Getting It Done: Last week in DIY and Independent Music NewsLast week in DIY and Indie Music News offers the latest tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there including how to prepare for a record deal, how to release a single successfully, why releasing an album still matters, and more...
The post Getting It Done: Last week in DIY and Independent Music News appeared first on Hypebot.

Spike Stent offers his expertise in Spike AI The acclaimed mix engineer with credits including The Beatles, Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran is attempting to bring his expertise to a much wider audience through Spike AI.

REWIND: Top New Music Industry News Last WeekIt was a busy week by any definition, and the music industry was no exception, with the Lyte collapse, TikTok Music on its way out, a closer look at music AI ethics, and more topping the new music industry news last week.
The post REWIND: Top New Music Industry News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Tascam announce FR-AV2 field recorder Tascam have announced the launch of the compact FR-AV2, a high-resolution 2-channel field recorder.

Artist to Artist: Embracing the Power of DistortionEmbracing the Power of Distortion

What's missing in music is a highlight on the power of saturation and distortion. When it comes to music production and sound design, I find myself being a fan of distortion. Distortion is the engineer’s and musician’s biggest rival. Modern music industry tactics seek to limit and battle this wonderful beauty called distortion. The beauty of distortion is the abstract quality it adds to a sound—it's what I call the mysterious shimmer you hear or feel. Modern digital music creation methods have made it easier to achieve pristine, clear sounds with a lack of distortion. Yet the fundamental truth is that everything in life is distorted: ideas, feelings, dreams, even reality. Why remove the essence that creates reality? When that essence is distortion.

In much of my production, especially in beat making and vocal production, I use a variety of digital compressors (CLA-2A, Softube) and analog ones (1176, FMR PBC-6A) to add that magic. I also rely on wonderful Slate Digital plugins to give my saturation and distortion their own personal warmth and character.

As a songwriter, I feel like distortion gives your songs that extra heat, the flavor they need to not just live and breathe but also connect. Distortion in songwriting is like the difference between saying, as T-Pain does, “Put you in the mansion, somewhere in Wisconsin (Wisconsin).” The irony mixed with deliberateness is a skill that only the most masterful songwriters pay attention to and develop.

All in all, I believe music is about being aware of the unknown and allowing it to be exactly that. The best moments, especially in my case, have all sprouted from not realizing I was creating something great. That’s the beauty of making art. You create your piece and wait for the world to catch on to your own iteration of distortion.

About MyCompiledThoughts 

MyCompiledThoughts, born Carlheb Cemesca in Boston, MA, is an R&B/Soul artist known for his deeply personal lyrics and innovative production.  Growing up he would work out his often-abundant number of thoughts with frequent journaling and eventually adopted his Tumblr page name as his stage name.  

Now a Los Angeles resident, MyCompiledThoughts stays busy not only producing for himself but other artist including Teamarr, Love Moor and members of the Van Buren Collective.   

mycompiledthoughts.com

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The post Artist to Artist: Embracing the Power of Distortion first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Canada crypto exchanges get more time for stablecoin complianceCrypto platforms in Canada are having trouble preparing for new stablecoin regulations. Take your time, the Canadian Securities Administrators said.

