The Score Essentials from Sonuscore The Score Essentials brings together a curated selection of content from The Score, offering an immediate, inspiring instrument suited to composers at all levels.

Hinge Health pops 17%, but joins growing ranks of down round IPOsHinge Health, a digital physical therapist company, closed its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $37.56, up about 17% over the $32 IPO price it set the previous day. That’s a good first-day result. But even with the pop, Hinge’s public valuation is significantly less than its last […]

US tourist drugged by fake Uber driver and robbed of $123K BTC — ReportAn American tourist in the United Kingdom was reportedly drugged by an individual posing as a taxi driver, who stole the tourist's $123,000 in Bitcoin stored on a cell phone. According to a report from My London, Jacob Irwin-Cline went out to a London bar and had several drinks before calling an Uber to take him home.Cline said that he did not thoroughly check the details of the Uber ride on his phone and left with a random private cab driver resembling the Uber driver at first glance, but driving a different vehicle — a detail Cline would only discover after the incident.Once inside the vehicle, the US tourist said the driver offered him a cigarette, which Cline said was likely laced with a rare and potent sedative drug called scopolamine. Cline added that the cigarette made him feel extremely docile and tired, causing him to pass out for around 30 minutes before regaining consciousness.Shortly after Cline woke up, the driver ordered him out of the vehicle. As Cline exited, the driver suddenly sped off, striking him with the car and fleeing with his cellphone, which contained his private keys and access to his crypto accounts.The unfortunate incident comes amid a recent spate of kidnappings, extortion incidents, armed robberies, and ransom attempts directed at crypto industry executives, investors, and their families. Related: Chainalysis CEO offers a clue into recent spate of Paris crypto attacksCrypto community members become the targets of violent crimeSeveral kidnapping incidents involving crypto investors, industry executives, and their families have occurred in May.On May 3, the father of an unnamed crypto exchange owner was freed by French police after law enforcement officials raided the property where the individual was being held captive by organized criminals demanding a ransom for his release.Shortly after that incident, the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the CEO of the Paymium crypto exchange, were the targets of an attempted kidnapping in Paris.The incident occurred in broad daylight when the assailants attacked the family and attempted to force them into a parked vehicle. However, Noizat's daughter and another individual were able to fight off the masked attackers.The rise in violent attacks against crypto investors and professionals has prompted an increase in personal security, including requests for bodyguards and private security measures for those likely to be victimized.Magazine: China’s ‘point running’ crypto scams, pig butchers kidnap kids: Asia Express

zazz EarlyReflections1The EarlyReflections1 plugin is a free and open-source VST effect designed to simulate the early reflections component of reverb. Early reflections are the initial sound reflections that reach the listener's ears shortly after the direct sound, providing crucial spatial cues about the size and nature of the environment. S. Key Features: Focused Spatial Simulation: Emulates early reflections to add depth and realism without the extended tail of full reverb. Lightweight and Efficient: Ideal for enhancing dry recordings or adding subtle ambience without overwhelming the mix. Open-Source Accessibility: Available under the GPL license, allowing for customization and integration into various digital audio workstations. This plugin is particularly useful for producers and sound engineers seeking to create a sense of space and dimension in their mixes without the complexity of full reverb processing. For more information visit the EarlyReflections1 GitHub repository. Read More

Introducing RedNet TNXOn Thursday, Focusrite released an enthusiastic statement, heralding the release of their new RedNet TNX, which they described as "the latest addition to the RedNet range and our first Thunderbolt interface purpose-built for high-channel-count, low-latency Dante® audio for macOS and Windows. Designed to simplify access to high-resolution, low-latency Dante audio, it’s ideal for studios, mobile rigs, and shared workspaces." According to their statement, "RedNet TNX delivers 128x128 channels of 24-bit/192kHz audio straight out of the box, with ultra-low round-trip latency. For larger systems, a paid Dante Ready upgrade unlocks 256x256 channels at 24-bit/96kHz."How intriguing!For more info, visit here.The post Introducing RedNet TNX first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Building a Tiny Table SawIf you want a regular table saw, you’re probably best off just buying one—it’s hard to beat the economies of scale that benefit the major manufacturers. If you want a teeny one, though, you might like to build it yourself. [Maciej Nowak] has done just that.
The concept is simple enough; a small motor and a small blade make a small table saw. [Maciej] sourced a remarkably powerful 800-watt brushless motor for the build. From there, the project involved fabricating a suitable blade mount, belt drive, and frame for the tool. Some time was well-spent on the lathe producing the requisite components out of steel and aluminum, as well as a stout housing out of plywood. The motor was then fitted with a speed controller, with the slight inconvenience that it’s a hobby unit designed to run off DC batteries rather than a wall supply. Ultimately, though, this makes the saw nicely portable. All that was left to do was to fit the metal top plate, guides, and a suitably small 3″ saw blade to complete the build.
We’ve seen mini machine tools like these before, too. They can actually be pretty useful if you find yourself regularly working on tiny little projects. Video after the break.

