From cdm.link
Novation's Launch Control XL 3 fader box, the update we were waiting for - CDM Create Digital Music
1 1
An affordable bank of faders and controls is so sought-after that Novation could have just slightly refreshed Launch Control XL to some applause. But XL 3 does more than that: it's a fully fleshed-out update with deeper control, more buttons and transport, more customization, a display, and now...
7h ago
From cdm.link
1010music Bento: sampling, granular production sequencing and mixing box - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
The 1010music story we've been following for some years just reached its dénouement. I'm holding a bento right now, and it lives up to the name: compact, lunchable, perfectly sized portions of everything delicious you'd want. It's a multisampler, slicer, granular, looper, sequencing, production,...
on Wed, 4PM
From cdm.link
0 1
Harvestworks, the storied arts center in NYC that has been a hub for electronic music and media since its 1977 founding, is making an urgent appeal. Cuts by the Trump administration's National Endowment for the Arts threaten the space.
on Wed, 3PM
From cdm.link
0 1
This is the Ableton Move update we've been waiting for. Ableton's compact controller/standalone now gets proper MIDI implementation and slices up samples. Plus, you get the Auto Filter from Live 12.2. That's in addition to other recent updates. Here's your guide to what's new.
on Wed, 1PM
From cdm.link
0 1
The 1982 Poly-61 was a grimy, cheap, raw-sounding quintessential 80s synth. It doesn't have any of the star power of other Korg instruments or rivals from Roland and Sequential. So instead of a commercial remake, what we get is free. But it's fantastic. It's way better than you'd expect from a...
on Tue, 7PM
From cdm.link
0 1
We need to talk about how good Fat Bard's game soundtracks are. Super Space Club rebooted Asteroids as "a lo-fi space shooter to chill to," set to the St. Louis production duo's beats - and that game is free right now on Epic Game Store. So grab that. But it doesn't end there.
on Mon, 11PM
From cdm.link
The road to Synplant 2: the story behind this mind-bending plug-in sequel - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
Synplant 2: it's still leafy and organic - just more so. Now it has AI-powered sonic analysis and generation which - can sound completely glitchy and unexpected. It has a DNA view full of parameters. It's weirder than ever, from top to bottom. So here are some more insights from Magnus Lidström...
on Mon, 8PM
From cdm.link
0 2
Developer Oliver Greschke (MoMinstruments) built an AUv3 iOS synth around the DSP from Emilie Gillet's legendary open-source Mutable Instruments Plaits VCO. Elastic OSC gives you unique touch-based controls, plus new features that let you use Plaits' sound palette as a complete mono/polyphonic...
on Mon, 3PM
From cdm.link
0 2
A musician-led initiative is aiming to bring more plug-ins to Linux. That includes promoting developers (both proprietary and libre/open source), featuring software for users, and answering developer questions. Linux Audio Plugin Development (LAPD) is already worth a look; you're likely to...
on Sun, 10PM
From cdm.link
Bitwig hardware: deep Roto-Control integration; Connect 4/12 is here - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
Okay Bitwig Studio fans: your hardware has arrived. Bitwig's own Connect 4/12 is available now (and yes, that includes the beleaguered market of the USA). Plus Melbourne Instruments' appetizing-looking Roto-Control with its motorized knobs now has Bitwig Studio support, following Ableton Live...
on Sun, 10AM
From cdm.link
Must-listen: Claudia Khachan and Ziad Moukarzel in musical dialogue - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
Have you ever, half-asleep, felt a melody drift with ease through your brain, humming with electricity, only to lose it again? In The Vapornet, Claudia Khachan and Ziad Moukarzel mind-meld in a collaboration that makes that moment come alive.
on Fri, 4PM
From cdm.link
0 0
Nazar's Demilitarize, out this month on Hyperdub, is essential listening - reimagined Angolan kuduro DNA woven into a sound world inspired by processing trauma and absorbing the ethos of anime classic Ghost in the Shell. It follows two releases that responded to the civil war with an...