Hacking Kia: Remotely Hijack a Car Using Only Its License PlateThese days everything needs to be connected to remote servers via the internet, whether it’s one’s TV, fridge or even that new car you just bought. A recently discovered (and already patched) vulnerability concerning Kia cars was a doozy in this regard, as a fairly straightforward series of steps allowed for any attacker to obtain the vehicle identification number (VIN) from the license plate, and from there become registered as the car’s owner on Kia’s network. The hack and the way it was discovered is described in great detail on [Sam Curry]’s website, along with the timeline of its discovery.
Notable is that this isn’t the first vulnerability discovered in Kia’s HTTP-based APIs, with [Sam] this time taking a poke at the dealer endpoints. To his surprise, he was able to register as a dealer and obtain a valid session ID using which he could then proceed to query Kia’s systems for a user’s registered email address and phone number.
With a specially crafted tool to automate the entire process, this information was then used to demote the car’s owner and register the attacker as the primary owner. After this the attacker was free to lock/unlock the doors, honk to his heart’s content, locate the car and start/stop the vehicle. The vulnerability affected all Kia cars made after 2013, with the victim having no indication of their vehicle having been hijacked in this manner. Aside from the doors randomly locking, the quaint honking and engine turning on/off at a whim, of course.
Perhaps the scariest part about this kind of vulnerability is that it could have allowed an attacker to identify a vulnerable parked car, gained access, before getting into the car, starting the engine and driving away. As long as these remote APIs allow for such levels of control, one might hope that one day car manufacturers will take security somewhat more serious, as this is only the latest in a seemingly endless series of amusingly terrifying security vulnerabilities that require nothing more than some bored hackers with HTTP query crafting tools to discover.

Canoo hit with two supplier lawsuits as last remaining co-founder leavesEV startup Canoo has been hit with two new lawsuits from suppliers linked to the drivetrains that power its electric vehicles, just weeks after the company kicked off a major reorganization that included the departure of its chief technology officer. Canoo has also parted ways with senior director of advanced vehicle engineering Christoph Kuttner, who […]
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Gibson: B.B. King “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 ES-355 Limited-Edition Guitar Available WorldwideGibson, the iconic American instrument brand, has shaped sound across generations and genres of music, becoming one of the most relevant, played, and loved guitar brands around the world. Gibson is proud to commemorate the legendary B.B. King and his landmark appearance at the Zaire 74 music festival for one of the most iconic sporting events of all time, the “Rumble in the Jungle.” To honor his performance, Gibson Custom and the Murphy Lab have handcrafted a limited-edition recreation of the 1974 ES-355 that B.B. famously used at the festival in a striking walnut finish. This Gibson B.B. King “Rumble in the Jungle” ES-355 guitar is available worldwide at authorized Gibson dealers, and on www.gibson.com.

B.B. King’s performance at the Zaire 74 festival--which took place September 22-24 at the Stade du 20 Mai in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo)--was a powerful moment in music history, bringing the soul of the blues to the stage, uniting a global audience. B.B. King’s performance alongside James Brown and more set the tone for one of the most iconic sporting events of all time, the “Rumble in the Jungle,” a groundbreaking heavyweight championship fight between boxing legends Muhammed Ali and George Foreman, which ended up taking place on October 30, 1974.

“B.B. King’s performance at the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ was not just a concert--it was a defining cultural moment,” says Vassal Benford, CEO and Chairman of the B.B. King Music Company. “We are honored to collaborate with Gibson to create a guitar that captures both the artistry and spirit of B.B. King’s legendary performance. This instrument is more than a tribute-it’s a continuation of his enduring legacy, ensuring that future generations of musicians can connect with the heart and soul of the blues. The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ guitar is a knockout, and Gibson’s craftsmanship is unmatched. This is a great surprise for the BIRTHDAY month of the Iconic Mr. King. Thank you, Gibson from the ALL of the King Family!”

Handmade by the master craftspeople of the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, Tennessee, the B.B. King “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 ES-355 is an instant collector’s item, and only 100 guitars will be made.

Explore the B.B. King 1974 ES-355 “Rumble in the Jungle” from Gibson Custom HERE.The post Gibson: B.B. King “Rumble in the Jungle” 1974 ES-355 Limited-Edition Guitar Available Worldwide first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

2024 SAO Contest: Speak, SAOFor some of us, the Speak ‘n Spell evokes pleasant memories of childhood as our first computer, along with one of those Merlin things. For others, it’s the ultimate circuit bending victim. For [Jeremy Geppert], they’re all-around good fun and he wanted to immortalize the device in a Simple Add-On (SAO).
This is [Jeremy]’s first board and SAO rolled into one, motivated by both Supercon and the SAO Contest. To start things off, [Jeremy] scaled down the design we all know and love to fit a 128×32 OLED display, and it looks great. The plan is to have the display, an amplified speaker, and a single button for input.
Before committing the board order, [Jeremy] had a brief freak-out about the pin distance as it relates to the window for the OLED display. Luckily, his brother suggested checking things first by printing a 1:1 scale image of the board outline, and laying that over the display.
This is the week it all comes together, as the tiny switches and (regular-size) connectors have arrived, and the boards are due quite soon. Go, [Jeremy], go!

