Databricks co-founder argues US must go open source to beat China in AIVC Andy Konwinski argues that the U.S. is losing its AI research dominance to China.

GRAMMY Nominations 2025: Best Pop Vocal AlbumThe 2025 GRAMMY nominations are here and we're going to help you to untangle it all right up until the big event, continuing with the Best Pop Vocal Album category.

Take a listen to the nominated pop albums below--who do you think will win?

See the full list of nominees in every category here.

SWAGJustin Bieber

Man's Best FriendSabrina Carpenter

Something BeautifulMiley Cyrus

MAYHEMLady Gaga

I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)Teddy SwimsThe post GRAMMY Nominations 2025: Best Pop Vocal Album first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

SOL drops to 5-month low despite Solana spot ETF success: Is $100 next?Solana ETFs recorded inflows for 13 consecutive days, but SOL price lost key technical support levels, sparking fears of a drop to $100.

Meet Me on My Rotary PhoneWe suspect kids today — and some adults — are confused about phone terminology. In today’s world, “hanging up” and “dialing,” for example, are abstract words without the physical reference that older people remember. But some people have a soft spot for the old rotary dial phones, including [Stavros], who wired a rotary phone to his computer for use on online meetings. Check out the video below.
He took an old rotary phone and wanted to program a Raspberry Pi Zero to act as a sound card and a keyboard. That way, he could connect to the meeting by picking up the handset and disconnect by hanging up. He also planned to read the dial and convert that into keyboard input.

If that sounds like a big project, it’s because it is. [Stavros] decided to use Claude Opus 4.1 to write the code for him, but was stymied by the $200/month price tag. So he wrote some code to send queries on a pay-as-you-go plan. After $50 was spent, the code was in worse shape than the first version. So much for vibe coding.
Plan B was — his words, not ours — shameful. He used a cheap USB sound card, an RP2040 to act like the keyboard, and a hub to make it simple to connect. Cases were removed, and boards were integrated into the phone to make a working project.
We do appreciate that [Stavros] tries not to irreversibly damage the old gear when he makes a mod like this. He uses a 3D printed connector to replace the old press-fit connections on the phone’s PCB, and it is all highly reversible.
While Claude didn’t help the development much, perhaps [Stavros] can use the phone to talk to Claude. We’ve seen a number of rotary phone hacks over the years.
https://www.stavros.io/posts/i-converted-a-rotary-phone-into-a-meeting-handset/meeting-phone-demo.mp4

‘I see an explosion of hybrid sounds coming from Africa. The next big global hits will come from these cultural crossovers.’MBW’s World Leaders series meets Nuno Rocha, Head of Business Development for MENA, Lusophone, and Francophone markets at ONErpm
Source

NatLife Sounds All About The House Vol.1 for DUNE 3NatLife Sounds proudly presents the newest DUNE 3 soundbank created by talented Tech House producer – VVOKAA. This is a powerful House soundset for DUNE 3, crafted to bring modern groove, energy and clarity to your music. All About The House Vol.1 delivers 46 high-quality presets for various House subgenres: Tech House, Progressive, Deep House, Organic House, Acid House and more. Inspired by the best grooves and club-ready hits, this collection lets you dive deep into the heart of modern house music. Each preset is designed to expand your creative possibilities and add fresh character to your tracks. Inside you'll find 46 presets for Synapse Audio DUNE 3: 11 Groovy Bass Presets. 8 Melodic Pluck Presets. 8 Signature Lead Presets. 6 Powerful Arp Presets. 5 Chord Presets. 5 Pad Presets. 3 Drum Presets. All presets include Mod Wheel assignments for intuitive and expressive sound shaping. Read More

Giuloz releases VirtualJV, a FREE Roland JV-880 emulation for macOS and Windows
Giulioz is an Italian developer building a solid reputation for emulating iconic digital hardware who has now released Giuloz VirtualJV, a free Roland JV-880 emulation for macOS and Windows. At the start of this year, we examined RdPiano by Giulioz, an emulation of classic digital pianos such as the Roland MKS-20, RD-1000, and the Rhodes [...]
View post: Giuloz releases VirtualJV, a FREE Roland JV-880 emulation for macOS and Windows

TuneCore Surpasses $5 Billion in Indie Artist EarningsIndependent artist development platform, TuneCore, announced that artist have now earned over $5 billion since the company started.
The post TuneCore Surpasses $5 Billion in Indie Artist Earnings appeared first on Hypebot.

“Every recommendation resonates with what you already love”: CORRD offers a fresh way to discover new artists tailored to your tasteSpotify’s latest recommendation feature, Weekly Listening Stats, is set to expose users to plenty of new artists – but it has its limits. Algorithmic recommendation is largely determined by your listening history, which can be a massive pitfall. CORRD, however, could be the solution.
Designed by the Volumio team, CORRD adds in an extra level of user control to its recommendation system. After connecting a streaming service (be that Spotify, TIDAL, or Qobuz), the app tailors your Flow based on your listening history – before allowing you to input your own preferences. It essentially allows you to shape your algorithm in real time.

