AudioKit’s new iPad app, Synth One, is an extremely exciting passion project that could become a major contender against the paid-for alternatives…

It’s described as “the first completely free & open-source professional iOS Synthesizer app in history”.

It was created over two years by 100 volunteers around the globe, including sound designers for Kanye West, M83, Tycho and Rihanna. Not only is the instrument completely free, users won’t see any ads or sponsors, and none of the participants of the project has made any money.

It’s the purest of passion projects and one that opens a lot of exciting doors for the mobile music making community.

Thanks to being open-source users can use the code to learn how to build their very own synth or modify Synth One, but you should take a look at its already impressive credentials before tumbling down that rabbit hole.

A hybrid analogue/FM poly with 5 oscillators, 2 assignable LFOs, 16-step sequencer, an arpeggiator, filters, ADSR envelopes for amp, filter and multitap delay, as well as MIDI Learn for all knobs.

It’s currently compatible with Audiobus 3 and Inter-App audio, with Ableton Link, MPE and AUv3 support in the pipeline.

Head to the App Store and try it out yourself.

Avantone Pro has announced the CLA10 Passive Monitoring Speakers, which look to become the new reference speaker for the modern age…

Here’s the full story from Avantone:

For decades, a large number of studios have relied on the classic NS10M reference speaker to gain further insight into midrange frequencies, monitor gain levels to cater sessions appropriately for consumer audio products, and overall achieve a genuinely comparative mix.

Since 2001 (to the surprise of many) the famed NS10 design from Yamaha’s Akira Nakamura has been out of production and a state of rising prices and second-hand trading has been present ever since.

Reimagining An Industry Classic

After travelling the world to source the original speaker pulp manufacturers, Avantone embarked on a mission to create a new monitoring speaker faithful to the voicing, frequency response, dimensions and power requirements of the original classic design: presenting the Avantone Pro CLA10.

Additionally, Avantone intended to make the design as repeatable as possible to ensure uniform voicing, frequency and build quality across every new speaker they manufactured. In place of the lapped seam technique used in the original woofers, the CLA10’s cone is machine-pressed to achieve the same frequency response and speed of movement, every time. Better quality internal crossover components have also been selected, and the banana plugs at the rear of the MDF chassis have been upgraded with modern fittings for longer life and improved ease of use.

With the knowledge that the NS10M model had varied so much between different production batches, a stage of mass testing through one of the world’s largest collection of vintage NS10 units was undertaken to ensure that the new voicing was faithful to the broader NS10 range as a whole rather than an isolated batch (or pair).

Enter Chris Lord-Alge

One of Avantone’s principal consultants in the CLA10’s development and a true music industry polymath, Chris Lord-Alge’s long list of credits include mixing artists from James Brown to Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Joe Cocker. No stranger to collaboration with audio developers, in 2010 Lord-Alge also made his first foray into signature recording tools with the Waves ‘CLA’ collection of audio plugins.

As a fanatical user of the NS10Ms over several decades, Lord-Alge was consulted heavily on the design of the new product to ensure it would tick the necessary voicing and aesthetics boxes for the industry’s best mixing and mastering engineers. As a seal of approval on the final product, the new model features both his initials and signature.

Pricing and Availability:
The CLA10 monitors are available to pre-order now with an expected shipping date of Q3 2018 and will cost £660 inc VAT. Based in the UK or Germany? Head to SCV Distribution to secure your pair and any other Avantone products. For further information head to Avantone’s website.

String Machines 2 is a massive update from UVI, which adds 51 new synths, a revamped dual-layer architecture, new interface and more…

Here’s UVI with all the details:

Paris, July 4th, 2018 – UVI releases String Machines 2, a massive update to their string synthesizer instrument, now including sounds from 62 machines across 355 patches. New features entail a revamped dual-layer architecture, redesigned interface, powerful new built-in modulations, and an expanded master effects section in which the new authentic ensemble effect modeled after the Roland RS-505 can be found.

String Machines 2 adds 51 new machines to the 11 originals, making it both a deep archive, as well as an expansive and powerful modern instrument. Explore classic string synths like the Solina, Freeman String Symphonizer and Rhapsody as well as extremely rare models including the SK50D, Logan Vocalist, Jen SM2007 and more.

Take full control of your sound with amp ADSR, multi-mode filter, voicing, stereo, LFO and step modulators and arpeggiator for each layer. Version 2 sees the addition of powerful new built-in modulations and an expanded master effects section, including EQ, Drive, Thorus, Phasor, Delay, Sparkverb and the new Roland RS-505 modeled ensemble effect.