Max Lousada’s farewell note to Warner Music Group staff: ‘Ultimately, music has to win. It’s just too important not to.’Max Lousada, the longtime CEO of Recorded Music at Warner Music Group, writes farewell note to WMG's staff
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Sample libraries are here to stay – so why do some producers still find their use illegitimate?When Afrojack discovered that Fred again.. had used a Splice sample pack on ten – a track from his newly-released album ten days – he found it “disappointing”, as he recalled in a recent interview.
While Afrojack was quick to acknowledge Fred again..’s talent, his comments illuminate a viewpoint still held by more traditional DJs and producers: using pre-made Splice samples and loops is cheating. According to such purists, everything from synth sounds to samples should be created from the ground up for a recording to be authentic.

READ MORE: Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on sampling: “It’s how young people create now”

It calls to mind that quote about skinning your goat to make a snare drum — but it’s true that stacking a bunch of pre-made loops and samples on top of each other without any original elements is difficult to pass off as your composition. But does interspersing your creations with Splice samples really delegitimise or subtract from the final product?

Sampling and synthesis from the ground up is a time-consuming process and, especially in an economy where regular releases are seen as paramount, finding regular hits of inspiration – like in loop and sample libraries – is crucial. If someone else has already created the perfect sound which complements your project and you’ve paid for it, why not use it?
In the case of an artist like Fred again.. – one of the world’s most popular electronic music stars – regular releases are perhaps less important than for an artist who’s just starting out. So maybe Afrojack’s implication that established artists not bogged down by such demands should take their time to create everything themselves is more valid.
But in any case, recording music has always been about making the best use of the tools at one’s disposal.
We have the tools to speed up the production process, so by choosing not to use them in pursuit of the often esoteric notion of ‘authenticity’, producers risk falling behind. By shunning sample packs as an idea altogether, they might miss out on an opportunity to inject a track with that little bit of magic to make it a hit.
Splice success stories are common, but none are more high-profile than Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 smash hit, Espresso. With well over a billion streams on Spotify at the time of writing, it’s inarguably one of the biggest tracks of the summer. And it was created, largely, using a Splice sample pack.

Created by Oliver, a popular Splice loop maker who’s also had his work used in Doja Cat’s Say So, among others, the Power Tools Sample Pack III features a number of loops which were obviously pretty unchanged before they were used in Espresso.
Just scroll down to a file named ‘OLIVER_104_pop_loop_surf_dad_rhythm_lead_C.wav’ and you’ll instantly recognise the track’s distinctive clean chord stabs. Or listen to ‘OLIVER_105_drum_loop_disco_live_feel.wav’ to hear the song’s drum loop in isolation.
Of course, the degree to which someone might find Splice sample usage to be egregious depends on how much it’s used, and while Espresso relies heavily on loops, the bassline is a new creation for the song, and Carpenter’s catchy vocals – which make it the hit it is – are all original.
And as Splice tells MusicTech, sample libraries are helping close the proficiency gap between more skilled and less skilled producers: “There will always be producers with more technical skill than others, but why would anyone gate-keep creativity?”
“We believe that music production has been underserved by technology, and now is the time to make it even more accessible,” the company goes on. “That doesn’t mean quality won’t always rise to the top, but if we’ve seen anything over the past 10 years, it’s that music production is increasingly global. There are new audiences opening up every day. Over 50 per cent of our users don’t live in North America.”
Ultimately, music production is an inherently niche and nerdy space, with many different ways of working and therefore many opposing opinions as to how something should be done. The ratio of music producers to music listeners is acutely small, so this is naturally going to foster a somewhat elitist mentality.
It’s easy to get bogged down with how music ‘should’ be recorded, and forget why we’re all here in the first place: to make music that connects with and inspires people. And if a little Splice usage helps achieve that goal, what’s the problem?
The post Sample libraries are here to stay – so why do some producers still find their use illegitimate? appeared first on MusicTech.

