Fans were alerted to the possibility of imminent new music at last week’s Sonar 2023 in Barcelona, when typically oblique Twitter posts asked frenzied treasure hunters to “LOOK OUT FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL”.
Today, Warp Records has announced a new EP by Aphex Twin (Richard D. James), Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760, scheduled to be released July 28, 2023.
The EP features four tracks:
Blackbox Life Recorder 21f
zin2 test5
in a room7 F760
Blackbox Life Recorder 22 [Parallax Mix]
In addition, Aphex Twin has released a video for Blackbox Life Recorder 21f, embedded above, featuring video art by Art by Weirdcore.
Aphex Twin is on tour in Europe this Summer and will perform at London’s Field Day festival on 19 August.
Squarp has introduced the Hermod+, a new version of their Hermod ‘modular brain’ for Eurorack systems.
The company says that Hermod+ is more than just an upgrade to the original Hermod – it is a new and improved creation in its own right.
The device features a wide screen and a grid-based, step-by-step sequencer, as well as dedicated tracks buttons, which allow for a more streamlined and intuitive workflow.
Roland today introduces the E-X10 arranger keyboard. Roland’s new E-X10 arranger keyboard looks like a fun and portable starter instrument packs over 500 sounds.
Just last week, Roland announced the release of the E-X50 arranger keyboard, an affordable instrument for use both at home and on stage.
The Roland E-X10 is essentially a slimmed-down version of the E-X50: equipped with an onboard stereo speaker system, it can run on six AA batteries and weighs just a touch under 4kg, making it a highly portable instrument that could be a great choice for impromptu jam sessions at a friend’s house or busking in the park.
The E-X10 is packed with over 500 sounds, covering everything from acoustic pianos sampled from Roland’s home and stage pianos, electric pianos and organs all the way through to synths, orchestral sounds and ‘world music’ instruments. These can be played through the instrument’s 61-key keyboard, outfitted with piano-style keys and said to deliver a ‘comfortable and responsive’ feel.
Roland’s E-X10 is aimed at those learning the keyboard, and offers a ton of features to help new players develop their skills. There’s 140 songs onboard to play along with, each of which includes three lessons. Thanks to the recording function, learners can capture and replay their performances to evaluate their progress and spot mistakes.
The E-X10’s auto-accompaniment feature enables you ‘command a full band’ with the left hand as you play along with your right, and offers over 200 preset styles of accompaniment, including rock, pop, jazz and even EDM.
Like the E-X50, the E-X10 features a microphone input, so you’re able to plug in a mic and sing along with whatever you’re playing, and though it lacks the E-X50’s Bluetooth audio capabilities, you can run external audio in through the aux input, meaning you’re able to play and sing along with songs from your music library. Thanks to its USB jack, the E-X10 can also be used as a MIDI controller to play software instruments on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.
