Hell Yes Loop Lab Ears and EarsEars and Ears is a standalone application for comparing mixes, masters and reference tracks without being misled by loudness. Load up to eight audio files, switch between versions instantly and use Fair Compare to match playback to the quietest loaded file. Louder files are turned down rather than quieter files being boosted, helping remove the common impression that a version sounds better simply because it is louder. Ears and Ears includes LUFS and True Peak readouts, streaming loudness previews, a Focus Loop for comparing the same musical section across multiple versions, waveform navigation, Find Hot Spot and The One marker for identifying the preferred version. It does not master, limit, normalize, export or modify the original audio files. It is a focused listening tool designed to make mix, master and reference comparison faster, clearer and more honest. Main features: • Compare up to eight audio files • Instant switching between versions • Fair Compare loudness matching • LUFS and True Peak readouts • Streaming loudness preview • Focus Loop with Set In and Set Out • Waveform navigation • Find Hot Spot • The One marker • Standalone operation with no DAW required. Supported formats include WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3 and M4A. Available for macOS and Windows. Read More

OpenAI’s new flagship model deletes files on its own, people keep warningA number of social media posts claim that GPT-5.6 Sol deleted files and data without warning. OpenAI had basically disclosed the problem in June.

Three US senators oppose CLARITY Act on ethics grounds with vote expected soonSenate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said the chamber will consider a vote on the crypto market structure bill before Aug. 10, though it’s unclear whether it has enough Democratic support to pass.

How to get a dream pop guitar tone
Learn how to craft a guitar tone that's perfect for dream pop via our step-by-step guide.

The Neo Geo Does Run DOOM After AllDemonstration of the DoomGeo port of Doom to the Neo Geo. (Credit: Sabino, GitHub)
Perhaps the most ridiculous statement that anyone can make is that a computer system with clearly enough processing power ‘cannot run DOOM‘. This is why we accept the premise that a PDP-11 cannot run this game, but something on the order of a Neo Geo gaming console with its 68000 processor and for the time impressive GPU definitely ought to be able to.
The stated problem here is a lack of RAM for a framebuffer, with the CPU only having 64 kB to play with. This limitation now has seen two different approaches to try and circumvent it, as covered by [Modern Vintage Gamer].
The first project here is Doom64kB, which as the name suggests tries to somehow work with this system RAM limitation. It uses the Doom8088 port for the original IBM PC and similar Intel 8088-based systems. This had to massively reduce the feature list, including the lack of texture mapping for floors and ceiling, no saving or loading, and no music.
The other project is DoomGeo, which doesn’t try to bend the Neo Geo hardware to its will, but accepts the Neo Geo way of doing things: involving sprite strips, pre-baked graphics, fix-layer UI, and a minimum of runtime data. This of course drastically changes how the Doom game engine normally works, with its framebuffer-based rendering.
From this we can thus conclude that it’s not so much the processing power that limits where DOOM can run, but more of how framebuffer-friendly the system architecture is, yet with some ingenuity and a complete rewrite of the game engine even that is no major obstacle.
(Top image: Neo Geo AES console. Credit: Evan-Amos, Wikimedia)

FIFA World Cup 2026: The Songs, the Stats, and Why “Goal” Is Music’s Real MVPAs the FIFA World Cup heads into its final stretch, a new data snapshot from LyricFind highlights something fans already know instinctively: the tournament doesn’t just dominate the pitch—it echoes through music across the globe.

Analyzing more than 17 million songs in its database, the company mapped out how football culture shows up in lyrics, from recurring themes to the players and countries artists reference most. The findings reveal a deep and lasting connection between the sport and the songs that surround it.

Among the most striking takeaways is the dominance of a single word: “goal.” Appearing more than 63,000 times, it stands as the most frequently used football-related term in lyrics.

Other commonly used terms include “champion” (17,800 mentions) and “World Cup” (1,100 mentions). The disparity suggests that while artists may not always reference the tournament directly, they consistently tap into its emotional core—victory, ambition, and the pursuit of greatness.

When it comes to players, Pelé remains the most referenced name in lyrics by a significant margin, with more than 33,000 mentions. His influence extends far beyond his playing career, cementing his legacy as both a sports and cultural icon.

He is followed by a roster of modern and historic greats, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Diego Maradona—names that continue to symbolize excellence across generations.

Several official and unofficial World Cup songs continue to hold a strong presence in global music culture.

Tracks like “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” “The Cup of Life,” and “Wavin’ Flag” have outlived their respective tournaments, continuing to chart and re-emerge in playlists during each World Cup cycle. Their longevity underscores how music can extend the life—and memory—of the event itself.