LSDream and CloZee aren’t afraid to experiment as LSZEE: “I don’t know how to classify what we’re doing”Here’s one piece of advice LSDream has for collaborating: don’t hold in your farts.
“That gas can go to your brain and that’s where bad ideas come from. Get the toxins out,” LSDream, real name Sami Diament, says before his friend, fellow producer, and collaborator, CloZee chimes in:
“I’ve probably had a lot of bad ideas then,” CloZee, real name Chloé Herry, adds as they both break out into laughter.

READ MORE: Why Justin Jay quit releasing tracks and started tutoring other music producers

The two alternative electronic producers are sharing the same computer screen to speak with MusicTech from Diament’s studio in Los Angeles (Herry flew in from Denver to be in the room as Diament). Their collaborative album, titled LSZEE after the name of the joint project, is out today on Odyzey Music & Heartwave, and their philosophy on working together is more profound than embracing flatulence.
They say that, for them, creating music is a spiritual practice. It’s not that music-making is about sharing a meditation schedule or decorating their studio with crystals (although Damient does host sound bath events under his Lightcode project). Instead, the heady pair attest that music production is about channelling and cherishing the fundamental act of creativity.
“We align with [spirituality] in the most simple forms. We’re creating art, which mirrors all creation.” Diament says. “We’re not here chatting about spirituality literally.”
“We’re living it,” Herry continues.
Image: Press
“One of the foundational energies we bring to this project is mutual respect; respecting the fact that we’re spending time together. When I show up to the studio, out of respect for myself and for Chloé, I’m going to show up with a good headspace. Ready to be positive, grateful, and ready to work,” Diament says.
Another part of their mutual respect is bringing their authentic sound and style to the project — not filtering it into what the other may want to hear. But they also understand that they have to extend their attitude of respect to their fans and listeners. They see music as an act of service as much as a means of individual expression.
But there’s a balancing act, for them, between being an artist and being an entertainer. As artists, they make the music they want to hear without concern for external opinions. As entertainers, they use their music to welcome other people into a space where they can be themselves and feel safe.
“So at what point do we have to extricate ourselves from the entertainer to be the artist? Saying like, ‘This is who I am. I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it. I don’t know if you’re going to like it. I don’t know if it’s good. But I know that it came from me, and I want to share it with you.’ That’s the energy of this project,” Diament says.

