KSHMR gives an exclusive tour of his legendary LA studio
Join legendary producer, artist, and sample pack creator KSHMR on an exclusive studio tour and hear his insights and anecdotes for music producers.

Former Coatue partner raises huge $65M seed for enterprise AI agent startup A few things turned investors' heads and drew them to participate in such a big round out of the gate.

NFL asks prediction markets to act on ‘easily manipulated‘ betsCFTC Chair Michael Selig signaled that the agency would defer to the football league in calling for changes to event contracts that could be manipulated by a single person.

Ciderka Labs FermentFerment is an expressive sound exploration engine built for musicians who perform live and want deep, real-time control over their sound. It's not a chain of stock effects — it's a unified instrument that adapts to your playing style, your instrument, and your creative direction. 92 parameters. One coherent signal path. Zero menu-diving. Four ways to work Machine — the full signal chain, all hands on deck. Input filter, wavefolder/clipper/bitcrush shaping, multi-voice chorus, octaver, tempo-synced delay, spatial processing, character section, dual LFOs, envelope follower, and post EQ. Every parameter is visible, mappable, and automatable. Magic — describe a sound in plain language ("warm, spacious, with gentle movement") and AI generates a matching preset across all 92 parameters. A radar chart shows the sonic profile across 8 perceptual dimensions. You hear three suggestions, pick one, and refine from there. Every generated value is fully editable — no black boxes. Material — acoustic instrument profiling. Record a few notes on your instrument and Ferment analyzes spectral content, dynamic range, attack, sustain, and harmonic structure. The profile optimizes the processing chain for your specific sound source. Built-in profiles for violin, cello, double bass, guitar, piano, organ, vocals, percussion, and more. Library — browse, preview, and manage presets. Built-in presets, community contributions, and downloadable preset packs. One-click audio preview before loading. Designed for live performance Full MIDI CC mapping and expression pedal support for hands-free control. Low-latency processing — built for real-time use, not offline rendering. Works with any instrument: acoustic strings, guitar, synth, voice, field recordings. Runs in any DAW (Ableton, Logic, Reaper, Bitwig...) or standalone host. Transparent about AI Ferment uses AI (Gemini Flash) to translate creative intent into parameter values. But every single value AI generates is visible and editable in Machine view. There are no hidden layers, no locked parameters. If you don't want to use AI at all, Machine and Material work completely offline. Specs Formats: VST3, AU, CLAP. Platforms: macOS 10.15+ / Windows 10+. Parameters: 92. Trial: Full features, 3 preset saves. License: $29 one-time purchase, no subscription. Beta: Currently in public beta — join the beta and help shape the final release. Feedback welcome at labs@ciderka.com Made with care by a solo developer from the Czech Republic. Questions or feedback: labs@ciderka.com Read More

Suno launches v5.5 AI model with voice capture and personalization featuresThe voice capture feature lets users record or upload audio of themselves singing and incorporating that vocal identity into tracks generated by Suno.
Source

Retro Open Source Camera Straight from the ’90sIn our modern society, we have started to take the humble camera for granted. Perhaps because of this, trendy standalone cameras have started to take off. Unfortunately, most of the time these cameras are expensive and not any better than those in our everyday smartphones. If only there were some open-source solution where you could build and customize your own standalone device? [Yutani] has done just that with the SATURNIX.
Simple microcontrollers and cameras meant for Raspberry Pis are a dime a dozen these days. Because of this, it’s no surprise to hear that the SATURNIX is based on recognizable hardware, a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and an Arducam 16MP sensor. The Pi Zero powers both the sensors’ capture abilities and the interactive LCD display.

Some sample filtered shots from the SATURNIX
With a simple visual design, the device could certainly fit into the same market we see so many other standalone cameras. Pictures from the camera look great without or with the included filter options if you want a more retro look. While currently there do appear to be some speed improvements needed, the best part of open source is that you yourself can help out!
We always love ambitious open source projects that look to build a true base for others to work on, and this seems like no exception! If you want similarly impressive feats of optical trickery, look no further than using scotch tape as a camera lens!

Chess/Acoustic Sounds Series Releases Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson IIThe Chess/Acoustic Sounds series has officially launched Little Walter’s The Best of Little Walter, a collection of hits by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and accomplished harmonica player, and Sonny Boy Williamson’s The Real Folk Blues. 

Founded in 1950 by Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Chess Records emerged from the south side of Chicago and quickly crossed lines of color and culture to create rhythm and blues music that influenced listeners the world over. Chess’s unmatched roster—and its savvy founders—enhanced and transformed the blues from folk music to a popular sound. 

