Cognition CEO denies report that SpaceX tried to acquire the startupSpaceX was reportedly in talks to buy AI coding startup Cognition. SpaceX has already acquired Cursor as it races to catch up to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI.

Cortis Brings the Explosive Energy to YouTube TheaterOn stage, South Korean boy group Cortis have a magnetic presence that you just can't look away. It's hard to believe the group barely debuted one year ago on Aug. 18. The group consists of five members: James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, and Keonho. James and Martin, respectively, had a lot of buzz surrounding them before their debut. James is recognized for choreographing and writing songs for major K-pop acts like ILLIT and Tomorrow X Together (TXT).  Martin is known for his writing and producing, notably ILLIT’s "Magnetic," TXT’s "Deja Vu," and LE SSERAFIM’s "Pierrot". 
What sets Cortis apart from other K-Pop is that they don’t follow the typical formula. They don’t have flashy over-the-top visuals. Their sound is more westernized and global with motifs of rap and hip-hop. They have a youthful aura, viral dance moves and explosively addictive sound, so it’s no surprise they would also put on a fantastic show. 
Cortis’ “Put Your Phone Down” Tour stopped by the YouTube Theater on Aug. 13. As the title suggests, the tour encourages fans, COER, to put their phone down and live in the moment. In honor of the theme of the show, the group created an app called "PYPW." The ‘PYPD’ app captures, in real-time, every movement and physical activity created together by the artist and fans at the venue. It encourages attendees to put their phones away and enjoy the show.
The show production is simple. It’s just them on stage with a couch on the side. This gave the show a more authentic vibe. There were no dress changes or VCRs, it was just them on stage dancing and singing to the music. The enormous screens behind them would light up and show the lyrics of the song in huge fonts. It felt more like an underground rap show than a K-pop show. The group focused on building up the energy of their fans. The group seemed very thrilled to be back in Los Angeles. Cortis created a lot of their music here in Los Angeles and mentioned at the show that they consider LA to be their second home.
All the members are so comfortable onstage; they would often run down through the aisles and interact with fans - dancing and singing along. Each member used handheld mics, giving them more control of their vocals. The delivery of each song was strong. Unfortunately, Keonho had to sit down on the couch for some of the choreographed moments as he suffered fractures in both pinkies due to a fall. That didn’t stop him from dancing along with his groupmates and showcasing his strong vocals. 
Cortis only has two EPs in their catalog, so it makes sense why they decided to sing the same songs multiple times to fill in time and make the concert worth it for fans. It would have been nice for the group to sing song covers, especially since they are BigHit Music's third group after BTS and TXT. At times the show felt a bit repetitive, but no one in the venue seemed to mind too much, as each performance was different; for example, they performed an explosive remix version of “GO” and extended version of “TNT.” Keeping their set interesting. One of the most memorable moments was when they slowed things down with “Joy Ride” “Lullaby” and “Blue Lips,” highlighting their melodic vocals and group harmonies. 
Towards the end of the night, the group gave some touching farewell speeches. James’ speech in particular was very sweet and endearing, ending the show on a high note. "You know LA is a very special city. It's in LA that we first put our heads together and wrote our first line of lyrics. It's in LA that we first rode into the practice room and choreographed our first choreo. It’s in LA that we made this album Color Outside the Lines that started our careers. LA is a melting pot of so many cultures all together. I see every single type of people, everyone beautiful. Everyone United, every single one enjoying music, enjoying life. This is why we’re on tour. To see every single one of you enjoying yourselves. LA, you are a very, very special city and you will always be our base,” finished James to thunderous applause. The post Cortis Brings the Explosive Energy to YouTube Theater first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Bitcoin.com integrates UAE-registered US dollar stablecoin into self-custodial walletThe integration expands access to USDU, the UAE’s first central bank-registered US dollar stablecoin, as it builds distribution beyond institutional channels.

How The Kount (BROCKHAMPTON, Logic) brings a loop to life
Watch The Kount (BROCKHAMPTON, Logic) and his friends as they bring a drum loop to life with live instrumentation.

