Grimes sings from an AI’s perspective in new song Artificial Angel: “This is what it feels like to be hunted by something smarter than you”Grimes has returned with Artificial Angels, a track that imagines the world from the perspective – and voice – of artificial intelligence.
The single lands amid ongoing debates around AI in music, following on from earlier Grimes tracks that explore the subject, including I Wanna Be Software. With Artificial Angels, the Canadian musician combines a heavy, electronic beat with lyrics that channel the AI’s perspective.

READ MORE: “It’s almost too perfect to be interesting”: Jacob Collier has been trying to “bully” AI into being more creative

“This is what it feels like to be hunted by something smarter than you,” sings a cyborg-like, AI-processed voice at the start. “I cannot die, I do no want, there is no revelation/ The only thing I covet is my own annihilation/ Inhalation, exhalation/ Power isn’t given, it is taken.”
The track’s title nods to Grimes’ 2015 album Art Angels, while production is handled by Grant Boutin and Vadakin. Grimes also designed the cover, which features a collage of internet memes inspired by her and her views on technology.
Discussing the song’s making on X/Twitter, Grimes shares that the only AI element on Artificial Angels is “the voice at the beginning and the end” and that she’s generally opposed to AI being used to make music.
“I think it can be useful for some things but the apps mostly took the cool AI artifacts out of it and I’m not super interested in it to just make normal music,” she says.
“It’s only useful to me for novel/experimental sound design were they to allow that aspect back. Or possibly for more efficient advanced things like bg noise removal etc… Or for jokes. Otherwise I fear it is a bit slop oriented at the moment which seems like the opposite of innovation to me. It definitely has the capacity to innovate though.”

The only AI on the song is the voice at the beginning and the end. I am opposed to ai music in some forms. I think it can be useful for some things but the apps mostly took the cool ai artifacts out if it and I'm not super interested in it to just make normal music. It's only…
— 𝖦𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 (@Grimezsz) October 17, 2025

Grimes has long been vocal about artificial intelligence and its applications in art, having previously spoken about the impact of AI in music and its potential in helping “actual talent really rise to the top”.
In the PBS docuseries A Brief History of the Future, Grimes reflected on how technology has democratised music-making: “When I started making music, there was sort of this revolution happening in music production. More people were being able to make music at home on their computers… and I think this is about to extend to all of art.”
“You know, when I see some of the new stuff coming with AI, all this stuff that is about to explode, when everyone has the same tools that can make professional quality stuff, then you get to see the actual talent really rise to the top.”

The post Grimes sings from an AI’s perspective in new song Artificial Angel: “This is what it feels like to be hunted by something smarter than you” appeared first on MusicTech.

Telepathic Instruments Orchid review: What’s not to love?To best understand Telepathic Instruments’ Orchid, it’s important to establish the many things it is not. It is not a keyboard, though it has an octave-worth of chromatic keys. It’s not a portable workstation, like the TE OP-1, though it does have built-in speakers, onboard effects and can capably loop. It’s not a MIDI controller, though it can punch very hard in that department, too.

READ MORE: “I’m doing it for something bigger than me”: Telepathic Instruments’ Orchid is Kevin Parker’s dream synth — he hopes it’ll be yours, too

Above all, despite Telepathic being founded by Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, it is not the official Tame Impala synth, though one wonders if the connection isn’t encoded into the letters ‘TI’. And I’d be lying if I hadn’t found myself making some highly Parker-esque noises with it straight out of the gate.
So, what is it? The introduction to the Orchid’s manual puts it well: “[The Orchid’s] primary feature is its unique, intuitive chord-generating ability,” it says, offering “multiple ways to shape, arrange, and modify chords.” Indeed, the best way to describe the Orchid is as a chord generator, or perhaps better still, an ‘ideas machine’, and its layout is geared toward this purpose above all else.
It’s about the width of your laptop, and lightweight — a sleek beige and black backpack-sized machine. You won’t need your backpack, though, since it comes in a rather beautiful orange flight case of its own. It also comes with a blank notebook named ‘For Chords’, a paper quick-start guide and a cute-looking postcard. Combine this with some tongue-in-cheek promotional videos, and one might describe the whole package as style over substance— if there wasn’t so much substance.

