Bitcoin just $5K away from ‘best investment opportunity’ of bear marketBitcoin's recent selloff brought it within 10% of its realized price — a line that has marked the bottoming zone in Bitcoin's previous bear markets.

Standalone Audio STANDALONE 2.0STANDALONE 2.0 — featuring Keys Mode Plugin host for guitarists and now -> keyboard players STANDALONE is a lightweight AU plugin host for Mac, built for musicians who want to run their amp sims, instrument plugins, and effects without opening a DAW. Version 2.0 is the biggest update yet - headlined by Keys Mode, which brings software instrument support into STANDALONE. Plug in a controller, load your favorite instrument plugins, and play - no DAW required. This release also adds multi-output routing, stereo input support, and preset linking, so guitarists and keyboard players alike get the same fast, focused workflow. Key features: New in 2.0 - KEYS MODE: host your favorite software instrument. New in 2.0 - Multi-output routing: send your signal to multiple outputs. Stereo input support. Preset linking across plugins. Built-in recorder. Looper. Practice Mode with real-time time-stretching - slow down songs without changing pitch. Scores and Charts viewer - keep tabs and charts open alongside your plugins. Chromatic tuner and metronome. Global keyboard shortcuts for hands-free control. Low CPU footprint. Whether you're a guitarist chasing tones through amp sims or a keyboard player triggering virtual instruments, STANDALONE gives you a focused, purpose-built environment for practicing and recording — not a full DAW session. Price: $24.99 Mac OS only for now. Windows in development For more information, visit Get STANDALONE Read More

Retro Gear and the Mystery of Cables Melting Into Cases While in StorageThe phenomenon of cable-shaped indents in the plastic cases of retro systems is one that’s probably painfully familiar to many a collector of such systems. Although in these situations neither side got hot enough to cause any melting – especially while disconnected in storage – it still has that same melted appearance. The real cause here is not heat, but plasticizer migration, as detailed in a recent video by [Run Stop Restored] over on YouTube.
Plasticizers are an additive to many plastics that aim to make it more flexible (‘plastic’), as well as improve other characteristics of the base material, with PVC in particular relying on plasticizers to give it its desired properties for applications where PVC has to be flexible. Here the flexible cable insulation of these devices generally uses PVC, which over time can migrate to other polymers when brought into close contact for extended periods of time.
The – usually ABS – enclosures of e.g. Commodore tape drives as in this video demonstration thus get correspondingly inundated with the same type of plasticizers that ABS is also highly susceptible to. Since in storage the cables tend to be wrapped – tightly – around the device they’re attached to, this results in a solid contact which thus enables this gradual process to work its magic, whether it’s a Commodore datasette or a power supply brick.
Correspondingly the PVC insulation becomes brittle as it loses its plasticizer, with the process sped up by higher environmental temperatures. To prevent this, never wrap a PVC cable around a device, and keep it physically separated from susceptible plastics like ABS as much as reasonably possible. Along with a cool environment this should prevent plasticizer migration from ruining what used to be a pristine case.
This problem is particularly significant for retro gear from the 1980s and thereabouts, before phthalate-free plasticizer alternatives were developed, along with other changes such as more stable formulations that prevent this migration process. Adding a coating can also help, especially for protecting older gear, but flexible PVC in particular should be viewed with suspicion and treated carefully.

In the Studio with PærishThe Members: Mathias Court, vocals, guitar; Frédéric Wah, guitar; Martin Dupraz, bass; Loïc Fouquet, drums

Producer: Will YipAdditional Production and Engineering: Justin BartlettStudio: Memory Music Studios

The Origin: Operating entirely on intuition, Parisian alternative rock outfit Pærish developed their alt-emo sound by surrendering to an internal infrasonic frequency — those comforting, heavy vibrations pulsing deep within, becoming the baseline of a soundtrack destined to be pushed outward. This interior wall of fuzz-buzz soaked guitars and celestial indie rock melodies became their purest musical currency — a profound wealth of sound that demanded to be heard beyond the borders of France.Bypassing the localized currents of L'Hexagone, where Chanson Française and musique urbaine tend to rule the sonic terrain, Pærish refused to remain confined by scenes at odds with their alt-rock artistic vision. Instead, they chose to loosen the tourniquet of their musical surroundings by ensuring their more visceral melodies bled outward — a pursuit that initially pulled them away from the heart of Paris. Guided by an autonomous, unwavering conviction and devotion to shoegaze-rock, the band crossed the English Channel to Glasgow, Scotland, to record their 2016 debut, Semi Finalists, alongside producer Bruce Rintoul, known for his work with VUKOVI and Twin Atlantic. The move marked their first real leap of faith into what often felt like a series of impossible artistic challenges.

