CES 2024: Victrola unveils its most impressive and feature-packed turntable yet, the Stream SapphireCES 2024: Victrola has thrown its hat into the CES 2024 ring, unveiling the highest-end instalment to their Works with Sonos turntable range.
The Stream Sapphire turntable is set to be the brand’s most impressive turntable yet, with the ability to support 24-bit/48kHz lossless FLAC audio. The turntable promises to sound far better than its predecessors – and you’d expect so, given its price-tag of $1,499 is more than the $800 Stream Carbon and the $599 Stream Onyx combined.

READ MORE: CES 2024: FiiO is bringing back the ’80s with this Walkman-inspired cassette player

Victrola has also crafted the turntable with higher-quality materials than the Carbon and Onyx models, as well as a brushless motor and a premium Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.
The system also works with music management system Roon, while also having and Universal Plug and Play protocol (UPnP) integration. That means that the Stream Sapphire will be compatible with loads of speakers and wireless gadgets, from smart TVs, Bluetooth speakers, soundbars and just about any smartphone or laptop.
The company’s CES showcase also unveiled the Victrola Automatic, a budget-friendly turntable that comes in at a far more affordable $199 that will be available in Spring. The turntable wont be a Works With Sonos release, but will have Bluetooth compatibilities.
On the more quirky side, Victrola has also announced it’s been working on an innovative new… Rock. Yep – the Victrola Rock Speaker Connect is a Bluetooth speaker designed to look like a rock. Available in sand, stone and granite, the speaker will allow music lovers to integrate speakers into their gardens seamlessly, powered by a USB-C port and built-in solar panel.
For more information on the Stream Sapphire, head to Victrola.
The post CES 2024: Victrola unveils its most impressive and feature-packed turntable yet, the Stream Sapphire appeared first on MusicTech.

CES 2024: FiiO is bringing back the ’80s with this Walkman-inspired cassette playerCES 2024: Strap in as Chinese manufacturer FiiO takes us on a trip down nostalgia town with the release of the CP13, a modern-day cassette player inspired by the iconic Sony Walkman.

READ MORE: Kenny Beats: “We gave this young man $20,000 in studio equipment – then he started going live with strippers for 6 hours a day on insta”

As FiiO explains, the CP13 pays homage to the first of Sony’s portable cassette tape players from 1979, all the way down to its “silver-blue” finish and retro design. Featuring large playback buttons, an oversized knob, and a 3.5mm headphone port, you’d be sure to receive a blast from the past every time you take the player for a spin.
And while FiiO has added several modern elements such as a USB-C port for charging and a status LED, the rest of the player stays true to the retro theme: Bluetooth connectivity isn’t included, nor is there the ability to convert tapes to MP3 files.
In terms of battery life, the CP13 is said to offer up to 15 hours of playback, which should be enough for a full day on the road.
Priced at £129, the player will be released in early March, with a variety of finishes including white, black and blue for you to choose from.
Previously deemed obsolete, cassette tapes have experienced a surprising resurgence of late as sought-after collector’s items, thanks to their appearance in popular media like the ‘The Last of Us’ hit series as well as due to major pop acts like Billie Eilish, Lady GaGa, and Taylor Swift making their albums available in that format.
In 2022, sales of cassette tapes reached a 20-year peak, with an annual figure of 195,000 sales for the year.

To commemorate Sony's first WALKMAN, FIIO debut cassette player CP13 will be silver-blue color(There will be color differences for the rendering and real thing. So the color wont look 100% same) . What do you think of the black color CP13?#cassette #walkman #FiiO #CP13 pic.twitter.com/UF96AAJSgF
— FIIO (@FIIO_official) December 5, 2023

The post CES 2024: FiiO is bringing back the ’80s with this Walkman-inspired cassette player appeared first on MusicTech.

