“Do we need another 909 kick drum? No we don’t”: Why Will Clarke opts for this obscure Russian drum machine when crafting beatsWhen it comes to choosing your beat-making hardware, is it best to pick something tried and tested like the Roland TR-808 or 909, or opt for something a little more obscure in pursuit of new drum sounds?
British DJ, producer and podcast host Will Clarke thinks it’s wiser to choose the latter, as he explains in the first episode of MusicTech’s My Forever Studio Season 7.

READ MORE: 19,000 sq ft music education campus opens in Shoreditch, with 13 studios, Dolby Atmos mixing facilities and a dedicated DJ space developed with Pioneer DJ

Speaking to MusicTech’s Chris Barker and Will Betts, Clarke notes how he opts for a little-known Russian drum machine – the AVP ADS-7 – when it comes to crafting certain elements for his beats.
Clarke first became aware of the ADS-7 – an analogue drum machine with an onboard sequencer, MIDI, CV and individual outputs – after seeing a clip online around 2018, when he was beginning to dip his toes into techno music.
“I was like, ‘I really want to change drums. I really want to have a specific sound of what my techno side sounds like.’ And I said, ‘What can help me get that?’” He reached out to AVP via DM, who said each ADS-7 is made by hand to order.
“So I ordered the MkI and it just rocked up from Russia on my doorstep,” he says. “It’s very easy to use. It’s a very unique sound – it’s very noisy.
“Everyone can get a 303, everyone can get a 909. Do we need another 909 kick drum? No we don’t. I still use it to this day.
In terms of what he regularly uses the ADS-7 on, Clarke replies: “Hats, all of my hats, all of my shakers. It’s just really noisy. I like twisting shit. I’m not a super nerdy synth guy [who knows] everything about synths, but I know what I need to know to get the job done.
Even the most seasoned synth nuts will attest to the intimidating nature of the ADS-7’s interface. As Clarke so eloquently puts it, “It looks Russian as fuck.”
“It’s not a clean sound,” he concludes, “but I’m not looking for a clean sound. I’m looking for something gritty. I’m looking for something to get textures that you wouldn’t get from a sample.”

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The My Forever Studio podcast – created in partnership with Audient – sees artists, producers, and engineers create their dream fantasy Forever Studio. However, hosts Chris Barker and Will Betts impose some strict rules. Our guests are permitted a limited number of items in their creative space, so they must choose carefully. There will be nostalgia. There will be anecdotes. There may be gags. But there will be no bundles!
You can subscribe to My Forever Studio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and check out all episodes so far via MusicTech.
The post “Do we need another 909 kick drum? No we don’t”: Why Will Clarke opts for this obscure Russian drum machine when crafting beats appeared first on MusicTech.

Concatenator from Datamind Audio Datamind Audio have announced the launch of a new AI-powered plug-in that’s capable of creating complex new sounds and textures based on any audio file or input source. 

19,000 sq ft music education campus opens in Shoreditch, with 13 studios, Dolby Atmos mixing facilities and a dedicated DJ space developed with Pioneer DJIn recent years, cuts to arts funding have taken their toll on music education, but it’s not all bad news. London’s pointblank Music School has just opened a new 19,000 square-foot Shoreditch campus, hosting 13 studios catering to DJing, production and engineering.
Studios include two immersive Dolby Atmos facilities fitted with Solid State Logic Duality Delta and Origin consoles, Adam Audio S Series monitors, and Avid Pro Tools HD, offering students the “most advanced spatial audio experience available”.

READ MORE: Five of the best free software and apps for DJs

There’s also a new DJ Performance studio developed in partnership with Pioneer DJ, with 16 DJ workstations with industry-leading gear including the OPUS-QUAD, DJM-A9, CDJ-3000 and DJS-1000. These workstations are equipped with state-of-the-art software including Ableton live, Beatport/Beatsource, Logic Pro, Neural Mix Pro, Mixed In Key, rekordbox, Serato and Traktor Pro.
The spaces also include six “cutting-edge” music production studios with Ableton Push 3 suites – for mastering real-time production and performance techniques – a specialist MuSE (Music Production and Software Engineering) classroom, enabling students to code and develop software for Mac and Windows, and Music Business Classrooms, where students can learn about artist management, label operations, music marketing and other music industry specialisms.
At the centre of the campus, though is a central performance Hub, which doubles as a bar for socialising and a place for students to host gigs, and features two dedicated singing studios for musicians keen to train their vocals.
Credit: pointblank
“Our new Shoreditch campus is more than just a school, it’s a creative hub designed to inspire the next generation of music professionals,” says Rob Cowan, CEO & Founder at pointblank Music School. “With cutting-edge technology, immersive learning spaces, and a strong focus on hands-on experience, our students are in the best possible environment to launch their careers in music.”
pointblank has offered music education for three decades, with its original Hoxton school opening in 1994. Since, it has expanded to locations in Los Angeles and Ibiza, and also offers online courses.
The school has even earned the honour of being the UK’s only TEF Gold-rated music production institution for teaching excellence. Students can dig into a slew of unique courses, each focusing on a specialised corner of music, from Music Production, Sound Engineering, DJ Performance, Vocal Performance, to Music Business, and Radio and Podcasting.
Applications are still open to enrol at pointblank in September for the 2025-26 academic year.