Diament and Herry’s chosen style of music gives them both immense freedom to walk the line between artist and entertainer. It’s commonly referred to as ‘bass music,’ but their sound is formless.
The word “bass” has become a common describer because their music — and that of their peers such as Of The Trees, Eprom, and G Jones — generally borrows from low-end forward genres like dubstep and trap. But in general, this section of electronic music has developed a scene by existing between traditional stylistic lines.
The 13 tracks on LSZEE fluctuate between hip-hop, dubstep, trap, melodic, and soul among others, while also implementing sonic aesthetics from world music. NIGHTHAWK balances a minimalist 808-driven beat with vocal samples derived from traditional African songs. French Dream applies glistening French Touch melodies and arpeggios (Herry is French) alongside boom-bap drums and funky horns.
With so much diversity engrained into the album, they don’t have to pick and choose between making music they love and making music their fans will enjoy.
Image: Press
“I don’t really think of genres at all. It’s not part of my thought process. I think about energy, groove, feel, motion,” says Diament.
“I wouldn’t even know how to classify what we’re doing,” Herry continues.
They both agree, however, that there is also value in working within certain lines. That could be purposefully curating a live set to include a UK garage section so they can work with that historic energy. Or it could mean producing an original track within a currently popular genre to contribute to a larger cultural movement.
But regardless of whatever intention, they are grateful to be in it together:
“It gives us confidence. We build each other up,” Herry says.
“As an artist, it’s very common to be like, ‘What if this isn’t good enough?’ There’s a certain amount of vulnerability,” Diament says. “It’s easier to do that when you’re with someone because we can support each other.”
The LSZEE project began from a similar place of vulnerability and support. Diament and Herry were both well-established artists before LSZEE. Being in the same scene, they knew of each other, were fans of one another, and had played on a handful of the same lineups. But the first time they truly created together was when they played a back-to-back DJ set at Illinois’ Summer Camp Festival in 2021.
Image: Press
It was the first time Herry had ever used CDJs to perform — in the past, she always used Traktor and Ableton Live.
“It was more than like, ‘Hey, come on stage. We’re just gonna play,’” Herry says.
“Luckily, if you already know music production and use Ableton, [DJing] is a much easier learning curve,” Diament continues.
Herry immediately adapted, and the set went so well that they began making music together. Very organically, they went from producing a few tracks together, to producing a few more, to renting an Airbnb in Joshua Tree, California, for a week to make music. There, they realised they had an album’s worth of material and then agreed their partnership was worthy of a full-fledged project.
“I’m very picky in who I’m collaborating with”, Herry says. “It’s very rare to find someone where it flows so well. A lot of collaborations fell through because we didn’t really agree. With [Diament], [we’re on] the same page.”
As well as they flow when they’re working, their process is decidedly separate. At each of their studios, they’ve set up two different stations, each with its own computer, for them to work individually while they’re in the same room.
They’ll take time to create at their pace, then once they have a fleshed-out idea they’ll begin passing it back and forth so each of them can apply their own preferences while ensuring that their ideas can still ring out freely.
“When someone brings an idea to the table, it wouldn’t be necessarily something that I would write. But we can see this going somewhere because we like each other’s music,” Herry says.
Image: Press
This process with Diament has helped her learn songwriting, arranging, and other building blocks of music-making by consistently analyzing Diament’s sound and style. “Sometimes I’m trying to make something LSDream-y.”
“That’s fun, too. Stepping into the mind of your partner,” Diament says. “Part of the DNA of our project is exploring new places together. What haven’t you made? What haven’t I made? Let’s go try to make something like that.”
When they explore these new places together, they use a massive array of tech. So much so that Diament asks me, “How much time do we have?” before going to his station in the studio (we’ve been chatting on Herry’s computer) to get his laptop and find his top plugins in their arsenal.
“What’s the special sauce?” Diament asks Herry.
The main synth they use for sound design is Serum, but they also use Omnisphere and Diva. They use clippers like KClip and StandardCLIP, Wavesfactory’s Spectre for enhancing, Slate Digital’s Fresh Air for the high-end, and Devious Machines’ Duck for sidechaining. Minimal Audio also has a strong presence in their album via Current and Swarm Reverb.
But that’s just a snapshot of everything they used on the album. They have plenty of new stuff they’re excited about like Musio, which Herry downloaded three days before we chat. They both describe it as a “game-changer” because you can download from a massive library of sounds that remain in the cloud instead of taking space on your hard drive.

They also give shouts to all the artists who are making Max4Live packs they use: Virtual Riot, DANKSAUS, jabeau, Elephant Tribe…
“You got us on one,” Herry says. “We can go into this vortex.”
LSZEE exists within this vortex. It’s filled with different technical applications, configurations and workflows, but the source is a spiritual connection between LSDream and CloZee. Together, they honour that connection by making music for themselves and for the people.
LSZEE is out now
The post LSDream and CloZee aren’t afraid to experiment as LSZEE: “I don’t know how to classify what we’re doing” appeared first on MusicTech.