355 professionally-designed patches are included in String Machines 2, providing a wealth of vintage and modern-influenced arpeggios, bells, brass, bass, chords, keys, leads, pads, plucks strings and sweeps with distinct, warm analog tones. Patches and machines can be quickly browsed, edited and layered together, choosing from 842 sounds in the updated voice architecture to create a near-limitless variety of sound design potential.

Everything from subtle mix-based adjustments to creating completely new patches can be done quickly and easily through a straightforward and intuitive unified interface. String Machines 2 is a rich sonic archive of warm analog sounds from an exceedingly rare breed of synthesizer, offering a huge range of character from vintage to modern and beyond.

String Machines 2 offers native 64-bit standalone operation by way of Falcon or the free UVI Workstation, providing comprehensive support for all modern DAWs and simultaneous authorization on up to 3 computers or iLok keys.

Pricing and Availability:
String Machines 2 is available immediately at an introductory price of $74 / 74€ through July 11th, 2018 (regularly $99 / 99€). Owners of the original String Machines, Vintage Vault or Vintage Vault 2 may upgrade at the special price of $39/39€ through July 11th, 2018. Head to the product page for further information.

Nectar Elements is the latest affordable audio plug-in from iZotope that promises easy of use and versatile, intelligent vocal processing…

Combining compression, de-essing, tonal and subtractive EQ, pitch correction and reverb, Nectar Elements is described as “universally useful from advanced engineers looking to save time to new users wanting to understand what makes a perfect vocal.” Adding to those 6 effects is the new Vocal Assistant, the latest innovation in iZotope’s Machine Learning technology, which we’re told will adapt to any user’s vocal sound and automatically choose the optimal setting.

And it’s not limited to a few genres says iZotope. Whether you’re working on rock, rap or spoken word, Nectar Elements can “form-fit to any vocal”.

Pricing & Availability:
Nectar Elements and an updated Elements Suite will be available July 11th and will be on sale from July 11-31, 2018:

• Nectar Elements is available for $99 USD ( reg. £129) £87.00 (reg. £119.00), €99.00 (reg. €129.00)
• Elements Suite is available for $149 USD (reg.199)£139.00 (reg. £179.00), €149.00 (reg. €199.00)

For further information head to the product page.

Bitwig Studio 2.4 is a major forthcoming update to the DAW, featuring a massive overhaul of its sampling tools, workflow improvements and some new features…

Lead with the “Let’s Go Samplin'” tagline, version 2.4 is going all in. The update features a “reborn” Sampler, complete with granular and wavetable techniques, plus Repitch, Cycles and Textures for greater sample editing. Additionally, 2.4 brings with it new on-screen visualisations, the new ParSeq-8 sequencer, MIDI channel support and an updated Multisample Editor.

There’s no concrete date for the release of Bitwig Studio 2.4, but release is expected this summer where anyone with an active Upgrade Plan can download it for free. Beta testing will be starting shortly. For full information on all the new features head to the Bitwig website.

Chiltern Music Therapy has launched iPod Pharmacy, a new initiative that aims to help children and adults through recycled iPods…

The iPod Pharmacy is a scheme that involves people donating their old, unused iPods to Chiltern where they are reconditioned and loaded with personalised playlists and tracks for music therapists to loan out to their patients and clients. The treatment helps hospitalised children and adults, as well as the elderly in care homes with little or no access to technology and music. The program has already been hugely successful in Canada, and Chiltern are hoping it enjoys the same success in the UK.

If you’d like to get involved with this great cause, there’s a couple of different ways you can go about it. Either donate your old iPod(s) to the charity, either via post or at a local depot (details of your nearest can be found at chilternmusictherapy.co.uk), or donate £5 or £10 towards a personal playlist for a patient. Chiltern are also encouraging people to set up their own local iPod Pharmacy teams and depots, with local depots gaining support from the charity through posters and marketing materials.

Elizabeth Nightingale from Chiltern Music Therapy said: “There are over 1000 qualified music therapists in the UK working with tens of thousands of children and adults each year. Music Therapists work in a myriad of ways and places, but the core element of using the power of music to make a positive change for someone is central to all our work. Chiltern Music Therapy are delighted to be the exclusive UK partners of the hugely successful iPod Pharmacy initiative and this fantastic scheme will help our therapists to reach more people in need using music”

Support for the charity has already gained names such as Jazz FM and Yamaha, with the latter pledging a pair of headphones for every iPod donated, so all recipients get the complete audio package. Both brands will also be supporting the run-up event to Love Supreme Festival at Glynde Place (29th July-1st August), where there’ll also be an iPod Pharmacy drop in/drop off point.

Get involved and visit www.chilternmusictherapy.co.uk/ipodpharmacy for more information.