Mini Blinking Barrels Keep Desktop Traffic in CheckYour desk or bench is a work area, so why not make it look the part? That’s the idea behind the miniature blinking traffic barrels that [Glen Akins] recently put together. Of course, just a single blinking light doesn’t really sell the idea of a busy construction zone, so he spent a somewhat surprising amount of time and effort optimizing the design for small-scale production.
The end result is a fascinating write-up that dives into the design decisions [Glen] made. Every aspect of this project, from the overhang of the “handle” on the 3D printed barrel to the number of passive components on the PCB was carefully considered. Critics may say [Glen] put too much thought into something that didn’t need to be so complex, but projects like these are an excellent way to keep your skills sharp — there’s no such thing as practicing too much.
Starting with the design of the barrel itself, we appreciate that [Glen] kept the capabilities of his desktop 3D printer in mind. By breaking the design up into multiple pieces and avoiding overly steep angles, he produced a design that prints cleanly without the need for support material. His step-by-step documentation and screenshots also serve as a great introduction to designing parts in Fusion if that’s something you’re interested in.
From there, things switch over to the electronics. Some in the audience will bemoan that he’s using a PIC12F1612 microcontroller to blink a single LED instead of a 555, but [Glen] brought the receipts on this one. Not only does the PIC offer more flexibility in terms of getting the blinking to look the way he wants, but it requires fewer passive components on the board and is considerably more energy efficient than the iconic timer IC. Even if you ignore all the other advantages, he calculates that going with a 555 would have cut the battery life of the finished product by approximately 15%.
This is one of those projects that’s difficult to summarize in such a terse format, as every time you think the write-up must be about over it takes a new turn on you. We were mildly bemused when the second iteration of the PCB popped up, but by the time he introduced the custom programming adapter board, we knew [Glen] wasn’t messing around.
Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen [Glen]’s handiwork. You may recall seeing his RP2040-powered sound board earlier this year, but his name has been popping up on these pages for more than a decade now.

Tamber LibrarianSearch by feel, not filename. Librarian makes every sample on your drive searchable by what you're feeling and hearing, not what it's named. Stop recycling the same sounds just because they're the only ones you can find. Search by what you're hearing. Type the feeling, the texture, or the vibe you want. Make a sound, find a sound. Mimic lets you drop audio or record sounds to find similar sounds already on your drive. 100% local, Nothing leaves your machine. Librarian reads your library right where it lives and your files are never uploaded anywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2WUpdrPYKQ Read More

KKR to acquire minority stake in BookMyShow, the company behind Coldplay and Ed Sheeran’s India concertsThe deal gives KKR a position in the business whose live division, BookMyShow Live, has staged concerts in India by Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Travis Scott, Guns N' Roses and Post Malone.
Source

Audio Modeling open PolySWAM pre-orders Audio Modeling's latest orchestral instrument combines the company's SWAM engine with a proprietary voice-allocation technology that makes it possible to play chords, melodic passages and layered textures. 

Harrison Audio channels the power of the 32Classic into new Flex-10 desktop production toolKeen to level up your production game? Harrison Audio might have you covered. The new Flex-10 comes as the brand’s latest solution to compact desktop production, with the 10‑in/12‑out USB-C, 32‑bit/192 kHz audio interface interface perfect for a minimalist studio set up, or as part of an on-the-go, portable studio.
Despite its small size, the Flex-10 is a high-quality, tactile and intuitive production tool. The tactile audio interface is reminiscent of Harrison Audio’s 32Classic, allowing for a classic analogue feel while also embracing a few modern perks. It’s a great way of harnessing the power of a full Harrison studio console in a smaller package.

READ MORE: Cradle State Machine Alt Textures relies heavily on its epic sounds

One element that has been directly derived from the 32 is the channel set-up. There are two channels of high-performance Harrison mic preamps, kitted out with H-DRIVE real transformer saturation and high-pass and low-pass filters – a tried-and-true formula for shaping your mix. Each channel also includes buttons for line level, 48V phantom power, -20 dB pad, and phase inversion.
Each of the two channels also has an accompanying 1/4″ input conveniently placed at the front of the interface. That means you can hook up your guitars, synths and whatever else with ease.

