Dystopian Waves Celium Granular Max for Live DeviceIntro price until August 31 — regular price: $30. Celium – A New Realm of Granular Sound. Celium is an advanced Max for Live granular instrument designed for deep sonic exploration, from lush cinematic textures to abstract experimental layers. It offers a highly flexible grain engine with precise control over every detail of your sound. At its core is a dual-buffer engine with Live and Freeze modes, each supporting two audio sources. You can blend between sources using crossfading, inter-grain transitions (where a single grain starts from Source 1 and ends in Source 2), and per-source grain probability. Create rich granular detail with up to 70 grains per second and grain durations up to 2 seconds. Shape each grain using per-grain effects, including: Four types of distortion (with probability control). Ring modulation. Panning. Randomized filtering. Pitch processing is equally detailed, with pitch shift and spread up to ±12 semitones, selectable spread direction, major/minor pitch quantization, and probabilistic pitch randomness. Further shape your grains with vibrato, bend, jitter, and stretch over grain life. Trigger grains using simple, random, or Euclidean rhythmic systems. Choose from multiple playback directions including forward, reverse, and palindrome modes. https://youtu.be/UEblN6Jw5A8 Key Features: Dual-Buffer Engine. Live & Freeze modes. Each mode supports 2 audio sources. Morph between sources with source crossfade. Per-grain source probability for randomized grain generating. Inter-grain crossfade: A single grain can begin in Source 1 and end in Source 2. Grain Control. Up to 70 grains per second. Grain duration up to 2 seconds. Multiple playback directions: Forward, Reverse, Palindrome. Grain envelope shaping with adjustable window curves. Visual grain display for intuitive feedback. Per-Grain Effects: Distortion with 4 unique algorithms (with probability control). Ring modulation (with probability control). Stereo panning. Per-grain filtering with randomization options. Pitch Modulation & Processing. Pitch shift and spread up to ±12 semitones. Selectable spread direction (up, down, both). Pitch quantization (major & natural/harmonic minor scales). Pitch randomness control with probability targeting. Per-grain: Pitch vibrato, pitch bend, Pitch jitter, and stretch across each grain's lifetime. Grain Triggering Systems. Simple triggering. Random triggering. Euclidean rhythm-based triggering for structured repetition and patterns. Interface & Workflow. Zoomable parameters for precise control. Organized sections for triggering, pitch, pitch modulation, effects, and routing. LFO and automation mapping for most parameters. https://youtu.be/dD4fDfT4s_w https://youtu.be/5OpKCKhT0J4 Read More

The Live Beat: KAYTRANADA x JusticeFrench electronic music duo Justice and GRAMMY-winning DJ, producer, rapper, and singer KAYTRANADA are joining forces for a co-headlining North American tour, and it’s shaping up to be a dance floor dream.Kicking off October 16 in Vancouver and wrapping November 16 in Miami, the month-long run will cruise through key cities like Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta—offering fans across the continent a chance to experience both acts in one electrifying night.This tour isn’t just a first—it’s a reunion. The pair last shared a bill at the iconic Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre in Paris last June, and now they're bringing that energy stateside.With Justice known for their thunderous live sets and KAYTRANADA’s genre-fluid groove, this co-headliner is a rare alignment of sonic forces you don’t want to miss.More info and ticket prices HERE.Photo credit: Gerard Romans Camps, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licenseThe post The Live Beat: KAYTRANADA x Justice first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

FTC goes after Ticket Scalpers, seeks Tens of Millions in DamagesThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking legal action against ticket resellers for violation of the BOTS Act seeking millions of dollars in damages.
The post FTC goes after Ticket Scalpers, seeks Tens of Millions in Damages appeared first on Hypebot.

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard become next band to leave SpotifyAustralian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are removing their music from Spotify following CEO Daniel Ek’s involvement in an AI-driven military defence company.
King Gizzard join a growing number of bands migrating away from the platform, after it was revealed back in June that Ek had led a €600 million round of investment in Helsing: a German defence-tech company that develops AI software to enhance military weapons systems and other equipment.

READ MORE: AI music awards organisation bans viral AI band Velvet Sundown from entering: “This doesn’t align with our values…”

Posting on social media at the weekend, the band said they had “just removed” their music from the platform, though much of it remained accessible and playable on Spotify hours later.
A spokesperson for the band told Guardian Australia that their “entire catalogue will be coming down”, but explained that the process “takes time because of the different labels and distributors”.
In an Instagram story, also shared by the outlet, they also stated: “A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in Al military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform. Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better?”

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Other artists that have left Spotify due to Ek’s Helsing links include indie rock outfit Xiu Xiu and the art-rock band Deerhoof. Announcing their decision, Xiu Xiu posted a statement on Instagram: “We are currently working to take all of our music off of garbage hole violent armageddon portal Spotify. It is taking longer than we had hoped due to procedural complications but will be completed soon. Thanks for the support and patience.”
In a new interview with Anthony Fantano, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart added further context behind their move away from Spotify, where he said: “We’ve wanted to for a long time. I mean, I’ve never been a fan of streaming. It devalues music generally. It makes music disposable.”
He later added, “When the announcement came that Spotify head Daniel Ek was using Spotify funds to directly invest in AI war murder drones… There was just no conceivable way that we could be involved in something like that.”

