Gear Music Stories Tech
Jordan GCZ, Mei Honeycomb, magic synths, and the jazz/techno divide
Timed with the release of Clairvoyant Dimensions, his new album with saxophonist Jeff Hollie, the JuJu & Jordash and Magic Mountain High mainstay talked at length about pressing record and jamming, the lesser-known synths behind the album’s shimmer, and the hilarious origin of the group’s name.
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plugdata, cyclone get major updates — free stuff for patchers and end users
Recent updates for the visual programming environment plugdata (a wrapped for Pure Data) and the powerful object library cyclone are keeping the goodness going. Whether you’re looking to do patching and development in a graphical tool or just enjoy the free stuff people are making with Pd, that’s great news.
Peter Kirn - February 24, 2026
DIY + Unusual Music tech Software Tech
Free Compactor, limiter/ducker with sidechain, joins Kilohearts freebies
Kliohearts’ software line is a treasure trove of effects. But Kliohearts Essentials alone is an impressive free collection of standalone plug-ins for anyone. You won’t want to sleep on the latest addition, Compactor, a deceptively simple “precision ducking” tool.
Peter Kirn - August 20, 2025
Music tech Software Tech
Free SoundHack tools: now plug-ins and Max and Pd, Apple Silicon native
Peter Kirn - August 14, 2024
Music tech Software Tech
Lofi Oddity is a beautiful free “degradation toy box” plug-in
Peter Kirn - January 2, 2024
Music tech Software Tech
Minimal’s Current is a granular-wavetable synth with tons of FX and extras
Peter Kirn - October 11, 2023
Music tech Reviews Software Tech
Bastl – Casper Aikido module is a mixer and a quad VCA and a compressor envelope follower
Peter Kirn - February 8, 2023
Modular-Analog Music tech Tech
