Emptyset’s live performance was an experience that blew my mind — and my nose. Let me rewind. If “Electronic Body Music” weren’t already its own thing long before Emptyset came along, the term would be a fitting description of the music that Paul Purgas and James Ginzburg make together. The curves, blood, and nerves are […]

Has that DAW grid got you down? Do you feel like you’re caught in the 1980s looking at a multitrack editor? Have your friends stopped talking to you because they want more breaks and intelligent rhythms so they can put those new sneakers to proper dancing use? Renoise is back with features like a phrase scripting engine powered by the new open-source pattrns (with Tidal notation support), full tuning support, sub-signal effects splitting, and more. $88 new. Holy mother of God, it’s nerd Christmas in July.

Sting 2, Iftah’s follow-up to the acid-generating Max for Live device, is packed with new features like accessibility and Push support. But that’s not the best way to describe it. It works on acid. It works on melodies. It works on percussion. You may wind up smiling as much as its UI is. Imagine a one-click source of pure joy.

The uneasy relationship between cultural spaces, states, private funding, and artists has spawned widespread outcry and boycotts this year. That’s a good reason to turn your eyes to Wrocław, Poland, where activists have criticized a festival with a financial giant right in its name. BNP Paribas Nowe Horyzonty, an international film festival that also features musical acts like Kangding Ray, Mo Ayoub, and soft, stands accused of ties to genocide through its lead sponsor.

cables.gl, the stunning, free, and open-source media creation environment for visuals and sound, is back with its June update. The Web-powered, Web-or-offline tool is faster, editing is easier, it’s more future-proof and reliable, and they’ve updated their roadmap for what they envision this to be. Even alongside other tools, it’s great to patch like this on the Web.

The unprovoked attack by Israel on Iran this week has put civilians in both locations in the line of fire and the entire region at risk of escalating war. There’s a loud chorus from many of my Iranian friends, colleagues, and the artists I’ve written about over the years. Attacks on civilians and neighborhoods across Tehran and the country are being underreported, and artists are calling on us to spread the word.

Connecting with a musical voice isn’t always about hearing something glossy and finished. Sometimes, with the chaos and horrors around us, that perfectly-ordered kind of music can even cease to make sense. These electronic emanations from FAX, the Baja California, Mexico-based producer, are like a salve, like cool water for the soul.

Inclusion and accessibility are the answer. They’re why we’re here—and they’re a way for developers to support themselves by reaching new audiences. Let’s tune in to Apple’s latest WWDC sessions on the topic, as there are notes here both within Apple’s ecosystem and for reflection across platforms.

Get hands-on control of Euclidean rhythms on Ableton Push, Push 2, Push 3, and even Push 3 standalone, with Mark Towers’ new creation for Max for Live. And wow, this is addictive–especially for generating geometric melodies and techno grooves.

The Tandy Corporation-manufactured, Radio Shack-sold TRS-80 computer debuted in 1977. But now you can now add full polyphonic MIDI support thanks to George Philipps and Michael Wessel. And it’s already transformed into a serious live instrument and production tool. Assembly cost: about $35. The TRS-80: a tool for the 2020s.