Polar Flare is the brand new Expansion from Native Instruments that channels the natural world with organic, glacial electronica…

NI tells us that Polar Flare captures the otherworldly sounds heard in artists such as Boards of Canada, Caribou, Bonobo, Four Tet and beyond. Featuring metallic clanges, forest crackles, atmospheric synths, dreamy vocals and more, it looks to be suitable for a broad range of musical styles.

Created by Danish studio Six Bit Deep alongside Scandinavian vocalists including Josephine Phillip and Connor Fitzpatrick, Polar Flare’s sounds originate from the remote island of Bornholm, Denmark.

Here, the team recorded the sounds of surrounding life and compiled it into kits for Battery and Maschine, with further recording of classic analog synths, Rhodes keys and vocals taking place in nearby studio in an old church. New Massive and Monark presets focused on organic sounding bells, basses and pads are also included.

Pricing and Availability:
Polar Flare is available now exclusively at the NI Online Shop for $49/€49/£44/¥6,280/AU$79.

DrumBrute Impact is the newest addition to the ‘Brute’ family, that promises huge sonics and incredible performance at an affordable price…

The brand new all-analogue drum machine features 10 new, tweakable drum sounds, drum-optimised output distortion, a polyrhythmic 64-step sequencer and the all-new “Color” layer, which allows you to make dramatic changes on the fly. These changes can be activated on individual channels or via programming using the sequencer, opening up new creative possibilities.

Created with live performance very much at its heart, DrumBrute Impact sports full-size controls and 8 responsive pads, which are made up of:

KICK: pounding bass drum with nice attack transients and variable pitch and decay.
SNARE 1: a big-bodied snare with great, editable snap and decay.
SNARE 2: a trashy snare with a hint of clap, with adjustable tone and decay.
TOM HIGH: simple but powerful high tom with sweepable pitch.TOM LOW: pants-shaking low tom that can get so low you could use it as a 2nd kick.
CYMBAL: zingy, metallic crash with adjustable decay.
COWBELL: a simple but effective percussive cowbell.CLOSED HAT: hard-hitting hat with variable tone that also effects the Open Hat.
OPEN HAT: open up the hat sound with changeable decay with a mute controlled by the Closed Hat.
FM DRUM: a percussive synth voice with adjustable carrier pitch, decay, FM amount, and mod pitch.

Impact also features 4 extra output buses for post-processing and multi-tracking, plus full MIDI/USB/Analogue clock I/O so you can sync in and out with modular or vintage gear, contemporary synths and outboard, as well as DAW and Arturia MCC integration via USB.

DrumBrute Impact key features:

• 10 in-your-face analog sounds: high-impact drum sounds, including a chest-pounding kick, two face-slapping snares, hi and low toms, a zingy cymbal, searing hats, a massive FM synth sound, and a cowbell.
• Powerful sequencer: 64 patterns with up to 64 steps.
• Polyrhythm: set unique pattern lengths for each instrument.
• Looper: for glitchy beat-repeats.
• Roller: add per instrument drum fills.
• Songs: chain up to 16 patterns, save up to 16 songs.
• Swing: add some groove to your rhythm, either globally or per drum.
• Randomness: add unpredictable variations to your pattern.
• Output distortion: rich, specially voiced distortion on the output to add some filth when you need it, and bypass when you don’t.
• Sync to anything: connect to practically any hardware or software instruments, sequencers, or interfaces with MIDI, clock, or USB.
• 3.5mm headphone output.
• Metronome: removed from the main output when headphones are connected, so you hear it and not your audience.
• Group outputs: 4 additional outputs to send the Kick, Snares, Hi Hats, or the FM Sound out separately for post-processing.
• Color: unique to DrumBrute Impact, “Color” can be activated per instrument, or per step. Color adds overdrive to the kick, make the snares snap and crack, and excites the hats, toms, and FM sound.

Pricing and Availability:
DrumBrute Impact is available to pre-order now with an expected release date of August 2018 costing £279/€299/$349. For further information head to the Arturia website.

Frequented on many occasions by The Beatles, not to mention a long list of other musical alumni, the Abbey Road Chambers plugin opens the doors on Studio Two’s echo chamber, and brings its sonic legacy to your fingertips…

Developed with Abbey Road Studios, Chambers features emulations of the original valve Neumann KM53 microphones and Altec 605 speaker found on almost every pop recording at Abbey Road during the 60s. Additionally, you’ll also find a set of original filters going into the chamber – EMI’s RS106 hi/low pass filter and the EMI RS127 Presence EQ. Also included is a digital recreation of the long-lost S.T.E.E.D (Send. Tape. Echo. Echo. Delay.) setup. Yet another bonus is the addition of recreations of Abbey Road’s famed Mirror Room, and the Stone Room from Olympic Studios, London.

