Warm Audio unveil WA-1B compressor The latest addition to Warm Audio’s range of hardware compressors offers the company’s take on the sought-after sound of Tube-Tech’s CL 1B.

RME ADI-2 Remote released Users of RME's ADI-2 series converters and headphone amplifiers can now control their device’s settings from a computer or iPad.

How To Write A Song: A Beginner’s Guide To Songwriting
Learning how to write a song is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a musician. As a songwriter, the buzz of creating something from nothing is a feeling you can’t get from playing other people’s music. However, writing songs for the first time can be daunting. So today, we’re breaking down [...]
View post: How To Write A Song: A Beginner’s Guide To Songwriting

LANDR launches a plugin, bringing its AI-powered auto-mastering to DAWsLANDR has launched Mastering Plugin, which brings it’s AI-powered auto-mastering to digital audio workstations for the first time.

READ MORE: Illa J calls out artists looking to profit from his brother’s name

Much like the LANDR’s online mastering platform, the plugin analyses any track and adapts its engine to its sonic characteristics, in turn delivering a personalised master.
To use the plugin, you simply need to load it into your master track and play the loudest section of the song. The plugin then detects the genre and pull together a mastering chain based on what it’s hearing. It then gives you three different mastering styles to choose from: warm, balanced and open.
Users can then further tweak the sound with the other mastering controls such as EQ and compression. There is also the option to dial in additional vocal presence, tweak the loudness or increase the width and spatialisation of the mix.
Other areas that can be changed is the level of the de-esser, and the saturation of the mix.
You can find out more below:

A free “test drive” of LANDR’s AI auto-mastering plug in is available, while users can either purchase the plug-in for $299 or access it as part of LANDR’s Studio Pro monthly subscription for $15.99.
In more LANDR news, it only recently announced the new Studio Pro monthly subscription service, offering over ten tools and LANDR Studio services. This also includes royalty-free samples and sounds, plug-ins and LANDR’s “groundbreaking” mastering technology, as well as distribution tools to release your music. You can also chat and share files with fellow users, and even hire vetted industry professionals directly from the platform,
Daniel Rowland, head of strategy and partnerships at LANDR, insists LANDR Studio is “the most feature-rich, high-value subscription offering ever created,” adding that the brand’s goal is “to meet creators of all kinds”.
For more information, you can head to LANDR.
The post LANDR launches a plugin, bringing its AI-powered auto-mastering to DAWs appeared first on MusicTech.

“I like to find weird stuff that’s mad rare”: Inside Carter Lang’s overflowing hardware havenCarter Lang, the prolific Post Malone, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X producer and the man behind SZA’s Ctrl, points at his kitchen counter. “I got a little space right here,” he says. It’s the only living space left in his house that’s not fallen victim his music gear obession.
It really is wild. He’s sacrificed 90 per cent of his LA-based home for swathes of instruments and studio gear. We’re aghast as he shows us, pacing around the space, passing stacked synths, towers of effects units and cables snaking throughout the house like it’s some sort of hacker’s hideout. The craziest thing is – the studio wasn’t even meant to be in the house in the first place.

READ MORE: “It was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio”: Tobtok teams up with farfetch’d for a friend-centred EP

“The story of the spot is,” he begins, “I found this place to rent three years ago.” The house was airy and bright, he tells us – just what Carter was looking for.
Carter Lang in his studio. Image: Nate Guenther
He walks across the driveway to where his actual studio is in the external shed/garage: “I turned the shed into a super studio with tons of synths. I tried to max out the patch bay and make it user-friendly. I built a little booth that never gets used and put my old high school drum kit in there. So, this was the space where I’d cook up for a while. The gear overflow was imminent, so I started putting stuff in my house.”

