Humor in Hip-Hop: Exploring the Rise of TikTok RappersA new cohort of rappers is emerging from TikTok, finding humor in hip hop and gaining traction with comedic, un-serious lyricism and clever marketing tactics. Humor in Hip-Hop by Henry. Continue reading
The post Humor in Hip-Hop: Exploring the Rise of TikTok Rappers appeared first on Hypebot.

What is a spectrogram?
Learn about what a spectrogram is, how to read one, and the unique findings it can uncover about your audio.

RELIC joins UJAM Virtual Pianist range Described as the imperfect upright, the latest arrival to UJAM’s range of virtual instruments is said to provide the perfect sound for song accompaniments and lyrical rhythm elements.

Get 3 IK Multimedia T-RackS Plugins FREE With Loopcloud Subscription
A new month in music production means new deals and freebies, and as per usual, Loopcloud is offering some new freebies with their subscription. Loopcloud is a service that provides tons of samples for music producers with a subscription.  There are 3 tiers: Artist ($7.99), Studio ($11.99) and Professional ($21.99) and you can claim the [...]
View post: Get 3 IK Multimedia T-RackS Plugins FREE With Loopcloud Subscription

Roland teams up with New Balance for 808-styled sneaker, bringing together “the worlds of music, fashion, and technology” for 808 DayRoland has teamed up with footwear brand New Balance for the launch of some super sleek TR-808-themed shoes in honour of 808 Day on 8 August.
The special edition Tiago Lemos NM808 x Roland sneaker “celebrates the TR-808’s profound impact on music and culture, while also highlighting the intersection of skateboarding, hip-hop, and fashion”.

READ MORE: Behringer and Roland dominate in new world map showing most popular synth brands by country

The NM808 launch blends the style of skate legend Tiago Lemos with the New Balance aesthetic, reflecting the significant influence that skate culture and hip-hop have had on fashion trends over the years.
This partnership both pays homage to the iconic drum machine but also highlights how music, skateboarding, and street style continue to shape and redefine contemporary fashion. Available in a sleek black colour with accents of white, orange and yellow, these sneakers are engineered for both style and performance, featuring a reinforced toe cap, internal foam pods for a secure fit, and foot-locking straps.
To commemorate this collaboration, a special short film featuring Tiago Lemos and renowned DJ and producer Cut Chemist will also be released on New Balance’s YouTube channel on 808 Day.
“Hip-hop has been the soundtrack for my skating, and at the heart of many classics was the 808. To have a collaboration with the legendary Roland 808 on my shoe is an honour,” comments Lemos.
Cut Chemist also adds, “The 808 is responsible for some of the most recognizable beats in modern music history. It completely changed the game and is just as relevant today as it was at its inception. It’s truly the most important drum machine in hip-hop.”
The Tiago Lemos NM808 x Roland shoes are available now via New Balance. They will also be rolling out to select New Balance stores worldwide, Roland’s retail store in Tokyo, and through Roland Lifestyle’s web store on 808 Day.
Roland Lifestyle and New Balance have also collaborated on a limited capsule collection featuring hoodies, t-shirts, and hats, available exclusively on the Roland Lifestyle web store.
The post Roland teams up with New Balance for 808-styled sneaker, bringing together “the worlds of music, fashion, and technology” for 808 Day appeared first on MusicTech.

Leak suggests a Medieval EP-133 from Teenage Engineering is on the wayGather round the lute, we’ve a tale to tell ye – according to a sneaky leak shared on social media, a Medieval EP-133 from Teenage Engineering could potentially be on the way.
No official information is available online right now on this suspected new product, but a screenshot shared to Reddit suggests that a new product, called the EP-1320, was accidentally put out for sale at a Guitar Center in the US. The alleged new product will supposedly land this August.

READ MORE: New earbuds by Teenage Engineering-founded firm Nothing feature ChatGPT integration

“Yo! I saw this today at the Guitar Center in Austin. I tried buying it and almost got away with it but the associate said they mistakenly had them out and won’t be released until August 7,” reads the post.
“It’s an EP-1320 Medieval. The text on the back of the box is in latin. Very peculiar. I’ve found no information on it online. Could it just be a new colourway of the EP-133? Could it be an entirely new machine? Guess we’ll find out on the 7th!”
New EP133 on the way AUG 7th!! byu/Trav4Forex inteenageengineering

MusicTech has contacted Teenage Engineering for comment on this alleged new launch. One thing we do know to be true is that the brand does love to release some extraordinary gear.
From its very expensive field desk to its weird wooden singing dolls, Teenage Engineering has put out some interesting launches over the years. One of its most popular though, is its EP-133 K.O.II, which dropped in November 2023.
Speaking to MusicTech back in January, David Eriksson, co-founder and head of hardware at the company said he was surprised by the huge reaction it received at its launch. “It was a bit overwhelming — we knew it would be popular, but that popular? I think we had different opinions.”
He added, “We’re not at all market-driven. I mean, most big companies on this planet are; they try to predict what might sell well. I think we’re probably the opposite.”
View the current product range from Teenage Engineering. Check back here at MusicTech for more updates as we get them.
The post Leak suggests a Medieval EP-133 from Teenage Engineering is on the way appeared first on MusicTech.