Waves tell us that the plugin is designed in a modular fashion, allowing you to send tracks just to the chamber or through the S.T.E.E.D effect, or combine them both for the full gamut of possibilities.

Abbey Road Chambers key features:

• True-to-life capture of Abbey Road’s legendary Studio Two echo chamber
• Created in collaboration with Abbey Road StudiosShape effects from natural chamber reverb, to authentic tape delay, to complex hybrid effects
• Complete modeling of Abbey Road’s original S.T.E.E.D. setup
• Dedicated EMI RS106 and EMI RS127 EQs to further sculpt the chamber effectYour choice of additional spaces: Abbey Road’s Mirror Room and Olympic Studios’ Stone Room
• Choose classic or modern speakers, including Abbey Road’s original Altec 605
• Choose vintage or modern microphones, including Abbey Road’s original Neumann KM53
• Variable mic and speaker positions
• Artist presets by Dave Pensado, Jacquire King, Guy Massey and many more

Pricing and Availability:
Waves’ Abbey Road Chambers is available to buy now for the reduced price of $29 (Usually $199). For further information head to their website.

Spaces II is the sequel to EastWest’s original convolution reverb, packaging together all the reverbs in version 1, plus a huge collection of new ones, recorded in a variety of locations…

Produced by Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix, Spaces II takes us to brand new locations, recording reverbs in churches, concert halls, opera houses, catacombs, train stations, recording studios, and warehouses. Along with the new locations the interface has received an overhaul to a much sleeker and streamlined design. There are new control features and a greatly expanded collection of instrument specific reverbs.

Spaces II key features:

• Produced by Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix
• 1,020 reverbs recorded in locations worldwide
• Includes 372 Instrument specific reverbs recorded in 6 locations
• Highest resolution, most useful reverbs available
• 24-bit True Stereo, with surround capability
• New convolution engine
• Brand new user interface with visuals representing each space
• Brand new Decay Time control feature
• New Next / Previous buttons for fast navigation
• ATC, Neumann, Telefunken, Neve, Meitner Signal Path
• Film Score, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, Esoteric and Dreamy Reverbs
• Low CPU usage, with cleanest signal path possible

Pricing and Availability:
Spaces II is available now for $299 (usually $399). To purchase and for further information head to the product page.

Loop 2018 is fast approaching, and in preparation to take it stateside, Ableton has announced more artists and events for November’s LA summit, before ticket registration closes next week. Here’s Ableton with the full details…

Dub pioneer Scientist will perform live on his custom-built sound system and demonstrate the art of the dub mix. Producer and engineer Ebonie Smith will share insights from her work at the legendary Atlantic Records alongside the likes of The Roots and Lauryn Hill. Renowned journalist and author Simon Reynolds will reflect on music’s past and imagine its possible futures. And Argentine folktronica innovator Juana Molina will take part in an onstage exploration of the records that shaped her own music.

Live performances this year will include Sotomayor, a Mexican dance music duo who fuse the rhythms of afrobeat, cumbia and other Latin American sounds with electronic forms like juke and reggaeton. And South Korean finger-drumming sensation Sowall will perform as part of an improvised collaboration.

There’ll be further opportunities to learn from artists close-up, with workshops on sampling, songwriting, sound design and more from the likes of South African production talent Esa Williams, singer and multi-instrumentalist Patrice Rushen, and sonic sculptor Richard Devine. Further artists will be revealed in the coming weeks. Full details of the latest program are on the Loop site.

There’s just one week left to register for tickets for the event, with registrations closing August 10.

Genelec today unveiled two new high-SPL SAM monitors – the two-way S360 and the 7382 subwoofer, which they tell us are ideal for any professional application that demands high acoustic power or listening at a distance…

Whether it’s post-production studios, film-mixing stages, play-live monitoring in music production or EDM playback, the high-SPL SAM monitors will be up to to the task.

Here’s Genelec will the full details:

Housed in a compact enclosure featuring high-quality Finnish woodwork and extremely low and controlled diffraction, the S360 also features a further enhanced 10-inch high-efficiency and minimal distortion woofer based on Genelec’s Master Series, and a completely integrated extended directivity control waveguide DCW, supporting its 1.7-inch titanium diaphragm compression tweeter. The result combines the neutrality for which Genelec is known, with a short-term SPL capability of 118 dB – with peaks even higher – and a long throw capability that can provide reference-quality accuracy even at listening distances of over 33 feet (10 meters). The S360 offers the benefits of main monitor performance in a condensed form factor, including excellent on-axis characteristics and uncolored 95-degree (h) to 75-degree (v) dispersion.