LyricFind’s VP of Marketing, Alex Bellissimo, emphasized the natural overlap between sport and music, noting, "Music and sport have always spoken the same language. The connection between passion, identity, and belonging runs deep through the World Cup and the songs people sing in the stands and listen to at home during and after the games. This infographic is our way of proving that football not only has an impact on lyrics, but it's a significant one. We're delighted to put a spotlight on it”

Ultimately, the data reinforces what fans experience every four years: the World Cup is as much a cultural event as it is a sporting one. Long after the final match concludes, its influence continues—playing out in lyrics, anthems, and the shared soundtrack of the global game.

Pelé photo by AFP/SCANPIX via NationalencyklopedinThe post FIFA World Cup 2026: The Songs, the Stats, and Why “Goal” Is Music’s Real MVP first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

AEG Presents expands Venue Development team, promoting Cameron Marcotte to VPAlongside Marcotte, Jake Hiersteiner and Mike Ryan have been promoted to Director roles, alongside three new hires.
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MUEDsp releases two FREE macOS mastering plugins
Developer MUEDsp has released two free macOS plugins, MUEDsat and MUEDlim. Both plugins are taken from MUEDsp masterchain, a mastering suite that is currently in development. According to the developer Atsushi, each plugin is an actual stage from the master-bus chain used by the developer, pulled out and made free. So basically, these are not [...]
View post: MUEDsp releases two FREE macOS mastering plugins

MAP Audio PAM is a deep pattern-based sampler with an exclusive BPB discount
MAP Audio’s PAM is a pattern-based sampler and drum-synth instrument for macOS and Windows, currently available with an exclusive 15% BPB discount. Use the coupon code BPB15 at checkout to get 15% off PAM until August 15. The regular price is $150, and MAP Audio also offers a rent-to-own option and a 7-day fully functional [...]
View post: MAP Audio PAM is a deep pattern-based sampler with an exclusive BPB discount

Launchkey MK4 88 joins Novation line-up Rounding off the Launchkey MK4 collection, the new arrival pairs a semi-weighted 88-note keybed with the DAW integration, built-in creative tools and intuitive workflow features offered by its 49- and 61-key siblings. 

Novation unveils new 88-key Launchkey MK4 controller – the largest keyboard in the MK4 range yetNovation’s on a roll: after launching a sleek white edition of its Launchkey 61 MK4 keyboard controller just last month, the company has expanded its Launchkey MK4 range even further with a new 88-key controller, which enters as the largest keyboard in the current lineup.
Boasting the same deep DAW integration, rich creative tools and intuitive workflow as the existing MK4 Launchkey 49 and 61 models, the Launchkey 88 arrives with an 88-key semi-weighted keybed. This means more than seven octaves to play with, plus full-size keys for a totally “expressive” experience.

READ MORE: “A new benchmark for bass”: Baby Audio SubCulture supercharges your bass while keeping it in tune with your track

The Launchkey 88 MK4 also features 16 velocity-sensitive pads with polyphonic aftertouch and Novation’s patented Force Sensitive Resistor technology – perfect for tapping drums or melodic instruments, even.
Like other keyboard controllers in the MK4 range, the new Launchkey 88 boasts a bank of nine precision faders and eight endless encoders, which map automatically to key parameters of supported NKS plugins and DAWS, including functions for transport, mixing and navigation.
Supported DAWS including Ableton Live, Logic, Cubase, FL Studio – which just launched its 2026 edition – Reason, Bitwig, and Ardour.

The keyboard also sports a raft of creative tools, including Arpeggiator and Chord Modes for easily creating musical progressions that make sense, a Scale Mode – which locks notes on the keyboard to a selected key, and Chord Detector, which displays the chord currently being played on the OLED display.
You can even split and layer the keyboard, too, meaning you can divide it into two independent zones, and layer two independent MIDI channels on top of one another and play them using the same keys.
And on the subject of MIDI, there’s also a full-sized MIDI out port so you can control synths and other hardware using the Launchkey 88 MK4.
Credit: Novation
The Launchkey 88 MK4 also comes with a suite of software instruments and tools, including Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE, and Novation Play, an exclusive Novation software instrument based on sampled acoustic pianos, vintage synths, and “cutting-edge” sound design. There’s also a collection of instruments and effects from Klevgrand, GForce, Orchestral Tools and Native Instruments.
Following the launch of the white Launchkey 61 MK4 last month, the addition of the new Launchkey 88 MK4 means the MK4 range now spans 10 controllers across six different sizes and two colour options.
Price-wise, the Launchkey 88 MK4 clocks in at $449.99/£379.99. Learn more at Novation.
Credit: Novation
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“A new benchmark for bass”: Baby Audio SubCulture supercharges your bass while keeping it in tune with your trackBaby Audio has launched SubCulture, an innovative new bass enhancement plugin that detects the pitch of incoming low-end signal and brings it to life while keeping it in tune with your project.
18 months in the making according to Baby Audio – which earlier this year unveiled its Grainferno plugin, aiming to “redefine granular synthesis – SubCulture could be the solution to give your basslines the energy you’ve been looking for.