Today, Chess Records is not only recognizing its own rich musical heritage but inviting fans and new audiences to discover its storied roster and the music revolution that was born over seven decades ago in Chicago. 

Over years the monumental Chess catalog has had various homes, including a 1975 sale to All Platinum Records, and eventually a couple of decades ago the Chess master tapes were purchased by MCA Records, now Universal Music Enterprises. The UMe label for many years has re-released top-notch Chess Records packages, compilations and boxed sets manufacturing product configurations for radio, retail, and digital streaming outlets.

Marshall Chess, born in Chicago, Ill. on March 13, 1942, and was raised during the heyday of the independent record business. Leonard Chess had a piece of a record company named Aristocrat Records in 1947, and later in 1950 he brought his brother Phil into the fold and the brothers assumed sole ownership of the company and renamed it Chess Records. They also operated a club on the South side of Chicago, the Macomba Lounge. 

Marshall “started” in the family business at age 7 accompanying his father Leonard on radio station visits. For sixteen years Marshall worked with his dad and his uncle Phil, doing everything from pressing records, applying shrink wrap and loading trucks to producing over 100 Chess Records projects, eventually heading up the label as President after the GRT acquisition in 1969.

During the seventies Marshall served as president of Rolling Stones Records. In 1984, Chess became a partner in the ARC Music publishing company.  

Now living in Upstate New York and at 84 years old, Marshall Chess is still a record man above all - tending to the Chess Records legacy for his grandchildren and generations to come. He maintains The Chess Records Tribute YouTube channel, which features recorded live performances of Chess Records artists and a multi dozen-part Chess podcast hosted by Marshall where he chats about producing classic Chess albums and songs.  

In March 2026 Marshall sent me an email touting the recent Chess/UMe re-reissues.

"As a member of the Chess family I am so pleased that some of the great Chess music is being released in high quality vinyl again…When I played The Best Of Little Walter LP these two quotes came up in my mind. Willie Dixon told me after  Walter’s ‘Juke’ came out, ‘every blues band added a harp player.’ That's how much influence he had…and years later Miles Davis told me that he thought Walter was ‘a musical genius.’ I agree; he definitely was one of the Chess greats…

“When I played The Sonny Boy LP I remembered one of the most original and creative of the Chess blues artists …his lyrics always seemed more like poetry to me …I remember him coming in my office wearing a suit with  all the parts were different colors a derby on his head …He put his harmonica completely in his mouth and played a short tune…Took it out and asked for some cash so he could buy some wine….Some old memories from an old record man.”

During 2009 and 2010, I interviewed Marshall Chess at length in person in West Hollywood, California at the Sunset Marquis Hotel and by telephone from his office in New York.

In our 2010 discussion, I asked Marshall about the Chess studio.

“We had fabulous engineers. Ron Malo and Malcolm Chism. They were the two best engineers. Ron came from Detroit. He had worked on Motown studios and he was a big part. Before Ron, we had these two Weiner brothers, who actually built the studio.

“It was a basic classic studio design, with the echo chamber in the basement, very small control room. One of the secrets of the Chess studio was not the studio but our mastering. We had a little mastering room with a lathe. Eventually we had a Neumann lathe. The first one was an American one. We did our own mastering and had these Electrovoice speakers on the wall.

“The great part about that room that when it sounded right in that mastering room it would pop off the radio. That’s what it was all about. And the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, later Fleetwood Mac had to make visits there.

“I’ll tell you a story about the Chess artists that sort of sums up the ‘blues nerds.’ This is going back to the ‘60s, right. Driving me crazy. I knew the blues fans, the guys from Blues Horizon, Mike and Richard Vernon. I knew them well and loved them. They would come to Chicago and I would show them the original Chess master book, and they’d put their fuckin’ hands on it like it was the bible.

“So, this blues nerd was driving me crazy. ‘I’ve got to know what kind of microphone Little Walter uses to get that sound.’ It drove me crazy. Just so happened, Walter was recording. And I knew Walter from being a very little kid. I said, ‘Walter. This crazy mother fucker is driving me crazy. He wants to know what kind of mike you use?’ ‘Are you crazy mother fucker? Whatever microphone I didn’t pawn that week!’ (laughs).

“You get it. These artists were great and would have been great in any studio. It was the artistry, the playing. The studio was great and we captured a sound, and it had a sound, but it was our artists that made that sound.  

“The best explanation is, this may sound way out. It contains magic. The most apparent magic that we can see or experience is music. Let’s face it. Music changes the way you feel. That’s magical. Chess Records for some reason was a magnet for amazing artistry and all these magicians came to Chess. And we were able to capture it. And it’s something that can be experienced through audio. The music has stood up without a cinematic aspect like video. And the method of recording.”