Italian-language music now part of the ‘$100M+ club’ on SpotifySoanish-language music is also growing rapidly, the streaming platform says in the latest addition to its 'Loud & Clear' report
Source

Will Spotify be correct with its annual Songs of Summer predictions?Spotify has unveiled its annual Songs of Summer list, predicting the 30 songs that will soundtrack summer in 2025.
Despite arriving a whole month before summer begins on 21 June, Spotify is confident that its selection – made by analysing streaming data – will soundtrack your memories in the sun this year.

READ MORE: Zeds Dead sampled a century of sound to create their new sci-fi bass odyssey

The list is curated by Spotify’s editorial team, who are confident after the accuracy of their predictions last year that they’ll be bang on the money again in 2025. The list is populated by big names including Bad Bunny, Charli XCX, Drake and Lady Gaga, as well as Afro-fusion like Show Me Love by WizTheMc, bees & honey, and Tyla, and “lovestruck pop” with Ordinary from Alex Warren and Blue Strips by Jessie Murph.
It’s also worth noting, of course, that no data could possibly predict whether a new, unknown artist might emerge on the scene in a month’s time, which could shake everything up.

While the playlist knocks out lots of well-streamed artists, Spotify has taken at least one risk with singer-songwriter Hannah Cohen. With over 800,000 monthly listeners, Cohen is one of the lesser-known artists on the list, comparatively.
Cohen’s latest record, Earthstar Mountain, is sure to go down well with listeners. The record boasts effortlessly dulcet tones, spanning from glistening acoustic musing to wistful, dreamy indie-funk. Spotify has picked out the aptly named Summer Sweat for its summer playlist.

“Spotify’s editorial team blends cultural expertise, editorial instinct, and streaming data to curate our annual Songs of Summer list,” Spotify explains. “[This playlist] cements Spotify as the ultimate destination for summer listening and proves we know music best.”
“When it comes to afro-fusion, we’re seeing songs like Show Me Love by WizTheMc, bees & honey & Tyla – which fuses electronic, Afrobeats and R&B – and YA BABA by DYSTINCT and French Montana – which blends Moroccan Arabic with French – boil over across Africa, Europe and the United States,” the company goes on.

“We’re also seeing dance BPMs continue to rise,” Spotify says. To celebrate high-speed garage and house, Spotify lists Ely Oaks’ Running Around and Say My Name – Remix by Morgan Seatree and Florence + The Machine.

Some chill tunes also feature, like The Marías’ No One Noticed and NIKI’s You’ll Be in My Heart. These picks are intended for “watching a perfect sunset on a hot summer day with friends”, the company notes.
Spotify yearly Songs of Summer forecast has been fairly accurate in the past few years. Last summer’s list ranked HOT TO GO! by Chappell Roan, Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter and Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar – with Lamar’s song going on to win multiple Grammys.
Here’s the entire list, in alphabetical order:
Ordinary – Alex Warren
NUEVAYoL – Bad Bunny
Super –  Bb trickz
Mystical Magical – Benson Boone
All The Way – BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman
party 4 u – Charli xcx
My Darling – Chella
With You – Davido and Omah Lay
NOKIA – Drake
YA BABA – DYSTINCT and French Montana
Running Around – Ely Oaks
Summer Sweat – Hannah Cohen
like JENNIE – JENNIE
Blue Strips – Jessie Murph
Gnarly – KATSEYE
How Bad Do U Want Me – Lady Gaga
MUTT – Leon Thomas
Dark Thoughts – Lil Tecca
What Was That – Lorde
Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix – MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, and Shenseea
Say My Name – Remix – Morgan Seatree and Florence + The Machine
What I Want – Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae
You’ll Be in My Heart – Spotify Singles – NIKI
Love Me Not – Ravyn Lenae
Sally, When The Wine Runs Out – ROLE MODEL
back to friends – sombr
No One Noticed – The Marías
Brunette – Tucker Wetmore
La Plena – W Sound 05 – W Sound, Beéle, and Ovy On The Drums
Show Me Love (with Tyla) – WizTheMc, bees & honey and Tyla

The post Will Spotify be correct with its annual Songs of Summer predictions? appeared first on MusicTech.

