Stemfie, The 3D-Printable Construction SetConstruction kit toys are cited by many adults as sparking great creativity and engineering talent in their youth. LEGO, Meccano, K’NEX, Lincoln Logs—these are all great commercial options. But what about printing your very own construction kit at home? Meet Stemfie.
Fundamentally, Stemfie isn’t that different from any other construction kit you might have seen before. It has various beams and flat plates that are full of holes so they can be assembled together in various ways. It also uses bolts, spacers, and small plastic nuts that can be tightened using a special hand tool. Think of a mixture between LEGO Technic and Meccano and that will get you in the ballpark. It includes neat motion components too, including gears, wheels, and even a large flat spring!
What can you build with it? Well, as every construction kit toy says, you’re only limited by your imagination! However, if your imagination is especially small, you can just use the Stemfie 3D YouTube channel for inspiration. It features everything from a ping pong ball catapult to a rubber-band driven car. Plus, since it’s all 3D printed, you can simply scale up the parts and build even bigger designs. Like a giant catapult that can hurl entire water jugs. Fun!
We’ve seen other projects in this vein before. One of our favorites is [Ivan Miranda]’s giant 3D printed assembly kit that he uses to build big monster toys.

Is Houghton the UK’s best underground dance festival?Against the odds, Houghton has become a gem in the UK festival calendar. After attending its fifth edition from 8 – 11 August, it’s easy to see why Norfolk’s non-stop woodland rave, which runs from 5 pm Thursday to 3 am the following Monday, is so beloved by the UK underground scene.
Arguably, the many challenges that curator Craig Richards and festival producers Gottwood have faced along the way — Houghton 2019 was cancelled on opening morning due to a storm and the following two were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic; even an “unwell” Quarry stage at the 2024 festival can’t go ahead due to flooding — are now a distant memory.
Rather than being defeated, however, the team have triumphantly powered through to create an event that really is in a league of its own. What makes Houghton so special, though? In a nutshell, it’s a combination of several things: the setting, sound quality, visual design, staging, programming and crowd.
[Full disclosure: Houghton invited MusicTech to the festival with a free guest pass. Our writer paid for travel, accommodation and other expenses; no other fees were involved.]
Credit: JakeDavis/@jakephilipdavis/@khromacollective
Set around a huge tranquil lake within the expansive grounds of Houghton Hall — a Palladian-style mansion built in the 1720s for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole — you’ll struggle to find a more naturally stunning festival location in the UK. With the majority of stages nestled between towering trees festooned with lights that pulse to the music, discovery is a key focus at Houghton; something remarkable, and often jaw-dropping, awaits around every corner.
Among the standouts are woodcarver’s dream The Armadillo which, shaped like its namesake, is illusionary and entirely unique, and 24-hour stage Terminus where, deep into the forest, the DJ arriving behind the decks remains a mystery. Then there’s The Pavilion which, teetering on the water’s edge, hosts marathon sets from huge names like vinyl crate-digger Tini and Ricardo Villalobos. Contrastly, Houghton also boasts many intimate spots, like Trevino’s pop-up record store, and Giant Steps’ igloo-shaped dome which, furnished with fake plants and stacked speakers, becomes packed for a tiny-capacity set from Hunee.
Unlike some festivals where audio quality can be shoddy and bleed between stages, here there’s much consideration to ensure that’s not the case. With the distance measured perfectly, there is no room for poor sound at Houghton; instead, sound systems are impressively strong yet crisp wherever you are.
Credit: Daisy Denham / Khroma Collective