Marshall then reflected on the Chess catalog.  

“As I grew older, and was a person of the hippie generation, and discovered things like meditation, psychedelic drugs, Buddhism. I realized what was happening in the early Chess studio was like a high Buddhist monk meditation manager. Because when you recorded in mono and two-track with 5 or 6 players and a singer there wasn’t any correction possible. One of the main jobs as a producer was like a meditation manager master.

“I love Chess Records. Because it was the greatest, happiest place in the world. You would love going there. You laughed all fuckin’ day. The artists hung out there, no, not all the artists, but what we would call the family artists. Sonny Boy, Muddy Waters, Dells, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley. I’m proud and I’m thrilled, and helped historically continue the legacy of the Chess Records label. I’m not a classic blues fan, a blues collector, I am not into the anal aspect of what guitar strings Muddy used, or what harmonica did Little Walter play.

“I only wanted to be around my family, and my father, who was a workaholic. It was a family business. They were immigrants and embraced that. For age 7 to age 12 or 13, my dad took me on the road, not because I wanted to be in the record business but because I wanted to be with my father. So, I got it really by osmosis, and that was my real reason for hanging out there.

“But being around the blues, and all these records being made, and knowing the artists, I don’t know, man, it just, got into me. It just became part of me. It’s part of my life. I’ve never even considered it work. I appear and promote Chess and the blues in films and TV documentaries. I do as much as I can because I get a buzz out of it. I’m just amazed, man, that this music that we made in Chicago has become so historical.

“When I play Chess records, I see my dad and uncle. Man, that’s what goes through my head. Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters went to my Bar Mitzvah. A lot of black people were which was a very unusual event back then in 1955.

“The Chess recording artists were always writing about women problems and sex. That’s all I ever heard from them when I was a kid. I saw some of these records being recorded. I sold them originally. I helped their initial exposure and on the SiriusXM radio program I hosted, I brought them exposure.

“With the TV programs on Muddy, The American Masters documentary, it’s all very gratifying. We always knew it. Gratification is the best word. Not for all of them. Muddy, Wolf, Chuck Berry. These are like Beethoven and Bach. They should be right up there.”

In our dialogue, Chess commented on Little Walter.

“He’s the truest genius of all the Chess artists. Because he invented and perfected a new way to play the harmonica, and did it with tremendous creativity and talent. Very much like Hendrix with guitar. They’re exactly alike. Miles Davis considered Walter a genius. Hendrix considered Walter a genius. I liked him as a person but he was always drunk. I never knew him when he wasn’t fucked up. Smelling of liquor. But, yeah, I liked him. There was something ‘sloppy drunk’ about him that I liked. But he had a mean side to him, too. I saw him and my dad go at it with anger numerous times when he was drunk. He’d be a mean drunk. But we loved him. And my dad and my family loved him. We buried him.”

Marshall then reminisced about how the Chess recordings had a devoted following on the west coast in the late sixties.

“At that time, I was very aware and very on top of alternative FM radio. I drove across the United States, visiting FM deejays like Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell in San Francisco. I’d meet all the deejays at radio stations in Los Angeles like KMET-FM and KPPC-FM and meet all these people.  And these guys would be smoking joints on the air and they’d take an album right from your arm and play it immediately five times on the air!  Those were the great days. I was part of the generation. When everyone took LSD to watch the Grateful Dead. I’ve been at the Fillmore West sitting on the floor. What happened to me was that I was part of that sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll generation and it blew my mind.

“[Promoter] Bill Graham was the greatest for that for the blues artists of that era. B.B. King on the bills. FM radio was a godsend for the blues. The big commercial AM stations would not play the records at all except some black stations. And I decided to repackage Chess to that market that was getting stoned and going deep. It was a big boost when the English groups covered the music earlier. On records and at their shows. We loved it and something we thought could never happen.

“Some of the Chess artists were booked in San Francisco places like The Matrix Club, Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane was a part owner, and The Avalon Ballroom, where Chet Helms brought the acts in.     

“Muddy Waters and B.B. King really dug white people doin’ their stuff. Sonny Boy was very much into white people doin’ his stuff. So was Howlin’ Wolf It blew our mind, of course it was a fantastic thing. We loved it. And we never thought that could happen. It was a total fantasy.

“But we first noticed it with the Muddy At Newport album came out. I can remember we got all these orders from Boston on the Muddy album and we knew it was white college kids buying it. The first thing we noticed as the album market developed.”  

With the 2026 reissues on vinyl of Little Walter’s The Best of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II’s The Real Folk Blues I spoke with some musicians, record producers, and writers about their relationship to these LP’s and the epic Chess Records label.    

