From stablecoins to incumbents, VCs map crypto value in 2025Venture partners such as Pantera, Hash3 and Variant look back on a year of regulatory shifts and uneven markets, outlining crypto’s biggest winners and losers in 2025.

Nvidia to license AI chip challenger Groq’s tech and hire its CEOWith Groq on its side, Nvidia is poised to become even more dominant in chip manufacturing.

Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 4Chip Kinman

Chip Kinman (In the Red)

As a member of beloved punks The Dils and then a number of other projects, all with his brother Tony (Rank & File, Blackbird, Cowboy Nation), Chip Kinman is a Hallowed figure on the L.A. scene. It's impressive that all of his projects have a different sound, though a family feel for fans.

This self-titled album is Chip's first full length solo effort, and it's a hyper-personal, genre-blurring piece of work.

“I had to figure out something to write about, and I thought, it’s time to make that record,” Chip says. “A long time ago, Tony and I were talking about singer-songwriters, and he said, ‘If you’re going to sing about your life, you better have had a fucking interesting life.’ And I thought, I have. I’ve gotta deep-dive into that. I figured, if I was going to write about what it was like, how was I gonna approach that? How was I going to say that without being nostalgic or without being maudlin or without being over-celebratory? It it was, well, just say it like it was.”

"So Young" is a beautiful backwards glance, while there are awesome guest appearances (Alice Bag on "Que Voy A Hacer," Mike Watt on "Drive Drive Drive"). But it's the blend of electro-punk and rootsy singer-songwriter that keeps the senses perked.

Naïm Amor and Kid Congo Powers

Tucson Safari (In the Red)

Kid Congo, well known for his work with The Cramps and The Gun Club in particular, has been busy of late. His project with Alice Bag, Juanita & Juan, plus his ongoing work with his band the Pink Monkey Birds, has seen him recording and playing shows regularly. This is different though.

According to his bio, "Gabriel Naïm Amor is a French born, Parisian musician who moved to Tucson, AZ in 1997 where he lives with his family." Of this pairing, In the Red says, "Naim Amor and Kid Congo Powers met shortly before the pandemic in Tucson, AZ . When the complete lockdowns hit everybody, Naïm like lots of other musicians reclused himself in his studio and started experimenting with longtime ideas that were on the shelf. The initial idea was to combine rockabilly/ garage electric guitars with electronic drum machines and bass synthesizers, a vague intuition inspired by Link Wray’s guitar tones in one hand and the electronic rawness of the band Suicide."

So that's how it all came to be, and the results are wonderful. Link Wray is a solid reference point; there's a very desert feel to the music, like a psychedelic spaghetti western but gone surf. The use of the drum machines and synths add an otherworldly vibe that is most welcome on tunes like "Murder She Wrote." A success, all told.

Woo

Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong (Independent Project Records)

We discovered London duo Woo via this column a couple of years ago and, honestly, we haven't looked back. We learned then that Woo were early pioneers of electronic-infused music, but never received the credit afforded to the likes of Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. The good folk at Independent Project Records are doing a fine job of reintroducing, or perhaps introducing, the world to the joy of Woo through some quite stunning rereleases. Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong is the latest.

Mark and Clive Ives are the brothers in question, and this double LP features a remastering of the original album, plus 10 previously unreleased bonus tracks presented as a mini-album.

"Mark and I had been home recording for five very prolific years before Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong was compiled," Clive says. "The 13 tracks we selected from this period are very diverse in style, yet magically complimentary."

Diverse is right. Jazz and folk, prog and electronica, it all makes its way in on songs such as "Swingtime" and "A Wave." The whole set is an experience though, and we're glad it's now a more expansive one.The post Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 4 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Disposable Camera Viewfinder Becomes 3D Printed LensDisposable cameras are a fun way to get into classical photography. However, they can also be a valuable source of interesting parts that can be put to other uses. For example, as [Billt] demonstrates, their viewfinders can be repurposed into a rather interesting lens for more serious cameras.
[Billt] was lucky enough to score a grabbag of used disposable cameras from a local film lab, and tore them down for parts. He was particularly interested in the viewfinders, since Kodak equipped its disposable cameras with actual plastic lenses for this very purpose.
[Billt] wanted to see what these lenses would do when thrown on the front of a proper digital camera, and set about designing a mount for that purpose. The 3D printed part was designed to mount one of the viewfinder lens assemblies on the front of any Sony E-mount camera. In a rather nifty trick, [Billt] realized the lens assembly could be installed in the adapter by pausing mid-way through the 3D print to drop it in. The only unfortunate thing? The lenses didn’t really work, and all the camera could see was a haze of unfocused light.
With the aid of some cardboard experiments, [Billt] decided to make some changes. The front element of the viewfinder was dumped, with the rear element being used solo instead. This was fitted to the adapter on a simple slide mechanism so that focus could be reliably adjusted. With these changes, the lens came good, and provided some really interesting shots. It’s quite a cropped lens and it can achieve a very close focus distance, as little as 1 inch in testing. It’s quite sharp in the center of the image, while softly blurring out towards the edges—something that sounds very familiar if you’ve used one of these disposable cameras in the wild.
Sometimes it’s fun to grab a random piece of junk to see if you can turn it into something good. Video after the break.