This ties in with the audio-visual aspect of the festival; the vast majority of stages have large screens behind the performance space showing Houghton’s own visuals, meaning there is always plenty to keep the eye’s attention as well as the ears. The most impressive are D&B Audiotechnik’s dedicated A/V farm shed-club Warehouse, and Tantrum, where the screen behind the DJ decks looks as though it’s been split into three rows of retro-televisions.
The expertly -curated programming — albeit niche — is top-tier across the entire weekend. While the majority of UK dance festivals tend to focus on big-name DJs, Houghton deviates. Alongside sets from top selectors like Ben UFO, SHERELLE, Saoirse and Shanti Celeste, as well as a healthy amount of back-to-backs (Call Super B2B Palms Trax is particularly fun), the programme is full of live shows from cult favourites who scarcely perform in the country, let alone the countryside, including Radioactive Man, Wajatta, African Head Charge, Sansibar, Burnt Friedman and a special collaboration between Object Blue and Natalia Podgórska.
The weekend’s runaway highlight, though, is a rare performance from constantly-beaming Japanese electronic artist and video game composer Soichi Terada, who plays his Korg Kaossilator up high for all to see. Performing on the Darren Smart Memorial stage — an industrialist shipping container with royal red curtains flanking the tech set-up — the Ape Escape soundtracker gets the Houghton crowd really moving. From waving their arms in the air as one to joining in with a synchronised dance routine and then pogo-ing on the spot, the audience interaction at his show proves that Houghtoners — a London-centric bunch who varyingly sport Von Dutch and wave BRAT hand fans, are dressed as Star Wars characters (lightsabers included), or barristers in wigs — are perhaps slightly less edgy than you’d imagine. Hell, there’s even a punter carrying a huge mop around. It’s a sight to behold, and perhaps not one you’d expect at this kind of festival, but with flashing neon strobes and a stunning sunset to boot, the joy is unparalleled.
Credit: Jake Davis / Khroma Collective
There’s plenty to enjoy away from the music too: where else would you be able to board a train (if you manage to get a ticket) and tour a sculpture garden full of Anthony Gormley statues (many of which are heads sticking out of the ground)? Alongside art, well-being is an equally prominent focus of Houghton – party hard, but look after yourself.
With a large relaxation tent offering reggae yoga, sound baths and breathwork meditations, The Orchard is a relaxed retreat area designed for escaping the noise from elsewhere. Fittingly, the Pinters stage gives space for festival-goers to relax on deckchairs, legs outstretched on wooden mushroom stalls, while in conversation interviews take place and the likes of London-based rapper, DJ and producer James Messiah share thought-provoking poems.
Suffice it to say, we had a blast at Houghton. With the vast majority of festivals now dominated by corporate sponsorship, as well as copycat line-ups and poor sound quality, Houghton offers a singular yet sustainable vision of the future. For all its high-tech innovativeness, though, there’s a charmingly DIY spirit that runs through it all; if the UK music industry had its own Olympics, Houghton would undoubtedly score golds across the board.
The post Is Houghton the UK’s best underground dance festival? appeared first on MusicTech.

Bicep’s Matt McBriar recovering after undergoing surgery to remove non-cancerous brain tumourMatt McBriar – one half of Belfast electronic music duo Bicep – has revealed that he underwent surgery last week to remove a non-cancerous brain tumour.
In a statement posted on Bicep’s social media channels, it’s revealed that doctors found a significant tumour on the pituitary gland of his brain following tests. It was caught relatively early, however, and McBriar details what could have happened if it were missed for much longer.

READ MORE: Take a trip down memory lane with Phoenix, Air, Kavinsky and more at the Olympics closing ceremony