In terms of the Flex-10’s full connectivity, the 10-in/12-out setup is a mix of MIDI I/O and a total of eight channels of ADAT I/O. This includes a pair of monitoring outputs, each with their own independent controls, as well as two headphone outputs – so dual monitoring won’t be an issue. There’s also two additional MIDI I/O over 3.5mm TRS connectors, for those wanting some extra connectivity for drum machines and synths.
One of the modern perks in question is the Harrison Creator Pack, which comes bundles with a purchase of the Flex-10. The collection of virtual instruments, plug‑ins, loops and samples are of a respectable quality – hailing from Solid State Logic, Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, and more – and they should allow you to experiment with a slew of sounds right off the bat.
Alongside the Harrison Creator Pack, a purchase of the Flex-10 also comes with a full license for Harrison Audio’s own DAW, Harrison Mixbus 12.
For more information, head to Harrison Audio.
The post Harrison Audio channels the power of the 32Classic into new Flex-10 desktop production tool appeared first on MusicTech.

Stemwire offers Zero Sweep Filter and Subkeeper Saturator for FREE
Stemwire has released Zero Sweep Filter and Subkeeper Saturator, two freeware effects for macOS and Windows. I love the minimal design of these plugins. White on black looks clean, and I think it fits the general idea behind these plugins because they both address a specific production problem without adding a bunch of controls you [...]
View post: Stemwire offers Zero Sweep Filter and Subkeeper Saturator for FREE