Why More Musicians Are Rethinking TouringRising costs, low ticket sales, increased competition and strict visa rules are reshaping the touring landscape for artists worldwide. Not all the available data is clear yet, but from major acts to emerging talent, more and more musicians are rethinking touring.
The post Why More Musicians Are Rethinking Touring appeared first on Hypebot.

LANG Electronics announce the P.LANE Type 436 & SILVERR 47 LANG Electronics have announced the launch of two new products that offer a modern take on some classic valve-based gear designs.

Do Spotify playlists still matter? Playlist Marketing in 2025Playlisting was once a top way to grow your music, but many artists got burned by fake streams and shady tactics. Do Spotify playlists still matter? There’s now a new and better way to use playlists to market music reach real fans.
The post Do Spotify playlists still matter? Playlist Marketing in 2025 appeared first on Hypebot.

Native Instruments and iZotope Launch Summer Sales with Major Discounts
Native Instruments and iZotope have officially launched their annual Summer of Sound and Summer Sale events, offering some of the year’s best deals on virtual instruments, effects, and production tools. Both sales run from May 22 through June 30 and feature significant discounts on flagship product lines, bundles, and hardware/software combos. Native Instruments’ Summer of [...]
View post: Native Instruments and iZotope Launch Summer Sales with Major Discounts

iZotope Tonal Balance Control 2 is FREE at Plugin Boutique until May 26th
Plugin Boutique is offering Tonal Balance Control 2 by iZotope as a free download for a limited time. This deal runs until May 26th, so be quick if you want to pick up one of iZotope’s flagship metering tools at no cost. Tonal Balance Control 2 is a visual analysis plugin that helps you maintain [...]
View post: iZotope Tonal Balance Control 2 is FREE at Plugin Boutique until May 26th

“If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes”: Brian Eno calls out Microsoft over ties to Israeli governmentAmbient music legend Brian Eno has denounced Microsoft, saying its ties to the Israeli government “leads to surveillance, violence and destruction in Palestine”.
Eno has historical professional ties with the technology corporation, having composed the startup chime for its Windows 95 operating system.

READ MORE: Brian Eno: “The biggest problem about AI is not intrinsic to AI. It’s to do with the fact that it’s owned by the same few people”

In a lengthy new social post, Eno notes that while he “gladly took on the project as a creative challenge”, he “never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery and oppression of war”.
Eno mentions a recent blog post by Microsoft, in which it acknowledged providing the Israel Ministry of Defence (IMOD) with “software, professional services, Azure cloud services, and Azure AI services, including language translation”.
Microsoft explained that its relationship with the IMOD is structured as a “standard commercial relationship, and that the IMOD is bound by Microsoft’s terms of service and conditions of use.
“These require customers to implement core responsible AI practices – such as human oversight and access controls – and prohibit the use of our cloud and AI services in any manner that inflicts harm on individuals or organisations or affects individuals in any way that is prohibited by law.”
It went on: “Based on our review, including both our internal assessments and external review, we have found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”
While Microsoft said it is “important to acknowledge that [it] does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices”, Eno accuses these services “support a regime that is engaged in actions described by leading legal scholars and human rights organisations, the United Nations experts, and increasing numbers of governments from around the world, as genocidal”.
He adds: “Selling and facilitating advanced AI and cloud services to a government engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing is not ‘business as usual’. It is complicity. If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes.”
Calling on Microsoft to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law”, Brian Eno pledges that the fee he received for his Windows 95 chime will now go towards helping the citizens of Gaza.
“If a sound can signal a real change, then let it be this one,” he says.

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Microsoft is under increasing pressure over its working relationship with the IMOD, including from its own employees. As reported by The Verge, firmware engineer Joe Lopez interrupted a keynote by CEO Satya Nadella, yelling: “How about you show Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?”
The post “If you knowingly build systems that can enable war crimes, you inevitably become complicit in those crimes”: Brian Eno calls out Microsoft over ties to Israeli government appeared first on MusicTech.

Who is the next Aphex Twin? Meet the producers warping the future of electronic music“Even from my very first tracks, I had a desire to get really into the machines, to make a different world inside one of the boxes, live inside there instead,” Aphex Twin said in 2014.

