Homesickness and loss in sound, from Detroit to Beirut: Layan Srour

What does it mean to grieve home — being away from home and actually losing home? What does it mean to express that grief in sound, and to create spaces and belong through music? Detroit-based, Beirut-raised Layan Srour asks these questions in her own work, the duo Taqsim, and in an event series called Jalasat.

The PlayStation Vita just got a new sampling groovebox and synth

Sony may have abandoned the PS Vita, but homebrew is ready to keep it alive. And the gorgeous handheld gaming console now gets a new identity as an all-in-one groovebox — with free, open-source software. It even supports multichannel audio over USB via a custom kernel plug-in. Meet DS-8 Drumstream, portable beatmaker.

Peter Kirn - August 6, 2026

jumango made a synth you can tuck in so it goes to sleep

Soundmaking and music can fill you with energy, so much so that you might miss out on the importance of a good night’s sleep. jumango has engineered a solution: tuck this DIY synth into a blanket, and it falls asleep.

Peter Kirn - May 17, 2026

Casio’s SXC-1 handheld sampler is packed with fun, coming to Japan

Peter Kirn - April 23, 2026

Akai’s pint-sized MPC Sample has already gotten a couple of updates

Peter Kirn - April 13, 2026

SP-404MKII side chain compression; #404day videos

Peter Kirn - April 4, 2026

Akai’s MPC Sample is compact, $399 — let’s compare it to an original MPC60!

Peter Kirn - March 24, 2026

1010music shares live setup ideas for Bento

Peter Kirn - March 19, 2026

Lorenzo Colombo in live session, framed by speaker stacks, equipment from Torso and Soma on the table and metal percussive plates suspended behind him and on tables, as he strikes one plate with a hammer.

Dream with this: solenoids, percussion, and circuits in live Torso session

Peter Kirn - February 9, 2026