HoRNet Plugins releases FREE HoRNet TapeLite tape saturation plugin
HoRNet Plugins has released HoRNet TapeLite, a free tape saturation plugin for macOS and Windows. TapeLite is a straightforward tape machine emulation designed to add non-linear behavior to clean digital recordings. There’s no trial period and no copy protection for this one. You just create a free HoRNet account, download the freebie, and keep it [...]
View post: HoRNet Plugins releases FREE HoRNet TapeLite tape saturation plugin

Happy Holidays from Hypebot!Season's greetings and happy new year from the team here at Hypebot.
The post Happy Holidays from Hypebot! appeared first on Hypebot.

Alonso Sound Alonso Spire Trance Plucks Vol. 3Alonso Spire Trance Plucks Vol. 3 is a collection of 128 presets that carries the sound of 2000s Classic and Uplifting Trance into modern Trance production. Inside you will find a diverse palette of 100 pluck presets alongside 28 arp sequences that generate instant melodic motion. Hold a note and let the melodies unfold, or uncheck the arpeggiator and customize your own patterns. Each sound includes modwheel and all four macros controls, giving you intuitive modulation options to shape your sound. As the final release in the series, Spire Trance Plucks Vol. 3 gives you a fresh suite of source sounds to make uplifting drops and euphoric themes for modern Trance music. Read More

KuramaSound releases FREE AnalogChannel plugin for Windows
KuramaSound has released AnalogChannel, a free VST3 channel strip plugin for Windows that combines several Airwindows (among others) DSP algorithms into one convenient workflow. AnalogChannel feels like a curated compilation of some of the best free DSP algorithms around, wrapped into a single, practical signal chain. The developer behind KuramaSound has pulled together faithful ports [...]
View post: KuramaSound releases FREE AnalogChannel plugin for Windows

Shattered Glass Audio releases Phoenix LT, a FREE tube preamp plugin for desktop and iOS
Shattered Glass Audio has released Phoenix LT, a free analog tube preamp simulation plugin for desktop platforms and iOS. This release caught my attention because Phoenix LT is essentially the successor to the discontinued SGA1566 preamp. In my opinion, SGA1566 was one of the best free tube preamp plugins on the market for years, and [...]
View post: Shattered Glass Audio releases Phoenix LT, a FREE tube preamp plugin for desktop and iOS

Fairlight 50th Anniversary December 2025 marks the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Fairlight in 1975 by Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel, who along with a number of original staff members, have gathered in Sydney to celebrate this milestone year for Australia's pioneering music technology company. 

Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 3The Monkees

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd (Rhino/Warner)

Part of the wonderful Rhino High Fidelity, arguably the most adventurous album by The Monkees has been given the heavyweight vinyl treatment, which offers us a chance to revisit an underrated gem.

The 180-gram release has been cut from the original analog tapes at Cohearent Audio. "Released at the height of Monkeemania in November 1967, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. was The Monkees’ fourth consecutive #1 album—and their third release that year alone," a statement reads. "It spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200 and earned double platinum certification. Building on the creative control they established with Headquarters, the album marked a turning point in the band’s sound, incorporating sharper lyrics, electric banjo, and one of the earliest uses of a Moog synthesizer on a rock album. Recorded amid a grueling tour schedule and across multiple studios, the sessions captured both the group’s growing studio ambitions and the fragmented pace of their late-’60s reality. The result was one of their most adventurous—and enduring—records."

It's tough to ignore the Beatles comparisons on this one, particular the "Salesman"/"Taxman" of it all. But it's also undeniable that, when they stretched out and allowed the creativity to flow, as they did here, the Monkees were a real force. The whole "they were just actors for a TV show" thing should be put to bed.

The Cranberries

MTV Unplugged (Island/Universal)

It was 1995--30 years ago--that The Cranberries recorded one of the great MTV Unplugged sets, and it's available for the first time here in full, on newly mastered vinyl.