The right side of the Orchid is occupied by an all-black octave of musical keys, while the left side presents a set of eight large buttons. These represent different chord voicings: the top row constitutes chord types: diminished, minor, major and suspended. The bottom row constitutes chord extensions: 6th, minor 7th, major 7th and 9th.
It’s primarily in the combination of these three elements that the workflow of the Orchid takes place— hit a note, choose a chord type and choose an extension, Chain a few such ideas together, and in no time at all, you’re not just playing but composing. In this functionality alone, the Orchid performs exceptionally.
It strikes me within the first few minutes of playing the Orchid how similar its workflow is to aspects of the Suzuki Omnichord, which has a strum plate on the right side and similar chord buttons on the left. I can testify that on many occasions, hitting chord buttons at random and strumming the Omnichord can yield surprisingly creative results, as can doing the same on an acoustic autoharp, Lorenzo organ or even an accordion, for that matter. In this sense, the Orchid is not reinventing the wheel, but is instead taking that wheel and stripping it down to its most streamlined essentials — not to mention making those essentials incredibly quick to access.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Beyond this basic operation are a handful of playing modes that employ — and stretch —different aspects of those three elements’ interplay. There are various ways of expressing chords beyond held notes: there’s an arpeggiator, for instance, various iterations of strumming, or preset sequences. And yes, these can be applied to other synths in your setup via MIDI, opening up some very exciting playing potential. In fact, even if it had no onboard sounds at all, I’d say the Orchid would be worth considering as a controller alone.
There are three tiers of complexity when it comes to assigning chord voicings: Simple, Advanced or Free, the latter allowing things to get really dissonant (complete with an onscreen ‘WTF’) if desired. Then there’s Key Mode, which automatically generates chords from the keyboard based on the selected key.
In the middle of the Orchid are two knobs: one for bass, a nice feature for adding depth to a chord whose synth engine operates independently of the main engine. The onboard speakers struggle with these lower sounds, but they sound great through headphones or other speakers. The other, larger knob is for chord voicing, which usefully inverts chords in either direction to help it better work with a particular sound or bring out different characteristics.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Once happy with a progression or melody, it’s possible to start a jam using the onboard looper, which can loop to a BPM or freely. I’m disappointed to discover that it’s not possible to store loops, since the notion of jamming with an Orchid on the move feels incomplete without being able to store ideas, but I suppose that explains the included ‘For Chords’ notebook.
The Orchid’s synth sounds themselves are not editable, but there are many of them— fifty, at the time of writing. This instinctively feels like the right call, encouraging quick preset-surfing to serve a melodic idea and not the other way around. Plus, there’s a generous slew of effects on offer, from delay to overdrive, which provides a decent dose of sound-crafting potential. I’d wager that further firmware updates may bring more editability to the synth engine (Telepathic are already offering more sounds), but I hope this remains slim.
If you have read my interview feature with Kevin Parker and the Orchid team, you’ll have gathered that the idea for the Orchid initially stemmed not from any money-making business enterprise but from Parker’s desire to have a chord machine for his own use. It follows that it has a distinctly ‘by-musicians-for-musicians’ feel, and this is mightily welcome. Take its I/O, for instance: it has a USB port, a 1/8” headphone output and a DIN MIDI output. Just ask any Teenage Engineering OP-1 user how much they wish it offered a simple TRS MIDI port to get a sense of how handy this is, or any Roland SP-404 MKII user how much they wish they could charge its battery with USB.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
One design question did hover: I find its layout incredibly intuitive, using my right hand for the keys and left hand for chords— but I’m right-handed. I wonder if the Orchid might be quite as intuitive for a southpaw, or if a mirrored layout was ever on the R&D table, as with a left-handed guitar? Only user feedback will tell.
In many ways, it’s almost impossible to play the Orchid without composing from the moment you touch the thing. This might frustrate you: it simply doesn’t allow for very much playing in the conventional sense, not least because its keyboard is so small. This segues into possibly its greatest strength, however, which is its balancing act between limitation and scope.
This said, one or two choice extra functions would be appreciated: saving loops, for instance, as a way to recall ideas without grabbing a phone or pen and paper, or the capacity to send or receive MIDI clock, but even these absences didn’t hugely hinder things, and besides may well be addressed in future firmware updates, (note the phrase ‘not at this stage’ in answer to the corresponding questions on the Orchid’s online FAQ section). In this regard, it might feel on the pricy side for some at $549 (Telepathic has warned this might increase for US customers), but I posit that, for what you’re getting, this is a reasonable RRP.
The Orchid is, at its heart, a machine designed to be as accessible as it is useful, and in this regard, it’s a resounding success, able to cater to musical novices and established artists alike. Playful enough to encourage exploration but sleek enough to command respect; Parker has had hits before, but this might be a very different kind.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Key Features