MusicTech has reached out to Spotify and Helsing for comment. You can find out more about King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard via their website.
The post King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard become next band to leave Spotify appeared first on MusicTech.

“I’m like the Nutty Professor!”: Watch Ozzy Osbourne work his way around a vintage ARP 2600 synthWhile Black Sabbath is rooted in a classic formula of heavy metal guitars, sturdy basslines and thundering drums, the band were no stranger to synths. The band’s 1973 release, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, truly embraced synthetic sounds – but a clip of the late Ozzy Osbourne might have you thinking he’d never seen one before.
In a recently unearthed snippet from reality TV show The Osbournes, the Prince of Darkness seems perplexed when faced with an ARP 2600 synth. While showing the device off to his son, calling it “fucking awesome when it gets going”, there’s a clear struggle to remember how to get the ball rolling. “Come on you motherfucker!” he cries. “Why are you fucking doing this?”

READ MORE: Best speakers to buy in 2025: 11 best small studio monitors for any budget

Potty-mouth aside, it’s an experience even the most accomplished of music makers faces now and again. Everything looks good to go – yet, nothing happens. All you can do is yell in frustration, as Ozzy does with gusto: “Come on you fucking thing!”
“It’s like another dimension,” he says at one point. “I haven’t used it for about 20 years!”

@synth_history
Legend Ozzy Osbourne with his ARP 2600. Ozzy used the ARP 2600 on songs like Black Sabbath’s “Who Are You?” off Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), as well as “Am I Going Insane” off Sabotage (1975). Considered an icon and pioneer of heavy metal music, particularly with the critically-acclaimed albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971), he disliked being pigeonholed, stating in a 2023 interview with Revolver, “Well, I’ve never felt comfortable about that title that they put on me — ‘metal’, because Ozzy Osbourne plays heavy, but the bands that are [considered metal] are really heavy, and we’re all put in the same category. When you get pigeonholed with a certain [genre], it can be very difficult to do something a bit lighter or an acoustic track or whatever you want to do. Back in the day, it was always just rock music. It’s still just rock music.” RIP Prince of Darkness. References: In The Osbournes, S2E20 (2003); Revolver.
♬ original sound – Synth History

Eventually the ARP synth does gargle back to life – and Ozzy instantly toys with the sliders and keys with a maniacal look in his eye. “I’m like the Nutty Professor!” he cackles.
When Ozzy’s son, Jack, asks “what are all these then?”, Ozzy answers with a rather brilliant: “well, fuck if I know”. Yet Jack is happy with the lack of a clear answer, praising the ARP 2600 and noting its similarities to the soundtracks of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.
Considering Ozzy’s navigation of the synth seems unfamiliar, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a novice. However, the sticker on the back from 1979 serves as a sign of Ozzy’s previous fling with the synth.

Black Sabbath’s DIY combination of Leslie speakers and reversed flute recordings resulted in some pretty mind-bending sounds on cuts like Planet Caravan, with the band only really delving into the world of synths in 1973. Many mark Who Are You? as the first official synth-drenched Sabbath track, with Ozzy using it as a chance to experiment with a newly purchased a Moog synthesiser.
The ARP 2600 was also thrown into the mix. In Ozzy’s 2009 memoir, I Am Ozzy, he recalled: “I’d written it one night at Bulrush Cottage while I was loaded and fiddling around with a Revox tape machine and my ARP 2600.”

“[Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was] our last truly great album, I think,” Ozzy noted. “We’d managed to strike just the right balance between our old heaviness and our new, ‘experimental’ side.”
The clip serves as a lovely reminder of Ozzy’s bombastic impact on music. The singer sadly passed away on 22 July, with news of Ozzy’s passing was shared by his family. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” an Instagram post said. “He was with his family and surrounded by love.”

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The post “I’m like the Nutty Professor!”: Watch Ozzy Osbourne work his way around a vintage ARP 2600 synth appeared first on MusicTech.

How to Get Music on Spotify PlaylistsLooking to get music on Spotify playlists? This guide walks you how Spotify playlisting works, and proven strategies to increase your chances on getting your music out to new listeners.
The post How to Get Music on Spotify Playlists appeared first on Hypebot.

Get over 60% off the “secret weapon for top mix engineers” right now at Plugin BoutiquePlugin Boutique is offering a huge saving on the tool hailed as a “secret weapon” for the best mix engineers in the game: the Soundtoys Decapitator.
This analogue saturation modeller plugin offers subtle sounds all the way to “extreme hardware-modelled” saturation, delivering the classic tones of tubes, transistors, and circuitry being pushed to the max.