Mark Sebastian: Hearing Chuck Berry on a car radio was a rite of passage for us teens of a certain era. I realized within a few bars how capable he was with lyric. Songs like “Maybelline” or “Johnnie B. Goode” were blueprints that explored a topic in verses and a reoccurring chorus.

“Having an older brother helps shape one’s musical tastes. Aside from the fact our dad [John Benson Sebastian Pugliese] was a famous harmonica virtuoso in classical music, my brother, John, was spending all his allowance on blues records, so the apartment was awash in Sonny Terry (a friend of Dad’s,) Little Walter and any other Blues players from who he could learn.”  

Dr. James Cushing.  One of my favorite parts of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. is the scene when a dark-suited giant enters Adam Kesher’s house bent on revenge (and knocks out Billy Ray Cyrus). The music accompanying the scene is ‘Bring It On Home’ from Sonny Boy Williamson’s The Real Folk Blues, a brilliant choice on Lynch’s part — the scene’s surreal blend of humor and menace is fully present in the song. I envy any young person discovering Williamson’s music for the first time, especially on this LP. Each cut is a drama all its own

“Little Walter Jacobs also sang and played harmonica, but his great contribution was the thick, saxophone-like sound he got from blowing his harp directly into a microphone. If Williamson was an actor on record, Jacobs was a painter, filling the audible spectrum with unique coloration. The Best of Little Walter is as good a place as any to start — but the man never made a bad record.”

Gene Aguilera: Growing up as a kid in 1964 and spinning 12 x 5 by the Rolling Stones on my suitcase record player had its benefits.  As the LP played, I studied back cover minutiae. Who wrote the songs? Who was the producer?  Who wrote the liners?  Who was the photographer?

“On side one, track two . . . ‘Confessin’ the Blues’ stuck out.  It was hypnotic.  Years later as I explored the birth of the blues, I found out the song belonged to Little Walter.  He wrote it and played it.  And I finally figured out how much Jagger (and a generation of British musicians) wrung out every note and feeling from this extraordinary harmonica player and singer named Little Walter. From then on, every chance I got, I bought Little Walter LP’s and 45s on Chess.

“British musicians’ fascination with Little Walter was evident. Digging deeper, I found out ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’ (Cream) and ‘Key To The Highway’ (Derek and the Dominos) were recorded by Little Walter years earlier.  As for this, I say thank you, Little Walter, for mesmerizing and influencing this East L.A. soul.”

Robert Marchese: Little Waltermade the harmonica sound like a saxophone. He was the first harmonica instrumental act to get on the charts. He was the first Chicago Southside blues cat to play The Apollo Theater. The only photo that Muddy Waters had on his mantle inside his home was Little Walter.  Paul Butterfield and I were talking around 1965 at The Trip club on Sunset and Paul listed some of Walter’s solos. He mentioned some of the solos were like a train comin’ through.

“Paul and I loved ‘Blue Midnight.’ Paul said it was the greatest blues harp playing he ever heard. Walter took the harp to such of level of strength and volume. It was electric for an instrument you couldn’t plug in. Walter was crazy…Even though he was half juiced when he recorded, his instrumentals were terrific.

“I talked to Miles Davis one time when he played The Troubadour. I managed the club 1970-1983. He told me Little Walter was a genius. Michael Bloomfield and I knew each other. I met him at The Trip in 1965 and connected again with him in 1967 at The Monterey International Pop Festival.  He loved Little Walter. He was from a whole different part of Chicago than Walter but he related to him. Captain Beefheart loved Little Walter. He told me ‘I won’t play one of his songs. I wouldn’t disrespect him like that.’ Beefheart loved him, and he played a lot of chromatic harmonica.

“It’s very hard to master an instrument. John Coltrane chased notes and took it beyond that. Charlie Parker did that to a degree. Walter was the thing on that instrument. Butterfield amazed me with the respect he had for him. And we talked about Walter’s very unique voice. He was a good singer and he had good material. ‘I Hate to See You Go,’ and ‘Whose That Knockin’ On My Door’ are hilarious songs. Great phrasing.”   

Ira Ingber: Because of my older brother, [guitarist/songwriter] Elliot, I was exposed a range of blues and ‘real’ R&B at an early age, well before I was playing guitar. In the early 1960's when most of my contemporaries here in Los Angeles were listening enthusiastically to surf music, I was under the spell of just about everything that was on the Chess, Duke, Sun, King, Ace, Federal, as well as a number of other smaller labels. 