MIT launches new Music Technology and Computation Graduate ProgramA new, multidisciplinary MIT graduate program in music technology and computation will feature faculty, labs, and curricula from across the Institute.The program is a collaboration between the Music and Theater Arts Section in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS); Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) in the School of Engineering; and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing.“The launch of a new graduate program in music technology strikes me as both a necessary and a provocative gesture — an important leap in an era being rapidly redefined by exponential growth in computation, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interactions of every conceivable kind,” says Jay Scheib,​​ head of the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section and the Class of 1949 Professor.“Music plays an elegant role at the fore of a remarkable convergence of art and technology,” adds Scheib. “It’s the right time to launch this program and if not at MIT, then where?”MIT’s practitioners define music technology as the field of scientific inquiry where they study, discover, and develop new computational approaches to music that include music information retrieval; artificial intelligence; machine learning; generative algorithms; interaction and performance systems; digital instrument design; conceptual and perceptual modeling of music; acoustics; audio signal processing; and software development for creative expression and music applications.Eran Egozy, professor of the practice in music technology and one of the program leads, says MIT’s focus is technical research in music technology that always centers the humanistic and artistic aspects of making music.“There are so many MIT students who are fabulous musicians,” says Egozy. “We'll approach music technology as computer scientists, mathematicians, and musicians.”With the launch of this new program — an offering alongside those available in MIT’s Media Lab and elsewhere — Egozy sees MIT becoming the obvious destination for students interested in music and computation study, preparing high-impact graduates for roles in academia and industry, while also helping mold creative, big-picture thinkers who can tackle large challenges.Investigating big ideasThe program will encompass two master’s degrees and a PhD:The Master of Science (MS) is a two-semester, thesis-based program available only to MIT undergraduates. One semester of fellowship is automatically awarded to all admitted students. The first class will enroll in fall 2025.The Master of Applied Science (MAS) is a two-semester, coursework-based program available to all students. One semester of fellowship funding is automatically awarded to all admitted students. Applications for this program will open in fall 2025.The PhD program is available to all students, who would apply to MIT’s School of Engineering.Anna Huang, a new MIT assistant professor who holds a shared faculty position between the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, is collaborating with Egozy to develop and launch the program. Huang arrived at MIT this fall after spending eight years with Magenta at Google Brain and DeepMind, spearheading efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement learning, and human-computer interaction to support human-AI partnerships in music-making.“As a composer turned AI researcher who specializes in generative music technology, my long-term goal is to develop AI systems that can shed new light on how we understand, learn, and create music, and to learn from interactions between musicians in order to transform how we approach human-AI collaboration,” says Huang. “This new program will let us further investigate how musical applications can illuminate problems in understanding neural networks, for example.”MIT’s new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building, featuring enhanced music technology spaces, will also help transform music education with versatile performance venues and optimized rehearsal facilities.A natural home for music technologyMIT’s world-class, top-ranked engineering program, combined with its focus on computation and its conservatory-level music education offerings, makes the Institute a natural home for the continued expansion of music technology education.The collaborative nature of the new program is the latest example of interdisciplinary work happening across the Institute.“I am thrilled that the School of Engineering is partnering with the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section on this important initiative, which represents the convergence of various engineering areas — such as AI and design — with music,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering, chief innovation and strategy officer, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. “I can’t wait to see the innovative projects the students will create and how they will drive this new field forward.”“Everyone on campus knows that MIT is a great place to do music. But I want people to come to MIT because of what we do in music,” says Agustin Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS. “This outstanding collaboration with the Schwarzman College of Computing and the School of Engineering will make that dream a reality, by bringing together the world’s best engineers with our extraordinary musicians to create the next generation of music technologies.”“The new master’s program offers students an unparalleled opportunity to explore the intersection of music and technology,” says Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the Henry Ellis Warren Professor of EECS. “It equips them with a deep understanding of this confluence, preparing them to advance new approaches to computational models of music and be at the forefront of an evolving area.” 

From TikTok Music’s shutdown to Atlantic Music Group’s new leadership team… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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