It was a trajectory driven entirely by a persistent inner voice that refused to quiet down, a pestering whisper that resurfaced during the final stages of the record’s production. Acting on that instinct, the band reached out on a whim to Will Yip — a producer they had been following from across the Atlantic — to master their inaugural effort. Yip, a Grammy-nominated (and now Grammy-winning) producer known for his genre-defining work with bands like Turnstile and Code Orange unexpectedly replied. What followed was a transatlantic creative connection: a rare working relationship that quickly evolved into a strong artistic friendship. Over the course of their subsequent albums, 2021’s Fixed It All and 2023’s You're in both dreams (and you're scared), the shorthand between the band and Yip deepened, with Yip gradually becoming an invisible fifth member of Pærish.

The Production: For their forthcoming album, Rita, that partnership entered its most mature phase yet. Before reuniting with Yip, the band took time between albums to step back, returning home to France to find the physical and mental space needed to elevate their songwriting and pre-production workflow. Spending long hours at guitarist Freddie Wah’s home studio setup, Pærish systematically unpacked the urgent, heavier guitar tones pulsating within them. In doing so, they uncovered an innate call to build a louder, more aggressive sonic palette packed with infectious, crowd-surfing energy. This revitalized direction brought forth a pit-ready drive that harkened back to the denser, classic foundations of alt-rock — capturing the high-velocity sonic sensations that collide simultaneously across a full live crowd, a feeling they had discovered and craved while touring. This process helped the band reconnect to the raw wonder of what made them fall in love with rock music in the first place: a pure, alt-emo fury.Armed with this augmented direction, Pærish arrived at Will Yip’s Memory Music Studios in Philadelphia—his brand-new recording facility following his multi-year tenure at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA. Here, Pærish walked through the doors with a meticulous set of well-structured songs, prepared to sit down with a powerhouse producer celebrated for his relentless energy, collaborative songwriting spirit, and legendary ability to bring the absolute best out of artists. Yip’s hyper-focused "song is king" philosophy perfectly complemented the band’s amplified, heavier-hitting energy, ensuring that every high-efficiency session locked into the core emotional message of Pærish’s music. Together, they sculpted solid, custom-built tones that gave Rita its definitive edge, proving that the pairing’s transatlantic signature still held its undeniable creative magic.Paradoxically, while the resulting soundscape felt denser, faster, and more aggressive, the music was born from a noticeably lighter, more stabilized headspace. Lead singer Mathias Court rejects the tired cliché that an artist must be deeply depressed to create their best work, noting that being utterly overwhelmed only serves to freeze creativity. In a modern musical landscape that can often feel like a dead end, choosing to unapologetically be an indie rock band became an anchor of sanity—a declaration that fighting for a seemingly impossible cause was worth the struggle. Through this process, the band realized there is a fine line between destructive misery and what they discovered on this record: productive gravity, "a good darkness.""This new record is very spontaneous, even though it's so heavy and so raw and in-your-face," Court reflects. "I was in a very dark place during the last album. This time, I wanted to go rough, but sometimes you feel like you can  only go ‘rough’ because you're in a better state of mind. It has an aggressiveness to it, but it also has a spontaneity to it… a kind of good darkness if that makes sense."

It does. It is the kind of darkness artists can finally thrive in, rather than drown. This newfound mental clarity extended directly into how the music was built at the source during the songwriting and demo process. When starting a track, Court operates entirely out of a pure player's mindset. "I always think as a guitar player in my head," he notes. "I will always be just a guitar player who tries to write songs."His writing process begins with rhythm rather than a pen—layering guitar, bass, or drums while humming nonsensical, mumbled melodies over the top to capture the initial vocal pocket. For Court, constructing melody lines alongside lyrics is an intricate puzzle and a long, patient evolution. To keep from forcing a track or burning out on frustration, he prefers to let the demos breathe. It is a patient, old-school methodology he proudly shares with his ultimate inspiration, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. "Lyrics and the songs are very different things," Court reflects. "But it's very beautiful when you manage to glue them together and make them something unique."