How does metal music fit into EDM? “When it’s done well, it always works”Heavy metal fans around the world rejoiced in 2023 when Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) released their first album since 2016, Life Is But a Dream…

READ MORE: Back to school with Dillon Francis: Why a maturing music career still needs class clown antics

Then, when A7X announced the third leg of their tour in support of the new album earlier this month, electronic fans rejoiced as well when they saw that American DJ Sullivan King would serve as one of the supporting acts.
Sullivan King, whose real name is Keaton Prescott, has carved a niche in the modern electronic scene by combining his guitar skills and screaming vocals with fiery dubstep. To him, this tour proves that, in fact, life is but a dream.
“It’s fucking crazy, man. It doesn’t make any fucking sense to me. I’m a dubstep artist that screams and plays guitar, and I’m gonna go out with one of the best metal bands of all time — especially my generation. They were a massive inspiration to me. I play Schecter guitars because they’re Schecter players,” Prescott says over Zoom, as he motions to the dozen or so Schecter guitars hanging behind him in his home studio.
Sullivan King DJing with stage flame effects
The idea of an electronic artist joining a metal band on tour may seem unconventional but, in 2023, Prescott is one of many artists who are combining metal and electronic music in their production processes.
Prescott has collaborated with numerous vocalists from rock and metal bands including Papa Roach, Brandon Saller of Atreyu, and Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills.
Other acts like the French electronic duo, Dirtyphonics, have been incorporating metal instrumentation into their productions for years. Another group called HEX is spearheading a newer phenomenon known as techno metal. The founders of the project — Lorenzo Raganzini and Paolo Ferrara — perform live-hybrid sets with high-speed distorted guitar sounds running over four-on-the-floor beats.
With so many different versions of this genre combination finding dedicated audiences, their similarities go beyond novelty. Prescott sees a connective tissue from two perspectives. The first is dynamics:
“[Electronic and metal songs] are as loud as you can push them. We’re just slamming the shit out of the songs,” Prescott says. “In fact, most of the time, electronic music is a lot louder than traditional metal.”
Sullivan King performing live
The second side pertains to the emotional intentions of the genres that come together first and foremost in the live space.
“In a live aspect, [electronic music and metal] convey the same emotion. Getting your aggression out in a positive way, or getting to be as loud as you want to be without feeling that you have to restrain from it,” Prescott says.
Referring to the live space, mosh pits at electronic gigs are now commonplace. They happen most frequently among heavier genres like drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, but they’re starting to occur at house and EDM events as well.
Beyond the live space, the metal aesthetic permeates electronic music even if there isn’t any overlap in sound.
Meduso performing live against a backdrop of metal-inspired visuals
For example, the popular dubstep artist SVDDEN DEATH isn’t working with metal singers. Yet his visual branding features the same gruesome designs as classic metal bands like Lamb Of God and Megadeth.
Meduso — another burgeoning bass artist who’s been using metal sounds in his productions — sees this cultural exchange as more than just a musical trend. He considers the fact that society has endured quite a bit these past few years through COVID-19, various wars, social justice uprisings…
“Culturally, we’re at a moment — maybe politically, economically, stability-wise, global mental health-wise — it feels like people are getting pushed to their limits. That’s when this heavier, angrier music seems to catch on a bit more,” says Meduso. “Everyone’s just trying to put their spin on it.”
Meduso recently put his spin on it via his track Drive You Mad, which opens with rapid-fire distorted guitar strums before falling into a heavy dubstep drop.
Meduso DJing — he wears Korn sweater
The metal sound is also a staple of Dirtyphonics who, ahead of their new album coming in 2024, have shared multiple singles including the guitar-driven drum ‘n’ bass track, Burbank Nights.
It’s essentially a metal song that borrows the skanking beat attached to drum ‘n’ bass. Every other sound hones more to a metal aesthetic than dance/electronic. The opening is pure metal guitar and then the breakdown flaunts a bass line similar to Spoonman from the alternative metal act Soundgarden.