It's bittersweet because, boy, do we still miss singer Dolores O'Riordan. But having the opportunity to hear her in a stripped down environment, crooning her band's better known songs--that's a real treat.

"Linger," "Empty," "Zombie" -- these are glorious versions given new life in a space setting. Nirvana pulled the same trick with an MTV Unplugged, and here we are entering 2026, wishing Delores and Kurt were still with us.

"If you saw the episode, it's time to relive the majesty of their hypnotic performance that chilly February night in 1995," reads a statement. "If you hadn't seen it, be prepared to be awed."

Eternity's Children

Eternity's Children (High Moon)

Timeless (High Moon)

In the case of both of these albums from "sunshine pop legends" Eternity's Children, this is the first time they've been released on vinyl since the late '60s. We can thank the fine people at High Moon Records for that--the label has been helping us rediscover many a lost gem of late. Both of these fall into that category.

“Possessed of two exceptional lead vocalists and a self-penned hit single, immensely talented, college-educated, and great-looking to boot, they toured with some of the biggest names in music, and worked with the finest producers and musicians,” writes Steve Stanley, who produced these for reissue and wrote the liner notes. “They transformed the songs they covered – many composed by the industry’s top songwriters – and made them their own. Eternity’s Children clearly had all the ingredients necessary to conquer the pop world, yet their career path was littered with more pitfalls and landmines than most artists could ever fear to endure. Why did this band, whose talent far surpassed that of many of their more renowned contemporaries, fail to achieve the measure of acclaim and financial success they deserved?”

That is the big question. Eternity's Children certainly had the tunes, and there was a time when their very Hair, "Dawning of Aquarius" vibe was in vogue. Now, it feels like a product of its time but that's no bad thing. It's nice to look back, and enjoy.The post Vinyl Minded, Gift Guide Edition Vol. 3 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Trump administration’s ban on foreign-made drones starts this week — you can say goodbye to new DJI modelsIt's the latest development in an evolving war between Chinese and American consumer tech products.

Old FM Radio Upcycled Into Classy Bluetooth Speaker[Distracted by Design] loves gear from the 1980s, though some of it isn’t as useful as it used to be. He happened across a cheap old FM radio with a great look, but wanted to repurpose it into something more modern. Thus, he set about turning this cheap piece of old electronics into a stylish Bluetooth speaker.
All of the original electronics were stripped out, while the original speaker was kept since it neatly fit the case. Electronically, the build relies on a Bluetooth module harvested from an existing speaker. 3D-printed bracketry was used to fasten it neatly into place inside the radio housing, with the buttons neatly presented where the original radio had its tone and volume controls. Power is via an internal lithium-ion battery, charged over USB-C thanks to an off-the-shelf charging module.
Where the build really shines, though, is the detailing. The original cheap plastic handle was replaced with a CNC-machined wooden piece, bolted on with machined aluminium side plates. Similarly, the original clear plastic tuning window was replaced with another tasteful piece of wood that dropped perfectly into place. At the back, the charge port is nicely integrated. Where the radio formerly had a removable door for the power cable storage, it now has a machined aluminium plate hosting the USB-C charge port. Little 3D-printed button actuators were also used to integrate the Bluetooth module’s controls into the case.
It’s a very stylish build, overall. Perhaps the one area it’s a let down is in the sound quality. The ancient speaker simply doesn’t sound great compared to modern Bluetooth speakers and their finely-tuned, bassy audio. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing—sometimes it’s nice to have an audio source with a limited frequency response. It can be nice for use in an area where you may want to be able to easily speak over the music.
If you want to build a Bluetooth speaker of your own, you might like to whip up an open-source design from scratch. Video after the break.

Fracture Sounds releases Blueprint: Dream Zither, a FREE ethereal plucks library for Kontakt Player
Fracture Sounds is back with the next addition to the free Blueprint series, Dream Zither. Even though these Blueprint instruments are free, I feel like a salesman because I go on about how good they are so often. But if you haven’t tried them yet, please do, they are epic. Dream Zither is the 25th [...]
View post: Fracture Sounds releases Blueprint: Dream Zither, a FREE ethereal plucks library for Kontakt Player

How Musicians Get Discovered in 2026: Case Study & Downloadable ChecklistMusic discovery and how musicians get discovered is no longer about landing one big moment. With listeners encountering new music across streaming playlists, short-form video, social feeds, and peer recommendations, discovery has become a process - not an event. For artists, the challenge isn’t just getting heard once, but building momentum that compounds over time.
The post How Musicians Get Discovered in 2026: Case Study & Downloadable Checklist appeared first on Hypebot.