“Being a musician is sometimes more like being a top athlete”: Stimming on artists who only want to show off their skillsWhile Martin Stimming is constantly striving to innovate his organic sound, twisting natural field recordings with quirky, esoteric hardware, the German producer has spoken out against musicians who treat music like a competitive sport.
On the latest episode of MusicTech’s My Forever Studio, Stimming notes that his production work is always to aid the sound of a track – he doesn’t concern himself with ‘one-upping’ and proving himself to other musicians. “Being a musician is sometimes more like being a top athlete,” he reflects. “[For some artists] it’s not even about the music any more, to be honest.”

READ MORE: Bitwig Studio 6 first impressions: It’s been a long wait, but it’s been worth it

As Stimming puts it, competitive musicians can often feel like “musician police” rather than supportive peers. These musicians tend to release music just to show off their skills, releasing pretentious cuts that “nobody wants to listen to” bar “the other 5,000 people on Earth that can also play very good and are astonished by how fast you can play.”
“They’re not really ‘enjoying’ [the music],” he explains. “They’re enjoying the ‘athletics’, but not the feelings, the emotions – which is the core of what music actually is.”

While Stimming notes that he was never professionally trained, instrumentally or in terms of production, he believes this has benefitted him. “I would say that’s a big win because I’m not in that trap of knowing too much,” he says. “I had a little bit of education, but luckily not too much that I kind of lost my inner child.”
This ‘inner child’ approach is evident in the producer’s dream Forever Studio set-up, too. The German famously controls his computer with a Wacom pen, something he explains feels “more natural”. The approach allows for a more child-like and free flowing creative process, like plotting his daydreams out on a “sheet of paper”.
Of course, it’s also easier on the wrist. “Those who work with the mouse for hours a day know how bad your wrist feels,” he frowns.
He also notes that pretentious artists tend to make a big fuss of their set-ups. For Stimming, things are more simple and low-key, letting the music speak for itself. “I need big speakers – the biggest speakers possible – but I like my screens small,” he says. “The screen and the visual shouldn’t be the main part of making music… we’re making music, not visuals!!”
“If it gets too complicated, too architectural… then it’s not music,” he emphasises.

His dream studio would also be isolated in a wooden cabin in the Alps – just like how he recorded 2016’s Alpe Lusia. Inside, he’d be working away on an Asus Republic of Gamers Flow Z13 laptop (“I would buy a Mac computer because it’s simply the better computer – it’s more efficient, it’s more clean – but the touchscreen pen is more compatible with PC.”)
When getting down to the nitty-gritty, Stimming explains how Merging Technologies’s HAPI as his audio interface of choice. He’s also keen to have Bricasti M7 reverb due to its “beautiful texture” that allows for “roominess” while still feeling “very natural and organic sounding”.
He also namedrops a few budget options – because, again, making good music doesn’t have to be inaccessible. He picks out Twisted Electronics’ MegaFM Synthesizer and Behringer’s semi-modular percussion synth, Edge. “The Edge is inspired by a Moog DFAM,” he explains. “Well, it’s not inspired, it’s [essentially] cloned. Yeah, it’s like brutally cold heartedly cloned…. And it’s only €200.”
Subscribe to My Forever Studio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and check out all episodes so far via MusicTech.

The post “Being a musician is sometimes more like being a top athlete”: Stimming on artists who only want to show off their skills appeared first on MusicTech.

“The heaviest synthesised drums ever”: Baby Audio Tekno is an analogue-inspired drum synth plugin with no pre-recorded audioBaby Audio has expanded its plugin lineup with a new analogue-inspired drum synth plugin, Tekno.
Tekno brings drum synthesis into a new era, offering the “hardest hitting synthesised drums” to ever be put in a plugin, the brand says. Though partially envisioned as a successor to iconic drum machines from music history, Tekno is not an emulation of any hardware unit, but rather “an evolution of the underlying technology”.

READ MORE: The best free and paid-for plugins you need to know about this week

It all sounds rather alluring, so what features does it actually offer? Created in collaboration with Jatin Chowdhury, a leading engineer in analogue circuit modelling, Tekno is powered by 18 entirely synthesised drum engines that combine authentic circuit-modelling, advanced synthesis, and classic drum machine techniques.
All of its drums are synthesised from scratch, so it contains no pre-recorded audio of any kind, with each hit that it produces being unique. Through modelled analogue circuits and onboard Humanise features, Tekno offers unique quirks that “make tracks come alive as samples never could”.
“Tekno generates every drum hit from scratch through a complex non-linear VA circuit. That means it never hits exactly the same way twice – a quality it shares with the classic analogue drum machines (and a big part of their magic),” states Baby Audio. “Compare this to samples, which are just static snapshots and you’ll find that Tekno’s subtleties make tracks come more alive.”
Tekno launches with 73 custom kit presets from producers including Mr. Bill, Richard Devine, Virtual Riot, and Yoad Nevo. You can also fine tune individual components of the modelled circuits onboard for in depth sound design, and experiment with Baby Audio’s smart preset randomiser if inspiration is running dry.
Check out the video below for more:

Tekno is available to download now for an introductory price of $79 (regular price $129). Find out more via Baby Audio, or get yours at Plugin Boutique.
The post “The heaviest synthesised drums ever”: Baby Audio Tekno is an analogue-inspired drum synth plugin with no pre-recorded audio appeared first on MusicTech.

