Oldest recorded voices, haunted dolls, and more from Tempest Instruments

New sound technologies? Sure, okay, I guess. But haunted dolls of the 1890s as made by Thomas Edison? Oh, now you’ve got my attention. So in case you haven’t discovered this before, Tempest Instruments, a “small team” led by TV/film and video game composer Alex Davis, has been collected strange sound ephemera of the 19th […]

Adam Wiltzie talks about his posthumous collaboration with Jóhann Jóhannsson

On Friendship Survival Guide, constructed from an archive of loops and sound exchanges, it’s as if Jóhann Jóhannsson is alive again. Adam Wiltzie, co-founder of Stars of the Lid and part of A Winged Victory for the Sullen, talks to us about the process, and about the perfect and fleeting personal and creative connection the two artist shared.

Peter Kirn - September 18, 2026

Abadir’s The Primitivist is a high-energy rhythmic tour of Arabic sound

Cairo-born producer ABADIR is back with a four-track gut-punch of Arab rhythm, a foot-stomping, belly-activating powerhouse of an EP. True to its label, The Primitivist is neither fetishized nor repurposed: it’s Rami speaking in a native musical language that’s fully rooted and simultaneously all his own. The Primitivist by ABADIR We don’t get a lot […]

Peter Kirn - June 5, 2026

C25, from Nonlinear Labs and Stephan Schmitt, is all about performance

Peter Kirn - May 18, 2026

Jam, color, and geometry — discover Perplex On’s AV synesthesia bliss

Peter Kirn - February 13, 2026

Native Instruments statement on continued support for customers and partners

Peter Kirn - January 29, 2026

Plugin Alliance says it is “business as usual”

Peter Kirn - January 28, 2026

Native Instruments GmbH is in preliminary insolvency

Peter Kirn - January 27, 2026

KORG’s phase8 “acoustic synthesizer” is now a product for sale

Peter Kirn - January 22, 2026