From Éliane Radigue to West Coast, Homework is a patchable wonder

It’s a modular week, yes, but here are things you can never have too much of: great food, open beaches, modular environments, and Giorgio Sancristoforo sound playgrounds. So here’s Homework, a 4-track cassette recorder, retro effects including granular processor and tape echo, and modular synths inspired by Buchla and ARP. It’s all you need to recreate some Éliane Radigue-inspired drones and float away on a sea of noise.

Tour Ireland’s experimental music history, handmade instruments and all

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so a good excuse to revisit this 2023 compilation of Irish experimental and electronic music back to 1960 — especially as the label has some updates from the underground scene recently. From handmade instruments to bedroom-produced tape constructions and a healthy interest in UFOs, get ready for the strange. “I wanted […]

Peter Kirn - March 17, 2026

Rage with the machine: Pigments 7 with new filters, new FX, sound features

Bonkers new filters? A Play mode everyone will actually want to use? Yeah, December isn’t done with you yet, synth fans. Meet the new Pigments 7 with Rage, Ripple, and Reverb filters, Corroder effect, improved amplitude envelopes, FM modulation on the filter, and more.

Peter Kirn - December 16, 2025

Mudjaq TapeLeap, a freaky tape/lo-fi looper that can blink, be broken

Peter Kirn - December 11, 2025

Mix and patch ChowDSP’s tape modeling for free in VCV Rack

Peter Kirn - March 10, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Kerri Chandler DJing on reel-to-reel tape is a joy

Peter Kirn - June 27, 2024

Spectral Plugins are now free as maker goes out of business

Peter Kirn - April 2, 2024

Hainbach on scoring Qinyuan Lei’s film, machines through a child’s eyes

Peter Kirn - February 19, 2024

Lofi Oddity is a beautiful free “degradation toy box” plug-in

Peter Kirn - January 2, 2024