“Towards the end of 2023, I got some intense localised headaches matched with a weird fatigue that felt new,” he recalls. “I got several blood tests in spring 2024 which came back indicating that something was wrong, so my GP arranged an MRI followed by a CT scan.
Unfortunately, they told me they had discovered a large, and pretty rare Craniopharyngioma tumour on my pituitary gland. The good news is firstly, it’s almost certainly not cancerous and secondly, I’ve caught it in the earlier stages of damage. I’d been very lucky to get those initial blood tests followed by an MRI.
“Had it been much longer I might’ve lost some eyesight and a load of other problems due to the size and position of the tumour pressing on my optic nerves.”
McBriar says he’s been through “many, many rounds of hospital appointments and tests since”, and underwent surgery on 9 August, which he says “went well”. He is currently recovering in hospital at the time of writing.
“I decided to carry on living life and playing shows as normal and it was personally important to keep my mind busy!” he adds.
He goes on: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the amazon consultants, surgeons, doctors and nurses at the NHS who have looked after me and been so amazing, kind and empathetic.
“The support I’ve received has been incredible, I can’t say this enough. Appointments were arranged with sometimes only hours’ notice and communication incredibly fast and direct. Our healthcare system is very precious and worth fighting for!”
McBriar adds that while he is in recovery, his bandmate Andy Ferguson will be performing Bicep shows solo “until further notice”.

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Forthcoming Bicep shows include sets at the UK’s Creamfields festival, The Brooklyn Mirage, San Francisco’s Portola, and Philadelphia’s Making Time. 
For a full list of upcoming dates, head to Bicep’s website.
The post Bicep’s Matt McBriar recovering after undergoing surgery to remove non-cancerous brain tumour appeared first on MusicTech.

SoundCloud Store launches with Exclusive Artist merch – 100% profits to artistsSoundCloud has launched the SoundCloud Store, where a curated group of its Next Pro artists can design and sell exclusive merchandise, keeping 100% of the profits.
The post SoundCloud Store launches with Exclusive Artist merch – 100% profits to artists appeared first on Hypebot.

The Ultimate Advertising Toolkit for MusiciansAdvertising music is not the easiest task for musicians. With this Advertising Toolkit for Musicians, learn how to boost your music career with top advertising tools to increase your reach and impact.
The post The Ultimate Advertising Toolkit for Musicians appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Expo Programme Schedule announced Returning for its tenth year, Music Expo San Francisco will feature over 30 Grammy-winning producers, engineers, songwriters and music artists along with a whole host of leading technology brands.

Impact Soundworks launches GameVerb, a plugin emulating signature reverbs of classic Nintendo and PlayStation gamesYou’ll no doubt have a selection of reverbs in your production arsenal, but what about one that emulates the signature reverbs of ‘90s Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation games?
Well, that’s exactly what Impact Soundworks is offering with its latest plugin, GameVerb.

READ MORE: How to make a Y2K video game house beat in 10 minutes with free plugins

GameVerb features specific algorithms invented by game programmers of the ‘90s, “painstakingly recreated in modern code” to harness the sound of a host of classic games. And for code-savvy producers – which there’s bound to be a few at the intersection of music and video games – there’s even the ability to enter “Geek Mode” to customise settings in greater detail.
Additionally, there’s a global capability to lower the sample rate or use the five-mode Bit Rate Reduction filter to further sculpt a vintage lo-fi sound.
“We make plugins that we want to use ourselves,” says Impact Soundworks CEO Andrew Aversa. “I love to compose video game music in the style of this era of gaming, and now I can finally get ‘that’ reverb sound for my own music.
“And just like with Super Audio Cart [retro game samples plugin, also by Impact Soundworks], we went above and beyond to make it as editable as possible, so for the mad scientist sound designers and true enthusiasts, you have every control you could possibly want.” 
GameVerb is available now for $49. Visit the Impact Soundworks store for more information.

The post Impact Soundworks launches GameVerb, a plugin emulating signature reverbs of classic Nintendo and PlayStation games appeared first on MusicTech.

