Producers can now create custom AI voice models in their DAW with Voice-Swap’s free pluginVoice-Swap – the AI company co-founded by DJ Fresh – has launched a free VST plugin version of its voice augmentation software, allowing voice transformation within any DAW within seconds.
DJ Fresh didn’t want AI to fall into the wrong hands, so he started Voice-Swap in 2023 alongside award-winning producer and software engineer Nico Pellerin. Previously accessible only via web browser, the software now arrives as a VST plugin for your DAW, offering an improved workflow for producers.

READ MORE: These are the best music tech deals available at Thomann in September

Using the plugin, users can take a vocal recording, select an artist from a drop-down menu of licensed voices and, within seconds, transform their vocal into the voice of their chosen artist.
Voice-Swap bills itself as an “ethical AI voice company” – which automatically generates royalties for the artist whose voice is used, ensuring fair compensation. It recently became Fairly Trained Certified, which means all of its AI models were checked, verified and approved by AI non-profit, Fairly Trained.

Voice-Swap’s current artist roster includes Robert Owens (Frankie Knuckles, Coldcut), Ayah Marar (Calvin Harris, Nervo, R3Hab), Angie Brown (The Rolling Stones, The Happy Mondays, Grace Jones), Liam Bailey (Chase & Status, Shy FX), Dominique Young Unique (Diplo) and more.
Elsewhere within the new Voice-Swap VST plugin is all-new Custom Model Training, which enables users to create their own custom voice models, which can be shared privately with producers, labels, band members and other collaborators.
The practical applications of this feature are many and varied. One setting that springs to mind is remote songwriting collaboration; if you have a singer and other musicians working remotely from one another, the singer could create a custom model of their own voice, which their collaborators could then use from anywhere in the world during the songwriting process, allowing all parties to create and trial accurate-sounding vocal ideas.

Once trained, a new custom voice model will be available in Voice-Swap’s existing web platform, its stem separation tool Stem-Swap, its free VST plugin and via API for third-party integrations.
Voice-Swap also promises creators the option of monetising their custom voice models in the near future.
“Being able to load up your favourite vocalist straight into your DAW has always been the vision for Voice-Swap,” says DJ Fresh. “Now you can also make your own high-quality models and load them straight into your session.”
Learn more at Voice-Swap.
The post Producers can now create custom AI voice models in their DAW with Voice-Swap’s free plugin appeared first on MusicTech.

Meta and Instagram spotted developing a new social music-sharing featureMeta and Spotify are exploring deeper music integration in Meta’s Instagram app. New findings indicate the companies are testing a feature that would allow users to continuously share what music they’re listening to through Instagram’s Notes. The new functionality was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they’re still […]
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SM Entertainment partners with telco LG Uplus on AI-driven content for virtual artist NaevisVirtual artists are taking off in popularity, particularly in the South Korean market
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Classical Highlights for August 2024Notable albums from this month feature distinguished artists and musicians who will be new to many listeners. A particular highlight includes Rebeca Omordia (pictured) offering the second volume in her continuing African Pianism series, featuring several recorded premieres of works written by composers from across the continent.

Spotify just won a long-running lawsuit over streaming of Eminem’s catalog – despite the court finding it didn’t have a license for the music. What does this mean for publishers?A long-running legal battle between Eminem's publisher, Spotify and Kobalt holds lessons for the music business
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BNB Chain DEX volumes drop 24% in a week — Is BNB in trouble?BNB price has struggled, but some investors claim Changpeng “CZ” Zhao’s release will pump BNB price even as network fundamentals worsen.

A Digital Replacement For Your Magic EyeMagic Eye tubes were popular as tuning guides on old-school radio gear. However, the tubes, the 6U5 model in particular, have become rare and remarkably hard to come by of late. When the supply dried up, [Bjørner Sandom] decided to build a digital alternative instead.
The build relies on a small round IPS display, measuring an inch in diameter and with a resolution of 128×115 pixels. One can only presume it’s round but not perfectly so. It was then fitted with a 25mm glass lens in order to give it a richer, deeper look more akin to a real Magic Eye tube. In any case, a STM32F103CBT was selected to drive the display, with the 32-bit ARM processor running at a lovely 72 MHz for fast and smooth updates of the screen.
The screen, controller, and supporting circuitry are all built onto a pair of PCBs and installed in a 3D-printed housing that lives atop a tube base. The idea is that the build is a direct replacement for a real 6U5 tube. The STM32 controller receives the automatic gain control voltage from the radio set it’s installed in, and then drives the screen to behave as a real 6U5 tube would under those conditions.
By virtue of the smart design, smooth updates, and that nifty glass lens, the final product is quite a thing to behold. It really does look quite similar to the genuine article. If you’ve got a beloved old set with a beleagured magic eye, you might find this a project worth replicating. Video after the break.

Oram Awards 2024: Winners announced Five of the most innovative experimental artists, composers and instrument designers from across the UK have been announced as the winners of this year's coveted Oram Awards.

