Tis the season of giving with freebies arriving from Arturia, Native Instruments and a new FM synth “Rsonik”. Mr Oizo has made 2500 Flat Eric soft toys to celebrate 20 years since Flat Beat. Plus Korg legend Tats Takayashi returns to the company to open the new Berlin office..and better still…they’re hiring..
Free free free. “There’s no such thing as a free reverb” the old adage suggests but Arturia think otherwise. Modelled on the legendary EMT 14- plate reverb, but with additional modern features, the French company are releasing a free reverb plug-in with no restricted features, trial period or anything else. It’s simply a gift. The EMT-14 is a legendary reverb plate that had a significant impact on popular music almost overnight and it’s a testament to its appeal that in Live there are already over 140 impulses for it in convulsion reverb. With extra new features such as adjustable predelay, integrated chorus, post-reverb EQ and modulation – this is one plug-in that was unlikely to be on your Santa’s wish list – till now. Get your free Rev Plate-140 here.
Free Free Free…Again. “There’s no such things as a free reverb” the old adage…wait…we used that already. Seems that particular saying has taken a hammering as Native Instruments are also giving away a free reverb. RAUM is a new reverb plugin that you can get for free here. Made to sculpt any space, RAUM can do everything from abstract echoes to spacetime-bending ambience in one go. Try it here.
Muppets! Mr. Oizo has released a Flat Eric plush as a new limited edition collector’s item to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Flat Beat.” Flat Eric, is now twenty years old and by the looks of it, he hasn’t aged one bit but has become a father to Flat Eric Junior. Only 2500 units have been made and you can get your hands on one here. Note: it’s not a toy for children!
Korg Germany. In a time where Berlin companies in pro-audio have been making cutbacks, this one bucks the trend and it’s worth taking notice. Tatsuya Takayashi, the former chief engineer of Korg and responsible for some of the most innovative and well-loved synths has returned to the company alongside Maximillian Rest best known for his approach to sustainable business with E-RM. The long term collaborators are hiring on their quest to have a synth business in Berlin that is also sustainable which is an enormous challenge. It’s unclear exactly what to expect other than – they are going to make synths in Berlin. From our side that’s enough for the time being. Interested for a change? View available roles and apply here.
The Fury of the People. Not to be confused with the general mood of the British public, this release by Chilean label, Utch Records, has been made in protest and rejection of the ongoing violation of human rights and abuse of power by the Chilean government. Support has been global coming from the likes of Oscar Mulero, Perc, Acronym and Pfirter to name just a few. It’s released today and you can check out the record here.
Sale Now On. One of the most interesting labels to arrive this decade, New York Trax has announced an end of year sale. All vinyl records are going for $5. Artists included in the sale feature Swarm Intelligence, Endlec and Drvg Clvtvre. If we got around to an Xmas gift guide, this would be in it. More here.
One synth scoop please. It’s hard to know whether or not this is serious but it’s quite possible that Jean-Michel Jarre, may have leaked an upcoming Arp 2600 reissue from Korg. Answering a question about a bassline he confirmed it was made on an Arp 2600 which was a surprise to us all. However, seen in perspective with Behringer confirming their own reboot is in development, there must be some motivation for Korg to win the arms race. We’ll have to wait to find out and with NAMM looming large on the horizon this is one stand we’ll be heading to immediately to find out.
News from Denon. Denon DJ has announced their new firmware update for the entire Prime series. The main feature updates included Wi-Fi and wired internet connectivity which ties in with the addition of Tidal Hi-Gi music streaming offering the ability to preview tracks directly from the library view adding to the standalone DJ experience. Denon DJ has also updated the view to included expanded tracklists on the 10″ touch screen on Prime 4 so you can see up to double the number of tracks. Other improvements include improved quantized triggering, hot cues and loops trigger immediately and maintain phase, improved search speed for high volume, drive-based, searches results, forward and backward platter nudge sensitivity is now matched, quantize state is saved on shutdown and recalled on power-up. Lastly, RekordboxTM import on players now imports new playlists in the precise correct order. More information here.
End of Year Sale. Attack’s annual end of year sale is now on. With discounts of up to 30% sitewide, it’s the perfect time to get your stocking fillers. Next day delivery in the UK. More here.
