AI inference startup Modal Labs in talks to raise at $2.5B valuation, sources sayGeneral Catalyst is in talks to lead the round for the four-year-old startup, according to our sources.

Live Review of RIIZEPeacock Theater Los Angeles, CA

Web: shop-us.riizeofficial.comPlayers: Anton, Eunseok, Shotaro, Sohee, Sungchan, Wonbin, all vocals.

It was a night of celebration for K-pop group RIIZE as they concluded their first-ever North American tour, RIIZING LOUD, with an impressive performance in Los Angeles. The show began with a dramatic VCR showcasing each of the six members: Anton, Eunseok, Shotaro, Sohee, Sungchan, and Wonbin. The fans (endearinglynicknamed BRIIZE) shrieked in loud excitement when their favorite appeared onscreen. Soon after RIIZE walked onstage in matching white and black outfits and kicked things off with the fiery track “Ember to Solar,” showing off their impressive, synchronized dance moves. Focusing all their energy on hyping up the fans, the group followed up with the obnoxiously fun “Siren” and the euphoric track “Odyssey.” The group finished the first segment of their set with “Combo,” a fan-favorite due to its highly catchy chorus that had everyone screaming, “I’m such a loser, she such a weirdo.” 

What makes RIIZE stand out from amongst the rest of the emerging K-pop boy groups are their high-energy pop tracks, fun wordplay and enjoyable harmonies. They’re a group that oozes with youthful charisma. The group knows where their strength lies and do a good job of showcasing their talents on stage. Wonbin and Sohee are the strongest vocalists, as their versatile delivery and impressive high notes could be heard loud and clear throughout the night. Anton’s husky vocals fit perfectly for the lower tempo moments in their songs, while Shungchan, Shotaro, and Eunseok rounded things out with their impressive rapping and vocal delivery. The group used minimal backtracking, letting us hear their raw vocals shine. 

Their set also featured memorable moments showcasing their impressive dance moves. During the melodic R&B song “Honestly,” each member took turns performing dance solos and as duos. The electronic track “Impossible” featured intense choreography with lots of fast leg moves and impressive kicks. While “Bag Bad Back” incorporated fun hip-hop choreography that had everyone dancing along. 

The fun transitions and interesting visuals kept things interesting and lively. One of the most memorable moments was before “Get A Guitar,” when Wonbin and Anton appeared on stage holding a bass and an electric guitar. Channeling their inner rock star, they performed an instrumental duet, which earned loud cheers and screams. 

In between songs, the group would take breaks to engage with fans and keep the energy up. They egged everyone to be as loud as possible, even challenging us to be louder than their previous show in San Francisco. Anton acted as the leader for the night as he hails from New Jersey and is fluent in English. As RIIZE’s North American tour leg came to an end, the group was humming with triumphant energy. Each member took time to thank fans for all the support and reminisced on their tour journey—sharing that they initially had fears and worries of crossing into the North American market. But thanks to all the love and support from fans, the tour turned out to be a grand success in their eyes. The post Live Review of RIIZE first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Chainlink feeds go live for Ondo tokenized US stocks on EthereumPrice feeds for SPYon, QQQon and TSLAon are now live on Ethereum, allowing the Ondo-issued tokenized equities to be used as collateral in DeFi lending markets.

How to make a song instrumental: Stem separation explained
In this introductory guide, we overview how to make a song instrumental with stem separation techniques.

Thermoforming: Shaping Curvy Grilles With No SupportsMaking sure the heatgun is on ‘low’ and gloves are on while pushing on the mold. (Credit: Zion Brock)
Although hobbyists these days most often seem to use thermoplastics as a print-and-done material in FDM printers, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from taking things further with thermoforming. Much like forming acrylic using a hot wire or hot air, thermoplastics like PLA can be further tweaked with a similar method. This can be much less complex than 3D printing the design with supports, as demonstrated by [Zion Brock].
For this classically styled radio project the front grille was previously 3D printed with the curved shape, but to avoid an ugly edge it had to be printed with most of the grille off the print bed, requiring countless supports and hours of printing time. To get around this, [Zion] opted to print the grille flat and then thermoform its curved shape. Of course, due to the unusual shape of the grille, this required a bit more effort than e.g. a spherical form.
This is similar to what is used with sheet metal to get detailed shaped, also requiring a mold and a way to stretch the flat shape over the mold. With the flat form designed to have all the material in the right places, it was able to be printed in less than an hour in PLA and then formed with a heatgun aimed at the part while the two-section mold is slid together to create the final form.
You can find the design files and full instructions on the website for the radio project.