The post 19,000 sq ft music education campus opens in Shoreditch, with 13 studios, Dolby Atmos mixing facilities and a dedicated DJ space developed with Pioneer DJ appeared first on MusicTech.

How Tobi Lou is turning countless voice notes into masterpieces: “I’m never going to run out of ideas”Ad feature with Splice
Tobi Lou has me hanging onto his every word during our interview. It’s 10 am in Los Angeles, where the vocalist and producer lives, and he’s passionate but calm as he reveals the universe’s deepest artistic secrets as vivid metaphors, casually sipping coffee between bursts of wisdom.
The Lagos-born, Chicago-raised artist, athlete and anime lover has been producing music in his bedroom for over two decades. Sure, he’s found himself working in lavish studios with revered labels and world-class producers, but most of the ideas for his four studio albums and viral hits — such as 2019’s Buff Baby — are conjured in one familiar place.
“It always comes back to me, locked in my room, just like when I started [making music] in eighth grade,” says Tobi. “I love the process of getting an idea and fleshing it out. It’s like I have to take this invisible thing and give it some physical properties so that it’s echoing off the walls in the room, rather than in my mind.”
Image: Press
Tobi likens the act of expanding these musical ideas to “raising a little bird.” His latest means of nurturing his songbirds is Splice’s Mobile App. “In terms of recording ideas, I’ve always lived in voice memo land, where I play a beat and record a freestyle over the top — but my phone turns into a bit of a graveyard of ideas”, he explains. “Splice’s app helps me keep in the flow. The second I get on the app, I’m working in an environment where I can take an idea as far as I need it to go.”
Specifically, Tobi is enjoying the Splice Mic feature, which is part of the Splice Mobile app and allows him to record any sound over a Stack of complementary samples. Instead of letting his ideas dwindle and lose energy, Splice Mobile helps him invigorate them. In a tap, he can effortlessly shuffle the genres, style, tempo and key of his Stack. Another swipe on his smartphone and he can transform his mellow neo-soul spark into a melodic lo-fi track or a country-style beat. Given that Tobi has mastered the art of creating music in myriad styles with a wide palette of instrumentation, this is a boon to his workflow.
“Rather than starting from this completely blank canvas, where you open a DAW and think, ‘What do I do now?’, it’s like, you go to Splice and instantly get the building blocks of what a song should be,” Tobi says. “I’m really appreciative of that right now.”