“Chess obviously stood out because of the sheer magnitude of the stars who recorded for them. That Chuck Berry was also on the label didn't seem to be a coincidence. Everything fit neatly together for me. The added important bonus was getting to see most of those luminaries live in my own neighborhood at a fabled joint called The Ash Grove. Muddy, The Wolf, Little Walter; they were up close, and very personal.

“When I later worked with Lowell George, he made clear the major requirement for anyone to be considered for our musical circle would be that they were ‘versed in the ways of Chester Burnett.’

“A very important album I listened to endlessly was the live recording of Sonny Boy with the Yardbirds at the Crawdaddy Club. They were already heroes to me on their own. With them backing Sonny Boy, they took on a new dimension of validity. 

“The archive of the aforementioned giants will be discovered and re-discovered for generations to come. Of this I'm certain!"

In his review of Sonny Boy Williamson His Best (MCA/Chess) for Napster in 2005, music journalist Kirk Silsbee wrote “His harmonica figures were simple enough but he embellished them by cupping and baffling them with his huge hands.  This produced all manner of wondrous sound effects.

“As a songwriter, Sonny Boy was a singular talent.  He was a country poet, putting his experiences and observations into his tunes without a trace of self-consciousness.  For the last ten years of his life (1955 to ’65), Williamson recorded for Chess, Sonny Boy Williamson II was that most rare blues entity: an innovator and an original.”  

(From 1964-1978 Harvey Kubernik witnessed live performances of several Chess Records artists and collected their catalog last century.

Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.

Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 they wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble. 

Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) was published on February 6, 2026 by BearManor Media.

Harvey spoke at the special hearings in 2006 initiated by the Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation.

Kubernik was in the 2013 BBC-TV documentary spotlighting Bobby Womack: Across 110th Street, directed by James Meycock. Other interviewees included Ronnie Wood, Chuck D, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Barney Hoskyns, actor Antonio Fargas, Bill Withers, and family members.    

In 2017, Harvey appeared at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in its Distinguished Speakers Series and as a panelist discussing the forty-fifth anniversary of The Last Waltz at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023.

During 2025, Kubernik was interviewed in the Siobhan Logue-written and -directed documentary The Sound of Protest,airing on the Apple TVOD TV broadcasting service. The film also features Smokey Robinson, Hozier, Skin (Skunk Anansie), Two-Tone's Jerry Dammers, Angélique Kidjo, Holly Johnson, David McAlmont, Rhiannon Giddens, and more.

Harvey was an interview subject along with Iggy Pop, the Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston, Love’s Johnny Echols, the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, Victoria and Debbi Peterson, and the founding members of the Seeds for director/producer Neil Norman’s documentary The Seeds: Pushin' Too Hard. In summer 2026, GNP Crescendo will release the film on DVD/Blu-ray). Author Miss Pamela Des Barres narrates).

Muddy Waters photo (top) courtesy of ChessUMG

Other photos courtesy of Anthony PolisThe post Chess/Acoustic Sounds Series Releases Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

KERN Audio offers a complete plugin mixing chain (SMOOTH, WARM, WIDE + free CHECK)
You’ve probably read our article about the free KERN CHECK spectral mono compatibility analyzer earlier this month. We absolutely loved it. CHECK shows you where your stereo image collapses in mono across 40 frequency bands, and it’s a very useful little diagnostic tool. The developer behind CHECK, Jonas R, also makes three paid mixing plugins [...]
View post: KERN Audio offers a complete plugin mixing chain (SMOOTH, WARM, WIDE + free CHECK)

SOS Music Creators Survey 2026 Complete our survey and enter the prize draw for a chance to win one of three $50 Amazon vouchers!

The GrainHeads app transforms your iPhone into a granular synthesizerGrainHeads is a new iOS app that brings granular synthesis to your iPhone, totally free.
A quick primer: granular synthesis essentially slices audio samples into tiny fragments called grains, rearranging them to create new, evolving textures and soundscapes. It sounds complex, but now you can play with granular synthesis in your phone.
Available as a standalone app or as an AUv3 plugin for use in any compatible DAW or host app on iOS, GrainHeads offers eight independent granular playheads for experimentation, each with its own set of parameters, volume control and Moog-style modulatable ladder filter.