Olivier Chastan’s Iconoclast in sale talks at price tag of around $500 millionMultiple sources tell MBW that Iconoclast is in talks with approximately 10 different parties
Source

Artists in DSP releases FREE AI-driven Amorph plugin that lets you create plugins
Artists in DSP released Amorph (open beta), their free AI-prompt-driven app, for macOS and Windows. AI has been a relatively hot topic around here recently, with the release of projects like Noizefield’s Audio Plugin Coder (APC). The conversation continues as we take a look at Amorph by Artists in DSP. Before we look at Amorph [...]
View post: Artists in DSP releases FREE AI-driven Amorph plugin that lets you create plugins

FRCTL SWRL LiteSWRL Lite is a free movement effect plugin that adds organic depth, space, and character to any audio with just two simple controls. Feed it vocals, drums, synths, or anything else and watch static sounds come alive with chorus, reverb, spatial rotation, tremolo, rhythmic pump, and warm saturation — all blended into one knob. No effect chain stacking, no menu diving, just immediate creative results. TWO CONTROLS AMOUNT - Controls all six motion characters (Drift, Wash, Orbit, Flutter, Pulse, Heat) at once. One knob for instant movement. MIX - Dry/wet blend. That's it. Drop it on a track, turn the knobs, create. WHAT IT'S GOOD FOR Adding instant depth and movement to flat sounds. Creating evolving, animated textures. Quick spatial effects without routing multiple plugins. Sound design and experimental processing. Features VST3, AU, CLAP formats. Windows 10/11, macOS 10.13+, Linux. Low CPU usage, zero latency. Works in all major DAWs (Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, Bitwig, Reaper, etc.). Free forever, commercial use allowed. WANT MORE CONTROL? Upgrade to the full version of SWRL for independent control over each character's AMOUNT, adjustable RATE and WIDTH, crossover protection, output filters, spectrum analyzer, and I/O meters. Download SWRL Lite free and start adding movement today. Read More

Extinct Audio launch MoMics MoMics, or the Museum of Microphones, brings together an array of photographs, documents and sound recordings for over 200 mic models. 

Deadmau5 discovers DJ using an AI-generated version of him to promote his own music: “This is just the beginning for talentless f**ks abusing this tech”Deadmau5 has railed against AI after discovering a DJ using an AI-generated version of his likeness to promote his own music.
In a new post on Instagram, deadmau5 – real name Joel Thomas Zimmerman – hesitates to call out the offending DJ by name, but expresses his thoughts on generative AI – and he’s not happy.

READ MORE: Suno says “accessibility” is the reason for its success — but I think accessibility is the problem with AI music

“Welcome to that dystopian future we only dreamed about three years ago,” he writes in the post’s caption, before going on: “Woke up to some idiot DJ’s Instagram story (whose name I’ll redact because I don’t care to promote him), that depicted me standing there promoting him and his music. FULLY AI-generated, voice wasn’t quite 100% but pretty damn convincing. Fucking scary as fuck.”
He continues: “And I’m sure this is just the beginning for talentless fucks to abuse this tech to further themselves while violating others’ rights in one of the worst ways possible. I’m sure we’re all going to be seeing much more of this. AI is fucking great; generative AI not so much; but we need to stop idiots like this from abusing it.”

View this post on Instagram

Deepfakes and the erosion of authenticity have long been a point of concern for those sceptical of generative AI. Minimal legal guardrails – like a policy which enforces the clear labelling of AI-generated content – combined with the increasing sophistication of generative AI models means convincing videos can be created depicting others doing things they wouldn’t do, with limited or no repercussions for the creator.
AI tool Grok – owned by Elon Musk’s X – recently came under fire after it was discovered users had been using it to create sexualised images of real people, with the EU launching an investigation last month. 
Alongside his statement in his Instagram post, deadmau5 includes a photo, which we can presume has been taken from the AI-generated video he is referring to, and it certainly looks very convincing.
Deadmau5 has been a vocal sceptic of AI in the past, telling MusicTech in 2023: “[ChatGPT] is good. But it’s only as good as what it knows. It’s a huge training model, right?
“So take the collective stupidity of the world and make a robot fucking barf it out. It’s not gonna be that genius, but it’s gonna get you what you want.”
The post Deadmau5 discovers DJ using an AI-generated version of him to promote his own music: “This is just the beginning for talentless f**ks abusing this tech” appeared first on MusicTech.