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Since he started making music, Tobi has been obsessed with capturing his ideas as they happen, no matter what gear he had access to. His introduction to producing came when he bought a microphone for $10 from RadioShack — it’s a far cry from what he has access to now, but plugging that first mic into his old computer was enough to get him hooked.
“From there, I was obsessed with trying to get a clearer signal of my recordings on my own, without having to go to studios — I couldn’t really afford studio time,” he says. As he started putting his musical mind to work, he found that the barriers between him and his creativity became less about the gear he was using; it was a battle of confidence.
“It’s cute when you’re a kid and you’re like, ‘Mom, look what I made,’ he says. “And then once you start to be aware of judgment — that not everyone’s going to pat you on the back for what you did — you start to look around and compare like, ‘How do I sound?’”. If I had a really good song idea that maybe my family and friends really like, it felt like, ‘Okay, I got one, good job’. But I would always think, ‘Damn, is that my last good idea?’”
Thankfully, he quickly assures me, it’s never anyone’s last good idea.
“After making thousands and thousands of songs, I realised, ‘Okay, I’m never going to run out of ideas.’ I actually don’t have enough time to record all the ideas I have. No matter if I live another 50 or 100 years, I will still have way more ideas than I ever got time to put on wax. So then it all just became about getting better at executing each idea.”
Image: Press
It’s tools like Splice Mobile that help Tobi materialise his creativity. He’s able to take a galaxy’s worth of sketches, build on them in the app, and export them as stems to his DAW with functions such as AirDrop and Export to Project. The app even lets Tobi text his ideas to friends and producers, who will add to the idea and send it back to him.
Tobi is comfortable when he’s working solo, but has also become an adept collaborator. He’s worked with the likes of T-Pain, Chief Keef, and Warren Hue, and a wealth of esteemed producers throughout his career.
“I’ll send a producer a sample, they’ll send me back what they did on it, then I’ll get the stems and do something with it, maybe organise it a different way, then I might send it to another producer. We’re just experimenting. I love taking the ideas of three or four producers and putting them in one big sandwich.”
Being able to easily collaborate and expand on his projects quickly with Splice Mobile is helping Tobi make more music and is becoming a natural part of his workflow. The artist once looked to fellow LA-based songwriter Steve Lacy, who famously created music using just his iPhone, and thought “that’s too crazy”, he recalls, shaking his head. How could his smartphone be such a catalyst for his sonic inventions?
“Since I started using Splice Mobile, I realised, ‘Wow, you can actually do this,’ he explains. “And being able to switch up genres on my iPhone — I’m doing different styles but it’s still Tobi Lou. It’s like I’m accessing a different side of who I am within the music.”
Image: Press
It’s not all about crafting serious and meticulous performances, though. Tobi’s found that music is how he channels what he calls “playing as an adult.” He’s happy to freestyle wacky and spontaneous songs, and record whatever comes to mind, just in case it proves to be useful later on.
“That’s what some of the best ideas are,” he says, beaming. “Like, what you thinking about right now? You’re thinking about bananas and pineapples? Great. Go with it. Show me your song about bananas and pineapples.”
“That’s what I think you can get out of using Splice Mobile — even though you’re working, it’s still a form of play.”
Tobi Lou has managed to turn his version of play into a profession, and also likens it to his form of therapy. But he’s, of course, still learning, experimenting and building, every day; he’s just trying to create as much music as he can.
And, naturally, Tobi leaves me on the edge of my seat for one more vivid metaphor.
“When you start a music career, you’re really building a house. So if I started building a house right now, I may get 20 songs in and have a roof over my head, but you want to make this house as comfortable and as dreamy as you can. So rather than thinking, ‘I’m going to drop this one song and it’s going to be a mansion.’ Like, no, — you’re laying the foundation. And the foundation isn’t laid down with one song, it’s repeating, and repeating, and repeating that. That’s the best advice I can give — it’s all really just on you, and what you can do.”
The post How Tobi Lou is turning countless voice notes into masterpieces: “I’m never going to run out of ideas” appeared first on MusicTech.

This Superfan Platform Gets Artists Paid 10x+ What They Make From StreamingThis week, Ari is joined by Mag Rodriguez, founder and CEO of EVEN to discuss how direct-to-fan platforms are changing the game for artists.

Richard Russell to receive MPG Inspiration Award The MPG have announced that Richard Russell, the acclaimed producer and founder of the ground-breaking label XL Recordings, will receive the prestigious MPG Inspiration Award at this year’s MPG Awards ceremony.

Figma, ignores the fear, files paperwork for an IPODesign software startup Figma announced Tuesday it has filed its confidential paperwork for an IPO. We won’t know more until that paperwork becomes public, which, best-case scenario would be in about a month. However, with the stock market in groundhog mode — seeing its shadow with every new gyration of the Trump Administration’s trade policies […]