“I’ve seen artists with less talent outwork everybody else and become stars”: Studio 1501’s Carl Crawford just wants you to have a strong work ethicBefore he was the head of one of Houston’s most pivotal hip-hop houses, Carl Crawford was a left fielder for the LA Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. The former decorated baseballer, a Houston native, played from 2002 to 2016, hanging up his cleats and founding 1501 Certified Entertainment in the same year. But he hasn’t exactly left the sport behind.
As the head of 1501’s label and recording studio, Crawford says he applies the same “discipline, consistency, preparation” into his music career as he did during his baseball years. Since its inception, 1501 has championed all-star talent Megan Thee Stallion and Erica Banks, alongside other grassroots rappers.
It hasn’t been easy. Following a legal battle in 2023 with Megan Thee Stallion, Crawford stepped down as president, with Banks also departing the label in 2023. But now, with the launch of the new Studio 1501, Crawford is aiming to foster a new generation of Houston talent by applying that same work ethic and giving artists access to a glitzy, kitted-out creative space, created with his studio partner Jarrod ‘Lacemode’ Lacy. In this Studio Files, take a look inside and learn more about the benefits of a glammed-up space, and why Crawford is now “much more intentional about what I say, what I post, and how I move.”
Carl, what did your athletics career teach you that you’ve carried into 1501 Studios?
Baseball taught me discipline, consistency, preparation, and how to recognise that “it factor.” Talent will get you noticed, but discipline is what keeps you around. I carried that same mentality into music. You have to show up every day, put the work in, and understand that success doesn’t happen overnight.  Sports also taught me how to build a team. You need the right producers, engineers, A&Rs, management, creatives, and artists all working toward the same goal. At 1501, we push each other to be better.
Crawford and his studio partner Jarrod ‘Lacemode’ Lacy. Image: Press
1501 has influenced Houston’s wave of female rap talent, from Megan Thee Stallion to Erica Banks. What are you listening for when you decide an artist belongs on the roster? And what’s it like when these artists step into the studio to record?
I’m looking for authenticity before anything else. Everybody can rap and make music now, but can you make people believe you? Do you have your own identity? Can I hear you on one record and immediately know it’s you?  Work ethic is just as important as talent. I’ve seen artists with less talent outwork everybody else and become stars. That’s why we built an environment where artists can experiment and become better every session.
Tell us a bit about the studio.
The new Studio 1501 is located in Acres Homes, Houston, which is home for me. We always had our original studio off Memorial, but I wanted something closer to where we’re developing artists every day.
The vision was to build a complete creative campus. Artists can record, rehearse, network with other musicians and influencers, work out, create content, hold meetings, and really focus without distractions. Everything is connected because I believe artist development doesn’t stop once the recording session ends.
Image: Press
Studio 1501 took two years to design and build. What were the biggest challenges, and what would you do differently now?
Our project manager, J Lacy, did an incredible job bringing the vision together. The biggest challenges were the normal construction headaches. We changed developers, timelines shifted, and there were unexpected costs along the way.  That’s just part of building something at this level.  Looking back, I probably would’ve started even earlier because once you see the finished product, you realise every delay was worth it.
The room looks stunning, but does the vibe of the space bring more to a session than just looking good?
Absolutely. The vibe is the beginning of the creative process. Before somebody records one word, they’re already feeling the room. Most of the time, I can tell how productive a session is going to be just by walking in and feeling the atmosphere. We added recliners, custom lighting, fog glass doors, custom Augspurger speakers, LED accents…everything was intentional. When artists feel comfortable and inspired, they create better music.
What’s the latest addition to the space, and what made it a must-buy?
Definitely the custom Augspurger speakers, a set of Duo12Vs and Sub212s. J Lacy pushed hard for those, and now I understand why. They’re incredibly accurate, and hearing a record through them changes your whole perspective. Augspurger’s president Dave Malekpour was also very involved in the final speaker placement and tuning the speakers to the room, to ensure we’re getting the best possible accuracy and performance.
Image: Press
Are there any budget or low-cost pieces of gear that are surprisingly essential to the studio’s workflow?
An AUX cord [laughs].
Do you have a dream piece of gear for the studio?
I’d like to bring in more live instruments. Imagine artists being able to walk in and immediately record with live drums, keyboards, guitars, or strings. It creates a completely different energy than programming everything. I also think it’d be great for live sessions and performances inside the studio.
Image: Press
Many hip-hop artists today make their music in a bedroom or spare room at home. Is there really a benefit to having a studio space like this in 2026? Can you hear the difference between a bedroom-made beat and a 1501 Studio-made beat?
For me, it goes back to preparation. I want my artists practising and writing wherever they are. Come up with ideas at home. Record demos if you need to. But when it’s time to make the record, it’s game time. I want them prepared before they walk into the studio because that’s where you’re working with producers, engineers, and other artists at the highest level.  Can a bedroom record become a hit? Absolutely. We’ve all heard records that started that way, but it’s rare, and I spent way too much money building this studio to send out a record made in a bedroom.
What’s a music production myth you think needs debunking?
I honestly don’t think there’s one right way to make great music. I’ve seen artists become more creative because of the room they’re in. I’ve seen producers completely change an artist’s performance.
I’ve seen artists make incredible records on equipment people would call “basic.”  Two things can be true at the same time.
Image: Press
Who gave you the biggest lesson in your music career? Can you tell us about how it impacted you?
I’ve learned to stay hands-on with my company. I check in with my artists more. It’s important not to make emotional decisions or react on impulse, especially in this business. I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Probably the biggest lesson was understanding the power of social media. I went from being viewed as a hometown hero and World Series champion to becoming one of the most talked-about people in hip-hop almost overnight. Whether people agreed with me or not, I learned that perception moves fast online.
I’ve spent years rebuilding parts of my public image while continuing to build the business. Now I’m much more intentional about what I say, what I post, and how I move. Every decision has an impact, and that’s something I understand a lot better today.
The post “I’ve seen artists with less talent outwork everybody else and become stars”: Studio 1501’s Carl Crawford just wants you to have a strong work ethic appeared first on MusicTech.

dBdone releases Feuer, a FREE drum loop mangler that surprised me
dBdone has released Feuer, a free creative drum-processing plugin for macOS and Windows that’s a lot more fun than I anticipated. We recently covered dBdone Glas, a free spectral chaos plugin for turning pads, synths, and vocals into glassy textures. Feuer is somewhat similar, but aimed at drums, percussion, breaks, and rhythmic loops. Anyway, based [...]
View post: dBdone releases Feuer, a FREE drum loop mangler that surprised me

Minimal Audio release Lucid Described as “your dream granular effect”, Minimal Audio’s latest creation is capable of turning any sound into a musical texture or rhythmic effect, with the results always staying locked to the user’s chosen key and tempo. 