The S360 enclosure offers versatile in-wall and on-wall mounting options, while down-firing, flow-optimized laminar integrated reflex ports Laminar Integrated Port (LIP) ensure tight and noise-free bass output and are also perfectly suited for use with perforated screens. Alternatively, when the S360 is used in free-standing mode, the innovative Iso-Plate effectively decouples the monitor from its base, focusing low-frequency output while preventing vibration transfer and air turbulence. Further flexibility comes courtesy of the system electronics, which can be either integrated into the enclosure or positioned remotely.

Knowing that the production of good content depends on monitors being correctly positioned, level-aligned, time-aligned and room-compensated, the S360 offers full integration with Genelec’s GLM software, allowing the configuration, calibration and monitor control of more than 40 channels without the need for external processing.

The ideal companion for both the S360 and Genelec’s other large-format monitors is the 7382 Smart Active Subwoofer – Genelec’s most powerful subwoofer to date. Delivering precise, powerful low frequency extension down to 15 Hz, the 7382 houses three custom-designed 15-inch long-throw woofers. Each benefits from the vibration-free environment of a heavily braced fiberboard enclosure, with laminar flow bass reflex porting extending along the entire rear wall to ensure low distortion and compression-free performance, even when the 7382 delivers outputs in excess of 130 dB SPL.

Drawing on integrated processing and decades of research, the 7382 also works with GLM software to control bass management and solve issues of subwoofer placement in unpredictable rooms, and even to build entire arrays of Genelec subwoofers.
“With the launch of the S360 and 7382, we now have an extended comprehensive range of monitors and subwoofers for all room sizes, SPL requirements and listening distances,” commented Genelec Managing Director Siamäk Naghian.

“Besides their compatibility with all types of high-SPL music applications, we see the S360 and 7382 finding their place in larger Immersive Audio systems, where the listener by definition needs to find themselves utterly immersed in the experience, aware of every detail. That same precision is at the heart of every Genelec monitor. It is why we believe so deeply in the growth of these exciting new multichannel formats, and why we have produced the S360 and 7382: to realize that immersive potential like never before.”

The arrival of the S360 and 7382 coincides with the publication of a new set of educational tools aimed at helping professionals to better understand and make use of Immersive Audio. Titled Genelec Immersive Solutions, the publication will include a comprehensive overview of the requirements for creating an effective immersive audio setup, including insights into the most commonly adopted formats and the Genelec solutions required to make the most of them. Due to launch alongside the S360 and 7382, the publication will also be available for download from www.genelec.com/immersive.

Behringer chose to celebrate the 808 day with a video teaser of their forthcoming RD-808 clone and we’re suitable enticed…

Amongst the many announcements, such as Roland’s vinyl release and bespoke beer to celebrate 808 day, the folks at Behringer decided to tease the RD-808, which they say will cost under $400. The announcement was made via Facebook where they showed off the drum machine in action. Though there’s no more news regarding a release date, the video does hint at more big news arriving on September 9th.

It’s been 8 months since we first caught wind of the RD-808, which made its first appearance at this year’s Superbooth alongside the brand’s Sequential Circuits Pro-One, ARP Odyssey and SH-101 clones. Whilst many people are excited to get their hands on previously unaffordable gear, the company has faced criticism for its decision to clone iconic instruments. Whether you’re on board or not, it’ll be very interesting to see where their current strategy takes them.

Keep up to date at Behringer.com

We’ve teamed up with Loopmasters and they’ve put together a great package of royalty-free samples for you to enjoy as well as an exclusive discount code!

Register here, and you’ll get the “Designer Dance Collection” added to your downloads area.

The “Designer Dance Collection” is a special bundle of one-shot sounds taken from the acclaimed Designer Dance sample Collections on Loopmasters’ RV Sample Packs label. Inside you will find a handpicked selection of Drum one-shots, Bass Stabs, Sound Effects and Synth Hits produced and mastered by top producers and ready to load into your sampler.

In addition, enjoy the following features when you register below and download Loopcloud. (Loopcloud allows you to easily find the perfect sound from your previous Loopmasters purchases or from browsing over 5 million samples directly in the cloud).

• Loopmasters 1GB Welcome pack (inside your Loopmasters account)
• Bonus Loopcloud registration pack (only available inside of Loopcloud)
• Free weekly sounds (inside of Loopcloud)
• 500 free Loopcloud shop credits

Finally, MusicTech readers can take advantage of 30% discount code*! Just use the code MT30 when making a purchase in the Loopmasters shop. *(Code valid until Nov.8, 2018. Not valid on sale items).

Registration takes less than 5 minutes, so if you want some free goodies just sign up here.