AKG C-Series microphones: Everything you need to know about the AKG C104, C114 and C151AKG is a respected manufacturer of reference-quality microphones, with its classic C414 mics being among the best ever created. Indeed, I’ve always maintained that if I had to record absolutely everything with one model of microphone, it would be a C414.
READ MORE: “What’s currently out there isn’t good enough; we can do better”: Why AKG wants to raise the bar for budget microphones
Now, AKG is offering three new C-series mics that allow budget-conscious producers to own a large slice of its signature sound for a fraction of the price of its flagship products. Two of them look extremely similar, echoing the squared-off profile of the aforementioned C414, while the third resembles the company’s current reference C451 B small-diaphragm microphone. All three, however, have their own individual sonic character while adhering to the company’s admirable philosophy of sustainability.
All of the mic bodies are made from 100% recycled PIR metal, and AKG states that every aspect, from packaging to accessories, has been thoughtfully engineered for minimal environmental impact. The boxes housing the microphones are made from paper pulp and other sustainable materials, making them fully recyclable, yet robust enough to protect the mics when in transportation or storage.
Phil Feinman, AKG’s Global Line Product Manager (Microphones), told us, “The new microphones were designed and developed with content creation in mind. The acoustic and sonic characteristics were inspired by the legendary sound of AKG microphones, but modernised for use by today’s content creators. The team also took care to incorporate a simplified design for improved function by podcasters, streamers and musicians; the new mics are right at home in home studios, project studios and recording studios.”
So, which of these microphones is best suited to your needs?
AKG C104
[products ids=”66i4XZsrN3ADWREEOGZHtg”]
If you are a podcaster or content creator who only wishes to record speech, the large-diaphragm C104 is a great choice, and it’s highly affordable. You’re not paying for multiple polar patterns you’ll likely never use, and it’s a no-fuss, easy-to-use microphone.
In my review of the AKG C104, I said: “For most pop music producers, it will cover all bases admirably.”
“At this price, I can think of no other mic that performs as well as the C104, especially for speech recording. Expect to see it on many podcasts and YouTube videos over the coming months and years.”
AKG C151
[products ids=”1cMixBMu6cTkgWKe4t3hqB”]
More expensive yet visually more unobtrusive, the small-diaphragm C151 is highly detailed with a polished sound that adds sparkle to voices and, especially, instruments such as acoustic guitars. It’s also fabulous to use with percussion of all types.
In my review of the AKG C151, I said: “Tonally, the mic is balanced towards the higher end of the frequency spectrum, so acoustic guitars, for example, benefit from a natural sheen from the mic. This adds a sense of air and space as though you’ve boosted around 12 kHz on a really nice-sounding EQ. Human voices can be enhanced greatly by the C151’s cool clarity and articulate nature, especially when intelligibility is needed to cut through background music or noise on location recordings.”
“For a budget-priced microphone, the AKG C151 is remarkably clean and detailed-sounding
AKG C114
[products ids=”66i4XZsrN3ADWREEOGZHtg”]
For me, though, the star of the show is the C114. Not only is it the most versatile mic in the series, offering omnidirectional, figure-8 and cardioid pick-up, it’s also the most natural sounding. It delivers much of the signature AKG sound I associate with the company’s classic mics, such as the C414 and C12, offering clarity and convincing midrange detail that’s rare at its price point.
In my review of the AKG C114, I said: “Much of the wonderful AKG sound I have always adored is present and correct in the C114. The broad midrange is wonderfully faithful, neutral and correct with no spikes or dips in the response, and the low end is firm and richly textured.
However, it’s the treble quality that impresses me the most. It’s beautifully smooth with crystal-clear accuracy and no harshness at all. Voices are captured with a palpable honesty that is usually the preserve of far more expensive microphones.”
Check out more music gear buyers’ guides.
The post AKG C-Series microphones: Everything you need to know about the AKG C104, C114 and C151 appeared first on MusicTech.

Écoute launches TH2 – the next evolution of its groundbreaking vacuum tube-powered headphonesBack in 2023, San Francisco audio brand Écoute made waves in the headphone world when it introduced the TH1, the world’s first over-ear headphones powered by a built-in vacuum tube preamp and dual-mono amplification.
Funded via Kickstarter, the innovative cans caught the attention of enough audiophiles around the world, raising over $200,000 in its initial campaign. Now, the brand has unveiled the TH2 – the next evolution of its vacuum tube-powered headphones.