Who Olivia Rodrigo, Green Day and Beyonce Turn to for Mental Health Services for Their ToursThis week, Ari is joined by Dr. Chayim Newman and Zack Borer from Amber Health to discuss mental health in the music industry.

Taylor Guitars Releases Study on Link Between African Forest Elephants and GuitarsTaylor Guitars, a leading global maker of premium acoustic instruments, has released groundbreaking research demonstrating that African forest elephants play a crucial role in the survival of ebony trees, the wood used in nearly every Taylor guitar fingerboard. The findings, published in Science Advances, come after nearly a decade of community-driven conservation work in Cameroon through The Ebony Project, a partnership led by Taylor co-founder Bob Taylor and the Congo Basin Institute.“When I met Tom Smith eight years ago, I never imagined that Taylor Guitars’ commitment to responsible ebony sourcing would lead to discoveries about elephant poop,” said Bob Taylor. “But that’s exactly what happened, and the implications are profound for both conservation and the future of guitar making.”The research shows that African forest elephants are essential for dispersing ebony seeds and ensuring the growth of new trees. Areas where elephant populations have been decimated show almost no young ebony saplings, as Dr. Vincent Deblauwe explains: “The majority of ebony trees thriving today likely owe their existence to elephants that dispersed their seeds decades ago. In parts of the forest without elephants, there are practically no young saplings.” Seeds protected within elephant dung also have significantly higher survival rates against predators.The Ebony Project has exceeded expectations in its conservation efforts, planting over 40,000 ebony trees—far surpassing the original goal of 15,000—and 20,000 fruit trees to support local food security. The initiative has also secured additional funding from the Global Environmental Facility and the Franklinia Foundation, earning international recognition from National Geographic, Forbes, Reuters, and the BBC. Dr. Zac Tchoundjeu, a Cameroonian agroforestry expert, noted that planting both ebony and fruit trees addresses critical environmental and community needs simultaneously.The findings carry direct implications for the music industry. “Almost every guitar ever produced includes an ebony fingerboard,” Taylor said. “If guitar players want ebony fingerboards in the future, they need to support elephant conservation in the Congo Basin today.” Protecting elephants is not only a matter of animal welfare but a necessary step to maintain forest ecosystems and the sustainable supply of materials that have defined guitar craftsmanship for generations.Taylor Guitars continues to demonstrate how musical instrument manufacturers can integrate conservation into their supply chains, showing that protecting wildlife and supporting communities can go hand in hand with preserving the instruments that shape music worldwide.

Read the Science Advances Article HERE.The post Taylor Guitars Releases Study on Link Between African Forest Elephants and Guitars first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

US regulators clarify rules for spot crypto tradingIn a joint statement, the SEC and CFTC said existing law does not block regulated exchanges from listing spot crypto products.

Waymo expands to Denver and Seattle with its Zeekr-made vansAdd another two cities to the growing list where Waymo is looking to deploy its robotaxis. The company will start with manual testing but is eyeing a commercial launch in both cities.

The Interruptor Bionic Delay 2Bionic Delay 2 is a VST3 plug-in specialized in vintage and modern delay effects. It combines a straightforward user interface for the main delay parameters with a character dial that allows you to easily select the sounds of analog or digital delay units in any condition between brand new and extreme Lo-Fi. Features: Easy delay time selection by note values: half notes, eight notes, 16th, 32th notes plus tripplet and dotted notes via the FINE controls. These are synchronized to your host/DAW tempo. Delay time selection in milliseconds for delay times up to 3 seconds. Separate delay times for the left and right channels are possible. PING PONG delays. SWING creates a swing time feel by applying a longer (or shorter) delay time to every second delay iteration. CHARACTER dial allows you to morph the delay sound between classic bionic delay, clean digital and Lo-Fi analog or crushed digital tones. You can even turn the delay time down to zero and use the CHARACTER function alone for standalone effects like tape degradation and digital crushing. Modulate the delay time for pitch and phase variations, simulating tape transport inaccuracies like wow and flutter. Use extremely small delay times to create Chorus or Flange effects. Full control of the stereo image via WIDTH and BALANCE controls. FREEZE button captures the delay in a static endless loop. SMOOTH control for gradual delay time changes. HI CUT and LO CUT controls progressively narrow the frequency bandwidth of consecutive delays. DRIFT control allows to send more feedback to the left or to the right channel. This results in delays that continuously wander to the left or to the right. Read More