2024 Tiny Games Contest: Morse Quest Goes Where You DoDo you know Morse code already? Or are you maybe trying to learn so you can be an old school ham? Either way, you could have a lot of fun with [felix]’s great little entry into the 2024 Tiny Games Contest — Morse Quest.
This minimalist text-based adventure game is played entirely in Morse code. That is, the story line, all the clues, and the challenges along the way are presented by a blinking LED. In turn, commands like LOOK, TAKE, and INVENTORY are entered with the slim key on the lower right side. A wee potentiometer allows the player to adjust the blink rate of the LED, so it’s fun for all experience levels. Of course, one could always keep a Morse chart handy.
The brains of this operation is an Arduino Nano, and there’s really not much more to the BOM than that. It runs on a 9 V, so theoretically it could be taken anywhere you want to escape reality for a while. Be sure to check out the demo video after the break.

Hit the Decks! It's ASHRRPost-punk artist ASHRR came at electronic music from a fresh angle.

"When we were making the new album, there were a bunch of songs that we created with a DJ-style approach, where we mixed up different sections of ideas we had and formed them into songs over time," they say. "A good example is 'Please Don’t Stop the Rain.' We started DJing because it’s a skill that all bands need to have today.

We consider it a hybrid approach to making music because, at the end of the day, what matters is putting out great songs, and the method of delivery needs to be more fluid now. We started making mixes for OpenLab, Dublab, and more last year, and we’ve been on a roll ever since. Ethan and I are always producing music daily, but as far as the DJ approach goes, I’d say the last few years have shown a lot of creativity and growth for us as DJs. However, we prefer to call ourselves a band with many 'hybrid' offspring, including DJing."

Describing the sound as "Indie dance, electronic soul, post-punk," ASHRR's latest release is the Sunshine Low album, on UK label 2020 Vision.

"We spent two years making it, starting as we were coming out of the pandemic, and we wanted to create music that brings people together on the dance floor—feel-good music that makes you dance but also has depth to the songs," they say. "Over the past few years, we’ve been constantly refining and reworking the songs until we finally believed, 'Okay, we did it!' We’re really excited for the world to hear this album. It’s a journey meant to be listened to from top to bottom."

As for gear: "While making the album, we used the Prophet Rev2, the Moog Matriarch, and a custom Fender Mustang that really became the guitar sound of the album. We also used Arturia gear and a slew of other equipment, but we wanted to create this album as organically as possible. When we DJ, whatever the place has lying around is what we end up using, but I’m fond of my TMA-2 DJ headphones!"

Looking ahead, ASHRR has plenty planned for the coming months.

"The album comes out soon, and we are working on our live band show release dates as well as Ashrr Soundsystem DJ sets," they say. "We completely broke down the entire album and remade it specifically for a club environment, and we’re working on ways to incorporate that into our live hybrid DJ sets. We’re hoping to get over to the UK later this year to start playing live! They want to see us, and we’re trying to sort out the logistics as well as play around the West Coast. We’ve got a special remix with Ron Trent coming later this year too!"

 ASHRR perform an album release part on September 12 at Apotheke in Los Angeles.

Photo by Jeff Gorney

The post Hit the Decks! It's ASHRR first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Accel, Docker and Redis will discuss what’s next in open source as a business model at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024As companies grapple with the challenge of developing a sustainable business without sacrificing their core principles, open source has evolved from a niche approach to software development into the business model of many successful tech companies. Its principles of transparency and collaboration have fueled innovation, but balancing these ideals with the practical demands of leading […]
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Zak Sound Releases Orange Dreams 2 Synth & Sampler plus FREE Lite Version
Zak Sound recently launched the Orange Dreams 2 synth and sampler suite and the free Lite plugin version. Orange Dreams 2 is a macOS and Windows plugin for VST3 and AU formats. The full version of Orange Dreams 2 features three samplers and a versatile Waveform Synthesizer. It is currently available at an introductory price [...]
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TOP POSTS: Last week’s most read posts on HypebotCatch up on what everybody has been talking about with last week’s most-read posts. We’ve got topics ranging from tour cancellations and ticket scams to top music blogs and AI streams. Continue reading
The post TOP POSTS: Last week’s most read posts on Hypebot appeared first on Hypebot.

Erica Synths unveil Resonant FB & FBEX Erica Synths have launched a new resonant filter bank that can be paired with an optional hands-on control module.

Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Peggy Gou up for DJ of the Year 2024The shortlist for DJ of the Year at the DJ Awards 2024 is in, and David Guetta, Peggy Gou and Calvin Harris are all in the running.
Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, Fisher, Martin Garrix and Swedish House Mafia complete the shortlist, and the winner will be chosen at the ceremony at Club Chinois Ibiza on 2 October, 2024.

READ MORE: Peggy Gou Boiler Room headline set shut down due to overcrowding

The DJ Awards returns in 2024 after a four-year break. Founded by José Pascual and Lenny Krarup in 1998, the DJ Awards is now under new ownership with “substantial investment”, per Record of the Day.
“Music has power – the power to unite us, to cheer us up, to give us the chills, to instantly remind us of a long lost memory, to create a vibe, to set a mood, or to even motivate change,” says Andy Grant, new owner of the DJ Awards. 
“That is why we have chosen the theme of Unity for the DJ Awards 2024 reboot with the launch of our Best Dancefloor Memory user generated competition which will see everyone everywhere share their top memories via Instagram, tagging @thedjawards and our panel of judges will select someone from any corner of the globe to come to Ibiza and collect a genuine DJ Award that they can keep on the mantelpiece forever.”
Other categories at the awards will encompass genres including house, tech house, drum & bass, techno, progressive house and trance.
For more information, and to view a full list of nominees, head to djawards.com.
The post Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Peggy Gou up for DJ of the Year 2024 appeared first on MusicTech.