Because of this puzzle-like quality and patient waiting game, the metamorphosis of a song is often beautiful but entirely random. For the sweeping track "Heal," Court presented a highly detailed demo where he had programmed every single layer on a smartphone app, down to a prominently featured flute melody. Conversely, one of the album’s centerpieces, "Prince of Darkness," arrived at the studio as nothing more than a solitary, stripped-back guitar and vocal sketch. Court notes it was the technical prowess of drummer "Lolo" that saved the track, introducing an intricate time signature that pulled the arrangement into its crushing final form. Court summarizes: "There’s no proper way of doing it [writing songs]. You just have to do it every day."This fluid, unpredictable workflow made stepping out of their isolated home setups and into Will Yip’s new, state-of-the-art facility feel like an immense culture shock. For a band accustomed to home studio, small-scale setups, entering those highly specialized tracking rooms was a profound luxury. It presented an elite sonic playground where they could explore how to translate lo-fi, radio-fuzz styled vocals using a wide range of rare analog outboard gear, top-shelf preamps and legendary consoles. Rather than being intimidated, they fully leaned into its sonic possibilities and, more importantly, the luxury of time.The gift of extra time gave them an entire, uninterrupted week dedicated solely to collaborative pre-production with Yip—a rare privilege in high-end studio tracking. For Court, this initial stretch is always the creative peak of the record, stripped of high-stakes pressure and reduced to just the five of them jamming in the live room. They spent those first seven days completely geeking out over sonics. Sessions became methodical experiments on how to build walls of atmospheric sounds. It was this dedication to scrupulous exploration that perfectly interlocked with their shift toward a more aggressive direction.

"We wanted it to be noisier, to be more alive than the previous one," Court reflects. For this, the band leaned heavily into a fuzz-soaked production style, treating the distorted textures as a loud, living, breathing element of the mix. "We had all the time necessary to do everything we wanted... to really take the time to know what we were doing."

After settling on darker guitar tones and lush, layered arrangements, they focused on crafting heavier bridges and choruses, refining lyrics, and finalizing the track listing until the album’s overarching themes crystallized. When the time came to settle on a title, Court kept returning to a distinct childhood memory: a picturesque view of the clock tower of the Church of St. Rita (Église de l'Annonciation) from his family’s apartment in Nice, France. Thinking back to those days, looking out that window with his lucid dreams of being a rock star, he realized that while chasing that life can feel entirely impossible, the patron saint of impossible causes was looking out for this strange dream all along. In her mythos and patronage, the band found the ultimate wistful, melancholic sentiment: a symbolic protector of their own beautiful, seemingly desperate dream.

Court reflects on how that instinct carries them through the improbability of it all: "I think the title of Rita is a very emo message—her being a protector over people dealing with impossible, desperate causes… but also full of hope, and being together all these years. She protects this whole idea of being in a band."

Photo Courtesy of Big Picture MediaThe post In the Studio with Pærish first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

South Korea’s FTC opens probe into HYBE and ADOR over NewJeans’ DanielleDanielle's attorney, Jung Jong-chae, who filed the complaint, said the FTC began investigating on June 4.
Source

Apple raise Mac & iPad prices As of 25 June 2026, almost the entire Mac and iPad line-up has been subjected to worldwide cost increases, along with a number of the company’s home and consumer devices. 

Southwest Airlines Broke the Law – Yes, You Can Carry Your Instrument On the PlaneBy now I’m sure you’ve seen the video of Southwest Airlines preventing the musician Samantha Henson from boarding the plane with her guitar.

Morphoice announces EightyEight, a new Roland Jupiter-8 emulation
Developer Morphoice is back with another vintage synth emulation, a free public beta of the new Roland Jupiter-8 emulation. EightyEight. The developer has already tackled iconic synths like the Roland Juno-6 (EightySix) and the Yamaha CS-80 (Unstable). This time around, developer Morphoice is taking on the Roland Jupiter-8 with the EightyEight. Roland’s 1981 Jupiter-8 is [...]
View post: Morphoice announces EightyEight, a new Roland Jupiter-8 emulation

Shy Audio release Shy 90s Smack For their latest release, Shy Audio have recreated the ‘crunchy’ sound of a rackmount compressor that found its way onto countless 90s techno, house and hip hop records.