READ MORE: Why Universal Audio’s CEO wants you to talk to your DAW

By ‘tuning’ your Flow, you are able to flesh out a more personalised portrait of your listening traits. For example, Spotify might see a metalhead’s listening history and assume the listener only wants to hear more of that – but what if that listener actually has a passion for upbeat hip hop? On the flip side, what if a pop girlie has clocked hundreds of hours listening to Top 40 bangers, but fancies an evening listening to emo throwbacks?
Essentially, what a user enjoys is impossible to detect on the stats alone. By presenting a user with the option to tweak their preferences, it means recommendations are far more likely to land.
CORRD’s preference options are varied; alongside picking your favourite genres, there are sliders to pick out your preferred mood (positive/negative), energy level (calm/intense), tempo, and even whether you’d prefer your recommendations to be more underground or mainstream.
Credit: CORRD
All of your preferences can also be tweaked as and when you feel like it, meaning you don’t need to listen to hours and hours of music to train up your algorithm. If your mood shifts, your Flow will follow in just a few clicks.
“Today’s recommendation engines lock users into repetitive bubbles and make discovery feel stale, and this is only expanding in line with the growing influence of AI in the music and technology industries,” Michelangelo Guarise, Founder and CEO of CORRD, explains. “With CORRD, listening becomes as unique as you are.”
“CORRD isn’t just unifying your content; it’s transforming it into something deeply personal,” he continues. “The app captures the timeless experience of visiting your favourite music store, where every discovery feels personal, and every recommendation resonates with what you already love.”
CORRD is available on both iOS and Android, with subscriptions starting at £7.99 a month.
The post “Every recommendation resonates with what you already love”: CORRD offers a fresh way to discover new artists tailored to your taste appeared first on MusicTech.

Release details
Release title:
Song for Abdullah
Main artist name:
Catherine's project
Release date:
10th Nov, 2025
https://publme.lnk.to/SongforAbdullah
#newmusic #Release #Music #indepedent #artist #jazz

The “Tiny Desk Boom” Is Real: Here’s How NPR Helps Boost Artist InfluenceLuminate Data helps quantify the influence of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts on artists' digital reach.
The post The “Tiny Desk Boom” Is Real: Here’s How NPR Helps Boost Artist Influence appeared first on Hypebot.

Epica Audio offers the Lo-Fi audio degradation plugin for FREE until November 30th
Epica Audio (not to be confused with Erica Synths) offers the Lo-Fi plugin, a one-knob effect for macOS and Windows, for free until November 30th, 2025. This one is about as simple as an audio tool gets, but despite the minimal interface, it can be useful if you’re after quick-and-dirty character shaping. If you want [...]
View post: Epica Audio offers the Lo-Fi audio degradation plugin for FREE until November 30th

Minimal Audio Evoke is a must-have vocal processor that’s a little too expensive$129 ($79 introductory price), minimal.audio
If you’ve spent time in electronic music production circles, you’ve probably heard of US software developer Minimal Audio and its range of sound design-centric instruments, effects plugins, and sample packs. Evoke joins the Minimal range as a flagship vocal processor, offering producers a platform to manipulate vocals in a multitude of ways.

READ MORE: Is Neural DSP Mantra just another channel strip plugin? Not exactly

Although flexible vocal processors were once relatively scarce, the industry has stepped up its game here in order to cater to the effects-laden sound of modern vocal production. Considering existing solutions like iZotope Vocal Synth and Waves OVox, the Minimal Audio team really had its work cut out.
At its core, Evoke is a vocal resynthesis tool with timbral and tonal shaping capabilities, while also offering formant and pitch shifting, harmonising and powerful modulation and effects sections. It sounds like a mammoth task to cram all this into one plugin, yet Minimal Audio has streamlined features to form Evoke’s cohesive, straightforward interface.
The immediate strength of Evoke lies in the way it allows you to approach really complex vocal manipulation, without being bombarded with overly technical processes. Although you can access incredible vocal sounds without ever diving into advanced modulation features, putting on your sound designer’s hat doesn’t feel like a drag when you are feeling a bit braver.