on May 1
From cdm.link
SpaceBlender, swarming experimental reverb, free from Soundtoys now - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
SpaceBlender is technically a reverb, but don't think of SpaceBlender as a reverb. Soundtoys' new "imaginary space machine" uses a unique algorithm to produce rich new timbres and deep, cosmic, smeared wormholes of sound and texture. It's a cross-breed of swarm synthesis and reverberation. I've...
on May 1
From cdm.link
0 0
Steinberg Dorico remains the commercial scoring tool to beat. Dorico 6 for macOS, Windows, and iPadOS adds a bunch of new features, but I'm particularly excited to see features like Lutosławski-style cutaways, system-attached items, and full OpenType glyph positioning and glyph substitution...
on May 1
From cdm.link
Imaginando GRFX puts granular effects in sweet harmony: review - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Just when you think you've had enough granular effects, Imaginando's GRFX does everything right. That includes fine-tuned harmonies (including microtuning), per-grain effects, and drag-and-drop modulation from four LFOs.
on Apr 30
From cdm.link
0 0
Pigments 5 from Arturia adds the ability to route audio input into soft synth, opening up new sound design possibilities and turning Pigments into a multi-effects plug-in for any source. Here's a detailed guide on how to use it, with notes - and some presets to get you going.
on Apr 30
From cdm.link
Visualize pitch like John Coltrane with this mystical image - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Some musicians see Islamic mysticism; some the metaphysics of Einstein. But whether spiritual, theoretical, or both, even one John Coltrane pitch wheel is full of musical inspiration.
on Apr 30
From cdm.link
Unity 6.1: performance, Web and device features, free for personal use - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Unity offers a powerful alternative to Unreal Engine for artists, with some unique features and broader device support, including the Web. And while pricing caused some heated discussions a while back, the important thing to know is that students, personal users, and educators can all use Unity...
on Apr 28
From cdm.link
On mnjm label, techno finds a new voice in the Arab diaspora - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
It's just as dark, just as blistering and powerful, but with sharper details, nuanced rhythms. Arabic-speaking techno from mnjm in Berlin reinvigorates the genre by shedding some of its cookie-cutter repetition and making it come alive all over again.
on Apr 25
From cdm.link
Arturia V Collection 11 hands-on: Pure LoFi, Jup-8000 join latest update - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Arturia's latest refresh of their sprawling V Collection is here today. In addition to updates across the Augmented line and the inclusion of the latest instruments, there are two surprises: a layered "lo-fi" synth and an instrument of the Roland JP-8000. Yes, really, the JP-8000: sometimes you...
on Apr 24
From cdm.link
HyperSplash is glitchy hyperactive fun - $3 Max for Live from MIRA新伝統 - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
If you don't know the hyperfuturist post-anthropocene duo* MIRA新伝統 aka Honami Higuchi and Raphael Leray, you need to. But now for three bucks - $3!! - you can drop their absolutely addictive Max for Live mayhem into your Ableton Live set. Should you? You should.
on Apr 23
From cdm.link
0 0
Hip hop, new wave, techno, and house are inseparable from funk history - and any discussion of funk in the 1970s demands a conversation about Black liberation. Emmy winner and MacArthur Fellow Stanley Nelson and Grammy-nominated producer Nicole London have produced a full-length history.
on Apr 23
From cdm.link
OXI Instruments' grid sequencer is about to get a big MKII upgrade - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
OXI ONE MKII is inbound, with preorders about to start. OXI Instruments is taking their packed grid sequencer and adding more of everything, while keeping the compact size. (Missed opportunity not to call this the "one two," though!)
on Apr 22
From cdm.link
Nasko's completely free N-IRIS is a spectrum disperser - why that's cool - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Nasko, the prolific and imaginative software developer, is back with a new one - and it's completely free, running in Plug Data (Pd) on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It's a convolution-based spectrum disperser. Say what? Well, you get a powerful, precise, fairly rare method for generating impulse...
on Apr 21
From cdm.link
IINA, open-source Swift media player, is what macOS has been missing - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Built in Swift, now extensible with JavaScript plug-ins, IINA is the free media player that macOS needs. Hey, everybody: play with a fresh, minimalist player that handles local files, music, and streaming with aplomb. (Hey, old people: it's like QuickTime Pro is back!)