CALLUM KERR SIGNS TO ONErpm & HUFF CO.L-R Back Row: Angela Chamberlain (ONErpm) & Kylie Dembek (ONErpm)Front Row: Ryan Cunningham (ONErpm), Callum Kerr, David Huff (Huff Co.)Scottish born, Texas raised and Nashville livin’ country artist Callum Kerr, of “Tequila Therapy,” “Tamed by Tennessee” and “Cold Beer Cold” fame, has signed up with ONErpm and Huff Co. "I'd heard about the Huff's before even landing in Nashville” says Kerr. “Couldn't have been more delighted when David called me with the offer. And to team up with ONErpm is even more awesome, given their experience in music marketing and distribution. The music is recorded and ready to go, and I think everyone is super excited to get it out into the world.""When we first met Callum, we had an instant connection” exclaimed Dann and David Huff. “Working with him in the studio was effortless, even having to record a few of his vocals via Skype while he was filming in South Africa! His Scottish roots along with his Country Rock roots really bring a new feel to his debut Country EP. This guy is gonna come out of the gates smokin’!""Callum Kerr is a true entertainer. We've watched him captivate live audiences with just him and a guitar, and our entire team is excited for everyone to hear the new music he’s created with Dann and David Huff. With this new project, Callum is bringing a sound to Country music that is true to who he is as an artist, and we can't wait for the world to hear it” states Ryan Cunningham, Director of A&R, ONErpm Nashville.Kerr is also a model and actor, and has appeared in 13 different movies and TV series including Monarch on Fox and Virgin River and One Piece, both on Netflix.Visit instagram.com/callum_kerr_1 for more info.The post CALLUM KERR SIGNS TO ONErpm & HUFF CO. first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Universal Audio UAD Woodrow '55 Instrument Amplifier Available natively, the UAD Woodrow '55 Instrument Amplifier plug‑in captures every nuance of the iconic amp, giving players the punchy cleans and rich tube‑driven overdrive made famous by artists from Chuck Berry and Neil Young to modern players like Jason Isbell, and Joe Bonamassa. The UAD Woodrow '55 Instrument Amplifier plug‑in captures the classic tweed circuit in end‑to‑end detail, from its tube preamp and power section to tone stack and transformer. Built upon Universal Audio's industry‑leading amp modeling and component‑level circuit analysis, UAD Woodrow '55 puts a world‑class studio amp with expertly paired mic/speaker cabinets at your fingertips — no mics, pedals, or live room required. Features: Raw tube tones from the dawn of electric guitar, now in a plug-in. Play through a perfect emulation of the classic '50s American tweed amp, right in your DAW. Go from clean to crunch with a single knob for instant vintage sound. Enjoy authentic 5E3 tone — right down to the preamp and power tube stages, tone stack, and transformer. Go deep with customizable mic/speaker pairings and artist presets for any genre. https://youtu.be/5dxbL-GI1kQ Read More

Making Parts Feeders Work Where They Weren’t Supposed To[Chris Cecil] had a problem. He had a Manncorp/Autotronik MC384V2 pick and place, and needed more feeders. The company was reluctant to support an older machine and wanted over $32,000 to supply [Chris] with more feeders. He contemplated the expenditure… but then came across another project which gave him pause. Could he make Siemens feeders work with his machine?
It’s one of those “standing on the shoulders of giants” stories, with [Chris] building on the work from [Bilsef] and the OpenPNP project. He came across SchultzController, which could be used to work with Siemens Siplace feeders for pick-and-place machines. They were never supposed to work with his Manncorp machine, but it seemed possible to knit them together in some kind of unholy production-focused marriage. [Chris] explains how he hooked up the Manncorp hardware to a Smoothieboard and then Bilsef’s controller boards to get everything working, along with all the nitty gritty details on the software hacks required to get everything playing nice.
For an investment of just $2,500, [Chris] has been able to massively expand the number of feeders on his machine. Now, he’s got his pick and place building more Smoothieboards faster than ever, with less manual work on his part.
We feature a lot of one-off projects and home production methods, but it’s nice to also get a look at methods of more serious production in bigger numbers, too. It’s a topic we follow with interest. Video after the break.

[Editor’s note: Siemens is the parent company of Supplyframe, which is Hackaday’s parent company. This has nothing to do with this story.]

ASCAP, BMI, GMR, and SESAC have their say in US Copyright Office’s PRO inquiry…The four biggest PROs in the United States just filed with the Copyright Office. Here's what they said.
Source

Universal Audio release UAD Woodrow plug-in UAD Woodrow ’55 Instrument Amplifier has officially launched, bringing the renowned tones of its hardware counterpart into the hands of DAW users.

Blue FX Devices announce Fuzz Fields Kickstarter Combining an analogue fuzz circuit with three modulation voices, the Fuzz Fields is capable of generating a wealth of new and interesting sounds, and promises to keep users busy exploring new tones for hours on end. 

CashorTrade leads face value ticket resale revolutionWhile Trump and Congress are promising to end predatory concert ticketing, scrappy startup CashorTrade is already winning the war for the artists, promoters and 400,000 fans that use its platform for face value ticket resale.
The post CashorTrade leads face value ticket resale revolution appeared first on Hypebot.

💬 🔥 Weekly Deals & Freebies Thread
Welcome to the BPB Community Weekly Freebie Thread for April 14-20, 2025! 😊 Read the Thread Guidelines 💬 This section of our community is where BPB readers can share links to the latest freeware news and deals with fellow music producers in the comments. Thank you for contributing! To keep the discussion helpful and relevant, please [...]
View post: 💬 🔥 Weekly Deals & Freebies Thread