Ableton discounts, UK garage memories and Ask Autechre Anything.
Vote for best vinyl art of 2013. Nominees include the Tomorrow’s Harvest sunscape, Daft Punk’s dancing silhouttes and this splendidly spacey piece from Ras G. Cast your vote here.
Ask Autechre Anything. Following in the recent footsteps of Nile Rodgers and Beatport CEO Matt Adell, the latest musical figures to take part in an online ask-me-anything Q&A session are Warp Records legends Autechre. The duo’s Q&A over at the WATMM forum is a 161-page must-read for fans of anything even vaguely related to their work. Topics covered include synaesthesia, rugby tackling Mike Paradinas and Sean’s belief that “cats are mental”.
New PPG synth announced. Wolfgang Palm’s PPG WaveGenerator is a software wavetable synth for Mac and PC, based on the iOS app of the same name. VST versions will go on sale first, followed by AU, priced at €99.
James Lavelle plans Meltdown. The DJ, Mo Wax boss and UNKLE producer will curate next year’s Meltdown festival at London’s South Bank centre.
Ableton announces holiday discounts. 20% off all Ableton software until January 15th.
Elektron host Night Of Machines party in Berlin. The party will take place on Saturday 23rd November at Humboldthain and will launch Elektron’s new machine. The night will host a bumper analogue lineup including Andreas Tilliander (aka TM404) and Andre Kronert. More info here.
Brackles launches UK garage Tumblr. The London producer and Rinse FM DJ’s Right B4 My Eyes blog hosts a collection of rarities and classic mixes. Meanwhile, Mike Skinner has been waxing lyrical about the purity of the original UK garage scene: “I am a guilty part of the second wave that thought the MCs were more interesting than the DJs, and I feel bad about that now.”
SPL launch Car Vitalizer App for automobile audio pleasure. Based on the company’s pro audio knowledge, the new iOS app includes a virtual subwoofer and stereo adjustment and creates an audio ‘sweet spot’ according to the driver’s position. We have to admit we’re more than a little sceptical, but SPL are offering a test-drive for three days. Have a gander here.
In reverse. The new REV software instrument for Kontakt is a unique one: all the sounds are in reverse. Available now from Output Sounds, priced at $199.
Surprise line-up at Plastic People tonight in aid of MSF Philippines appeal. Four Tet, Daphni, Floating Points, Jamie XX and Jay Daniel will play at the London club tonight (15th November). The recommended donation is £15 and all proceeds will go towards Médecins Sans Frontières’ aid work following the typhoon in the Philippines. More here.
HudMo likes you too. To celebrate 100k Facebook likes, HudMo has given away a batch of exclusive edits. In his own words: “thanks for the support yi bastards.”
iOS 7 doesn’t do JACK. Bad news for iOS music makers. Due to iOS 7’s prohibition of Inter-Process Communication (IPC) between third party apps, JACK is unable to function. The app developers CrudeByte have said this situation is unlikely to change.
Pusha T launches ‘Rhythm Roulette’ producer contest. Submissions will be judged by a hefty panel comprising representatives from Decon, Fool’s Gold, Mad Decent, Software, True Panther, Fade to Mind, Owsla and Mom + Pop, and the winner will make a track with King Push himself. Details here.
deadmau5 takes early Twitter retirement. Following a difficult week in which he was accused of supporting the IRA, Canadian producer has made the decision to “personally unplug myself from the very thing that’s making me upset”. His management will keep the account afloat with news and suchlike. From the mouse’s mouth.
Leeds club The Garage closes its doors. Much loved and acclaimed for its intimate sets and discerning line-ups the club / record store were unable to renew their lease, but will be looking for a new space to reignite The Garage vibes. Read more here.
Mutable Instruments introduces DIY MIDI to CV kit. The CVpal, from the makers of the Shruthi synth, looks like an affordable solution to the age-old challenge of integrating CV-equipped analogue synths with MIDI sequencers.
Point Blank give away free timestretch plugin in return for your love on Facebook. The Monster Timestretch is based on phase vocoding and stretches sounds in realtime. The plugin processes the first 30 seconds of an audio file and works exclusively in Ableton. More info here. (If you don’t use Ableton we recommend the excellent and free Paulstretch for similar effects.)