READ MORE: The best free synth plugins you can download right now

The app also offers 8 LFOs, allowing “virtually every” parameter to be modulated for “complex, evolving motion”.
It features a multi-touch 2D performance pad, which supports the tweaking of numerous parameters simultaneously. The previously mentioned Moog-style ladder filter on each of the eight playheads has a selectable 12dB or 24dB/octave slope, self-oscillation and even overdrive for “warm, analogue-inspired tonal shaping”.
GrainHeads also comes with a 16-step polyrhythmic sequencer, with the ability to lock to parameters for pitch, grain size, position and more.
The app also comes with a slew of effects, including noise, stereo delay (BPM-syncable), and reverb with filtering. Again, the touch pad makes them easy to access, as they can be dragged and dropped to re-route your signal flow at will.
For truly wild textures, the app also features a Dice Randomizer – with which you roll a virtual dice to randomise “everything” in one tap for “infinite happy accidents and unexpected textures”.
GrainHeads is free to download, but users can also pay for a $6.99 upgrade, which grants the ability to record directly to the app using your iPhone’s built-in microphone, and load up external samples.
GrainHeads is available now via the App Store, and you can learn more via the official GrainHeads website.
The post The GrainHeads app transforms your iPhone into a granular synthesizer appeared first on MusicTech.

The Crow Hill Company has added 1986, a Prophet-VS-inspired synth plugin, to the FREE Vaults series
1986 is the latest addition to The Crow Hill Company’s Vaults series, and it’s available in AU, VST, VST3, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows. As always, Vaults releases are free to download for six months before moving into the donationware category. At which point, they are available to purchase with a £3 donation, [...]
View post: The Crow Hill Company has added 1986, a Prophet-VS-inspired synth plugin, to the FREE Vaults series

Best Service launch Desert Winds The latest library to join Best Service’s ever-growing range includes four solo wind instruments that capture the spirit of traditional music from Armenia, Persia, Turkey and the Middle East. 

“I have severe gear acquisition syndrome”: Deadmau5 shows off his synth paradise in new studio tourFrom pawn shop bargains to museum-grade rarities, Deadmau5’s studio is exactly what you’d expect from a self-confessed gear obsessive.
“This is my office, my lab, my retreat… I have a severe gear acquisition syndrome,” the producer says, as he opens the door to what is, by all accounts, a seriously stacked electronic music setup.
In a new Reverb tour, Deamau5 takes viewers inside a synth collection that spans vintage Roland classics, sprawling modular rigs, and rare one-off curiosities – each meticulously curated over years of obsession.
As Deadmau5 explains, turning this dream studio into a fully functional creative space wasn’t exactly easy: “I had a really good idea of what I wanted coming in,” he says. “This took like a solid three years just to get it to make sound.” And it shows. Every corner is packed with instruments that will make any synth nerd’s jaw drop.

READ MORE: Deadmau5 discovers DJ using an AI-generated version of him to promote their music: “This is just the beginning for talentless f**ks abusing this tech”

Among the first stops on the tour is a Roland Juno-106, “maybe the second synth I ever bought,” which Deadmau5 scored for just $40 from a pawn shop in Niagara Falls.
“I go in there, and I know exactly what the fuck that thing is,” says the producer. “He’s got it sitting sideways in a ‘fuck it’ bin. I say, ‘hey man, I’m looking for a MIDI controller’, and I pull it out and I’m like ‘what about this?’ He didn’t even know what the fuck it was. I said, ‘I just need the keys.’ And he’s like, ‘okay, 50 dollars.’ I was like, ‘eh… 40?’ He’s like, ‘yeah, whatever.’”
Beyond classic analogue staples like the ARP 2600 and Oberheim SEM modules, Deadmau5’s studio is also home to instruments that verge on museum territory. Take the Fairlight CMI30A, a historic sampling synthesizer complete with a still-functioning light pen, for example.
“This predates the invention of the [computer] mouse,” Deadmau5 notes. “I’ve used this on tracks. I use it on a track called 2448.”
Elsewhere, the EMS Synthi AKS – a compact modular synth – remains a firm favourite, with Deadmau5 joking he’d ‘definitely grab it in a fire’.
“It’s not dirty, but I use it a lot,” he says. “It’s the justification that, oh, I spent so much money on this fucking thing, I might as well use it, you know?”
The room also houses a gold-plated Minimoog Voyager 10th Anniversary edition, which Deadmau5 refers to as “the last unicorn.” One of only 31 ever made, the $15,000 synth is housed in a wooden box painted with high-gloss piano lacquer and accented with Japanese Awabi pearls.
“I never tour with anything I can’t replace,” Deadmau5 adds. It’s a rule he’s only broken once, when he brought the Voyager out for a one-off orchestral performance at The Wiltern Theatre in 2018.
Watch the full tour below.

The post “I have severe gear acquisition syndrome”: Deadmau5 shows off his synth paradise in new studio tour appeared first on MusicTech.