Dirtyphonics, comprising members Charly Barranger and Julien ‘PitchIn’ Corrales, are adept in this combination because they were both in rock and metal bands long before they started making electronic music back in the mid-00s.
Coming up in France, Barranger and Corrales were inspired by similar groups engaging in this combination. At the time, these groups weren’t necessarily combining the metal and electronic sounds as prominently as Dirtyphonics and Sullivan King, but they were implementing a similar kind of influence and experimentation.
Meduso portrait
On the electronic side, pioneering French groups Daft Punk and Justice both built their music from rock ’n’ roll. Justice described their sophomore album, Audio, Video, Disco, as a “progressive rock record,” to the French magazine, Tsugi, in 2011.
Then on the live side, Barranger and Corrales consider acts like Pendulum and The Prodigy to be the precursors of everything that is happening today among the metal and electronic crossover.
“[The Prodigy] are punks in their own way and they are a band, and you do have guitars but also DJs,” Barranger says. “It probably made it easier for us to see how we could evolve within the music industry. Still keeping where we were from, but also taking it to another electronic dimension.”
“They showed us the way that rave and metal can meet. Because frankly, when we were full-on into metal it was actually the worst thing ever to see a DJ or another artist play metal or incorporate guitar into electronic music,” Corrales continues. “Now, here we are, doing exactly what we said was bullshit before.”
“When it makes sense and when it’s well done, it always works,” Barranger says.
Charly Barranger (front) and Julien ‘PitchIn’ Corrales (back) of Dirtyphonics in the studio
To that point, Barranger and Corrales both acknowledge that finding a way to make that combination work is the biggest challenge. Beyond layering sounds on top of each other without pushing the levels too high, they have to find a way to capture the human feel of playing instruments while matching the loud, intense feel of electronic music.
“When you listen to a metal mix versus a dubstep or drum ‘n’ bass mix, it’s not the same thing at all. Not the same way to compress your stuff. Not the same way to EQ your stuff. So it took us some time, and I guess the quest is never over, to figure out how much of both techniques you want to use,” Barranger says.
Barranger and Corrales often start by recording guitar parts into the DAW to get the feel of the instrument. Then they’ll use plugins and hardware like Positive Grid’s amp and effects processor, BIAS FX, and the pedal and amp modelling processor, HeadRush MX5, to give the guitar the sound and feeling they want within the larger mix.
But they also use these same plugins on synths to give them a more guitar-like character. This helps even out the mix between the two genres. Plus, when they’re recording guitar intros for tracks like Burbank Nights, they’ll remove some of the low-end from the guitar recording and replace it with the low-end of a sub, laying the groundwork for the electronic elements to join the mix more naturally.
Charly Barranger of Dirtyphonics in the studio
“It’s a big game of EQing and compressing so it feels like the sound is analogue even though it’s layered with a bunch of electronics to give it the massiveness of an electronic song,” Barranger says.
And yet, sometimes, integrating human elements of metal into electronic music requires little to no technological manipulation. When Prescott is recording vocals, he purposefully strips everything back. He wants his vocals to retain as much of that authenticity and rawness as possible, and so he uses very few plugins.
For example, Prescott tuned and affected the vocals on his track Someone Else, from his 2023 album, Thrones of Blood, less than almost every other track in his discography. Currently, that’s the track with the most plays on his Spotify — just shy of 19 million at the time of writing.
“I just think it feels very natural,” Prescott says of Someone Else. “Vocally and performance-wise, I definitely like things being a little more raw and not having a thousand layers. Having simple, very clarity-driven tracks is important to me, and I think that’s something that gets lost in dance music because everything is so quantized. Everything is right on the grid. I’m really making sure for me, personally, that I’m not having that rule that it’s gotta be perfect.”