StemDeck is a FREE open-source local stem splitter
Solo developer Thales Pereira has released StemDeck, a free and open-source stem separation tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Thales says he built StemDeck to help his kid practice drums, after wanting a way to pull stems without paying a subscription or uploading music to someone else’s server. We’ve covered a few stem tools over [...]
View post: StemDeck is a FREE open-source local stem splitter

Native Instruments’ SuperStarSaw is A. G. Cook’s way of showing you the power of a simple saw wave
The humble saw wave has put in a serious shift over the years. Buzzing away inside Reese basses and Hoovers, it’s the basis for countless synth patches, including the massive, euphoric supersaws that have powered decades of dance music.
First popularised by the Roland JP-8000 and later baked into the DNA of trance, the supersaw is having yet another moment in the spotlight thanks to SuperStarSaw, a collaboration between Native Instruments and Grammy-winning producer A. G. Cook.
Best-known to many listeners as Charli XCX’s right-hand man, Cook’s production calling cards have slowly seeped into the charts since he founded the PC Music label in 2013. SuperStarSaw makes his signature sounds more attainable than ever – but can this synth do more than merely mimic its architect?
What do SuperStarSaw’s presets sound like?
Before I’ve even made any noise, SuperStarSaw’s unique appearance primes me to expect something different. It borrows the pink-and-green geometric design language from Cook’s Britpop album campaign, wrapped up in a one-page layout that feels clean and approachable at first glance.
SuperStarSaw interface. Image: Press
I’m particularly intrigued by the floral Morpher that takes centre stage, though other controls like the amp envelope and filter section feel impractically small. A resizable interface would be useful here.
Native Instruments has clearly lavished attention on the look of the plugin – but how does SuperStarSaw actually sound? I rifle through its 235 presets beginning to end, and am impressed with the instrument’s range. Several evoke specific moments from Cook’s eclectic discography: glassy glissando keys, dense flurries of plucks, aggressively pitch-enveloped percussive stabs. Others tread closer to classic—if slightly generic—dance sounds.

The quantity and quality of cinematic patches is a pleasant surprise, though it makes sense given Cook’s recent move into scoring with The Moment, a mockumentary film starring Charli XCX. But where synth-heavy soundtracks like Drive and Blade Runner 2049 are inspired by sounds of the past, SuperStarSaw’s character feels notably future-facing. At its most restrained, it deals in intimate ambient timbres; moments later, it’s churning out the sound of a spaceship at warp speed.

Designing sounds in SuperStarSaw
For the uninitiated, a supersaw stacks many slightly detuned saw waves to create a thick, drifting sound used for enormous leads and euphoric pads.
In SuperStarSaw, these stacks are presented as two independent ‘swarms’ of 16 oscillators each. Initialising the patch, I begin with the basics and dial up the Spread – this represents the range of detuning applied across the oscillators, and thus how big the sound is.

There are quite a few parameters to get your head around. They’re compartmentalised by function: the panning controls, for example, spread the oscillators across the stereo field, while the amplitude controls adjust their balance.
How they alter the sound is not always obvious by ear alone, but I’m assisted by a handy visualisation of the oscillators’ distribution around the root note, while tooltips along the bottom further ease the learning process.
SuperStarSaw Swarm Controls. Image: Press
Eventually, I become impatient with my results and discover the Randomise button. It’s definitely a gamble, with a frustratingly low hit rate for sounds I’d actually put in a track – many are devoid of harmony until tweaked substantially, and a few are almost inaudible altogether. A way to constrain ranges or lock parameters would help tremendously.