Carter Lang gained recognition for his significant contributions to SZA’s acclaimed 2017 album Ctrl. His journey began in Chicago’s thriving R&B/Hip-Hop scene, where he collaborated with artists from the Savemoney collective and Chance The Rapper. Trained in classical piano and bass guitar, he expanded his horizons during his time at Loyola University New Orleans, where he was exposed to diverse musical influences.
Back in his LA home, Carter recalls a period when he was really into collecting guitars, mentioning his beloved Hofner bass. That “kick”, as he calls it, then transformed into vintage rack delays from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
Carter Lang playing a Fender Jazzmaster. Image: Nate Guenther
It was just the start of Carter Lang’s vintage gear haul, however. “I like to find weird, funky stuff that might not be uber expensive but is mad rare,” he says. “The research leads me to those things. I love to geek out on that. It’s all about having unique pieces that inspire creativity.”
Carter recently acquired a chunky, vintage Mirano echo chamber, he proudly reveals. He also shows off a Scottish-made eight-track drum machine called Bandmaster, which gives you pre-recorded “weird disco beats and grooves” in the form of chunky tapes. There’s also a delicious-looking OpAmp Labs mixer.
The wall to wall collection of hardware doesn’t go unused, we must add, unless it’s broken. Truly dedicated to his craft, a usual day sees Carter move from room to room, figuring out which combinations of gear achieve the coolest results. He creates microsetups with a vision for the future, using his house as a test bed in which to experiment with and create a setup he could integrate into a proper studio.
Carter Lang and his synths. Image: Nate Guenther
“It becomes like this tower – even my coffee table got taken over!” He laughs, showing us an unstable stone tower of electronic studio gear slabs. “That’s like my space station of sorts. I keep stacking stuff on top of each other.
“Some gear should be stationary on the wall: you set it up and forget about it – EQs, compressors, and other boring things that don’t make noise. The fun gear, you want to move around.” He refers to a big modular synthesizer unit that can be wheeled around like a sofa. “Different instruments should have that ability without needing a patch bay. Sometimes you just want to break the rules and go direct. It doesn’t have to be super clean.”
Carter’s collaborations
The Chicago-born producer and songwriter isn’t just some mad scientist bouncing alone from room to room searching for a sonic formula. He’s a keen collaborator, having worked with the likes of Rihanna, Doja Cat and Mac Miller to just scratch the surface, and enjoys inviting artists to his home. In recent times, those artists have been the likes of Omar Apollo and Post Malone. In fact, Post’s track Sunflower, featuring rapper Swae Lee, was co-written and co-produced by Lang, featured on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and is now close to three billion streams on Spotify.

“Getting to work with Omar Apollo on his Ivory record was eye-opening. There was a special bond between Omar and I. He’d just plop down on the couch and we’d write these records together.
“It’s a privilege. Sometimes, you know, when you’re in a situation like that, you’re going to look back on it, and things are never going to be the same,” he says with a serious tone. “We have the opportunity to keep those things going with our friends, you know, with SZA, with Omar, with Post. These are things that are not one and done. We’re changing. We’re growing, and we’re allowing new relationships and new opportunities to come into our lives. And we deserve that for each other. That’s why we do it, you know?”

“For me, it’s about making the experience comfortable and memorable for the artist,” Carter says. “It’s not about showcasing what I can do but creating a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.
“I like to sit down with others and write together rather than having everything pre-prepared. It’s essential to let people experiment and have fun. You also need to know when to stop without being dismissive. It’s about giving space to let creativity flow naturally.”
Carter Lang and his synths. Image: Nate Guenther
Carter Lang is still pacing around his house as he speaks, excitedly showing us whichever pieces of studio gear might be noteworthy. He clearly doesn’t get to nerd out to this extent too often.
Constantly working away, seeing how to achieve a unique sound by combining his wealth of meticulously researched rare gear in his chaotic cave, it’s clever to see that Carter Lang didn’t get three billion streams and five Grammy nominations by twiddling his thumbs.
Follow Carter Lang on Instagram.
The post “I like to find weird stuff that’s mad rare”: Inside Carter Lang’s overflowing hardware haven appeared first on MusicTech.

Sequoia faces Congressional scrutiny over investments in ChinaOne of Silicon Valley’s most prominent investment firms will face government scrutiny over its investments in China. Sequoia Capital has received a polite but pointed request from Congress to enter into more detail on how it will prevent further U.S. investment dollars from advancing Chinese interests. Sequoia announced in June that it would be splitting […]
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OpenAI partners with G42 in Dubai eyeing Middle East expansionThe two companies said they plan to use OpenAI’s models in industries in which G42 has connections and experience, such as energy, finance, healthcare and public services.