Prescott engaged with this imperfect approach when he was recording vocals for Vantablack, the title track of his shared metal and electronic EP with Dirtyphonics that came out in 2017. They were working in Barranger’s living room and Prescott wanted to record the vocals right then and there with an old, busted SHURE SM58.
Barranger was hesitant at first. He was open to it, but he was sure they would have to go to their studio and re-record with their condenser mic in a more professional environment.
To that, Prescott only had one thing to say:
“This is rock and roll man, this is how it’s done.” Prescott’s take with the SM58 is the one that ended up on the final release.
“I used to be a firm believer that you always need top-notch equipment,” Barranger says. “It’s never been about the equipment, and it never will be. It helps, but good music is good music.”
The post How does metal music fit into EDM? “When it’s done well, it always works” appeared first on MusicTech.

Arturia’s V Collection X is the widest and deepest edition yetWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. More information of how this works here. 
€599, available at pluginboutique.com
Last time we checked in with Arturia’s V Collection, the French developer’s industry-leading synth suite was in its ninth iteration and introducing new and familiar instruments.
“By the looks of things, [Arturia is] far from finished,” we concluded in that previous V Collection review, and we weren’t wrong. The new X version boasts a total of 39 instruments, with a spate of new additions as well as major updates to familiar favourites.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Arturia’s V Collection X

The synth-sampler hybrid Augmented Instruments series gets three new iterations while two veterans of the collection, the Mini V emulation of the Minimoog Model D and the Wurli V emulation of the Wurlitzer electric piano, get complete overhauls.
One headliner this time round is the Acid V emulation of Roland’s TB-303, which is joined by the CP-70 V, modelled after the Yamaha CP-70 electro-acoustic piano. The MiniFreak V also joins the collection, a software version of the Arturia MiniFreak and the collection’s only emulation of Arturia’s own hardware instruments.
The Augmented Brass, Augmented Grand Piano, MiniFreak V and Acid V were previously available standalone, but here they join the gang and it’s undoubtedly the better for it. To catch up on the details, check out our article on everything new in the V Collection X.
Arturia Acid V
How good is the Mini V4?
Before taking a closer look at some of the newcomers, let’s spare a moment for the rebuilt Mini V4. The Minimoog Model D is one of the most emulated synthesizers in cyberspace; one of the four inclusions of the original suite, we would posit that in many ways, a software instrument developer is only as good as its emulation of the Moog Model D.
For Arturia to redesign its own emulation from the ground up for a fourth iteration is a respectable statement of intent. Far from resting on its laurels, Arturia is clearly willing to revisit and re-examine even its most familiar emulations alongside expanding the Collection’s size. Here, that pays off.
The result sounds fantastic – clearly better than its predecessor – partly thanks to Arturia’s proprietary ‘True Analog Emulation’ technology. That may sound like a pithy marketing gimmick, but it means that, for example, Arturia’s digital oscillators are free-running with notes generated dynamically (as opposed to being samples, wavetables or generated from a zero-point), resulting in a behaviour much more comparable to an instrument’s analogue counterpart.
Mini V4 has a greater note range than the V3, a brilliantly modelled Moog ladder filter and a Vintage knob to dial in some old-school instability; a function favoured by the late, great Dave Smith, it must be said.
Is the Mini V now contending to be the best Minimoog emulation on the market? Previous versions of the Mini V have had mixed reviews, and it might be less technically accurate than Moog’s plugin, developed with UAD, but with this fundamental redesign the Mini V is certain to ascend in the league tables, and its extra features only add to its appeal.
Arturia Mini V
Is Acid V worth it?
MusicTech reviewed the Acid V upon its standalone release, awarding it a 9/10 score and declaring it “a total winner and another triumph for Arturia”.
It stands up brilliantly in the context of a larger suite of instruments: for one thing, considering the original hardware wasn’t much bigger than a paperback book, it’ll almost be rendered life-sized on many computer monitors. That’s a refreshing change next to the likes of the zoomed-out CS-80 V or Modular V – daunting emulations of physically huge instruments whose interfaces are much more resistant to computer-based workflows.
With all the punch, squelch and acidity one could hope for, the Acid V nonetheless goes deep, furnished with an in-depth sequencer, modulation matrix and a dependable Arturia effects bank.
The Acid V will cost you £169 on its own – more expensive than Behringer’s hardware emulation – so it’s certainly worth saving up the extra £400 or so to get it within the bulky suite of other synths on offer in the V Collection X.
Arturia Acid V
How good is MiniFreak V?
The MiniFreak V is another soft synth that benefits from a simple interface coupled with a tremendous amount of depth under the hood. Released over a year ago now, it once again garnered the approval of MusicTech, with our review dubbing it “an astonishing synth.”
Since the hardware MiniFreak’s synthesis engine is ostensibly digital (with the exception of an analogue filter), what you get here is an exact transposition of the hardware into your DAW. Neat!
Arturia MiniFreak V
What is the CP-70 V?
The CP-70 V is a curious instrument, modelled after the original’s blend of an acoustic grand piano and electric pickups, favoured by artists from Herbie Hancock to Alicia Keys. It fits into the V Collection perfectly between the likes of the Piano V and the Stage-73 V, in that it’s got buckets of 70s and 80s character that may not be ideal for every application, but will sing when used just right.
It’s also, predictably, highly editable in its response, from its envelope to its tuning. In fact, if you’re of the piano persuasion, the V Collection is by now worth purchasing for its piano explorations alone: with the Piano V, Augmented Grand Piano, CP-70 V, Wurli V3 and Stage-73 V all present and correct, it’s hard to imagine how Arturia could possibly expand this aspect of the suite any further.
Arturia CP-70
What’s new in the Augmented Series?
With Arturia previously having piloted the Augmented series with Augmented Strings and Augmented Voices, it’s clear that the series is now hitting its stride.
Each follows the same interface and workflow, namely the congregation of pristinely recorded samples and a total of four different synthesis engines (virtual analogue, granular, wavetable, and harmonic) around a large central Morph knob to blend the two. This is then arranged into two layers, making for a potential total of four separate engines working together. Add a host of modulation options and effects and the result is a formidable instrument with enormous range.
We love how Brass bridges the gap between acoustic horns and lush Juno-esque synth sounds with aplomb, while Piano can lend itself to anything from a prepared piano to a DX7-inspired keyboard and Woodwinds expands the palette of clarinets and oboes into new territories entirely.
Should you upgrade from V Collection 9?
The V Collection is now at a point where it’s worth its price if you need even a quarter of its instruments. Users who have benefitted from the sound and workflow of previous Augmented instruments will have a field day with this update’s new additions, while fans of the collection’s familiar favourites also have much to gain. For newcomers to the collection; considering that many of these instruments retail at €199 apiece on their own, at its price, the suite is a veritable steal, so expansive is its range.
Arturia MiniFreak V
Verdict
Arturia’s V Collection keeps enticing us back. Not just for the expansion of its instrument range but for Arturia’s commitment to constantly improving them.
Choice newcomers are certainly the showpieces of each new edition of the catalogue; but just as valuable is the diligent tweaking and upgrading of well-loved members of the family. A constantly evolving, ever-growing library of creative tools, the V Collection is the gift that keeps on giving.
Key features