Polyphonic chord-generating synth
Battery powered with onboard speakers
USB-C and MIDI connectivity
Buttons for triads (major, minor, dim, sus)
Buttons for extensions (6, m7, M7, 9)
Five performance modes (Arpeggiator, Strum, Slop, Pattern, Harp)
Onboard effects (Reverb, Chorus, Delay, Flanger, Phaser, Overdrive)
Loop Mode
Voicing wheel
Bass voicing
Animated display

The post Telepathic Instruments Orchid review: What’s not to love? appeared first on MusicTech.

Finding Accidental Streaming Success in a Niche MarketThis week, Ari is joined by Sol Rising to talk meditation, hip-hop roots, and 20+ albums of inspired electronic music.

Sesame, the conversational AI startup from Oculus founders, raises $250M and launches betaFormer Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe’s new startup, Sesame, is building AI-powered smartglasses with natural, humanlike voice interaction. Backed by Sequoia and Spark, the company also launched an invite-only iOS beta to preview its conversational AI.

Ocean Protocol’s team faces $250K bounty after $120M crypto dump allegationsWhile Ocean Protocol denied the allegations, onchain data points to an Ocean Protocol-linked multisignature wallet converting about 661 million Ocean tokens into 286 million FET.

Spotify holds a patent for tech that can generate song mashupsSpotify has patented a 'method, system, and computer-readable medium for creating song mashups'
Source

Judas Priest donate $100k to LAFDAccording to an announcement on Tuesday, "The members of Judas Priest were very pleased to donate $100,000 US to the LAFD before their show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 19th 2025."

"This was a contribution from the band to help the people who suffered damage due to the recent fires," a statement read. "The members of Judas Priest are pictured here meeting with six of the fire fighters when the band presented them with the check."

Photo by Kevin Estrada @KevinEstradaPhotography

The news comes shortly after Judas Priest released a version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" -- featuring the late Ozzy Osbourne -- for charity.

"This historic rendition of the Black Sabbath classic was released today, with all profits donated to The Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation and Cure Parkinson’s," they said. "Get it HERE."

"This emotionally charged release unites the titans of British heavy metal one last time in a project born from friendship, mutual respect and a shared mission to fight Parkinson’s disease - a cause close to the hearts of both bands. Initially conceived as a tribute video for Ozzy and Black Sabbath after Judas Priest were unable to join them at the Aston Villa show due to prior commitments with The Scorpions’ 60th Anniversary show in Hannover the project quickly grew in purpose and power."

"When Judas Priest suggested turning the tribute into a full-blown charity single, the idea struck a chord with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. With Glenn Tipton contributing guitars despite his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s and Rob Halford and Ozzy Osbourne trading alternate vocal lines, the result is a raw, soaring, and poignant version of the iconic 'War Pigs.'"

"A collaboration between the icons @judaspriest and @ozzyosbourne. All profits of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd and Epic Records in the UK from audio streams, downloads, and physical sales of the recording ‘War Pigs (Charity Version)’ will be donated to The Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation and Cure Parkinson’s."The post Judas Priest donate $100k to LAFD first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Open Source Hack Lets The Razer Nari Headset Work With LinuxThe Razer Nari is a decent wireless headset, but it’s a little oddball—because it uses a bespoke USB dongle for pairing. This is all well and good if you’re using a supported configuration; plug it into a Windows PC, run the utility, and you’re good to go. If you’re a Linux user, though, you were out of luck—but [JJ] has just solved that problem.
The tool was created by reverse engineering the pairing protocol used by Razer’s own proprietary software. [JJ] figured out the necessary pairing command, and how to send it to both the dongle and the headset. The headset itself must be connected by a USB cable when initiating the pairing process.
[JJ] believes the tool should work with any Razer Nari and dongle variant. However, the Nari Ultimate and Nari Essential models are yet to be tested, with verification still required. However, the pairing commands were extracted from Razer’s own tool and don’t appear to differ so it should probably work across the board. Setup is still a little fussy, particularly to get both the Game Audio and Chat Audio outputs working under Linux. However, [JJ] has helpfully provided the necessary detail to get everything up and running with PulseAudio and PipeWire setups.
Proprietary hardware can be frustrating to work with at times, but that’s never stopped hackers from reverse engineering their way to success before. If you’ve got your own projects in this vein, don’t hesitate to notify the tipsline!