Producer Crosstalk: Noah Sierota of EchosmithNoah Sierota, bassist with the Chino, California sibling trio Echosmith, has dabbled in production ever since the band’s 2013 debut Talking Dreams. In fact, he was exposed to engineering from a young age through his father Jeffery David, who collaborates with the group and is also a musician. For Echosmith, the 2023 third Echosmith record, the siblings chose Noah to guide it. “Cool Kids” from Talking Dreams has earned more than 145 million YouTube listens and in total the band has amassed more than one billion streams.

“I always knew what I wanted this record to be,” Sierota says of producing Echosmith. “I’ve come to the point that I know the steps to get us there. I spent a lot of time figuring out how I wanted to tell our story through music. It’s been a joy to map out that journey. I approach my production as an artist first because I am an artist. I did bring in other writers, musicians and our [former band member] brother Jamie, who helped to co-produce. My sister Sydney’s input was also crucial. She’s not just the singer. She’s a huge part of what we do.”

 Echosmith was recorded largely in Sierota’s home studio, which he’s assembled over the past several years. But parts––drums in particular––were locked in at Lucy’s Meat Market in Eagle Rock. Indeed, studio owner Pete Min was also recruited to engineer parts of the record. “He’s smart and creative,” the artist observes. “We then brought in friends and even non-musicians to show them what we’d done and to get their feedback. I love seeing where those conversations lead.”

Organically or intentionally, bands will nearly always evolve. Certainly that’s happened with Echosmith, which Sierota ascribes to each song being like its own story or journal entry. “The storytelling on this record is more raw and honest,” he notes. “It feels more personal than before. Every song is related to a story or experience. Sonically it’s really different because we’ve grown as musicians and gave ourselves permission to do a lot more. I’m a big fan of capturing audio in high quality and then running it through something like a crappy foot pedal. You know: getting it perfectly and then humbling it.”

Many creatives struggle with completing projects not because they don’t have ideas but because when there’s no firm deadline, opportunities for change will always be found. Sierota isn’t immune to such challenges. “I don’t believe that a song can ever be finished,” he observes. “There’s always more that I could do. I’ll hear some of our old stuff and think ‘I wish I’d done something more.’ But there’s value in letting something be what it is. Outside input is helpful as is a timeframe. We announced that this record was coming out before it was finished. Ultimately, there’s no such thing as perfect but when our foster kids sing along or dance to a song, we know it’s ready.”

Among his favorite studio gear is the Blue Bottle condenser tube mic, Hazelrig compressors and Chase Bliss' CXM 1978 reverb effects pedal. “That thing is not just a guitar pedal,” he asserts. “I used it all over the record and it was a ton of fun. The sonic quality is incredible. Being able to use faders instead of knobs changes how you’re moving things. It feels organic. Every producer should have one.”

The three most important lessons he’s learned as a producer are:

Give yourself space for contentment.  

It’s okay to learn to do things in the way that you want to do them.

Find a balance between needing and appreciating outside input but not being directed by it. The song is what should direct the production.

Echosmith dropped July. A tour planned for the fall kicked off in Europe, with U.S. dates to follow in the New Year. Sierota aims to produce not only future Echosmith records but other bands as well. “When I move, I plan to build a full-on studio where I’ll bring in outside artists,” he says. “I want to be able to support them in the same way that I support my own band.”

Contact echosmith.com; all socials = @echosmith; music - stem.ffm.to/echosmith; Carla Senft and Amanda Curtis - Press Here PR, carla@pressherepublicity.com, amanda@pressherepublicity.com

AI company Anthropic recently secured up to $4bn in investment from Amazon. Now it’s being sued for copyright infringement by Universal Music Group.The lawsuit claims that 'Anthropic profits richly from its infringement of Publishers’ repertoires and other copyright owners’ works'
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Bitwig Studio 5.1 beta now available The latest version of Bitwig Studio introduces ten new modules and a pair of new FX containers, as well as implementing a variety of improvements to the software’s mixer and audio editing functionality.