READ MORE: Zeds Dead sampled a century of sound to create their new sci-fi bass odyssey

The trickster producer exploded electronic music in the early 90s with strange rhythms and visuals, endless sonic detours and a hearty dose of tomfoolery. His cutting-edge music is rarely one genre, exploring dreamy ambient textures, hard and fast techno, trippy breakbeats and jolting sounds in unexpected song structures and layers. He was a part of Warp Records’ ever-influential IDM-labelled founding class alongside Autechre, Boards of Canada and Squarepusher, influencing a wide range of acts from Radiohead to Daft Punk.
Many have pondered the question we’re going to try to answer: Who will be the next producer to shape electronic music as Aphex Twin did?
Why Aphex Twin is considered the GOAT in electronic music
The Cornwall-bred producer, born Richard D James, popularised the album format in electronic music, and has released six studio albums under his main alias since his famed first in 1992, Selected Ambient Works 85-92, whose title claims he made the earliest tracks at age 15.
While his catalogue is staggeringly winding and nearly impossible to dissect — although plenty of fans have painstakingly tried — his biggest songs give a taste of his range: 1999’s weird and propulsive Windowlicker, and the soothing piano ballad Avril 14 from his divisive fifth studio album, 2001’s Drukqs. His music remains strange, his acclaim is truly widespread, with his 2014 album Syro even winning a Grammy (a ceremony that James, naturally, did not attend).

Given all the twists and turns James has taken throughout his career and his rather singular nature, it feels almost impossible that someone could follow a formula to become the “next Aphex Twin” or to even consistently sound like him. So, instead, MusicTech is looking to the next generation of innovative and exciting electronic DJ/producers who are reshaping dance music with layered, trippy production, a distinct yet evolving sound and a unique overall artist package. Producers bringing both ambient and sharp sounds with playful visuals and track titles are the Aphex-ness we’re looking for here.
Skee Mask
Munich-born Bryan Müller is often compared to Aphex Twin for his layered, IDM-reminiscent take on electronic music and evasive public persona. He’s also often labelled as techno, but his music is as diverse and meticulous as his patron saint, with smoother corners and dreamy soundscapes for enhanced enjoyment. He put his first track out over a decade ago on his hometown’s Ilian Tape, back when he was a teenager holed up in his bedroom. He’s followed the Aphex format, if there is one, of releasing albums along with compilations of archival tracks.

His latest music— his fourth studio album Resort — is a hypnotic dose of what Müller does best: layered, lush, deep soundscapes. It also showcases his malleability, with the tracks progressing from fully ambient to beachside groovers.
“Skee Mask is one of dance music’s greatest crossover stories of the past decade, with new albums greeted with the attention usually reserved for an Aphex Twin or a Caribou,” Resident Advisor wrote in 2023 on SoundCloud, where his RA mix has clocked over 138,000 plays. “It’s not hard to understand why: [on] albums like Compro, he blends well-worn dance music tropes with incredible, detailed soundscapes and spine-tingling melodies.”
Müller has an anti-establishment streak, à la Aphex, yet despite his guardedness, there’s something very earnest about his public persona. He regularly shares tracks he likes on Twitter, along with enthusiasm for his gigs, which include recently earning a residency at Tresor. He, along with his label home Ilian Tape, pulled his catalogue from Spotify after the news that its CEO, Daniel Ek, had invested in AI weapons company Helsing. He takes his role as a musical tastemaker seriously, seeing his festival sets as a “chance to change minds about how good music should sound.”
Loraine James
Loraine James is one of the most exciting electronic artists today, blending glitchy beats and warped vocals with IDM and DIY sensibilities. There’s darkness, beauty, vulnerability, kinetic energy and angular beats across her catalogue, sometimes all in one track. She’s collaborated with and remixed a range of fellow cutting-edge, genre-blending acts including Jessy Lanza, Yaeji, keiyaA and Kelela.

She first showcased her hard but dreamy soundscapes on 2017’s Detail. For You and I followed in 2019 — her debut on Kode9’s London imprint Hyperdub — and marked her as a widely touted one-to-watch. The latter’s opener, Glitch Bitch, a sparkly, skittering, moody trip could serve as her artist thesis, while the subsequent two tracks bang with heavy, abrasive doses of in-your-face beats. She explodes the snobbery and white maleness of IDM, bringing improvisation and her queer Black femme identity playfully into the mix while working mostly in-the-box, without cost-prohibitive gear.
James is truly expansive and unbounded in her musical output, recently exploring her love of math rock and ambient music with a side project entitled Whatever The Weather, currently spanning two albums on Ghostly International. On her third Loraine James album, Gentle Confrontation, she leaned into a more down-tempo rhythms and centred her voice with introspective lyrics. Her latest release, an atmospheric, smoky collab EP with Anysia Kim, continues in that vein to enticing effect. We can’t wait to hear what sonic textures and themes she explores and expands next.
Vegyn
Vegyn, born Joe Thornalley in London, makes moody, layered, fuzzy electronic music that dances from liquid drum and bass to ambient and far beyond. The prolific producer broke out in 2016 after working with fellow boundary pusher — and Aphex Twin fan — Frank Ocean on Blonde. He earned early support from James Blake and has worked with Travis Scott and JPEGMAFIA. He’s also an in-demand remixer, recently getting tapped by Air to add a lightly trippy touch to their beloved 1998 album Moon Safari.