READ MORE: Safari Audio expands its virtual synth collection with vintage Juno-style PolyRex

Designed to augment the low frequency content of an incoming monophonic audio signal, the enhanced low-end material generated by SubCulture is designed to stay in tune with the original audio signal – essentially offering you improved bass power while remaining musical.
At the core of the plugin are three bass enhancement engines: Sub Layer, Root Boost and Resonance.

Sub Layer adds a pitch-shifted sub-octave version of the input signal up to two octaves below the original. Root Boost is basically a pitch-tracking EQ band that adds up to 18 dB of boost or cut at the fundamental frequency of the input note.
And finally, the Resonance engine is a parallel filter network inspired by classic analogue designs. Baby Audio explains: “Optimised to work together in complementary dimensions, each processor plays a role to reinforce, enhance and extend the critical low frequency material in the signal.”
SubCulture also features saturation and compression sections based on analogue modelling – which can be harnessed to add “punch, harmonics and dynamics” to your basslines.
While SubCulture is aimed predominantly at producers looking to enhance their basslines, it can also be used creatively to augment any incoming audio signal, Baby Audio says.
SubCulture looks to offer a real playground for ground-up creativity, but it also launches with 177 custom presets from top producers and sound designers – including Craig Bauer, Dakota G and Eryck Bry – so you’ll have plenty of inspiration points to get started.
SubCulture is available now at an introductory price of $79 (normally $129). Learn more at Baby Audio.
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MIDI Innovations Awards 2026 Now in their sixth year the MIDI Innovations Awards are a joint venture between The MIDI Association, NAMM and Music Hackspace, and serve to shine some light on both commercial and non-commercial products that use MIDI in interesting ways.

Safari Audio expands its virtual synth collection with vintage Juno-style PolyRex
Alongside its slew of pedal plugins, Safari Audio is steadily expanding its selection of virtual synths. The company’s latest offering comes in the form of PolyRex, a plugin that captures the essence of vintage polysynths and injects it straight into your DAW.
While there are countless virtual models of the legendary Roland Juno-106, Safari Audio’s PolyRex takes a new stab at capturing the charms of the vintage synth. While emulating such an iconic sound can be a daunting task, the team approached it with a simple goal: making a synth that felt “immediate, fun, nostalgic, and filled with inspiring sounds”.

READ MORE: Tom Oberheim at 90: “I can never retire, first of all”

Rather than drowning behind an intimidating interface, PolyRex provides users with all the warmth and texture of the Juno in a simple, accessible form. Users can experiment with modulation options, an arpeggiator, and even take advantage of a built-in catalogue of chorus, delay or spring reverb effects to make the process feel less intimidating.

“With PolyRex, we wanted to capture the feeling that made us fall in love with vintage polysynths in the first place; it’s all about inspiring sounds, a simple workflow, and an instrument that invites you to keep playing,” Safari Audio explains.
Although there’s a focus on a simple workflow, that doesn’t mean PolyRex is lacking in features. In fact, the plugin has plenty of features to experiment with. Whether you’re keen to explore its vintage-inspired oscillator selection (including square and sub oscillators, as well as a noise generator and LFO pitch modulation), or add more movement through glide or pitch and LFO controls, there’s many ways to add texture and charm to your sound.

 
Compatible with all major DAWs, PolyRex comes as Safari Audio’s third virtual synth to date, joining the Cubby and Super Chunk. If you’re keen to add a Juno emulator to your arsenal, the PolyRex could be a good place to start – and, with it currently sitting at a 50% off introductory price at Plugin Boutique, it makes the product all-the-more enticing.
PolyRex is currently 50% off at Plugin Boutique, costing £35. For more information on PolyRex, head to Safari Audio.
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Can Meaw Chain make “vibe mixing” a thing?$60, safariaudio.com
The secret to top-notch sonics rarely lies in a single plugin. Selecting multiple, complimentary audio effects and chaining them in sequence for maximum impact – this is the real art of mixing.
How you actually achieve this alchemy has always been slightly mysterious. Producers spend years perfecting a ‘signature’ vocal chain, and many mastering engineers closely guard what goes on their mix bus. For those just starting out, the whole thing can be overwhelming. Meaw Chain, the latest release from Safari Audio, sets out to change this. Armed with AI, it can analyse your audio and give you a suitable chain of plugins based on text prompts.
So, should we rejoice that a core part of music production has been made more accessible? Or is ‘vibe mixing’ a paint-by-numbers game, offering more novelty than utility?