on Apr 18
From cdm.link
DynaBunny, horrifying Easter bitcrusher plug-in and iOS app, is free now - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Hey, kids, look, it's the Easter Bunny! And listen to the way the beast helps your beautiful song to evolve! Okay, if the folks at Caelum Audio wanted to sell us on their new DynaBit plugin, this isn't the worst way - especially as even this holiday freebie has some powerful features. They've...
on Apr 17
From cdm.link
Knobula Monumatic, the 8-voice, multi-algorithm MPE polysynth in 12HP - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Who says modular has to be all about monosynths? Certainly not Knobula, who followed up their Poly Cinematic with this 8-voice polysynth in just 12HP, packed with multiple oscillator and filter modes, built-in reverb, and full MPE support.
on Apr 16
From cdm.link
Benn Jordan's AI poison pill and the weird world of adversarial noise - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Benn Jordan's latest video proposes a way to fight back when generative AI music services rip off music for their data sets. It's not ready for prime time yet, but it does offer a window into the wild, wonderful world of adversarial noise poisoning attacks.
on Apr 15
From cdm.link
Vela reverb, now in open beta, opens up rich reverbs you can reshape - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Vela, a new reverb from Sonic Academy's Sonic Sounds line, is now in open beta. And yes, I'm here to tempt your RAS - Reverb Acquisition Syndrome again. The range of reverberation emulations here, combined with node-based editing, might mean you do need another reverb. (Sorry/not sorry.)
on Apr 14
From cdm.link
Intellijel Multigrain, a stereo morphing granular sampler module - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
It's about time for a new granular dream module, and the Intellijel Multigrain could be a real contender. Available now, it packs stereo morphing granular powers into 20HP and US$479. (And yes, USA, you can import this from Canada!) I've had an advance look at the manual and I'm ready to wrap my...
on Apr 11
From cdm.link
VDMX6 gets vision: video tracking, color transfer, background removal - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Live Mac visual app VDMX6 is now shipping some of the new hotness the developers promised with the transition to Metal for rendering. Apple's frameworks unlock a ton of visual tricks, from tracking video to color scopes to background removal.
on Apr 11
From cdm.link
Sounds Rising: Music from Georgia in days of protests - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
The Georgian pro-democracy, anti-corruption movement is still in the streets, month after month. Music remains a way to connect those demonstrations with supporters at home and abroad. Tbilisi/Berlin artist Mess)Montage joins as we put together sounds from Georgia (and I write this from...
on Apr 10
From cdm.link
0 0
Ardour, the criminally underrated free and open source DAW for Mac, Windows, and Linux, has been a little quiet lately. Over the weekend, we learned what's coming in Ardour 9.0/9+, and why the devs have been busy. Not sure where to start? Check out how-to videos, including voice-activated recording(!)
on Apr 9
From cdm.link
0 0
What could community and imagination in music making look like? Laurie Spiegel's reflections on the 70s and earlier decades, recorded in 2014, offer some clues, even for a very different time today.
on Apr 7
From cdm.link
Ahmed Muin has lifted Gaza in song; now he needs drinking water - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Musician, teacher, and founder of Gaza Birds Singing, Ahmed Abuamsha is collectively our colleague in the international music world as much as he is a voice for his family and community: Ahmed Muin needs support now just to manage drinking water. "What can I do?" Here are some answers.
on Apr 5
From cdm.link
Ther'minator by Eric Singer transforms LIDAR to modular, CV - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Eric Singer is back. The interactive artist and inventor helped the idea of robotics and alternative interfaces break out to wider audiences over the past decades - and now he's gearing up to put LIDAR in your modular rig or other devices with analog CV inputs.
on Apr 4
From cdm.link
0 0
ReCycle, the sample/loop manipulator by Reason Studios, has a refreshed new look - and now it's free. The REX format works everywhere from Ableton Live to Pro Tools to KORG Gadget. Also - wait, did its name start as a reference to a 1993 Disney instructional video?