The Usual Suspects release Xenia, a FREE Waldorf Microwave II/XT emulation (beta)
Xenia is the latest vintage synth emulation from The Usual Suspects, the developer behind OsTirus, Vavra (Waldorf microQ emulation), and the Access Virus C emulation. The retro-inspired developer has returned to Waldorf to offer a Microwave II/XT emulation, albeit in its beta phase. Xenia (beta) is available in AU, VST, VST3, CLAP, and LV2 formats [...]
View post: The Usual Suspects release Xenia, a FREE Waldorf Microwave II/XT emulation (beta)

From the Philippines to TikTok: The Rise of Budots and Dr. BeatBudots, a Filipino dance and music genre, has gone viral globally on TikTok. However, this may not be a ticket to longevity, as evidenced by other microgenres that have garnered attention on the app.
The post From the Philippines to TikTok: The Rise of Budots and Dr. Beat appeared first on Hypebot.

MICRORACK launch portable synth Kickstarter MICRORACK's new modular platform will feature a collection of compact, affordable preassembled modules that can be arranged on a breadboard.

Universal Music Group and Meta to tackle unauthorised AI-generated content and more in new “expanded global agreement”Universal Music Group (UMG) and Meta have announced an “expanded global, multi-year agreement that will further evolve the creative and commercial opportunities” for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriters across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads and WhatsApp.

READ MORE: Take a trip down memory lane with Phoenix, Air, Kavinsky and more at the Olympics closing ceremony

While the specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, both companies have emphasised their “shared commitment to protecting human creators and artistry, including ensuring that artists and songwriters are compensated fairly.”
A key focus of the new agreement is on tackling “unauthorised AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters.” AI laws governing intellectual property have long struggled to keep up with the technology’s development, with creators becoming increasingly concerned about their work being used by AI companies to train models without proper compensation.
According to officials, the partnership also “expands monetization opportunities” for UMG and its artists and songwriters, including short form video.
Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP of UMG said, “We are delighted that Meta shares our artist-centric vision for respecting human creativity and compensating artists and songwriters fairly. We look forward to continuing to work together to address unauthorised AI-generated content that could affect artists and songwriters, so that UMG can continue to protect their rights both now and in the future.”
The move also follows UMG’s recent feud with TikTok, which saw the music giant pull its entire song catalogue from the short-form video app.
In a fiery open letter penned by UMG back in January titled ‘Why we must call time out on TikTok’, the firm accused TikTok of trying to “bully” it into “accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of [its] exponential growth”.
Both sides eventually reached a settlement in May, putting an end to the months-long dispute with music from artists like Taylor Swift returning to TikTok’s libraries.
The post Universal Music Group and Meta to tackle unauthorised AI-generated content and more in new “expanded global agreement” appeared first on MusicTech.

How to make a Y2K video game house beat in 10 minutes with free pluginsIn this tutorial, you’ll learn how to bring a late 90s or Y2K sound to your house tracks using the free Meat Beats Orbhits instrument, a sampled version of the popular E-Mu Orbit 9090 sound module from 1996. This synth has been used in classic DnB tracks by Blame and Peshay, and is the precursor to the E-Mu Orbit-3 which was used heavily in the soundtrack to Metroid Prime.

READ MORE: How to make an atmospheric DnB beat in 10 minutes with free plugins

For more context on what a “video game sound” actually is, you can head to the final section of this article, but if you’re itching to get started, let’s show you what’s in store.
Here’s what you’ll be making:

We’re going to use Ableton Live for this guide, but you can follow along with any DAW. You can also use any software or hardware you like in place of Orbhits and Ableton’s stock effects — the principles of the arrangement and sound are what matters, not your gear.
Step 1: Sourcing a house beat
Load up your DAW and set the project tempo to a peppy 132 BPM. We’re going to use a breakbeat sample from BandLab Sounds as the basis of our track, specifically Chupy_126_FullDrum_4bars.
This beat is at 126 BPM, so we’ll warp it to speed it up to the project tempo of 132 BPM. This loop sounds ideal and provides the perfect foundation to our beat. All we need to do before moving on is turn its track down to -3dB to give us more headroom to add further elements to the mix.