Denise’s New York Compressor is their second plugin, which keeps the simple design of its predecessor, Saturator, but promises massive power…

Featuring just three-knobs, the New York Compressor’s interface is as user-friendly as it gets, designed to make your percussive loops, beats and drums sound more powerful. However, there’s a trick up its sleeve, namely, continuous RMS-time control. With this, users can easily fine tune the compression to create maximum impact. The addition of different timbre styles, vintage options and stereo linking makes New York Compressor a very powerful tool.

“Parallel compressing a track sometimes isn’t enough by itself to achieve the heavy, punchy sound associated with this style of compression,” says YD Young, Lead DSP developer from Denise. “My goal was to engineer the compressor by combining specific features to create that recognisable New York compression sound.”

The New York Compressor offers a continuous RMS-time control, enabling you to fine-tune the response of the compression and adjust the attack and release settings in an analogue style.

New York Compressor key features:

• Mix (0% to 100%):
  • Mixes between the clean signal and the compressed signal, allowing you to apply the compression in parallel.
• INPUT (-24dB to 24dB):
  • Input gain that lets you boost or attenuate the signal going in, giving you more control over the signal.
• OUTPUT (-24dB to 24dB):
  • Output gain to manually compensate for the volume decrease caused by the compression effect.
• COMPRESSION (0% to 100%):
  • Lowers the threshold of the internal compression algorithm, to intensify the compression effect.
• RMS-TIME (0ms to 500ms):
  • A continuous RMS-time control to fine tune the sound of the compression.
• STYLE (dark / natural / bright):
  • A menu that lets you choose different timbres, allowing you to specify the timbre of the compression.
• LINK (on/off):
  • A switch that allows you to link the left and right channel saturation, allowing you to preserve the stereo image of your track.
• VINTAGE (on/off):
  • A switch that makes the compression sound more vintage and old school by adding a saturation stage to the compression algorithm.

Pricing and Availability:
New York Compressor is available now for €19 for PC and Mac in VST/AU formats. Tp purchase, try out a demo or get further information can be found on the Denise website.

Screen Music Connect has revealed their first sessions for their debut London-based conference, with many film, TV and video game alumni on the roster…

Buy Tickets

Taking place on September 24th at Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room, the conference will explore the world of film, television and video game music, as well as the creative talent behind it. The conference is the work of award-winning composer and Game Music Connect co-founder James Hannigan, bringing together the music production communities of all media industries.

Screen Music Connect creator, James Hannigan

The programming for the event includes exclusive interviews, case studies and roundtable discussions with a stellar line-up of media composers and industry executives covering topics including artificial intelligence-generated music, soundtracks and classical music, creative collaboration in film and television, interactive video game composition, and music for Virtual Reality. There will also be a unique performance by composer and classical cellist Philip Sheppard, who has worked with David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age and Jeff Buckley, to name a few.

After the main event, attendees can meet and connect during a post-show networking hour and will also have the chance to win a sponsored prize bundle from Time+Space.

Tickets are £80, with BASCA members able to take advantage of a £15 discount. 4 sessions are yet to be announced so check back here for further updates.

“When Worlds Collide: Classical Music and Soundtracks”

Our panel of leading industry figures discuss their musical world view of, and influence on the artistic and commercial intersection of ‘classical music’ and music for screen media, followed by an intimate live performance of “Kara’s Theme” from DETROIT: Become Human by composer and cellist, Philip Sheppard.

Speakers:

• Jessica Curry – BAFTA Award-winning Composer (‘Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture’, ‘Dear Esther’) and Presenter of Classic FM’s ‘High Score’.
• James Williams – Managing Director, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Darrell Alexander – Film, TV & Games Composer Agent, CEO of COOL Music Ltd and The Chamber Orchestra of London.
• Philip Sheppard – Film and Game Composer, Virtuoso Cellist, member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (‘Detroit: Become Human’, David Bowie, UNKLE).
• Chair: Jenny Nelson – Author of Classic FM’s ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’ book, former Executive Producer of‘High Score’ on Classic FM, trustee of the Cambridge Film Trust.

“The Story of Interactive Music – Past, Present and Future”

‘Interactive music’ is a term now deeply embedded in video game speak. Yet, thirty years ago it simply didn’t exist. We examine what interactive music is, where it came from and why – questions which in turn also lead us to the heart of the matter of the fundamental raison d’être of music in games – its role, purpose, identity and delivery. Further, was some of the interesting creativity of the early days of game music lost in the clamour for cinematic mimicry and why?

Speakers:

• Olivier Derivière – BAFTA Nominated Composer (‘11-11: Memories Retold’, ‘Get Even’).
• James Hannigan – Creative Director of Screen Music Connect and Multi-Award Winning Composer.
• Richard Jacques – Ivor Novello and BAFTA Nominated Composer (‘James Bond 007: Blood Stone’, ‘Mass Effect’).
• Chair: John Broomhall – Composer, Music Artist (String Theory – ‘Modularity’) and Game Music Connect Co-Founder.