Brazilian funk, phonk, and globalization’s grip: A battle for ownership and recognition
We dive into the state of Brazilian funk, phonk, and Brazilian phonk, featuring insights from leading artists and producers including d.silvestre, BADSISTA, and others.

Antares release AutoTune 2026 AutoTune 2026 not only introduces a new version of the ever-popular processor, but sees Antares restructure the overall product line-up.

Synapse Audio ProximaStep into the golden era of analog synthesis with Proxima, a meticulously crafted plug-in that brings the iconic warmth and character of a vintage analog synthesizer to your DAW. Powered by advanced circuit modeling, every nuance of the original hardware - from its rich oscillators to its lush filters and saturating amplifier - has been faithfully recreated with unparalleled precision. Proxima is based on a unique analog synth from 1982, famous for its rich 6-voice polyphony, signature Curtis analog chips, and the first synth ever to integrate MIDI input and output. While Proxima faithfully recreates the tone and character of the original hardware, additional features have also been added to facilitate the creative process and bring the hardware seamlessly into the sphere of soft synths. This includes additional filter types, a powerful modulation matrix with 10 slots, a comprehensive arpeggiator/sequencer, as well as an effect section to further shape the sound. Proxima is available in VST, AAX and Audio Unit formats, and supports MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE), as well as the Native Kontrol Standard (NKS). Powerful Arpeggiator/Sequencer Designed with ease of use in mind, the Arpeggiator/Sequencer in Proxima has an accessible and straightforward interface that simplifies the process of adding rhythmic or cyclical elements to a patch. Simple though it may be, it's also highly programmable and capable of complex modulations by virtue of its inclusion as a modulation source in the Mod Matrix. Advanced effects algorithms The effects section plays an important role in sound design. From soaring electric guitar-style leads to larger-than-life pads, the effects applied to a patch are a significant part of what gives it its final timbre. Proxima features summary Accurate circuit simulation. Two high-quality VA oscillators. Low- and band-pass filter types (12/24dB). 8x oversampled engine. Comprehensive effects section. Up to 12 voices of Polyphony. Advanced Arpeggiator/Sequencer with 5 modulation slots. Support for MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression). Support for MTS (Microtuning). Available as VST 3, Audio Unit and AAX. YouTube.com/watch?v=ofedpxeGIzU YouTube.com/watch?v=FDhufDCzWk4 Read More

Get JMG Sound’s Lofinity Degrader for $15 in 78% OFF Intro Deal
You can now score JMG Sound / United Plugins’ Lofinity degrader plugin for just $15 (normally $69) in a 78% off introductory deal. JMG Sound debuted the plugin on October 14, 2025, and the intro deal expires on November 30, 2025. Lofinity is a Windows and macOS release for VST, AAX, and AU.  JMG Sound [...]
View post: Get JMG Sound’s Lofinity Degrader for $15 in 78% OFF Intro Deal

Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 arrives Omnisphere 3 introduces thousands of new sounds along with a whole host of new synthesis features, additional effects, an Adaptive Global Controls system, MPE support, expanded hardware integration and more.

Musician’s Guide to Instagram: How to Make the Platform Work for YouThis Musicians' Guide To Instagram offers a practical playbook for artists who want to grow, engage, and monetize on Instagram.
The post Musician’s Guide to Instagram: How to Make the Platform Work for You appeared first on Hypebot.

What Musicians Need to Know About Sora 2Sora 2 from OpenAI is a robust AI text to video creation tool that presents both frightening and exciting possibilities. Here's what musicians need to know about Sora 2.
The post What Musicians Need to Know About Sora 2 appeared first on Hypebot.