5 iconic Star Wars sounds demystified
In celebration of Star Wars Day, join us as we take a look at some iconic sounds from the series and demystify the unique production techniques behind them.

ProduceRNB Tempo 2First drum plugin to blend AI with detailed human input. For truly custom drum loops in a fraction of the time: Say hello to Tempo V2—a cutting-edge drum plugin that blends AI intelligence with real-time input from music producers. Designed to spark creativity and save time, Tempo generates unique 8-bar drum patterns that evolve with every click, giving you endless rhythmic inspiration in seconds. Whether you're building around a melody or starting from scratch, Tempo acts like an autonomous drumming assistant that understands your direction and delivers results that surprise you. Customize complexity, adjust styles, and drag fully-editable MIDI patterns straight into your DAW: The AI works off of YOUR input. Drag in your own drum samples and even LAYER drums instantly. Define your beat and let Tempo find alternate grooves you never thought of. Use the AI and fine tune things to your liking. Create an endless number of drum loops. Drag and drop MIDI patterns to your DAW. Includes FREE Drum Box Kit with 400+ Drum Samples. Tempo 2 is now available at https://truesoulvibes.com/step/tempo2/ for $29. Read More

TOKiMONSTA: “The more satiating it is for the musician to create, the better the music is”Should producers and beatmakers be calling more upon sounds heard in everyday life when making music? TOKiMONSTA does, and it’s a key part of her artistic process.
In a new episode of MusicTech’s My Forever Studio podcast – in which we sit down with producers and have them select gear for their fantasy Forever Studio – the veteran DJ and producer dives into her approach to using field recorders to source sounds for her beats.

READ MORE: My Forever Studio: TOKiMONSTA nabs a historic synth

Asked about her process using real-world samples, she explains: “If I go out and I use my field recorder to [record a] twig snapping, you know, maybe a car door shutting, stepping on rocks or sand, whatever, all those sounds are [a] nice texture, so it’s using those to layer. Then you have an unlimited amount of samples in that way.”
She adds that another benefit to capturing her own samples for beats is that they are completely unique.
“I’ll always know that those are my sounds,” she says. “And so if I have stock kicks and I like the body of it, but maybe it’s not fuzzy enough or it doesn’t have the tack I want, there’s always a way to manipulate real life. Something from real life that’s recorded to give it that umph.
“And if I have a good field recorder, it’s. It’s unlimited. I can keep making sounds and manipulating sounds, I guess, with my stock Ableton plugins.”
She recalls: “I made a bass line that I recorded playing something that wasn’t real. Like I had tapped on this really interesting surface, and then I pitched that sound into a bass line. It required a lot of work, but those are just the little, little things. And people might not notice. It may not matter to anyone else, but for me, it’s fun in the process of creating stuff like that.”
Speaking more broadly on the importance of enjoying the creative process, TOKiMONSTA concludes: “The more fun the musician has, or the more satiating it is for the musician to create, the better the music is. That’s sort of where I’ve landed on my journey.”
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 TOKiMONSTA: “The more satiating it is for the musician to create, the better the music is” appeared first on MusicTech.

Harrison Audio launch D510 500-series system Following on from the introduction of their 500-series modules, Harrison Audio have announced the launch of a new 10-slot rack and an expandable analogue summing mixer module.

Temu stops shipping products from China to the U.S.Chinese retailer Temu has shifted strategy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Through executive order, President Donald Trump has ended the so-called de minimis rule, which allowed goods worth $800 or less to enter the country without tariffs. He’s also increasing tariffs on Chinese goods by more than 100%, forcing both Chinese companies like Shein […]

Tablet Suspension System Avoids Fatigue at BedtimeYou know how it is. You’re all cozy in bed but not quite ready to doze off. You’re reading Hackaday (Hackaday is your go-to bedtime reading material, right?) or you’re binge-watching your latest reality TV obsession on your tablet. You feel the tablet growing heavier and heavier as your arms fatigue from holding it inches above your face. You consider the embarrassment you’ll endure from explaining how you injured your nose as the danger of dropping the tablet gradually increases. The struggle is real.
[Will Dana] has been engineering his way out of this predicament for a few years now, and with the recent upgrade to his iPad suspension system he is maximizing his laziness, but not without putting in a fair amount of hard work first.
The first iteration of the device worked on a manual pulley system whereby an iPad was suspended from the ceiling over his bed on three cords. Pulling on a cord beside the bed would raise the bracket used for holding the iPad out of the way while not in use. This new iteration takes that pesky cord pulling out of the user’s hands, replacing it with a motorized winch. A spot of dark ink on one of the cords in combination with a light sensor helps to calibrate the system so that the ESP32 which controls it always knows the proper limits of operation.
Of course, if, like [Will], you’re using an ESP32, and your room is already fully controlled by a voice interface, you may as well integrate the two. After all, there is no sense in wasting precious energy by pressing buttons. Utter a simple command to Alexa once you’re tucked in, and it’s time for hands-free entertainment.
We’ve covered several of [Will]’s previous creations, such as his Motorized Relay Computer and Harry Potter-inspired Sorting Hat.

