Today Berlin tech giant Ableton unveiled Dark Synth by Amazing Noises (a.k.a. composer/author Maurizio Giri). Billed as “a powerful new Max for Live synthesizer that opens up the vast sound-shaping possibilities of additive synthesis via an extensive, yet easy-to-use interface,” Dark Synth is founded on 2048 independently-controllable sine wave oscillators able to create plethora of sounds. Dark Synth requires Ableton Live version 9.1 and Max for Live version 6.1.6. and sells for US $69 / €49. Watch the demo video below and let the sound designing begin!
Brian “BT” Transeau has been consistently producing thoughtful and compelling electronic music since the ’90s. He’s also quite the audiophile and technologist, developing apps and regularly working on tech projects over the years. Currently touring in support of his ninth album, A Song Across Wires, the Grammy-nominated Transeau hits twice yearly music instrument trade show NAMM this week in Anaheim, CA, to unveil his latest endeavor, BreakTweaker, an application which allows producers to make “beats you’ve never heard before with the beat machine of the future.”
Following the joint release of the live re-mixing plug-in Stutter Edit created in partnership with Cambridge, MA-based audio technology firm iZotope, the two entities unite again to present BreakTweaker, a “drum sculpting and beat sequencing environment that blurs the line between rhythm and melody.”
Obligatory press release gush from BT: “I’ve always been intrigued by the way humans perceive rhythm, particularly the threshold point of where the ear perceives rhythm as pitch. The idea of exploring and exploiting this threshold inspired BreakTweaker, a tool where I could finally realize rhythmic possibilities that I once imagined but had never before been able to hear.”
Check out the specs below and watch an interesting video demo of the product in action.
Key Features
Manipulate audio at a molecular level: control pitch, rhythm, and texture at the finest resolution available
Escape traditional drum grids: create complex polyrhythmic beats with unique isorhythm and playback speed settings
Get over 2 GB of professional, royalty-free content: explore presets, drum samples, and wavetables designed by today’s top musicians and DJs, including BT
Craft your own drum sounds: blend drum samples with robust synthesis features to generate compelling hybrid sounds
Take control of your beats: Easily trigger and sequence complex patterns and samples using any MIDI controller
Ask DJ connected to dance music in a global way and they will tell you that India is coming on strong when it comes to electronic music culture. As DJs from all over the world now make sure to visit the country on their tours, India’s thirst for EDM seems almost insatiable. The surge in interest has given rise to a local contingent of talented artists and a spate of well-produced music festivals.
The first installment of the five-day Vh1 Supersonic Festival, held on the sands of Candolim in Goa, kicked off yesterday. The festival serves as a testament to the exploding rise of dance culture in India, with a lineup filled with Indian and world-class mixing talent.
The Laboratoire Supersonique stage was highlighted by Goldfish + Blink, with Sweden’s Henrick B and the Netherlands’ Alvaro bringing their pumping brand of epic house in prime time. The Spectrum stage featured psy-trance, progressive and trance, with India’s finest acts, Helium Project and Audiogramme, serving as examples of the country’s burgeoning electronic music scene. Likewise, Pulse and Tristan held court, keeping the crowd on their feet, wanting more, more, more.
Day two of Vh1 Supersonic Festival takes place today featuring Norman Doray, Sander Kleinenberg, Midival Punditz and more. Watch the live stream here.