BMG expects to spend another $400m on catalog acquisitions this year – and just made its largest ever recorded music acquisition in FranceBMG has acquired the recorded music catalog of superstar French DJ and electronic music artist Martin Solveig
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Tape It Denoiser Is A FREE AI-Powered Noise Reduction Tool
Tape It releases Denoiser, a freeware AI-powered studio-quality noise reduction tool. Tape It is a German company founded by Thomas Walther in 2020. Although based in Berlin, Thomas leads a small remote team with members in London, LA, and Stockholm. Denoiser is an AI-powered noise reduction service promising studio-quality results for free. Tape It’s Denoiser [...]
View post: Tape It Denoiser Is A FREE AI-Powered Noise Reduction Tool

The latest version of Reaper is now available with new features and bug fixesUS-based digital audio brand Cockos has announced the newest update to its Reaper DAW, including a range of new features and fixes.
Reaper 7.001 landed just earlier this week (16 October), and a huge changelog has been made available online listing all of the adjustments made to the software.

READ MORE: Universal launches claims-free music and sound effects subscription service for content creators

As also summed up by Sound On Sound, Reaper 7 most notably now has a Track Lanes feature, which allows users to manage and organise alternative versions or takes of their in-progress piece. Using a new Swipe Comping tool, you can also quickly create composite takes by selecting parts from multiple versions of your track, and you can also run A/B comparisons with just one click.
Reaper users can also store and recall self-contained FX chains, even with complex routing configurations, and apply parallel routing to multiple plugins and FX Containers. Track channel and MIDI In/Out counts have been increased, with tracks now supporting up to 128 channels.
MIDI routing is able to handle up to 128 buses, and there are no restrictions on the number of tracks, send/receive paths, FX and ReScripts you can use. Other key features include:

V6 option for overlapping recording to create new media items is replaced by option to add lanes, but playback behaviour is identical to V6
Supports adding lanes by dragging media to a hashed ‘parking area’, automatically removing empty lanes
Supports naming individual lanes, resizing lane name area
Supports reordering fixed lanes by dragging lane buttons up/down
Displays media item volume knob, FX button, mute button by default
Enables preference to record media, copy imported media to project media directory by default
MIDI editor defaults to one editor per project

The update is free to those with a licence. View the full list of changes and find out more via Reaper.
The post The latest version of Reaper is now available with new features and bug fixes appeared first on MusicTech.

Illa J calls out artists looking to profit from his brother’s nameArtist and producer John Yancey, also known as Illa J, has called out “gross” artists in the music industry looking to profit from his brother’s name.
According to Illa J, people in the industry have been “using” him to get their name closer to his brother, J Dilla, who sadly passed away back in 2006.
Illa J shared the message in a video on his Instagram page, where he has been supported in the comments by users who have also shared their opinion that the music industry is “shady,” with others assuring him that he “deserves better.”
“I’ve been in this industry for almost 20 years now, and it’s just gross how people, not only do they use my brother, but they’re so gross that they literally use me to get to my brother,” he begins in the Instagram Reel.
“And they do it in such a gross way that it just makes me disappointed in this industry and in all these people that y’all think they love my brother so much, they just out here to make their name look closer to my brother but they really don’t give a fuck about him.
“You know what I mean? It’s kind of annoying and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of these fake-ass motherfuckers trying to act like they love my brother but they really don’t. They just care about their fucking pockets. All you motherfuckers [are] gross,” he concludes.
Illa J released his latest album, titled No Traffic, back in September which he performed, wrote and produced himself. A documentary about J Dilla was created by The New York Times and released on Hulu back in April this year. It was created with the knowledge and support from his family.

You can keep up to date with his latest announcements via the official Illa J website.
The post Illa J calls out artists looking to profit from his brother’s name appeared first on MusicTech.

Every member of Bandcamp United Union bargaining team was laid offAs news hit that about 60 of Bandcamp’s 118 employees had been laid off, one group was particularly affected – members of the Bandcamp United Union. All of the union’s. Continue reading
The post Every member of Bandcamp United Union bargaining team was laid off appeared first on Hypebot.