ROLI Seaboard Block M has the most expressive power you’ll find in a portable instrument£299.95, roli.com
ROLI’s Seaboard Block, released in 2017, was the company’s way of bringing the essence of its larger instruments — the Grand and Rise — to a wider audience in a more compact and affordable package. Following well-publicised turmoil in recent years, ROLI is back with a new version, Seaboard Block M. The team tells us it’s the model that people most frequently requested ROLI bring back and you can see why, pitched as it is between the heavyweight Rise 2 and the much smaller Block units, since discontinued.

READ MORE: ROLI on the Seaboard BLOCK M: “MPE has become accepted in many producer’s workflows — MIDI 2.0 will be another big step forward”

There really are only a couple of differences between the previous Block and the new M, with ROLI taking the view that they were mostly happy with the existing design. The only major new feature is a hardware MIDI output port — a 2.5mm to DIN cable is supplied — for connecting directly to your synths and other gear. Elsewhere, small modifications have been made to the design of the keywaves, the tactile ‘notes’ on the playing surface, but these are subtle.
The instrument is compact and portable, weighing in at just 650g. With no moving parts it’s robust and you feel safe carrying it in a rucksack alongside your laptop, with the option to add a carry case if you like. There’s a 10-hour internal battery that charges in 4-5 hours including when it’s tethered to your computer over USB-C using USB MIDI.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Bluetooth lets you perform without a physical connection and, in addition to the hardware MIDI out, which will be handy for fans of modular equipment, there are two ‘DNA’ connectors. These are magnetic terminals you can use to snap on additional Seaboard Block Ms or the smaller Block units.
ROLI’s core approach is the embrace of what it calls 5D Touch, a system that uses MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) to add new dimensions to the way you play and control sounds. In the company’s early days, support for MPE across the industry was patchy at best but has now improved significantly; DAWs such as Cubase, Logic Pro, Bitwig, Cakewalk and a host of synth plugins all support it.
MPE is also baked into ROLI’s own stable of software of course. Purchasing a Block M gets you ROLI Studio Player, a standalone app and plugin containing patches from the company’s flagship instruments Equator2, Strobe2 and Cypher2. Designed to partner with the hardware, it also contains manual controls for effects, sound shaping and powerful arpeggiator and Smart Chord tools for livening-up your performances.
ROLI Studio Drums. Image: MusicTech
While Block M does expression incredibly well it’s not physically best-suited to piano-style playing of repeated notes or chords, so these software tools go a long way towards remedying that. You also get ROLI Studio Drums with a bunch of kits you can play and mash up in creative ways. If you want to go the whole hog, a licence for the flagship Equator2 MPE soft synth is $249.
There’s also the Dashboard app which provides a way to customise the behaviour and response of the instrument; vital since it has no display of its own. Here you can tweak the curves for the five MPE dimensions – strike, glide, slide, pressure and lift, making them more or less sensitive. Each one maps to a parameter on a compatible instrument patch making it possible to control things like bend, swell, intensity and much more with your fingers.
ROLI’s keywaves involve a starkly different way of performing compared to a regular keyboard and so do take some getting used to. Initially, the sheer range of things that change as you slide and press on the surface can be overwhelming. A great way to start is to activate Piano Mode in the Dashboard which makes the keywaves behave more like piano keys, each one triggering a single pitch instead of bending wildly with the slightest movement of a finger. There’s still a ton of expressiveness but it’s less disconcerting until you get used to the system.
Seaboard Block M dashboard. Image: MusicTech
Block M’s smaller keywaves encourage you to play fewer notes, but play them more expressively. You can play polyphonically but this isn’t like sitting at a piano, at least not unless you are experienced with the system and comfortable with its advanced techniques. The availability of chord mode and the arpeggiator mitigates this somewhat and means you can increase the complexity of patterns without using more fingers. Plus there’s a lot of customisation available that will help you make the instrument behave in a way that suits you, and effects in the software that lend more depth and space to your performances.
Ultimately, the Seaboard family is a unique instrument, not just a keyboard with more expression and as such it won’t be for everyone. Performing with keywaves is immensely powerful but does take some learning. That said, it’s unlike any kind of MIDI instrument you’ll have played before if you’re unfamiliar with ROLI. A small size and long battery life make Block M super portable and flexible, and its ability to operate in wired or wireless modes is handy.
For modular gear fans the new MIDI out port is a definite bonus and while it might not necessarily prompt you to trade in your original model for this new one, it’s great for anyone buying now. You also get a software bundle that provides an excellent jumping-off point for creating with MPE, plus there’s a fair chance your existing DAW will work with the protocol too.
Priced significantly lower than the Rise 2, Block M gives you an entry point into the world of 5D touch to explore new forms of expression that are genuinely liberating.
Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Key features