James Blake wants production credit removed from Kanye West’s new album, Bully: “My original version is a completely different production in spirit”James Blake has asked to have his production credits removed from Kanye West’s latest album, Bully, saying the released track no longer reflects the work he originally created.
West – who now goes by Ye – debuted his long-awaited 12th studio album during a livestreamed listening event in Inglewood on 27 March. The record features a wide range of collaborators including 88-Keys, The Legendary Traxster, and Travis Scott. On the closing track, This One Here, Blake was originally credited alongside Ye, Don Toliver, and Quentin Miller.

READ MORE: The MacBook Neo is Apple’s cheapest MacBook model ever – will it be any good for music production?

However, the producer has now requested that his name be taken off, arguing that the “spirit” of his production is “mostly absent” from the final version.
“The way I pitched his vocals and constructed the track from his freestyle is partially there, majorly peppered with other newer vocal takes etc. but the spirit of my actual production is mostly absent other than that,” Blake explains on his direct-to-fan streaming platform Vault.
“My original version is a completely different production in spirit. Happy for the fans but I’ve asked to be taken off the producer credits for now as I don’t want to take credit for other people’s work and this version isn’t what I created with Ye,” he adds.
The producer also insists that the decision was “not personal”: “I just hit a point where [I] don’t want to be credited on music where I can’t affect the end result.”
The two have worked together several times over the years, with their partnership stretching back as far as 2014. The rapper has also previously called Blake one of his favourite artists.
Bully, released via YZY and the independent label Gamma, is Ye’s first LP since 2024. At the time of writing, Blake’s credit remains on the track across major streaming services.
Earlier this month, Ye announced the tracklist and clarified that no artificial intelligence had been used in its creation, contradicting comments he made last year where he claimed to have incorporated the technology into his writing process “the same way I incorporated Auto-Tune.”