GForce Software’s Sequential Prophet-5 is the best Prophet-5 emulation ever, hands down£70 / £100, gforcesoftware.com
In 1978, an upstart American company called Sequential Circuits surprised the industry with the Prophet-5, a five-voice analogue polyphonic synthesizer that managed something no one had up to that point: programmable memory. Because of this, the instrument was soon on everyone’s radar. And thanks to an incredible sound that could magically fit into any mix, it found its way onto hit records by artists such as The Cars, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, and many more.

READ MORE: Arturia Memory V turns the rare vintage Memorymoog into a modern synth

The stature of Dave Smith’s Prophet-5 has only grown with time, graduating from coveted instrument of the day to bona fide classic. Like the Moog Minimoog, it’s become a synthesizer standard, a yardstick by which other instruments are measured. Because of this, it’s unsurprisingly been emulated in software many times, with big-name companies like Arturia and u-he all producing impressive takes on it. Now, you can add GForce Software to that list — with a twist. They’ve partnered with Sequential to create the first-ever official plugin version of the legendary instrument.
Does it live up to the Prophet name? Yes, and then some.
Main instrument expanded GUI. Image: Press
A Sequential Prophet-5 through and through
GForce Software’s Sequential Prophet-5 (to use the full name) doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. It aims for authenticity, but with a few nods towards modern workflows.
All of the features of the 1978 original are present, such as the dual oscillators with simultaneous waveform selection, the ability to use Oscillator 2 as an additional LFO, and the Poly-Mod section, which lets you apply filter and frequency modulation to a variety of destinations. This can result in some pretty clangorous sounds, something put to excellent use by the band Japan on their Tin Drum album.
The Prophet-5 famously went through three revisions in its original run from 1978 to 1984, with Rev1 and Rev2 having SSM chips handling the 4-pole low-pass filter and envelopes, and Rev3 passing those duties over to more stable Curtis chips. Rather than choose one or the other, GForce has done what Sequential did when it re-released the Prophet-5 in 2020 and gone with both, with a Rev select button in the filter section. Both are powerful in their own way, with the SSM on the more analogue side and the Curtis a tad sharper.
X-Modifier. Image: Press
What’s new in Sequential Prophet-5?
Although it seems the goal was not to go wild with new features — like with an Arturia emulation — GForce does provide enough new features to make the new Prophet emulation useful in a modern context.
While the original hardware only had five voices, this new take generously doles out 10 voices per layer. Yes, per layer. That’s the other big addition: this Prophet can do layers and splits, giving you essentially two Prophets in one go. Each layer is a unique instrument with its own presets, meaning you can use different revision settings on each layer.
Other new features include an arpeggiator, a chord generator with a lovely strum option, an effects section, full MPE compatibility, and GForce’s excellent X-Modifier section, which provides additional modulation control with an added visual component.
Filter. Image: Press
How does Sequential Prophet-5 sound?
Given GForce’s track record in making emulations of classic synths (including official Oberheim ones, which are also part of the Focusrite family), it’s no surprise that Prophet-5 sounds unbelievably good.
There’s a depth and richness to the sonics that will have you gasping with delight, and wondering how this can really be software. And, if it’s still not analogue enough for you, crank up the Vintage knob for extra smush and smear.
Although this new Prophet sounds amazing across most styles, it’s particularly bold in the bass department. There’s a reason that the monophonic Pro-One spin-off became one of the biggest bass synths of the early 80s, and all that low-end power is on full display here too. Set the voice mode to Mono, dial in the new Q-Comp on the filter resonance to preserve low frequencies, and get funkin’.
FX. Image: Press
Do you really need another Prophet-5 emulation?
Chances are, your plugin folder already has a Prophet-5 emulation or two in it. Do you really need another one then? The short answer is yes, just because this new take sounds so bloody good.
The long answer is also yes, but with a few caveats. There’s very little that’s wrong with the software, although we would like to see a few small issues addressed. The arpeggiator and chord mode controls, for one, are minuscule, and with the grey text on black background, they’re almost impossible to see. The graphics displaying the different chorus and reverb modes could be easier to see as well. These are small points, though, and definitely things that could be addressed in future updates.
GForce Software’s Sequential Prophet-5 is a worthy emulation of the hardware original and a triumph of a software instrument. It’s also extremely affordable. A real winner.