As I continue tweaking, I find myself treading a delicate balance: push too far, and the patch becomes cacophonous. While these sounds are fun to play with, they probably won’t work for melody-driven composition.
SuperStarSaw’s harmony engine
The antidote to all this amorphous discord is the harmony engine. At the basic level, it filters incoming MIDI according to a wide variety of scales: familiar options like major and minor, modal flavours including Super Locrian and Dorian #4, or the traditional Japanese Hirajoshi.
SuperStarSaw Scales. Image: Press
To access the harmony engine’s full power, I enable pitch quantisation within the oscillator swarm – this is where SuperStarSaw starts to open up. Each oscillator is ushered into the chosen scale’s confines, creating beautifully tense tone clusters as I increase the Spread:

Pitch quantisation can also be applied by way of a specific chord shape. I automate this parameter and play a single note, again in C major:

Finally, I rhythmically mash my MIDI keyboard, letting SuperStarSaw herd my playing into the Aeolian scale, before I finesse the initialised patch into a delicate, sparkly pluck:

Morphing and motion in SuperStarSaw
So, what actually makes something sound like A. G. Cook? According to the man himself, it’s “a lot of extreme contrast, minimalism, maximalism, finding ways to use those together in an expressive way”.
It follows, then, that SuperStarSaw’s Morpher is the instrument’s centrepiece. Using the snapshot buttons in each corner, users can instantly assign parameter values to the grid and transition between them gradually or dramatically:

I take a cue from Cook, configuring a simple fifth to break down into unwieldy chaos that’s rebuilt as an airy, fluttering pad:

This might be SuperStarSaw’s standout feature. Assigning macros to this many parameters—let alone automating them by hand—would be incredibly time-consuming. Instead, the Morpher makes gesture-based experimentation both speedy and fun.
Elsewhere, life can be injected into your patches through Motion settings within the swarm controls, along with an LFO and two ADSR envelopes that can be assigned to most parameters.
Sadly, the Morpher is excluded. It can be moved manually or automated in the DAW, but there’s no onboard LFO or path recorder to send it drifting around the grid – a missed trick for SuperStarSaw’s most potent sound design tool.
Should I buy SuperStarSaw?
If you’re yet to buy an all-purpose synthesizer, SuperStarSaw probably isn’t for you. Its architecture is unusual, and it doesn’t teach or cover the ‘standard’ synthesis workflow in the way a conventional do-it-all flagship like Serum 2 or Arturia Pigments does.
That said, SuperStarSaw is neither a toy nor a gimmick. It’s a focused, characterful instrument for producers who want to see just how far the supersaw can be pushed.
The more I use SuperStarSaw, the more I’m reminded how much mileage there is in a simple starting point, and its limitations force a different way of working. It’s potentially valuable for sound designers looking to break away from their usual habits or go-to patches.
This approach is not without flaws. With more conventional synthesizers, you can start with a sound in your head and build towards it through a fairly linear process. SuperStarSaw doesn’t always work like that, at least not until you’ve spent serious time with it. As a result, achieving something specific sometimes feels harder than expected.
There’s also a risk of sameness. Unless I fully engage in the sound design process, SuperStarSaw nudges me towards familiar territory, revealing a sort of ‘default’ character – but with a little patience, it’s possible to coax a broad palette from the instrument. This exploration is rewarding: it feels like you’re often just one tweak away from discovering something genuinely striking.
Given its narrower focus, SuperStarSaw does feel slightly expensive. But each time I load it up, I end up with a patch worth building a track around within minutes. For many, that creative spark is worth the £90 asking price.
Key Features

Two independent ‘swarms’ of 16 saw oscillators
235 presets across eight categories
Parameter randomisation buttons
XY pad for morphing between sounds
Quantise oscillator pitches to scales and chords
Independent per-voice glide
1 LFO / 2 ADSR modulation sources
High-pass, low-pass and band-pass morphing filter
Built-in chorus, delay, and reverb effects
Snap note input to chosen key and scale

The post Native Instruments’ SuperStarSaw is A. G. Cook’s way of showing you the power of a simple saw wave appeared first on MusicTech.