How do I get evocative with Minimal Audio Evoke?
On opening Evoke for the first time, a handy walkthrough guides you through the various sections of the plugin. What’s more, you can activate Tooltip mode with the question mark icon in the top bar, giving you specific details of each control you hover your mouse cursor over.
The primary Resynth interface is divided into various zones, including the main Resynthesis View, where you do most of your sound shaping, the expandable Modulation Bar, and the Keyboard Panel, where you select the musical scale, pitch range, and notes you’re working with. According to Minimal Audio, the Keyboard Panel is the best place to start Evoke’s workflow because you want to ensure you’re in the right musical key before you dive into the resynthesis controls.
With my key locked in, I start exploring the range of Evoke’s sounds by cycling a vocal region in my DAW and flipping through presets. The preset browser is designed with plenty of attention to detail, which makes a big difference to the user experience when you’re still getting your bearings.
Besides exploring the various categories of presets and highlighting favourites, you can also use tags to hone in on the type of sounds you’re searching for. The main component of each sound comes from the 15 different Resynth Character modes, which are divided into three categories, including four Natural, seven Synthetic, and four Texture algorithms.
Once you find a basic sound character you like, it’s incredibly easy to start sculpting the sound with the main Shape control to alter the harmonic structure, and the Color control, which adds brightness and increases the amount of unison voices depending on which Resynth Character is selected. The pitch and formant controls are more readily understood, as these are found on most vocal tuning plugins. Meanwhile, the Resolution control produces similar results to a bit reduction effect.
When you start working with the Spectrum Filter within the Resynthesis Response graphic, things get exciting; this is where you shape the filter that resynthesizes the vocal signal. It’s extremely flexible, because you can choose some basic filter shapes, or draw your own manually, and then make adjustments using the Shift, Tilt, and Scale controls. What’s more, you can bypass the Spectrum section completely, along with each of the four Harmonizer voices.
Evoke Curve Sequencer Mod Matrix. Image: Press
Getting creative with Minimal Audio Evoke
The Modulation system allows you to add movement to sounds by introducing time-based resynthesis components that can affect almost any parameter within Evoke’s Resynth controls, or the effects rack. A simple right-click on any control lets you quickly assign it to one of six mod sources or two macro controls, and you can access the Mod Matrix view for a complete overview of the signal chain. For each modulation source, you can choose between an LFO, a fully-featured Curve Sequencer, or an envelope follower, and once you’ve assigned a parameter to a source, you’ll see a tiny mod depth control appear next to your destination.
As you select (or hover over) each of the six mod sources, they turn from purple to yellow, along with the parameter being modulated. This helps you stay on top of things, even when dealing with outrageously complex modulation routings. The Curve Sequencer, with its array of tools for mapping curves across the modulation grid, is particularly impressive because it allows you to work precisely, building sounds that interlock rhythmically with the other elements in your song.
While modulation possibilities are almost limitless, I find the ability to modulate the different Harmonizer Voices especially interesting, as you can create choral swells with sustained notes within your vocal parts, quickly and effectively. The effects section, too, is just as inspiring, with the ability to stack up to 12 instances of the eight effects processors, including Chorus, Compressor, Delay, Distortion, EQ, Filter, Reverb, and Shifter. Building complex effects chains is super-easy, as you simply click the effect type to add it to the chain, meanwhile each module has factory presets to get you started. Also, each effect parameter can be modulated or assigned to the macros, so you can do detailed effects layering and automate it with a single knob.
Adding to its versatility, Evoke has four global processing modes: the basic pitch tracking resynthesis mode; MIDI tracking mode (employing external MIDI for setting the scale for retuning; MIDI Instrument mode (which bypasses internal retuning and harmonisation); and the external mode for processing sidechain signals. Combined with all the processing features, these four modes extend the scope of Evoke’s capabilities beyond working with vocals alone, and it becomes a powerful modulation and effects device. Also, the two soft limiter modes offer gentle (marked purple) and more aggressive (orange) characteristics, for that finishing touch.
Evoke Effects Rack. Image: Press
Is Minimal Audio Evoke a serious competitor?
Regardless of Evoke’s sonic prowess and diversity, its interface design is one of its cornerstones. Even when delving into new concepts, it feels so seamless and familiar, almost like I’m using Serum at times. While there are some other competing options available, they don’t provide Evoke’s well-rounded creative experience as an instrument.
iZotope Vocal Synth isn’t a bad-sounding alternative, but for a steep $200, its interface is rather infantile in comparison to Evoke. Meanwhile, Waves OVox is an affordable option at only $40, but it isn’t in the same league as Evoke from a sound creation perspective. There are certainly amazing competitors at the upper end of the market, like Antares Harmony Engine and Zynaptiq Orange Vocoder, but these are far more niche in their application.
Evoke is an exciting, creative instrument for music producers in almost any genre that uses vocals, or even vocal samples. What’s more, sound designers will love how easy it is to manipulate voices for motion pictures and video games.

Key features

Vocal resynthesis plugin
AU / VST3 / AAX plugin for Windows (10 or above) and macOS (10.11 or later)
350+ presets
4-voice harmonisation
MIDI and sidechain modes
Pitch correction & hard-tune
6-channel modulation matrix
Effects rack
7-day trial with Minimal Audio All-Access

The post Minimal Audio Evoke is a must-have vocal processor that’s a little too expensive appeared first on MusicTech.

WIMS launch WoodPecker 1.0 The latest release from Woodman’s Immaculate Maple Syrup Studio introduces a new step sequencer that’s capable of controlling up to four instruments at a time. 

Blue Origin sticks first New Glenn rocket landing and launches NASA spacecraftIt's an impressive accomplishment for the new mega-rocket launch system, and paves the way for the company to start re-using the boosters in commercial missions.