A total of 39 instruments
3 expansion packs
6 new instruments: MiniFreak V, Acid V, CP-70 V, Augmented Grand Piano, Augmented Brass and Augmented Woodwind
Two rebuilt instruments: Mini V4 and Wurli V3

The post Arturia’s V Collection X is the widest and deepest edition yet appeared first on MusicTech.

My Memo adds some pill-zazz to automatic medicine dispensersEvery few years, a new startup takes a stab at automatic pill dispensers to help with drug adherence and to prevent people from accidentally dosing more than they should. Makes sense: For many of us, as we get older, more and more medicines join the lineup that keeps us ticking along. Unfortunately, memories get fuzzy, […]
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152 million tracks had 1,000 plays or fewer on music streaming services last year. 45 million had no plays at all.The number of tracks with no plays on audio streaming platforms jumped by 7.7 million over the past year, according to a new Luminate report
Source

Music industry applauds introduction of ‘No AI FRAUD Act’ in US CongressThe proposed law would establish 'an intellectual property right that every individual holds over their own likeness and voice'
Source

University Challenge contestants confuse D&B with Jungle – producers have a field day sampling itProducers have taken to social media to share remixes of a University Challenge answer after the contestants confused drum and bass with Jungle, and the results do not disappoint.

READ MORE: Best audio gear at CES 2024: Headphones, turntables, speakers and…a picture frame?