Key features

Officially developed in partnership with Sequential
Both Rev1 & Rev2 SSM and Rev3 Curtis filter and envelope characteristic models are available
Dual-layer architecture with Layer, Split and Alternate modes
Up to 10 voices per layer
Redesigned GForce Software X-Modifiers
Two selectable effects slots with Chorus, Phaser, Filter, Distortion,
Tremolo and Compressor, plus dedicated Delay, Reverb and Pan
Spread effects
Over 460 presets, including the original 1978 factory patches
Independent arpeggiator and chord modes for each layer
Full MPE compatibility

The post GForce Software’s Sequential Prophet-5 is the best Prophet-5 emulation ever, hands down appeared first on MusicTech.

Release Title:
Я уйду
Main Artist:
Даня Юрк
Release Date:
28/06/2026
Primary Genre:
Hip Hop/Rap
Secondary Genre:
Hip Hop/Rap
https://publme.lnk.to/453915-
#newmusic #Release #Music #indepedent #artist #hiphop #rap

AllMusic Has Rated All 4 Lauryn Hill Albums — Including The Miseducation of Lauryn HillTwo albums earned 5 stars. One earned 4. One earned 2.5. AllMusic has rated all four albums in Lauryn Hill's 28-year catalog — here's the definitive breakdown, album by album.

Kirk Franklin Honored, NSAI Rise ProgramKirk Franklin Honored

With 30+ years of hits, multi-Grammy winning artist-songwriter-producer Kirk Franklin receives SoundExchange’s Hall of Fame Award as one of the most-streamed artists of the past 20 years. Part of inaugural Rise and Rhythm Cruise, he headlines August’s Gospel Garden event in London.

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NSAI Rise Program

The 2026 Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Summer Rise Program kicks off this month. For artists ready to pursue an in-depth study of songwriting, the remote interactive program runs for five weeks, July 20 – August 18, with NSAI delivering an incredible group of industry guests ready to answer questions and offer their best insight and advice to help writers improve in their craft.

Topics covered include co-writing, the music business, publisher pitching, and professional songwriter feedback.

Limited to 25 participants, all genres and levels of songwriters are welcome, with details and registration at: nashvillesongwriters.com/RISE / for questions, please email: maxwell@nashvillesongwriters.com.The post Kirk Franklin Honored, NSAI Rise Program first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Chamath Palihapitiya raises $135M Series A for his AI coding startup, takes CEO roleVCs remain thirsty to fund AI coding startups. This one, founded by investor Chamath Palihapitiya, is no exception.

Piano Escapement Migrates to Drum KitFor as popular as the piano is in music studios, homes, and schools, it almost defies logic. Compared to a guitar, harmonica, or drum set, pianos are incredibly complex machines that can have somewhere on the order of 8,000 moving parts in a case that can easily weigh hundreds of pounds and which often responds quite poorly to seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. But for putting up with all of these downsides, musicians are rewarded with an instrument that uniquely responds to touch, style, and emotion. A big reason for that is that mechanical complexity, and [Super Valid Designs] is attempting to bring that design to a drum set.
Compared to the complex machinery that connects the movement of a piano’s key to its hammer striking a string, a kick drum pedal is much simpler. It can only bounce off of the drum or get “buried” where the beater remains pressed up against the drum after hitting it. [Super Valid Designs] wanted something with a bit more finesse and control, so he first 3D printed a mechanism that throws the beater towards the drum head and then disconnects it mechanically from the pedal, so that it rebounds even if the pedal stays depressed. The next steps were more difficult, which involved making sure the mechanism reset itself in a repeatable way, without making too much noise of its own. This involved trying out a few different ideas and printing a massive amount of subtly different linkages, but in the end he’s left with a machine that nearly replicates all of the parts of a piano’s escapement,
The end goal of this project wasn’t simply to reproduce piano mechanisms on a drum set, though. [Super Valid Designs] hopes to make a kick drum that’s much smaller than those found in traditional kits, and since smaller drums respond poorly when the beater remains on or near the drum after striking it, a mechanism like this will dramatically improve the performance of the smaller drum and help reduce the requirement for perfect technique. And, maybe in 50 years or so, these types of escapements will take over the drumming world just like the piano escapement took over keyboards after its invention in the 1700s. Some simpler piano actions have been built before, but the complexity seems to be a requirement for all of the tasks they need to do whether its for a piano or a drum.