Independent Musician News Last WeekLast week, our tips, advice and independent musician news covered advice from a Spotify exec, how to release physical music, fingerprinting (who knew?), mental health, accounting terms for musicians, and more...
The post Independent Musician News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Business News Last Week: Live Nation, Tariffs, SpotifyA busy week by any definition, the music business news last week was no exception, with a forecast from Live Nation, tariffs affecting fans, advice from a Spotify exec and more...
The post Music Business News Last Week: Live Nation, Tariffs, Spotify appeared first on Hypebot.

Sonic Sirius The Sound Lightshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxMXlO89YMU The Sound Lights Soundset by HO for the Hansen Audio - K-Whooms. Hello K-Whooms Synthesizer Users, Music makers and Aliens. - Inside the Download: One Sound Lights Free Soundsets with 90 Presets - 1x Bass, 13x FX, 9x Leads, 13x Pads, 4x Plucked, 20x Seq, 30x Step Seq - Genre: Typical K-Whooms Sound - Modern Synth Music - For: Hansen Audio - K-Whooms v2025.03 or later - BPM/Tempo: Select " 120 " in your DAW - Format: VSTPRESET / Size 1,53 MB - Release: May 2025 - Price: Free. Please use a Limiter FX, otherwise all the sounds would be too quiet when creating presets. This means that almost all presets exceed the 0 dB limit. Please note that the K-Whooms doesn't have its own preset browser, so you'll have to load each VST preset individually. Read More

Universal Audio’s Vocal Month promotions Hot on the heels of their recent Guitar Month promotion, Universal Audio have announced a month-long series of deals surrounding their vocal recording and mixing tools.

AI chatbots are ‘juicing engagement’ instead of being useful, Instagram co-founder warnsInstagram co-founder Kevin Systrom says AI companies are trying too hard to “juice engagement” by pestering their users with follow-up questions, instead of providing actually useful insights. Systrom said the tactics represent “a force that’s hurting us,” comparing them to those used by social media companies to expand aggressively.  “You can see some of these […]

Soundtrack Loops Jazzy Trip HopSoundtrack Loops presents Jazzy Trip Hop. Belibat strikes again with Jazzy Trip Hop, a three-kit set of loops and samples with the built-in Belibat magic—the natural ability to take the best sounds of an era and reinvent them to roll with the times. Here, Belibat turns his tight studio focus and unwavering attention to detail loose on the archetypal mid-90s trip hop sound. Minimal jazz voicings that lean toward the exotic, hints of dub, tableisms, echoing textures—they're all here. The cool thing is that all the bases are covered. You'll find tight, deeply saturated mid-tempo grooves, thick basses, all the right synth textures—everything you need to make complete tracks, and the way these loops are produced, you can stack just a few and get full-flavored analog goodness effortlessly. While the classic trip hop period authenticity is obvious and spot-on, shades of the modern shine through (the lightest of shades, actually), bringing to mind the distant happy haze of vaporwave and it's quasi-nostalgic, slowed-down pace that today is seeping into contemporary pop music all over the place. Belibat demonstrates here in 105 loops and 28 one shots that these worlds work ideally together. Jazzy Trip Hop is an update on the art form, and this is perfect because trip hop is a timeless genre with roots that continue to flourish in both experimental and commercial music. As standard practice for all loops created by the Soundtrack Loops team, Key and BPM are tagged in both metadata and file names. Formats: ACIDized .WAV, Ableton Live .alp, and Apple Looped .AIFF. 48kHz 24-bit stereo files. Trippin'strumentals is available for purchase directly from the Soundtrack Loops website and from the KVR Marketplace for $20. ***Orders from the KVR Marketplace will be sent manually. Please allow up to 12 hours for delivery although they're typically sent within the hour. Read More