If you’ve never watched University Challenge, it’s a tournament where some of the UK’s brightest students are tested on their knowledge, which sometimes involves pop-culture. In other words, it’s a great place for some quality meme content.
This week’s programme didn’t disappoint, as a clip of contestants from the University of Aberdeen confusing the two genres has gone viral.
The question was: “What name is given to the genre of dance music that developed in the UK in the early 1990s out of the rave scene and reggae sound system culture associated with acts such as A Guy Called Gerald and Goldie?”
TV host Amol Rajan quickly responded that he “can’t accept drum and bass. We need Jungle, I’m afraid”, leading to a wild response from the internet.
“Please, please will someone sample [Amol Rajan]?”, wrote one X user.

Please, please will someone sample @amolrajan saying: "I can't accept Drum & Bass. We need Jungle, I'm afraid." pic.twitter.com/NGdRaOIPgl
— Nathan Filer (@nathanfiler) January 8, 2024

The post, which now has a staggering 6.7 million views, was replied to with some interesting remixes.
Here are some of the best ones:

i had things to do this evening. remix feat @amolrajan pic.twitter.com/XLuIh9bfh3
— Amy Goodchild (@amygoodchild) January 8, 2024

Dillinja – Grimey (University Challenge Aberdeen Remix ft. @amolrajan) pic.twitter.com/WXXVZk9ZBl
— Bren (@megabren) January 8, 2024

One producer even manages to use the University Challenge theme tune into his remix:

We need Jungle (I'm afraid) ft @amolrajan pic.twitter.com/tMTjfl3Zxh
— Tom Bradbury (@pipsmithe) January 8, 2024

The post University Challenge contestants confuse D&B with Jungle – producers have a field day sampling it appeared first on MusicTech.

Bandsintown made 3.7B concert recommendations in 2023: Did you get your share?In 2023, Bandsintown made 3.7 billion concert recommendations for 1.5 million shows listed on Bandsintown.com to its 84 million registered live music fans. Those mindboggling stats should leave every touring. Continue reading
The post Bandsintown made 3.7B concert recommendations in 2023: Did you get your share? appeared first on Hypebot.

Blackbird Studio Nabs New Fairchild 670John McBride, owner of famed Blackbird Studio in Nashville, has acquired one of the first new recreations of the legendary Fairchild 670 compressor/limiter. McBride's sizeable collection of vintage microphones and prized outboard gear includes a pristine vintage 670.

Visit Fairchild at NAMM 2024 Booth #14104

Toni Fishman, founder and CEO of microphone designer/manufacturer TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik, in 2023 launched the new company, Fairchild Recording Equipment LLC. After five years of extensive R&D and precision testing, the authentic recreation of the legendary Fairchild 670 vacuum tube compressor is now available in very limited numbers.

After evaluation of the new unit in side-by-side testing with his vintage 670, Blackbird founder John McBride purchased it and remarked, "This new 670 is the most accurate re-creation of the original that I've come across, and it's significant that this milestone re-creation also provides modern bulletproof reliability."

Unlike other attempted Fairchild 670 re-creations, Fishman's new 670 utilizes the same tubes, custom-wound transformers and is built to the original specs. The architecture, point-to-point soldering and turret-style construction make this the only authentic recreation of the original 670 designed and built by Rein Narma at the request of recording innovator Les Paul in 1959.

The original Fairchild 670 has a reputation as the best sounding and most versatile compressor ever made. Used on countless hit recordings over the years, its unique combination of tube driven amplification and gain reduction gives the 670 a wide range of compression effects, from subtle and transparent to heavy and pumping. 

Fishman's new vacuum tube Fairchild 670 compressor is faithfully recreated to provide modern producers and audio engineers with the classic sound of the first intelligent automatic volume control limiter. With its dual-channel design and unique compression characteristics, the Fairchild 670 is capable of adding warmth, depth, and character to virtually any audio signal. The vacuum tube technology used in the 670 adds a natural, organic quality to the compressed signal, providing that distinctive classic analog sound to both digital and analog productions.

Key Features: Dual mono operation, six selectable time constants, threshold, compression, makeup gain controls, VU metering, hand-wired point-to-point construction, custom-designed transformers, tube-driven amplification.