Artificial Intelligence in Music: Can Computers be Creative?

Machines are becoming more capable and ‘intelligent’ – and they’re doing so at a quickening pace. As this wave gathers momentum, the world is witnessing impressive advances in artificial intelligence over a diverse range of human endeavours as AI learns to engage in a creative process of immersion, assimilation and recombination.

As today’s impossible rapidly becomes tomorrow’s commonplace, will we consider AI-generated music and art to be ‘fake’ in future – and who cares anyway, if the end effect is pleasing? Are these advances actually the first steps to an extensive democratisation and personalisation of visual and sonic arts?

What does this mean for human composers? Should they be uneasy or should they be curious, even optimistic? Will they be replaced or will they find audience empathy for them beyond their work becomes more significant? As humanity enjoys an ever more creative world, can they learn from, and harness creative AI as a powerful collaborative tool?

• Speaker: Ed Newton-Rex – Composer; Founder and CEO, Jukedeck.

On your way to a festival this weekend? You’ll want to check out Festival Sound Trip, a free service from Veygo that can create a personalised playlist to last your entire journey…

Here’s Veygo with the full story:

Bright lights. Authentic sounds. Roaring crowds. August bank holiday weekend is renowned as one of the loudest on the UK festival circuit, with Creamfields, Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, South West Four and Shambala all cranking up the volume over the final days of summer. Whichever event you’re going to, start the sonic celebrations early with a personalised festival playlist to listen to on the journey.

Hit up the Festival Sound Trip, courtesy of car insurance brand Veygo, for your bespoke music mix. All you have to do is choose your upcoming festival destination, type in your postcode and select your favourite acts from the line-up. Then you’ll get a custom-made Spotify playlist of tracks, timed perfectly to keep you grooving from your front door to the Main Stage.

Listen to dance anthems by Andy C, headlining at Creamfields, or rock out to Fall Out Boy, appearing at both Leeds and Reading Festival. Ahead of electronic-fest South West Four, tune into Craig David and MK, both scheduled to perform at the party on Clapham Common. Those heading to the weird and wonderful world of Shambala can enjoy the eclectic sounds of Gentleman’s Dub Club among others, while trying to find the top-secret woodland location.

There’s a grand total of 20 festivals waiting to be mixed on the Festival Sound Trip, with genres ranging from classic rock to heavy metal. For each event, you can choose up to three of the main acts to create a personalised playlist to enjoy behind the wheel – with zero effort on your part. Just your favourite festival sounds, all the way.

Head to the Festival Sound Trip and create your own playlist for free today.

Spectrasonics has released Omnisphere 2.5, a massive new update that adds hardware synth integration, a new sound library and expanded synthesis…

The new version marks a big step for not only Spectrasonics, but for soft synths as Omnisphere 2.5 becomes the first of its kind to offer hardware synth integration, which transforms over 30 well-known hardware synthesiser into hands-on controllers.

There’s plenty more to play with in the new update too! 2.5 includes a hi-resolution interface, support for Windows Multitouch, new Granular Synthesis capabilities and over 1000 brand new sounds, knocking the total to over 14,000 sounds.

“Since the beginning of computer-based music, the biggest limitation of software synthesizers has been the lack of physical interaction. It’s hard to beat the immediacy of a physical synthesizer that you can touch! We are very excited to be able to finally eliminate that problem by utilizing the world’s finest hardware synthesizers to fully control Omnisphere.” said Eric Persing, President of Spectrasonics. “We’ve never felt that the worlds of software and hardware synths should be divided into different ‘camps’. Our virtual instrument users can now experience the joy of the hardware synth workflow and hardware synth users can now fully expand their capabilities into the vast sonic world of Omnisphere!”

Omnisphere 2.5 key features:

• Hardware Synth Integration!
• New Hardware Library adds over 1,000 new patches for all users:
  • Over 14,000 Sounds total now included
• Vastly Expanded Synthesis:
  • Four Layers per patch
  • Doubled Mod Matrix
  • Over 100 New Wavetables
  • New State Variable Filters
  • 8 LFOs, 12 Envelopes
• New Hi-res, Resizable Interface
• New Granular Layout
• Improved Live Mode Page
• New Shared Signal Path routing
• New System Tuning/Scale functions
• Windows Multitouch support
• FREE for all Omnisphere 2 users!

Pricing and Availability:
Omnisphere 2.5 is a free upgrade for all registered Omnisphere 2 users. For new users, it’s available here to download for $499, and for Omnisphere 1 users $249 to upgrade.

