Sonicware has released LIVEN Ambient Ø version 1.5, a firmware update that adds microtonal support, new options for audio input processing, a new ‘Relaxation’ playback mode and more.
New in version 1.5:
Version 1.5 brings 7 different tuning systems per pattern, including Pure Intonation – Major / Minor, Pythagorean Tuning – Sharp / Flat, and Solfeggio Frequencies, in addition to the standard Equal Temperament. (Supports master tuning from 410Hz to 470Hz)
Includes 64 sound pattern palettes, featuring 32 newly added sounds & patterns, along with 16 Sound Healing Vibes sounds.
Relaxation Playback Mode – Arrange your favorite patterns, set repeats and fade-outs, then let it gently fill your space with ambient sound.
Line In Selectable on NOISE Layer – Apply Filter, LFOs, and other track-level controls to the input signal.
New LFO Waveforms & Assignment – Three slow LFOs (L.SIN, L.TRI, L.S.RN) added, plus Oscillator Level as a destination.
A demo of version 1.5:
Topics covered:
00:17 Introduction
00:45 How to Update to v1.5
03:55 Selecting 64 Preset Patterns
04:54 Relaxation Playback Mode
08:05 Temperament Settings for Each Pattern
12:07 2 Master Tune Modes
16:39 New LFO Waveforms & Assignment
23:41 Line In Selectable on NOISE Layer
27:47 Other Improvements ~ Outro
The update is available now via the Sonicware site.
The ‘kosmische custodians’ at German label Bureau B have announced an upcoming album ‘Nightfall’ from former Tangerine Dream member Peter Baumann.
It is Baumann’s first solo album since Machines Of Desire (2016).
Here’s what they have to say about the new album:
“Baumann’s artistic vision has long been shaped by his exploration of the human condition. From his pioneering work with Tangerine Dream to his influential New Age imprint, Private Music, and his philosophical pursuits through the Baumann Foundation, his creativity and curiosity remain undiminished.
Nightfall is the latest chapter in his five-decade journey—an deeply emotional album that embraces impermanence to transport the listener into a series of shapeshifting soundscapes.
“I love instrumental music because it bypasses any concepts, it is an expression that words can never capture,” notes Baumann. “We can’t hear music exactly the same way twice, it’s always experienced differently, sometime slightly sometimes substantially. Like a river, never exactly the same.”
Peter Baumann’s Nightfall will be available May 16, 2025, on CD, LP & digital.
The Guthman Musical Instrument Competition has announced this year’s results, and the Passepartout Duo & KOMA Elektronik Chromaplane was selected as the 1st place winner.
The annual competition celebrates musical passion, entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation by showcasing new musical instruments from creative engineers who are pushing the boundaries of instrument design.
The Chromaplane is an instrument that uses two electromagnetic pickup coils to interact with a cloud of electromagnetic fields laid out in an isomorphic pattern on its flat surface. Designed in 2021 and refined in collaboration with KOMA Elektronik, it operates entirely in the analog domain, providing a responsive and polyphonic playing experience without conventional knobs or keyboards.
The official competition video:
You can find out more about the Chromaplane at the KOMA site.
The 2nd Place winner was the Lockruf Music Mulatar, which combines elements of slide guitar, harp, and percussion into a single instrument.
Moving bridges allow musicians to adjust notes freely, while the harp section supports quick retuning, and the body functions as a drum.
The 3rd Place winner was Dinosaur Choir: Adult Corythosaurus, created by Courtney Brown & Cezary Gajewski.
The Dinosaur Choir recreates the vocalizations of extinct dinosaurs using CT scans, 3D fabrication, and physically-based modeling synthesis.
Musicians can produce sound by blowing into a mouthpiece, which drives a computational voice box and resonates through a 3D-printed reconstruction of a dinosaur’s skull and nasal passages.
Full results are available at the competition site.
