ADE announces first wave lineup. NI drops MASSIVE X. Berlin is getting drug testing. Brian Eno has an asteroid named after him.
ADE 2019 lineup arrives. The first artists for Amsterdam Dance Event 2019 have been announced. Taking place between October 16th-20th at venues across Amsterdam, the lineup so far includes Amelie Lens, Carl Cox, DJ Nobu, Helena Hauff, Identified Patient, Jeff Mills, Nastia, New Order, SOPHIE, The Black Madonna and Bradley Zero. Along the 24th edition of the festival, ADE will feature panels and workshops on the industry’s most important topics, as well as keynote speeches from its biggest players. To find out more, head here. A-d-e.nl
Learning Synths with Ableton. Ableton has launched a new website for browser and mobile designed to help with learning the basic principles of synthesis through interactive lessons. Called Learning Synths, the lessons cover things like amplitude, envelopes, filters, LFOs and more, and are developed with beginners — and even non-musicians — in mind. However, there’s also a “Playground Mode” for those with some experience, which allows users to play with “recipes” that help with making kick drums, plucked bass, siren sounds and more. Head to the Learning Synths website to find out more.
MASSIVE X. Native Instruments has released MASSIVE X, the successor to the highly popular MASSIVE synth. X is built by the same team behind the original MASSIVE, and features a new oscillator section with dual wavetable oscillators and 170 wavetables. There are also 10 different oscillator modes, and each features its own submode for nearly limitless sound and texture creation. X also features three main sound sculpting controls, which include wavetable position as a standard control, and there are two additional custom parameters for each mode. X has also updated its predecessor’s semi-modular approach to routing, allowing for any output to connect to an input, and audio can be routed to or from multiple components simultaneously, making complex patches possible in just a few steps. But there’s plenty more info, which can be found on the Native Instruments website.
Brian Eno asteroid. An asteroid has been named after famed musician Brian Eno. The UK ambient pioneer received a certificate from the astronomer who discovered the celestial object, Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute, proclaiming Asteroid 81948 will now be known as Eno. It came the morning after Eno was awarded the Stephen Hawking Medal at the Starmus Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. The certificate came ahead of the reissue of Eno’s 1983 album, Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks, as well as his soundtrack for the documentary For All Mankind. Listen to Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks on Spotify below.
IK Multimedia’s UNO Drum analog/PCM drum machine now available. IK Multimedia have released the Uno Drum, the latest member in their popular UNO series. Designed in collaboration with Italian analogue specialist Soundmachines, the same team behind IK’s UNO Synth, the UNO Drum offers bang for the buck and like the rest of the series is impressive in sound. Don’t be fooled by the size, this thing packs a punch! Check it out here.
Concrete is closing. Beloved Parisian nightclub Concrete is closing. The venue, which is located on the river Seine in a three-level barge, has been fighting to remain open for months due to a dispute with the company that owns the barge. In May, the club launched a Change.org petition to rally support, which it gained from the electronic music world and Paris’ deputy mayor. But the fight has been lost, and Concrete will host its last parties over the weekend of July 19-21. The club announced its closure in a statement on Instagram, saying in part, “we are extremely sorry, and that it is very hard for us to write you this message. But we are already looking to the future, to come back stronger.” Read the full note below.
Drug testing in Berlin. The Berlin Senate has given approval for drug testing at Berlin nightclubs in order to “reduce the accompanying risks of drug use,” according to local broadcaster RBB. The project initially started in 2018, but the question of drug testing’s legality needed to first be answered. A legal opinion has now been rendered, and a budget of €150,000 has been allocated towards testing drugs like MDMA, cocaine and ketamine. However, an implementation date has not been given, since the “final detail vote with the relevant bodies” must first be completed, according to a government spokesperson. According to RBB, about half of Berlin’s club-goers use illegal drugs. Read the full report (in German) here.
Keith Flint tribute. Guitarist Gizz Butt will be performing a special Keith Flint Appreciation Hour DJ set at Glastonbury’s Shangri-La area. Butt played with The Prodigy in the late ‘90s, and said the set will include a remix of a never before released Prodigy track. Prodigy were set to perform at this year’s Glastonbury, but cancelled after Flint was found hanged at his Essex home in March. “It’ll be a tribute to Keith, the family, the band and all the loyal fans,” Butt said. “But also, it goes out to anyone who may be suffering the same feelings that Keith had, that led to his untimely death.” Glastonbury Festival takes place from 26 to 30 June.
Ableton smiley face. In more Ableton news, the DAW company has announced that users will be able to add emojis to track names, notes and any other text-based fields. So now when you mixdown your self proclaimed ‘fire track’, you can add a little fire to the track name. It’s all party of the Live 10 beta release, which also includes several bug fixes.
Autechre giveaway. You can download two hours of unreleased music from legendary Manchester duo Autechre from their Bleep store https://autechre.bleepstores.com/ . The material was originally aired this past weekend as part of the Warp Records takeover on NTS Radio, which celebrated 30 years of the estemed imprint. Warp Tapes 89-93 is available here.