DRONAR Master Edition packages a huge 50GB+ collection of sounds that promise “infinite possibilities for creating atmosphere, ambiences, textures and more”. Here’s Gothic Instruments with all the details…

Gothic Instruments has announced the release of its flagship virtual instrument DRONAR Master Edition – an outstanding atmosphere creator for the free Kontakt Player that turns the first eight award winning modules of the DRONAR product line into one huge beast of an instrument plug-in.

This immense 50GB collection of sounds includes over 2,000 presets for you to create and play highly expressive pads, patterns, textures and atmospheres for any genre. What’s more, it’s all packaged in a new, fast-loading, more efficient engine with powerful features to tweak the sounds as little or as much as you want.

The Sounds

Strings to synths, brass to glass, environmental noises and synthetic textures… you can craft a rich world of sound to take your listeners on an emotive journey ranging from terror and unease to one of calmness and tranquility.

Dark and chilling atmospheres, unsettling synth-based soundscapes, ‘80s futuristic Nu Wave elements, ethereal and ambient textures, uplifting glacial tones, beautiful pads, and much much more… the variety of audio in DRONAR Master Edition is simply outstanding.

Mix and Match

Combining eight modules in one instrument means that each preset (layered live from 8 different sounds) can now mix and match thousands of raw sounds into endless new combinations. It’s a vast playground covering a wide range of instruments and sonic terrains waiting to be explored. Press the ‘Randomise Samples’ buttons and let DRONAR provide the inspiration for you!

Dive in

Seven pages of controls give you the ability to tweak as much or as little as you prefer (or as much as your deadline allows!). Change the patterns of the rhythm samples with the Rhythm Editor, get sounds really moving or pulsing over time with the Arpeggiator, animate with LFOs and effects, and more!

Faster and no additional software to pay for

DRONAR Master Edition has been developed for the free Kontakt Player – so you don’t need to buy additional software to use it! What’s more, it features a new, fast-loading, more efficient engine so they’ll be no annoying interruptions to your creative workflow.

NKS compatible

NKS compatibility makes it even easier to browse, play, and control DRONAR Master Edition. Hear instant audio previews as you scroll quickly through the hundreds of presets browsing by category and mood and control the main DRONAR dials from your hardware.

Pricing and Availability:
DRONAR Master Edition is available now with a 20% intro discount until 18th September plus there’s special upgrade pricing with discounts of up to 96% for existing DRONAR module customers. See the product page for full details

GIK Acoustics has announced the arrival of five new lines to their Impression Series line of acoustic panels and bass traps. Here’s GIK with the full story…

BRADFORD, UK (August 29, 2018) – First introduced in January 2017, the Impression Series changed the face of room treatments forever. These acoustic panels and bass traps combine proven, effective absorption with beautifully decorative plates to deliver an aural and visual statement to enhance any room.

The rigid plate not only gives the panel a stylish appearance but also helps reflect/scatter high frequency content in the room giving the proper balance needed.

Now the company is offering an even bigger impact by expanding the decorative patterns available.

GIK Acoustics Impression Series panels available in:

• 12 elegant patterns:
  • Basketweave, Braids, Palomar, Sunrise, and Wavy Leaves along with Bubbles, Checkerboard, Gatsby Arches, Mod Geometric, 3D Cubes, Digiwave (horizontal & vertical)

GIK Acoustics Impression Series panels available in (cont.):

• 3 standard sizes:
  • Square (600mmx 60mm)
  • Narrow (300mm x 1200mm)
  • Rectangle (600mm x 1200mm)

Three levels of absorption / thickness:

• 50mm acoustic panel
• 100mm bass trap
• 150mm bass trap
• 5 plate finishes:
  • Beech wood veneer, Black veneer, White veneer, Grey Elm veneer, and Mahogany veneer

The Impression Series panels not only perform well in critical listening environments (audio rooms or studios) but are a perfect fit for any space.

Designed to enhance any setting, the Impression Series panels are ideal for professional, household, or public places where the room acoustics interfere with enjoyment or productivity.

The Impression Series panels are effective in any room where speech intelligibility is compromised, or the room has too much reverberation and is too loud.

“We understand the appearance of conventional acoustic panels may not appeal to everyone,” said Glenn Kuras, President of GIK Acoustics. “That is specifically why we developed the Impression Series to make an audible and visual impact. They will absolutely transform the sound you hear and improve the look and aesthetic of a room as well.”

The new Impression Series designs will have a public debut next month in Europe at the Festival of Sound in London and a debut appearance in the U.S. at the 145th AES Conference in New York City.

Pricing and Availability:
GIK’s new Impression Series lines are available now. For further information and pricing head here for Europe and here for North America.