READ MORE: Guitar modelling giant Fractal Audio unveils ICONS, its first-ever plugin

“What if your headphones didn’t sound like headphones?” This is the question powering Écoute’s design philosophy behind the all-new TH2 headphones.
At the heart of the TH2 sits real, glowing triodes performing the “critical role” of voltage gain. As Écoute explains, in any HiFi system, the gain stage is where a signal is truly shaped. “It’s the front end of the amplification chain – where microdynamics, harmonic structure and spatial cues are either preserved or lost.”
Credit: Écoute
Essentially, then, the principle of tube-driven audio and dual-mono amplification remains the same as the TH1, but the TH2 offers a number of upgrades on its predecessor.
First is improved sound, with deeper bass, extended treble, and more resolution across the entire frequency spectrum. They also feature a redesigned chassis and headband for improved comfort via better weight distribution, plus upgraded durability.
The TH2 headphones are built to last too, with a modular design allowing for the easy changing of pads and headband wraps.
Credit: Écoute
Other upgrades to the TH2 include improved noise control, with a lower ANC noise floor and a more natural transparency mode, plus better passive sound isolation.
They also allow for the customisation of audio, with eight customisable frequency bands and ±12 dB per band.

“It’s the same architecture, just refined for an even more musical and lifelike listening experience,” Écoute says.
“Two years ago, we introduced the TH1 – the world’s first headphone with a built-in vacuum tube preamp and dual-mono amplification,” the company continues. 
“It proved that a true analog signal path could be made portable without compromise. Audiophiles noticed. Reviewers took it seriously. And for the first time, listeners could leave the listening room without leaving the sound they loved behind.”
You can learn more about the new TH2 headphones at Écoute’s Kickstarter page.
The post Écoute launches TH2 – the next evolution of its groundbreaking vacuum tube-powered headphones appeared first on MusicTech.

HoRNet 3XOver DJ-style EQ plugin is FREE for 48 hours
HoRNet offers the 3XOver three-band DJ-style EQ and crossover plugin for macOS and Windows as a free download for the next 48 hours. The plugin normally costs €5.99, but you can add it to your HoRNet user account for free during the limited-time promotion. To get it, visit the product page on HoRNet’s website, add [...]
View post: HoRNet 3XOver DJ-style EQ plugin is FREE for 48 hours

Ableton Live 12.4 enters public beta The latest Ableton Live update comes loaded with new features and improvements to the DAW itself, as well delivering some enhancements to Ableton's Push and Move hardware and the Note mobile application. 

Guitar modelling giant Fractal Audio unveils ICONS, its first-ever pluginFractal Audio Systems has officially entered the plugin arena with ICONS, a new line of premium amp modelling plugins and standalone apps that brings the company’s famed Axe-Fx tone into DAWs for the first time.
Built on the same modelling algorithms found in the award-winning Axe-Fx III, ICONS delivers Fractal Audio’s unmistakable sound, feel and dynamic response in a streamlined format designed for modern recording and computer-based workflows.
The first release in the series, ICONS: Fullerton, focuses squarely on classic American-style amps, offering 36 models inspired by designs from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and beyond. Between “Deluxes, Bassguys, Double-Verbs, Vibrato Verbs, Supers, Princetones, Champlifiers” and more, it’s safe to say all the usual Fender classics are present and accounted for.

READ MORE: All Moog plugins on Plugin Boutique are currently reduced, with 67% percent off Moogerfooger effects

At the core of ICONS is Fractal’s component-level modelling approach. Rather than relying on static captures, each amp behaves like its real-world counterpart, with fully interactive controls that respond naturally to player input. The modelling recreates everything from the preamp and tone stack to the power amp, phase inverter and amp-speaker interaction – meaning familiar amp-dialling techniques translate directly to the plugin.
Cabinet duties are handled by DynaCab HD, Fractal’s next-generation speaker simulation technology. Users can place a virtual microphone on a virtual speaker, move them around, and hear the results in real time. ICONS also supports third-party impulse responses via User Cab mode, accepting IRs up to 8k in length.
A curated selection of stompbox and studio effects round out the package, including authentic spring reverb and tremolo, more than a dozen accurate drive pedals, plus delay, modulation, wah, compression and graphic EQ. Unlike Fractal’s flagship hardware units, ICONS keeps its routing and controls intentionally streamlined, placing the focus firmly on amp and cab tone.
“ICONS is not an Axe-Fx in software,” the company explains. “Its effect blocks feature streamlined types and controls that make it fast and natural to create great, complete tones centered on the amp and cab.”
“In short, ICONS delivers the sound and feel that Fractal Audio is known for – now available for your DAW or desktop, with everything you need to create truly iconic tones.”
ICONS: Fullerton is available as four individual volumes priced at $99 each, or as a complete bundle for $299.

Learn more at Fractal Audio.
The post Guitar modelling giant Fractal Audio unveils ICONS, its first-ever plugin appeared first on MusicTech.