READ MORE: 5 audio effects that will make your synth pads more rhythmic

Now available for just £62, down from a list price of £159.95, Soundtoys created this plugin by collecting and analysing both vintage and modern hardware, including consoles, preamps, input channels, EQs, compressors, and studio distortion units. Selecting those with “the most distinctive sound and unique character when used both subtly and at extremes”, the brand then created their own versions.
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Decapitator offers five different analogue saturation models to experiment with, and includes a modelled tone control for shaping the saturated sound, and a mix control made to blend in dry signal for parallel processing, without the need for routing and sub-mixes.
An added feature of Decapitator is its brutal Punish button – this boosts the gain, pushing it “over the edge” for analogue tone that squeals in pain, according to Soundtoys. So far, the plugin has been praised by the likes of Fabrice ‘Fab’ Dupont (Marc Ronson, Santigold, Jennifer Lopez), Tchad Blake (Sheryl Crow), and Ryan Hewitt (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
Check out the plugin in the video below:

Plugin Boutique is also offering a generous number of other deals on Soundtoys products, including a saving of £266 on the Soundtoys 5.5 plugin collection. You can also get 70 percent off on its Crystallizer, FilterFreak, and SuperPlate plugins.
To find out more about the Soundtoys Decapitator, or purchase now, head over to Plugin Boutique.
The post Get over 60% off the “secret weapon for top mix engineers” right now at Plugin Boutique appeared first on MusicTech.

Pentacom releases ChordBloom, a free chord exploration plugin for Windows & macOS
Pentacom has released ChordBloom, a free plugin for macOS and Windows that makes chord exploration intuitive and fun for producers, songwriters, and live performers. There are plenty of MIDI plugins to help with chords, but I love that ChordBloom has a very straightforward approach to triggering chords. The lower octave of your MIDI keyboard (C2–B2) [...]
View post: Pentacom releases ChordBloom, a free chord exploration plugin for Windows & macOS

Meltone soft synth from quietformat Meltone aims to combine the sought-after sound of classic analogue instruments with the expressive possibilities offered by MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression. 

My Big Mouth: The Wit and Wisdom of OasisThe new Simon & Schuster book "Oasis Talking Shite" lays out some of the best of the worst quotes from the Gallagher brothers, roughly organized by topic and accompanied by photos spanning decades of haircuts and parkas. Check out the highlights in our book review.

2025 One Hertz Challenge: RPI TinynumberHat9This eye-catching entry to the One Hertz Challenge pairs vintage LED indicators with a modern RPi board to create a one-of-a-kind clock. The RPI TinynumberHat9 by [Andrew] brings back the beautiful interface from high end electronics of the past.
This project is centered around the red AL304 and green ALS314V 7-segment display chips. These 7-segment displays were produced in the 1970s and 1980s in the Soviet Union; you can still find them, but you’ll have to do some digging as they are only becoming more rare. [Andrew] included the data sheet for these which was a good find, it is written in Russian but doesn’t hold any surprises, these tiny LEDs typically forward current is 5mA at 2V. One of the things that jumps out about these LEDs is the gold leads, a sure sign of being a high-end component of their day.
When selecting a driving chip for the LEDs, [Andrew] looked at the MAX7219 and HT16K33; he settled on the HT16K33 as it supports I2C as well as allows the easy addition of buttons to the HAT. Due to being driven by I2C, he was also able to add a Qwiic/Stemma I2C connector, so while designed initially to be a HAT for a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W board, it can be connected to other things in the Qwiic/Stemma ecosystem.
Thanks [Andrew] for submitting this beautiful entry into the One Hertz Challenge. We love unique 7-segment displays, and so it’s pretty awesome to see 40-year-old display tech brought into the present.

‘Wizard of Oz’ blown up by AI for giant Sphere screenThe massive Las Vegas venue known as Sphere will be screening its first classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” starting on August 28. And as detailed in a segment on CBS Sunday Morning, this isn’t just a matter of taking the existing movie and projecting it on Sphere’s 160,000 square foot, wraparound LED screen.

Revealed Recordings Revealed Spire Ultimate Plucks Vol. 1Revealed Spire Ultimate Plucks Vol. 1 is a collection of 100 presets designed to supercharge your breakdowns, main themes, and melodic sections. From euphoric trance plucks and lush progressive tones to melodic house sparkles and raw techno-inspired grit, this pack gives you the tools to unlock endless creative possibilities. Additionally, each preset has modwheel controls and all 4 macros programmed to give you more control fine-tuning your sound. With Spire Ultimate Plucks Vol. 1, you'll have a suite of source sounds to craft emotionally charged, high-energy productions in Trance, Progressive House, Big Room, Techno, Eurodance, and Melodic genres. Reveal Yourself. Revealed Spire Ultimate Plucks Vol. 1 - Details PLUCK [100]. 100 presets Core synthesizer patch mapping and programming All presets assigned intuitive modwheel parameters All presets assigned all four macro controls for easy tweaking and multiple sound variations. Preset format(s): .swzip (Full Bank) + .spf2 (Individual Presets) Note: Presets Require Full Retail Version of Spire 1.5.16 or later. Read More

Rob Papen introduce WirePluck As its name suggests, WirePluck concentrates on creating plucked instrument sounds, but aims to tread new ground rather than attempting to recreate real acoustic instruments.

U.K. starts enforcing online age check rulesA U.K. law requiring that pornography websites verify the age of their users took effect Friday.