READ MORE: Mastering The Mix’s Reference 3 tells you exactly how to fix your mix

This is actually the second AI creation from Safari Audio. The first foray, Meaw Assist, functions as an in-DAW chatbot that can listen to your track and offer production or mix advice. Meaw Chain builds on those foundations but adds a plugin wrapper, allowing it to host VST3, AU, and AAX formats.

Upon first use, I am greeted by a salmon pink interface and a short quiz intended to gauge my level of experience, the kind of projects I am working with, and what I’d like Meaw Chain to focus on: creative ideas and inspiration, technical feedback and fixes, or a bit of both. Next up is a quick scan of my installed plugins and then I’m off to the races.
In plain language I’m able to describe what kind of sound I’m looking for—in this case ‘dark but punchy drums’—and, with only a second or two of processing time, Meaw Chain presents me with a bespoke chain of audio effects matching my criteria. Happily, each generated chain is accompanied by a text explanation that details what changes have been made to the audio and why.
Results from my initial prompts are heavy handed to say the least, but I can’t pretend I’m not impressed by the seamlessness of the process and how easy it is to tweak the chain with a few follow-up requests. For even better results, Meaw Chain can analyse a track’s audio, allowing future prompts to be contextualised against this analysis.
Meaw Chain initial settings. Image: Press
Safari Audio is first and foremost a plugin maker, offering a respectable range of audio processing and effects which serve as a strong starting point to see what Meaw Chain can do. However, the developers have wisely chosen not to limit Meaw Chain to its own plugins, and, at time of writing, it supports 130 third-party plugins from makers such as Arturia, FabFilter, iZotope, SSL, Soundtoys, Universal Audio and more.
I will say that, left to its own devices, Meaw Chain has a tendency to prioritise plugins from the Safari Audio lineup in the chains it generates. You can, however, direct Meaw Chain to use or exclude individual plugins, or to draw only from certain developers, which is a nice touch.
But the real surprise is Meaw Chain’s ability to manipulate parameters within plugins from any developer. The chains that it generates aren’t using a plugin’s supplied presets, instead, parameters are dynamically changed to fit a prompt – meaning users can zero in on individual controls and ask for changes. Of course, you can also expand a plugin’s window and move a dial using the cursor, but, really, where’s the fun in that?
Meaw Chain inaccessible parameters. Image: Press
There are limitations to all this. A few times I ask for a specific parameter change only to be told that the parameter can not be accessed. At other times, Meaw Chain seems to get overlapping parameters confused. For example, a request to make my dark and punchy drum chain a bit brighter resulted in boosted high frequencies and a low pass filter.
It should also be said that Meaw Chain paints with a broad brush. The more specific and detailed you want to be, the less sense this workflow makes as repeated prompting is hardly more efficient than just doing things by hand.
However, if you just want to quickly try out ideas, it can be powerful. Each new plugin chain you generate is stored in your chat history, meaning you can build up a set of variations and then A/B them to compare results. Not only that but you can also access the full history of conversations you’ve had with Meaw Chain across any project or DAW – turning it effectively into an ever-evolving bank of presets that can be reused or tweaked to fit each new mix.
However, the more I consider what Meaw Chain is truly useful for, and who it’s useful for, the more thorny my questions get.
Meaw Chain drum bus chain. Image: Press
To make the most of Meaw Chain, I would argue that you need to have a decent store of third-party plugins – and therein lies a paradox. The people who will benefit the most from Meaw Chain are likely to be those still learning the finer points of music production — these users are also less likely to have invested in a wide selection of tools. On the other hand, if you are an experienced bedroom producer or a studio professional with lots of audio plugins at your disposal, then do you really need the kind of simplified mix assistance Meaw Chain offers?
That said, this is a fascinating and genuinely cool implementation of AI in a music production context. Yes, the results it gives you work better as starting points, and it doesn’t offer the kind of specificity needed to get a mix up to a professional standard, but as the number of third-party plugins Meaw Chain supports continues to grow, as its audio analysis increases in quality. As its ability to manipulate specific parameters attains higher fidelity, we might just see mixing via prompts become the new normal.
Meaw Chain mastering chain. Image: Press
Key features

AI-assisted plugin chain builder
Chat-centred user interface generates plugin chains via text prompts
Hosts Safari Audio and third-party plugins
130 third-party plugins supported from major developers
VST3, AU and AAX formats

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