24 multi-touch keywaves
DNA connectors for other ROLI gear
USB-C and Bluetooth MIDI
5D Touch
MIDI 2.5mm output port
Octave transpose controls
10-hour battery life
Dashboard app for customisation
ROLI Studio software instrument
Sound Store voucher

The post ROLI Seaboard Block M has the most expressive power you’ll find in a portable instrument appeared first on MusicTech.

Nembrini Audio reveal Double Reverb plug-in Double Reverb Guitar Amplifier is said to faithfully reproduce the sound of one of Fender's most praised amps, offering a responsive, realistic playing experience.

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Classical Highlights for July 2024The classical albums of note this month found our reviewers covering both the familiar in new ways and the unfamiliar. Among the former are orchestrations of Brahms' music by later composers, conducted by Michael Stern. Among the latter is the third volume of Haydn's Piano Trios from Trio Gaspard (pictured).

The Bitcoin bottom is not in — BTC traders set price targets in low $40K rangeCrypto traders appear to agree that today’s market rout is far from over.

Lucid pumps $1.5B from Saudi wealth fund after CEO warned relying on its ‘bottomless wealth’ was ‘dangerous’Saudi Arabia is committing even more money to Lucid Motors as the EV startup struggles to erase its losses. Lucid announced Monday as part of its second-quarter earnings report that an affiliate of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is committing another $1.5 billion, with half coming in the form of a private placement and the […]
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Amazon Needs a Music CoordinatorAmazon is seeking a Music Coordinator to join the dynamic music team supporting the Studios Film and TV productions for Latin America. The Music Coordinator will work closely with the Head of Music and be an integral part to the music team. This position is based in Miami, FL.

Apply here: geebo.com The post Amazon Needs a Music Coordinator first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

A Two-Stroke Engine Made From Scratch Using Basic Hardware Store PartsA working DIY two-stroke in all of its glory, with the flywheel removed. (Credit: Camden Bowen)
How hard could it to be to build a two-stroke internal combustion engine (ICE) from scratch? This is a challenge that [Camden Bowen] gladly set for himself, while foregoing such obvious wastes of time like first doing an in-depth literature study on the topic. That said, he did do some research and made the design in OnShape CAD before making his way over to the hardware store to make some purchases.
As it turns out, you can indeed build a two-stroke engine from scratch, using little more than some metal piping and other parts from the hardware store. You also need a welder and a lathe, with [Camden] using a Vevor mini-lathe that totally puts the ‘precision’ in ‘chatter’. As building an ICE requires a number of relatively basic parts that have to move with very little friction and with tight tolerances, this posed some challenges, but nothing that some DIY spirit can’t fix.
In the case of the very flexible boring bar on the lathe, improvising with some sturdy metal stock welded to a short boring bar resolved that, and precision was achieved. Together with an angle grinder, [Camden] was then able to manufacture the crank case, the cylinder and crank shaft and all the other pieces that make up an ICE. For the carburetor he used a unit off Amazon, which turned out to have the wrong throat size at 19 mm, but a 13 mm version worked. Ultimately, the first ICE constructed this way got destroyed mostly by running it dry and having the starter fluid acting as a solvent, but a full rebuild fixed all the issues.
This second attempt actually ran just fine the first time around, with oil in the crank case so that the poor engine wasn’t running dry any more. With a 40:1 fuel/oil mixture the little engine idles and runs as well as a two-stroke can, belching blue smoke and making a ruckus. This answers the question of whether you can build a two-stroke ICE with basic machining skills and tools, but of course the question that’s now on everyone’s lips is whether a four-stroke one would be nearly as ‘easy’. We wait with bated breath.

In case you missed it… HYBE, the company behind superstars BTS and Seventeen, just launched a label services business in the USMBW Explains is a series of analytical features in which we explore the context behind major music industry talking points
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