Applications: vocals, drums, bass, guitars, strings, piano, brass, orchestral instruments, mix buss/mastering.

Sweetwater Sound, Inc. and Vintage King Audio have been named initial domestic dealers. European dealers include Klemm in Austria, Germany and Switzerland; Funky Junk in France, Italy and Spain; Cyber Farm in Denmark and Sweden; SX Pro in the UK. Asian dealers include MID in Japan; Gearlounge in South Korea, and Budee in China.

“There’s 800 ways to skin the DJ cat”: Deadmau5 on the why DJing is more than just a live performanceDeadmau5 has unpacked why DJing is more than just a live performance, instead doubling-down on the notion that those who rely on pre-recorded material are still DJs.

READ MORE: Kenny Beats: “We gave this young man $20,000 in studio equipment – then he started going live with strippers for 6 hours a day on insta”

As explained in an interview on The Shawn Ryan Show, Ryan asks the electronic music producer – whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman – his thoughts on DJs over-exaggerating their live performances using pre-recorded material.
“At its fundamental, a DJ plays music,” he states. “He’s a human iPod. With all due respect, you get to Mix Master Mike and Cubert and other DJs who are like technical scratch DJs, who play on whatever.”
“[But then I think] no, this is an art. Take Kid Koala right? He’s made an entire album out of turntablism. And you’re like, okay, yes, also a DJ, but that’s different.”
The producer then goes on to explain that some DJs don’t even use any “traditional” equipment.
“There’s a guy right now, he’s absolutely destroying everything, this guy called Fred again.., and he does a lot of pad whacking and stuff like that. Is he making an album up there? He could to a degree, but he’s doing a lot of sampling, and cutting and that’s another thing.
“But you could also say, “Oh, he’s DJing”, playing back some elements of pre-recorded material. So there’s your answer.”
“There’s 800 ways to skin the DJ cat,” Zimmerman concludes. “I’m so glad that era [of only playing original music] is gone, because when electronic music became more and more popular and producers were producing music they were like, ‘Well, how are we going to do this on the stage?’ Me in the studio is like listening to the same fucking loop for like fucking 30 hours straight back-to-back trying to fine tune shit you know what I mean? That is not something you could sit through and have a great time to.”
You can listen to the whole interview – which clocks in at just under four hours – below:

The post “There’s 800 ways to skin the DJ cat”: Deadmau5 on the why DJing is more than just a live performance appeared first on MusicTech.

“There’s still work to be done” on CHOMPI sampler, say Hainbach and Ricky TinezWhen the $600 CHOMPI sampler, the debut product by fresh-faced brand CHOMPI Club, was published on Kickstarter in March last year, it quickly became one of the platform’s most-anticipated products of 2023. However, early CHOMPI owners, including musicians/product reviewers Ricky Tinez and Hainbach, have already found some issues.

READ MORE: Focal’s Trio6 monitors are $3,499 each but worth every penny

Both Tinez and Hainbach have posted their reviews of the CHOMPI sampler, which is set to start shipping once all pre-order slots have been filled, to YouTube in the past two weeks. In these reviews, it’s clear that the varispeed recording function, which lets you slow a sample up or down and record over that new version, is a hit. However, this is quashed by bugs, recording difficulties, usability issues, and a lack of features, they say.
In case you’re not clued up, the CHOMPI sampler is a characterful chromatic sampler and tape music instrument that echoes Casio’s 1985-launched SK-1 sampler synth. Featuring a distinct sampling engine, versatile multi-effects, tape-style looping, and customisable aesthetics, it offers “immediate fun”, says CHOMPI Club.
According to a YouTube review by Tinez, however, some issues dull this sense of fun. There’s frustratingly no way to change the volume sample control, and he doesn’t like the fact that there’s no sequencer. Also, sampling through the on-board microphone can be difficult due to a noisy Shift button, he points out.