Bitcoin data, macroeconomic charts point to new BTC all-time high ‘in 100 days’ — AnalystsBitcoin network economist Timothy Peterson raised Bitcoin’s (BTC) chances of hitting a new high in 100 days, and he maintains an optimistic outlook in 2025. In an analysis shared on X that ties BTC’s price action to the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) —an indicator that measures 30-day market volatility expectations — the analyst pointed out that the VIX index has dropped from 55 to 25 over the past 50 trading days. A VIX score below 18 implied a “risk-on” environment, favoring assets like Bitcoin. Peterson’s model, which had a 95% tracking accuracy, predicted a $135,000 target within the next 100 days if the VIX remains low. This aligns with Bitcoin’s sensitivity to market sentiment, as a low VIX reduces uncertainty, encouraging investment in riskier assets.Speaking on Bitcoin’s volatility, Fidelity’s director of global macro, Jurrien Timmer, compared Bitcoin’s nature to “Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde.” Timmer believed Bitcoin’s ability to act as both a store of value (Dr. Jekyll) and a speculative asset (Mr. Hyde) differentiates it from gold, which remains a consistent “hard money” asset. Timmer emphasized the dynamics between Bitcoin and the global money supply and said, “Note that when M2 has grown and the stock market is rallying, Bitcoin has been off to the races because it has both attributes working for it. But when M2 has grown and equities are correcting, not so much.”Bitcoin price against global money supply. Source: X.comThis underscores Bitcoin’s sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions, making its performance less predictable than gold’s.Related: Crypto ‘decoupling’ story ends as stocks follow Bitcoin’s rallyStablecoin market cap hits record $220 billionData from CryptoQuant highlighted that the stablecoin market capitalization hit a record $220 billion, signaling a liquidity surge in the crypto market. This marks Bitcoin’s exit from a bearish phase as capital flows return, and with stablecoins representing crypto liquidity, new BTC highs could be a likely outcome in the coming weeks. While BTC continues its uptrend, lower-time frame (LTF) charts reveal a shift in market dynamics. The funding rate for BTC futures has turned negative again, indicating a rise in short positions as traders bet against the rally. Bitcoin 4-hour chart and funding rate. Source: Velo.chartThe 4-hour chart's funding rate has reached its most negative level in 2025, indicating that short-side liquidity significantly exceeds long-side liquidity. This creates a condition for a potential short squeeze.This imbalance could propel BTC toward the $100,000 level. Cointelegraph pointed out that over $3 billion is at risk for a short-side liquidation, which may amplify upward momentum, catching bearish traders off guard. Bitcoin short liquidations data. Source: X.comRelated: Bitcoin hodler unrealized profits near 350% as $100K risks sell-offThis article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

FiXT Launches Music Industry Educational Membership PlatformArtist-owned independent record label FiXT has announced the launch of the educational membership platform – FiXT Academy."Led by FiXT Co-Founder and President, James Rhodes, FiXT Academy was created after years of delivering in-depth educational webinars, workshops, and coaching services to FiXT’s internal label roster," reads a statement."Now, FiXT is leveraging the company’s widespread experience – from billions of streams, thousands of Film/TV/Game Sync Placements and decades of industry relationships, to empower external musicians and producers with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration they need to elevate their careers. With a mission to educate, develop and inspire, FiXT Academy serves as a one-stop resource for those aiming to refine their craft, build sustainable careers, and connect with like-minded professionals in the music industry.""I’m incredibly honored to get to share not only my knowledge and experience with aspiring artists but also provide them access to amazing guests and resources not available anywhere else. We’ve got an amazing line-up of Spring & Summer events from industry veterans like Ryan Shuck (Julien-K / Orgy), Dustin Boyer (Venture Music), Hisham Dahud (Artist Pro), Klayton (Celldweller / Scandroid) and more to be announced,"explains James Rhodes.FiXT Academy’s membership tiers offer a content library of webinars and resource guides as well as monthly programming of live webinars, workshops and member-only calls and newsletters each month, along with interactive Q&A opportunities and community interaction in a private Discord server. FiXT Academy has also announced a monthly event it calls the Black Box Sessions, where a featured artist, producer or label shares a communal listening and discussion experience where you might hear demos, or unreleased tracks, as well as stories behind existing releases followed by an intimate Q&A session.Find out more at fixtmusic.com/academy.The post FiXT Launches Music Industry Educational Membership Platform first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Smart Speaker Gets Brain Surgery, Line-OutSometimes you find a commercial product that is almost, but not exactly perfect for your needs. Your choices become: hack together a DIY replacement, or hack the commercial product to do what you need. [Daniel Epperson] chose door number two when he realized his Yamaha MusicCast smart speaker was perfect for his particular use case, except for its tragic lack of line out. A little surgery and a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) breakout board solved that problem.
You can’t hear it in this image, but the headphones work.
[Daniel] first went diving into the datasheet of the Yamaha amplifier chip inside of the speaker, before realizing it did too much DSP for his taste. He did learn that the chip was getting i2s signals from the speaker’s wifi module. That’s a lucky break, since i2s is an open, well-known protocol. [Daniel] had an adafruit DAC; he only needed to get the i2s signals from the smart speaker’s board to his breakout. That proved to be an adventure, but we’ll let [Daniel] tell the tale on his blog.
After a quick bit of OpenSCAD and 3D printing, the DAC was firmly mounted in its new home. Now [Daniel] has the exact audio-streaming-solution he wanted: Yamaha’s MusicCast, with line out to his own hi-fi.
[Daniel] and hackaday go way back: we featured his robot lawnmower in 2013. It’s great to see he’s still hacking. If you’d rather see what’s behind door number one, this roll-your-own smart speaker may whet your appetite.