitting music to streaming. It’s just good.

Apple quietly dropped Logic Pro 10.7.5 with some highly desirable stuff. That includes support for Ableton Link, the ability to capture ideas without using a metronome, and the fancy new iPhone self-calibration for Spatial Audio, plus a hefty handful of long-awaited additions.

It’s the tracker software (Renoise) and sampler-sequencer (Redux) that bring those tools into the 21st century. And now Renoise delivers a ton of new native options for every platform.

The Link-enabled products page has gotten busy, but here’s one you may have heard of – Avid Pro Tools. It’s the latest to support Live’s tech for jamming together across apps, software, and hardware.

Electronic sound is in theory a limitless blank canvas. Iannis Xenakis and his work imagine what image of sound could fill that page – and leaves a legacy that’s still radical today.