Another issue with recording your own samples, Tinez highlights, lies in the fact you have to hold down the record button while recording, forcing you to play one-handed. It’s also hard to distinguish which level parameters for the filter, for example, are due to a lack of labelling, he says.
It’s not as if CHOMPI Club is blissfully unaware of these issues, we must add. As seen in Tinez’s review, the brand reached out to him to write, “We’ve been compiling a solid list of issues and feature requests over on Discord as well. But it felt like it might be worth mentioning directly as we’re currently working on the next firmware update. In addition to some bug fixes, the update will also include independent volume and pan control per sample. As well as some deeper MIDI implementation config options.”
Hainbach’s review is, on the whole, more positive. However, with his usual happy smile, he does come across obstacles, having to refer back to the manual again and again to overcome these problems. He also points out, as does Tinez, that the lack of labelling on the unit makes learning how to use the CHOMPI sampler a steep learning curve.

It’s not all doom and gloom for those who have pre-ordered the CHOMPI sampler, however. Hainbach is a fan of the simplistic aspect of the sampler.
“Once you’ve set up a bunch of loops, it can be fun,” he concludes in the video. “You have to use your ear and your imagination and there’s no screen – there’s no way you can actually edit anything – so it’s a bit like a very simple MPC in that regard. The simplicity […] forces you to just roll with things instead of overthinking too much, which is something I always enjoy.”
“I love the effects section, the looper – that is absolutely fantastic. It is very tape style and the jog wheel is the perfect interface for that. For a first product, this is impressive.”
Check out the CHOMPI sampler for yourself at Chompi Club.
The post “There’s still work to be done” on CHOMPI sampler, say Hainbach and Ricky Tinez appeared first on MusicTech.

Bandzoogle adds an EPK plan for MusiciansMusician website platform Bandzoogle has added an EPK plan that enables the creation of an electronic press kit in minutes. EPKs are used by many musicians to book shows, solicit. Continue reading
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Unearthed 1982 Brian Eno interview: “I generally don’t like electronic sounds”A recently unearthed 1982 interview with ambient pioneer Brian Eno has revealed that he “doesn’t generally like electronic sounds that much”.

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The interview, recovered by BBC Archive and conducted by Mike Andrews for a BBC show called Riverside: The Synthesizer, People and Performance, originally broadcast on 1 November 1982, sees Eno discuss the relationship between acoustic instruments and electronic gear.
“I generally don’t like electronic sounds that much, which you might find surprising,” he says. “I find natural sound, or sound produced from non-electronic sources, to be so rich and so interesting. And yet, the interesting thing about electronic sound is that it’s very easy to manipulate.
“The synthesizer seems, to me, to present you with a position where you could turn natural sound into electronic sound and use some of the freedoms that the synthesizer then allowed you.

“Instead of just using the synthesizer, I use the whole studio as an appendage to the instrument in that way.
“The illusion with the big synthesizers is that somewhere among all those wires is the thing that’s gonna save the day for you – and it’s never true.”
42 years on from this BBC interview, Eno is still making music: he released a collaborative album with Fred again.. in May 2023 alongside works with his brother Roger Eno, and has created the soundtrack for the BAFTA-nominated series Top Boy. He’s also touring, having recently performed several shows with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic orchestra.
LUX by Brian Eno
Alongside this, Brian Eno is also still providing brilliant quotes in interviews. In a chat posted to YouTube with collaborator James Blake in 2023, for example, he refers to the “arsehole chord”, which Blake ashamedly played in one of their sessions.
In 2022, Eno said he “still gets butterflies” when he walks into the studio, and he recently wrote in the Financial Times about how he likes to push the boundaries of what music gear can do.
“Most equipment is invented to do an existing job faster, or cheaper, more cleanly, or more easily,” he writes in the op-ed. “What I like to do is to discover what you can do with it that isn’t historical – something that it wasn’t designed for, something new (I’m sure the inventors of early microphones didn’t anticipate that their tools would lead to totally new ways of singing, just as the inventors of multitrack recording probably didn’t imagine Bohemian Rhapsody).”
Read more Brian Eno news via MusicTech.
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What’s new on InstagramFrom broadcast channels to new editing tools, templates, Reel upgrades, and post options to more tools that make collaboration easier, here’s everything new in the Instagram toolkit. by SHAE WOODWARD. Continue reading
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