Step 2: Creating a chord riff
Our track is going to be based around a chord patch from Orbhits, PAD-RevealMe. We’ll play this on A2, G3, C3 and G2 using a velocity value of 100, which we’ll use for all MIDI notes in this walkthrough.
Add a ping-pong delay synced to two 16th notes with a Dry/Wet level of 30%, and a reverb with a Dry/Wet level of 20%.
Set this track to -7.5dB to balance it with the beat.

Step 3: Adding a bass line
Now our beat has a basic musical idea, let’s flesh it out with a bass line. We’ll use the BAS-AnyWorld preset for this, playing on A1, F2 and G1. Set this track to -3dB.

Let’s enhance the bass line with another layered bass tone. This time, try BAS-BuzzBass.
Duplicate the MIDI over from the first bass line, and pitch it up an octave so that it complements the existing bass sound. Set this track to -8dB.

Step 4: Sequencing a lead
Our lead part for this track is going to be very simple because the chord riff is already providing the track’s melodic movement. What’s more, Orbhits doesn’t actually feature any dedicated lead synth patches! No matter, we’ll use a bass preset pitched up to provide our lead. Select BAS-SquareUp and sequence a part that plays A4 and G4.
Duplicate the delay and reverb effects over from the chord track to prevent this part from sounding too dry. Set this track to -7.5dB.

Step 5: Adding a vocal sample
Orbhits includes some retro-flavoured vocal samples, so let’s add one to our beat for some character. Load up the VOX-ComeOnYo preset, and sequence it to play on A2 just before the third beat, and on the twelfth 16th note. Loop this out to play for the whole four-bar sequence.
Duplicate the delay over from the previous track, and set this track to -6.5dB.

Step 6: Applying sidechain compression
Let’s give our beat a loud, pumping sound by grouping all the instrument tracks together, and adding a compressor effect. Set the sidechain input of the compressor to the drum loop track, with a threshold of -28dB and a Release time of 28ms.

Now you’ve got your beat, start adding and arranging elements to transform this into a fully-fledged original track.
What is “Y2k video game” music?
Early video games were typically released on floppy disks or cartridges, which didn’t allow for large amounts of data storage. This meant that games were unable to compete sonically with the popular music of the time, but you can be hear the resulting styles in games such as Streets of Rage 2 and Xenon 2: Megablast.
With the advent of Sony’s first PlayStation and Microsoft’s Windows 95 in the mid-90s, CD-ROM became the most common format for video games distribution, and developers could suddenly include high-quality soundtracks in their games. Video games began to include licensed and bespoke CD-quality music, with Psygnosis’ Wipeout games being the pre-eminent example of this trend.
The Wipeout series featured music from established artists such as Photek, The Future Sound of London and Orbital, bringing dance music culture and video games together closer than ever. With the increasing availability of sample CDs, the influence of dance music began to be heard often in late-90s video game soundtracks, and familiar samples can be heard in the soundtracks to games such as Shock Troopers, Rage Racer and Grand Theft Auto.
Now the sounds of the fifth and sixth generation video games consoles have become influential in their own right with collections such as the Low Poly Breaks series becoming popular on YouTube.
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The post How to make a Y2K video game house beat in 10 minutes with free plugins appeared first on MusicTech.

Nearly Nilsson - Songs in the Key of HarryNoting the 50th anniversary of the album Pussy Cats, the legacy Harry Nilsson left behind is immeasurable. Generations of soft-hearted and romantic dreamers followed the trail he paved, and herein lies a list of songs that tread in Nilsson's footsteps, celebrating reverb-laden vocals, lost loves, childlike wonder, and a winking sense of mischievousness.

TechCrunch Space: It’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s a rocket-powered aircraft!Dawn Aerospace Mk-II is essentially "an aircraft with the performance of a rocket, not a rocket with wings."
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Crypto ETFs will expand to new asset types, indexes — Grayscale executiveThe pace of adoption of crypto exchange-traded funds in the United States has been surprising even to Grayscale.