Brooklyn’s incredible artist and writer Janus Rose recently came on Refuge Worldwide in Berlin for my ongoing program POST, and this is one mix you don’t want to mix. It’s one of those times you want to creep/trainspot over the CDJ display on every single track, and a lot of it is forthcoming music so – you heard it here first.

Arturia’s versatile MIDI/CV controller KeyStep Pro gets a big update with version 2.5. The release accompanies a sleek dark-gray, customizable Chroma edition but applies to all KeyStep Pro models.

The 1986 Alesis MIDIVERB has a unique and fabulous sound – peak budget 80s digital reverb preset trash in just the right way. So why not recreate it for free with some high-quality impulse responses?

As an Iranian diaspora meets overlooked German scenes – as Cologne artists play alongside Iranian artists making unique appearances in Europe – Timcheh is another meeting point of new sound beyond borders. It’s in Cologne this week, but here’s some don’t-miss music if you can’t make it in person.

It’s a TX816 on a keychain! Someone (“Kevin”?) has put together a Raspberry Pi Zero-based build that lets you carry around eight DX7 emulator instances on a USB stick.

Drum machine November continues. Erica Synths also dropped big updates for not one but two of their drum machines. Here’s what’s new, in case you missed it late last week.

Mindmeld Shapemaster Pro is a must-have add-on for the VCV Rack modular environment. It’s a multi-stage envelope generator, VCA, and complex VCO, and for starters, a video out today will show you how to use it to make drums.

The avalanche of sales can be overwhelming, and Cyber Monday sounds like a weird themed costume night, but here are some top picks to grab musical tools and toys. And it’s great to be able to support folks making business around music making, so I’ve highlighted some small and independent makers where I can, plus the shops where their stuff is sold.

That invaluable reverb/delay we’d probably buy if it cost money, except it’s free, has gotten yet another landmark update. Leo and Virgo rising: it’s the densest yet and the sparsest yet.

“High” and “low” pitch are universal, right? Wrong. Try large and small, thick and thin, and among Zimbabwe’s Shona people, even crocodile and … those who follow crocodile. A newly updated online resource is collecting variants.