on Apr 2
From cdm.link
The best of Universal Audio's native plug-ins, in Spark or standalone - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Universal Audio's Spark subscription (native plug-ins) is on sale for 99 cents for 3 months for new customers through the end of the day Monday the 31st. That seems a good time to check in on the subscription offering, which is on my short list of subscriptions I'd consider. (If you prefer...
on Apr 1
From cdm.link
iOS and iPadOS 18.4 add Braille and VoiceOver features for all devices - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Apple Intelligence may be the headlines you'll see for iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. But any device that can run iOS/iPadOS 18 also gets new accessibility features for blind and limited vision users.
on Mar 31
From cdm.link
0 0
Manila's ELEPHANT (aka thatelephantparty) has a collection of trans-curated culture that deserves echoing here. All that, and let's also spotlight some meaningful music that you almost certainly haven't heard.
on Mar 31
From cdm.link
0 0
Both VCV Rack Free and VCV Rack Pro 2.6 are out, including the ability to Zoom to fit / Zoom to fit modules and drag multiple cables stacked on a port. It's a nice upgrade for this free and open source modular tool (and its partly-proprietary Pro package, too) - while we wait on upcoming v3.
on Mar 29
From cdm.link
Paul Schreiber (Tandy, Moog MG-1, Synthesis Technology) remembered - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
The synthesis community is sharing an outpouring of remembrances following the loss of Paul Schreiber, creator of the MOTM synthesizer, Synthesis Technology, co-designer of the Realistic Concertmate MG-1, and more. He was not just an inspiration but a friend to many in the synth world.
on Mar 27
From cdm.link
0 0
The frightening, darkly beautiful music of Seefeel was revelatory from its early-90s debut. And now with a set of reissues and new projects, it's the perfect time for David Abravanel to talk to the current Seefeel group. -Ed.
on Mar 23
From cdm.link
Free Blender 4.4 adds animation and video features, improves stability - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
It's a great week for free and open-source media tools. Hot on the heals of GIMP 3.0 final, we get Blender 4.4. It's labeled as focusing on stability, but the Blender contributors have packed a bunch of major animation, video, and UI features in there, too. Now, we can say this is the tool used...
on Mar 21
From cdm.link
GIMP 3.0, free and open source image app, looks brilliant - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
The culmination of seven years of open-source development, GIMP has reached its milestone 3.0 release. GIMP was always powerful, but this feels more like the mature, usable release to take on the proprietary heavyweights.
on Mar 20
From cdm.link
Radio Alhara at five years: 24-hour broadcast from Palestine - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Today, Radio Alhara is marking five years of operation by playing 24 hours of archival material from its home in Bethlehem, Palestine.
on Mar 20
From cdm.link
Three free spectral synths to try after the new Serum spectral oscillator - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
Spectral resynthesis is having a moment now that it's one of the new oscillator types in the mighty Xfer Serum 2. If you're looking for other ways to get your spectral resynthesis on - or you're a Serum user who just can't get enough - here are three free tools to sink your FFTs into.
on Mar 19
From cdm.link
Serum 2: wavetable champ becomes much more in huge, free update - CDM Create Digital Music
0 1
Serum 2, 11 years in development, is here. And it looks ready to take on its rivals, with an updated interface, arpeggiator expanded oscillator architecture (phase distortion!), granular and multisampler and spectral oscillators, new effects features, and - surprise, even a clip sequencer. It's...
on Mar 17
From cdm.link
Happy Monday; immerse your workday and soundscape in Severance - CDM Create Digital Music
0 0
To aid in your professional merriment, here's a complete round-up of Severance stuff, from behind-the-scenes discussion of the show's sound design and score to an eight-hour mix of "music to refine to."|
on Mar 17
From cdm.link
0 0
Just as reality seems ready to blow off in a gale, Whatever the Weather II is here on Ghostly to pull you back to earth and the grace of the everyday. Loraine James - or I should say, the artist, Whatever the Weather - talks to CDM about how this full-length came to life.
on Mar 14