He’s put out two studio albums, alongside 70-plus-track brain dump mixtapes, a very Aphex thing to do. His self-designed album art and titles feel like a modern internet rendering of his British electronic brethren: Text While Driving If You Want To Meet God! shows a crashed car above the words: “Honk if you love Vegyn,” while The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions boasts a minimalist collage of lo-fi “spiritual” computer graphics.
Thornalley is both prolific and uncensored in his music releases, but reticent to give interviews and talk about his music. While he’s done an Aphex Twin tribute on his NTS Radio show, he avoided telling Rolling Stone what his favourite song of his is, instead questioning the breathless awe given to the Xtal producer: “There’s a lot of good stuff there. I’m not going to go on record and say that he’s overrated. I think I would be crucified for that. But I think it’s just techie drums. People could just program drums on a computer for the first time.”
Marie Davidson
French-Canadian musician and producer Marie Davidson serves cutting commentary on rave culture, capitalism, big tech and more atop industrial, Soulwax-approved beats for a coy take on club music. She’s the trickster of this bunch. While Aphex Twin avoided making political statements with his art beyond poking fun at pop culture, Davidson takes our dystopian reality to task with pointed sarcasm and dark synths that cut through the noise. Just as James pushed against the bounds of what dance music could sound like, Davidson continually questions its purpose, bringing it back to radical roots, with all the weight of the 21st century wrapped up in it.
Davidson has been putting out heady, campy and all-around sharp electronic music since 2015’s Un Autre Voyage but it was her Polaris Prize-nominated Ninja Tune debut Working Class Woman in 2018 and the propulsive Soulwax edit of Work It that made her a dance music heavyweight.

Her latest album, City Of Clowns, her first for Soulwax’s DeeWee (the Dewaele brothers also co-produced the album) sees her embracing technology like no one else today, wearing its shiny costume for a campy dark comedy that’s all too resonant. She found inspiration in scholar Shoshana Zuboff’s 700-page manifesto about tech companies’ control over our lives, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism — intellectual dance music anyone? — yet had fun with it, reminding us of the clownery that is late-stage capitalism. On Demolition she embodies the hungry ghost we can’t seem to ever truly opt out of: “By the way, I don’t want your cash, no / What I want is you / I want your data, data, baby.”
Authentically Plastic
Authentically Plastic is the answer to “What if we queered Aphex Twin?” The non-binary Ugandan artist is making some of the hardest, most inventive dance music out there, incorporating African genres like Tanzanian singeli and South African gqom with industrial techno. They are reuniting techno with its Afrofuturist roots, centering it in Africa, for queer, gender-expansive beings. Community is essential to their artistry.

The Anti-Fun producer launched a queer artist collective and party, ANTI-MASS, in their hometown of Kampala in 2018, a vital and transgressive space in a country where homosexuality is punishable by death. They put out their first release alongside ANTI-MASS residents Nsasi and Turkana in 2021, dropped their anticipated debut album on Kampala’s Hakuna Kulala in 2022, and put out the banging Soul Clench EP last October. While Authentically Plastic’s catalogue is slimmer than the others on this list, it perhaps packs the most punch and colours the furthest outside the lines.
“I produce because the things I want to hear, I don’t really find anywhere else — at least not on most record labels,” Authentically Plastic recently said. “Four-on-the-floor techno has become dominant, and because it’s so powerful and widespread, it has tended to suppress other possible forms of techno. What I’m trying to do with Raw Space is create space for other potential forms of techno to emerge. Mostly, I do this by engaging with traditional rhythms and scales that are very different. It’s inspired by Kadodi, a form of ritualistic music from Eastern Uganda, as well as some music from Northern Uganda.”
This is mind-bending music representing the anxiety of oppression, of a vital need to shake off its weight in community, until a new future is born. We sure need it.
The post Who is the next Aphex Twin? Meet the producers warping the future of electronic music appeared first on MusicTech.