Archive for October, 2023

Terry Riley’s Composition ‘In the Summer’ on Buchla Music Easel

Electrum Modular shared this performance of seminal minimalist composer Terry Riley‘s composition, In The Summer, arranged for Buchla Music Easel.

 

What they shared about the performance:

I’ve been reading Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco’s excellent book, Analog Days. Apparently, when Don Buchla unveiled his prototype Buchla Box at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in 1965, the most enthusiastic witness was Terry Riley, the pioneer of minimalist music. “I think I’ll do some music on that,” Riley said.

Sadly, there’s no recording or other evidence of Riley playing the Buchla (at least that I can find). But given that they crossed paths at the Tape Music Center, I thought it would be appropriate to use the Buchla Music Easel to do a cover of one of my favorite Riley pieces: “In the Summer” (1974).

Composed for the soundtrack of art-house film, Lifespan, this piece was reissued in 2007 on the CD, Les Yeux Fermés & Lifespan.”

 

Muro Box-N40 Chromatic MIDI Music Box Now Available to Pre-order


Muro Box Global has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of the N40, a MIDI-compatible music box that has a built-in pickup and audio output.
The N40 builds on the original Muro Box, with expanded range to 40 chromatic notes and more. Two options are available:

  • The N40 Sublime edition is their flagship version. It features two sets of combs, detuned by 14 cents to create a chorus effect. It features a solid brass base and aged acacia case.
  • The N40 Standard design features a zinc alloy base and maple case.

Both the N40 Sublime and N40 Standard support Din 5 midi and USB-C MIDI control:

The developers market the N40 as both a high-end, programmable music box and as a MIDI-controllable instrument.

Here’s synthesist/instrument designer Christophe Duquesne demonstrating the N40 in a cinematic ‘Halloween style’ electro-acoustic performance, featuring the N40 music box paired with La Voile from La Voix du Luthier, an Eagan Matrix Module from Haken Audio and an Osmose from Expressive E.

A music-only example from Duquesne, demonstrating how MIDI control and the audio output make it easy to use the N40 for professional recording:


The N40 Music Box is being produced via a Kickstarter project, and it is available to backers starting at $972. The project has already met its funding goal. The smaller N20 is also available for $299, but with a smaller range and no MIDI control.

*Note: Crowdfunded projects can involve risk. See the project website for details.

 

 

Here’s What’s New in FL Studio 21.2


FL Studio’s latest version has an iconic synth, stem separation and will upload your music to Spotify.

Line-Image has announced the release of FL Studio v21.2 DAW. There are software updates, and then there are FL Studio updates. The latest version of this widely-used DAW features a new synth and AI-driven stem separation, plus a new cloud service to help you get your music distributed.

From its very first iteration as Fruity Loops a quarter of a century ago, FL Studio’s developer, Image-Line, has always been generous with its updates – not least by making them free for life from the very start. Imagine how smug (and how old) a v1 Fruity Loops buyer is right now. They’ve had 25 years of free updates, and with this latest version they’re getting a free synth, stem separation technology and a magic cloud to release their music.

The first addition in v21.2  is the synth (above) which might not look that exciting at first, but strangely familiar on closer inspection. Yes, ‘Kepler’ is based on the Roland Juno-6 and features the same DCO/Filter/LFO front panel and even the famous Juno chorus. Image-Line says, “very careful attention was paid to analyzing the oscillators, filters and interaction of the controls to make a sound that does justice to the original classic”.

Next is the new stem separation feature. This allows any audio to be split into its component parts – usually by frequency band – so you can take instruments and vocals out of stereo mixes, for example. There are various plugins that do this, of course, but Image-Line has built the feature in so you can do separation “directly from within FL Studio”.

Image-Line is more excited about the cloud addition to FL Studio. The new cloud service is called  – FL Cloud which as well as being a shop window to buy extra artist samples, loops and one shots, is also designed to be a link between your DAW music-making and your potential audience.

On top of the extra samples for your music making, you can access AI-powered mastering, and hopefully some fans. FL Cloud also enables you distribute your music to streaming platforms through DistroKid, a service that describes itself as “the easiest way for musicians to get music into Spotify”.

Distrokid claims to do a lot for its customers, including getting them paid when their music is used on YouTube, creating videos for them and getting them access to a official YouTube artist channel.

Here’s What’s New in FL Studio v21.2:

FL Cloud – Built right inside FL Studio, FL Cloud delivers:

  • Fully-integrated sample library – A vast, ever-growing library of loops and one-shots, including exclusive Artist Packs, with all loops automatically synced to Project tempo.
  • AI-powered mastering – Masters created in seconds, tailored with presets for all major genres and loudness-optimized for all major streaming and download platforms.
  • Digital distribution – Powered by DistroKid, an unlimited number of tracks can be released to Spotify, Apple Music, and all major digital platforms.

There are several ways to use FL Cloud:

  • Subscription – Unrestricted, credit-free access to all features. Download any sound at any time without worrying about how many credits they have left, or whether or not they will expire.
  • Free features – A curated, credit-free library of loops and one-shots, plus unlimited use of mastering, using a Default genre preset.
  • Credit packs – FL Studio users and trial users can access any sounds from the full library, including Artist Packs, with the purchase of non-expiring credits.

All of these cloud extras are going to cost, although Image-Line says that “FL Cloud includes free features for all FL Studio users”. However, the bulk of the fun stuff will be on subscription at $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. There’s also a special introductory annual subscription price of $49.99.

Find more information and download the latest v21.2 update on Image-Line website.