Phonenstien Flips Broken Samsung Into QWERTY SliderThe phone ecosystem these days is horribly boring compared to the innovation of a couple decades back. Your options include flat rectangles, and flat rectangles that fold in half and then break. [Marcin Plaza] wanted to think outside the slab, without reinventing the wheel. In an inspired bout of hacking, he flipped a broken Samsung zFlip 5 into a “new” phone.
There’s really nothing new in it; the guts all come from the donor phone. That screen? It’s the front screen that was on the top half of the zFlip, as you might have guessed from the cameras. Normally that screen is only used for notifications, but with the Samsung’s fancy folding OLED dead as Disco that needed to change. Luckily for [Marcin] Samsung has an app called Good Lock that already takes care of that. A little digging about in the menus is all it takes to get a launcher and apps on the small screen.
Because this is a modern phone, the whole thing is glued together, but that’s not important since [Marcin] is only keeping the screen and internals from the Samsung. The new case with its chunky four-bar linkage is a custom design fabbed out in CNC’d aluminum. (After a number of 3D Printed prototypes, of course. Rapid prototyping FTW!)
The bottom half of the slider contains a Blackberry Q10 keyboard, along with a battery and Magsafe connector. The Q10 keyboard is connected to a custom flex PCB with an Arduino Micro Pro that is moonlighting as a Human Input Device. Sure, that means the phone’s USB port is used by the keyboard, but this unit has wireless charging,so that’s not a great sacrifice. We particularly like the use of magnets to create a satisfying “snap” when the slider opens and closes.
Unfortunately, as much as we might love this concept, [Marcin] doesn’t feel the design is solid enough to share the files. While that’s disappointing, we can certainly relate to his desire to change it up in an era of endless flat rectangles.  This project is a lot more work than just turning a broken phone into a server, but it also seems like a lot more fun.

Warner’s Divo Music makes play for independent artists in India via new label LoopdWarner acquired a majority stake in Divo in 2023
Source

Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M now shipping Initially announced at Superbooth 2025 back in May, the latest addition to the 3rd Wave family boasts the same sound engine as its larger siblings, but comes in at a more affordable price thanks to a reduced voice count and a simplified top panel.

U.S. Rep. Tlaib to Reintroduce The Living Wage for Musicians ActUS Representative Rashida Tlaib will reintroduce The Living Wage for Musicians Act in Congress for the second time on September 29th, 2025.
The post U.S. Rep. Tlaib to Reintroduce The Living Wage for Musicians Act appeared first on Hypebot.

What Makes a Great Artist Manager? Advice from Top Music ManagersArtist management is more than just handling business. Check out key traits that a great artist manager through real stories from top industry pros.
The post What Makes a Great Artist Manager? Advice from Top Music Managers appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Expo 25: Programme & Speakers Ahead of Music Expo 25, the show’s organisers have released the first wave of programming and speakers scheduled for this year’s event.

WAVS’ AI Sample Finder is an “industry-first” workflow enhancement that finds the right sounds for your project – and most are royalty freeAudio sample library WAVS has launched a new AI Sample Finder tool that allows users to drag any audio file directly from their DAW’s timeline into its plugin to discover similar sounds.
WAVS says the sample finder is an “industry-first workflow enhancement”, allowing artists uncover stems, loops, and textures that complement their existing project, or discover sounds that resemble their favourite samples and synth patches.

READ MORE: Fake artists, real opportunities: Hoaxes and scams are holding back the potential of AI music

There are over 100,000 samples in the WAVS library, and the new search tool uses an audio similarity algorithm that it describes as “best in class”. The WAVS plugin also syncs samples to project tempo and key automatically for quick auditioning.
To find the right sounds, you can search and filter samples based on artist, mood, energy, and style. Nearly half of WAVS’ content is royalty-free, but for use of its other samples, clearance is only required after one million streams or a major-label release.

AI continues to wriggle its way into a number of DAWs and plugins. Moises, the company behind the popular stem separation and chord detection app, has recently unveiled AI Studio, a browser-based DAW with its own synthetic session musician. Moises claims that the musical data for its AI musician has been ethically sourced, licensed, and copyright-cleared.
In other AI news, startup Beatoven.ai has also just launched Maestro, a new generative AI music model that claims to pay ‘ongoing royalties’ to artists, composers, and rights-holders whose work is used in training.
WAVS’ AI Sample Finder is available now for all users. You can head to the WAVS website for more information.
The post WAVS’ AI Sample Finder is an “industry-first” workflow enhancement that finds the right sounds for your project – and most are royalty free appeared first on MusicTech.

Polyend offers the Bliss Chords ambient chord sample pack for FREE
Polyend offers the Bliss Chords ($9.99) sample pack featuring 104 chord one-shots and pads in WAV format for free for a limited time. Use the code promobliss at checkout to get the pack for free. There’s no word on when the offer ends, so don’t sleep on it. I haven’t covered many WAV packs recently, [...]
View post: Polyend offers the Bliss Chords ambient chord sample pack for FREE