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Loops, leaks and Roger Linn: How Akai’s MPC Sample became the most-hyped gear of 2026Something strange happened when Akai’s MPC Sample leaked online three weeks before its official release. In March, a music gear retailer mistakenly uploaded a handful of images and its $399 price tag to eBay – enough material for excited MPC fans to create their own teaser videos for this dinky sampler using generative AI.
Searching ‘Akai MPC Sample’ on YouTube before the sampler’s official launch produced some bizarre results. There were clips of an MPC Sample with 20 pads instead of 16, LEDs that extended beyond the hardware’s volume meters, and even AI-generated content creators showing off their finger drumming skills on a sampler they hailed as “the greatest creation of all time”.
The Akai MPC Sample on the MusicTech Cover. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Fan-made AI product demos are a new challenge for Akai, but leaks are familiar territory. January’s MPC XL and 2024’s MPC Key 37 were also subject to leaks. So frequent are these accidents – which stirred up immense hype from the dedicated sampling community – that you can’t help but wonder whether they’re actually all part of Akai’s plan.
“The leaks have been very interesting. We’re not responsible for them, but they are giving us a good understanding of the excitement online,” Akai’s Andy Mac assures MusicTech three days after the first leak of the MPC Sample. “It was really disheartening. We didn’t want this. We really kept it under wraps. But you have to look at the positives after that, right? And looking at the comments, they’re very overwhelming.”
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Mac is the global marketing and artist relations manager for Akai, and also presents a plethora of online video demos and masterclasses on the company’s products. As such, he’s become a micro celebrity among Akai fans; he laughs in bewilderment as he recalls the time a household-name musician called him up after buying an MPC XL and said, “I can’t believe it’s you. Oh my god, I’ve watched all your videos!”
Mac’s role also involves speaking directly to power users, super fans and potential customers to find out what they want from an MPC. And in his opinion, the MPC Sample couldn’t have come at a better time.
“People have been asking for something like this for a while; there’s so much nostalgia around the brand, and we’re in a really strong position to bring something out that honours the whole legacy of sampling,” he says.
“I could probably make 10 beats on this versus one beat on another device” – Andy Mac
Not merely nostalgic
The MPC Sample takes heavy cues from the family’s 1988 debut, the MPC 60. Created by legendary instrument maker Roger Linn, the MPC 60 and its subsequent models defined the look of modern samplers: a grid of 16 drum pads, a small but detailed screen, and a curated collection of knobs, buttons and slider. A design choice that didn’t stick around from the late-80s was the cushion along the bottom panel – providing ergonomic comfort for producers who’d sit at the unit for hours slicing up samples. The new Sample revives that, along with the Pantone grey casing and blue accents. Even the Akai logo has reverted to its old-school styling.
Nostalgia isn’t the only pull here, though. The MPC Sample is decidedly powerful for its iPad-like size and $399 price tag, and, despite some limitations, it’s much more capable than its ancestors. The portable sampler boasts the classic 16-pad workflow with RGB-velocity sensitive pads and polyphonic aftertouch. Its MPC sequencer and Real-Time Swing lets you channel your inner J Dilla, and the 60 different effects are a boon for creative sound-shaping. The full-colour LCD screen, meanwhile, is a true mix of vintage and modern — a small display that gives you just enough control over waveform editing.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
“You could put together the foundation of an album so fast on this thing,” Mac says, making beats on the fly during our video call. “Your creativity isn’t focused on plugins and screens. You’re just listening to the vibe of what you’re doing. It really takes you back to a lot of the original ways people were programming music.”
When Mac and the Akai team were road-testing the MPC Sample, they took it to Venice Beach in Los Angeles, captured the sounds of a piano that was on the boardwalk, and flipped the samples immediately. They recorded the ocean waves, warping and detuning them into grainy textures to colour the beats. Mac rejects the idea that the Sample is just a toy and believes it will “take a lot of people out of their comfort zone” to create new styles of music. “You’re just like, ‘It’s just me and this little device — I’m going to see where it takes me.’”
It is, of course, also aimed squarely at hobbyists who have always been enticed by the idea of an MPC, but have never wanted to pay the higher asking price of the brand’s flagship instruments.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
But the competition is already incredibly stiff. At $399, the Sample has to contend with Roland’s SP-404 and Teenage Engineering’s TE-133 K.O II, and it’s not far off from the Telepathic Instruments Orchid, which is also catered to music enthusiasts who want a friendly gateway into production. When pressed on why someone would choose the MPC Sample over these instruments, Mac promises that its ease of use is next level.
“I could probably make 10 beats on this versus one beat on another device,” he asserts. “The workflow is second to none. You put all three devices together [MPC Sample, SP-404, TE-133 K.O. II], and this is leagues ahead in speed functionality.”
“Your creativity isn’t focused on plugins and screens. You’re just listening to the vibe” – Andy Mac
Sampling anytime, anywhere
Of course, it is Mac’s job to sell the MPC. One gambit: revealing that Dibia$e, a celebrated SP-404 power user, has taken a shine to the MPC Sample. (The veteran Los Angeles beatmaker has since appeared in an Akai video demo for the Sample.) “He didn’t even have the manual, and he made nearly 16 beats within the first couple of hours,” Mac brags. “We picked him up from the airport, we’re sitting in the car, and he plugs into the auxiliary and plays all these bangers that he made on the plane.”
The MPC Sample’s portability is the major marketing message from Akai: “Sample, chop, and build beats anywhere. No computer required,” says a press release. And the Sample’s pick-up-and-play nature is a joy — I’ve found myself flipping samples in bed, in the kitchen while I cook, and while I’m at my desk. Much like Teenage Engineering’s TE-133 K.O II, the MPC Sample has been subject to online quips comparing it to a calculator, which are not totally unwarranted. But you also can’t deny that the MPC Sample is a head-turner: on release day, Reddit and YouTube saw plenty of unboxing videos and photos uploaded, debates about whether one really needs something like the Sample in their studio, and comments from excited customers and naysayers alike.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
The MPC Sample, and others like it, mark a potential shift in sampling culture. Mac notes that more producers are sampling from YouTube – which the unit’s USB-C connectivity is intended to facilitate – rather than digging through crates of vinyl and ripping CDs. Meanwhile, artists in the mainstream such as Justin Bieber, Djo, Fred Again.. and Kenya Grace have all been spotted using an MPC, not to mention a growing number of artists outside the world of hip-hop and beatmaking. Akai wants to pounce on this phenomenon, and is betting the MPC Sample will be the gateway for many other artists.
“The MPC has already been moving into so many different markets,” says Mac. “I’ve never seen this many artists on our platform. [The MPC Sample] is going to bring in people who are into their jungle music, who are making drum ‘n’ bass and house music.”
Leaning into the classic MPC designs that Roger Linn conceived was key to making the new sampler an approachable instrument. Cherry-picking elements from multiple MPCs brought an element of heritage even as Akai seeks to push the series into a new generation. “You can’t go back and change the past, but you could create the past using the future,” says Mac. “I remember it distinctly: I pulled up a picture of the MPC 60 and the 2000 XL, and I was like ‘I want the fader from that, and I want the armrest from that…’”
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
The MPC Sample combines nostalgia, portability, and affordability — it’s no wonder it captured so much attention when it leaked. Creatives who’ve never touched an MPC now have fewer excuses not to, but will the Sample flip more SP-404 loyalists, Teenage Engineering fanatics and DAW-only producers? Well, the first batch has already sold out.
The Akai MPC Sample is now available.
Words: Sam Willings
Photography: Simon Vinall
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