Well it was about time that the wanna-be Nobel prize for music, the Polar prize, finally came to recognise one of modern days most notable music genre’s hip hop. With the nomination of the DJ Grandmaster Flash the Polar academy took the prize into the right millennium again. Back in […]

The grandmaster is back

It is time to explore what Eastern Europe has to offer when it comes to experimental music. Loads of books has covered the legacy of western electronic and experimental music, so it is about time that we indulge ourselves in what the eastern realms have to offer. Berlin, and Europe […]

400 pages covering experimental music in Eastern Europe

Don’t we all love to experiment with new sounds, well some are taking this quite seriously. As field recordings have become the new hype among electronic artists some prefer to create those unique sounds with test equipment. Like the German synthesist Hainbach for example who explores an early electronic music technique. But […]

Using Lab equipment to make electronic music

Modular synthesizers has long been the go to route for musician with slighter bigger pockets. Building a modular wall will cost you a fortune, but in the same way as KORG has realized that there is money to make from wanna-be geeks with the newly announced Volca modular, so have […]

A paradigm shift in modular?

We guess this was an obvious step in the evolution of the Volca series. No serious synth manufacturer seems to neglect the modular hype that is currently swamps the electronic music scene. However, it is in fact quite intriguing that KORG takes Volca to the world of modulars, since this […]

KORG goes modular – In-depth coverage

Brian Eno used and coined the term “Generative Music” to describe any music that is ever-different and changing, created by a system.  And last year Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers announced a new version of the generative music app, Bloom.  But of course it all started much earlier. In ambient music, […]

Infinite loops and generative arts

2018 was a good year in music and gear. In this years playlist we’ve summed up what you should have listened to during the past year and what gear you should have acquired. Some artists stood out more than others and we will guide you to the ones you will […]

Year in electronic music – Summing up 2018

Propellerhead has developed a fully patchable virtual modular synthesizer plug-in for its popular DAW, Reason. In a sense it was only a matter of time before the Prop-team would jump on the modular band-wagon. The modular hype has pushed every synthmaker in the industry to consider modular setups in their […]

Reason goes modular with the Complex-1 synth

Arturia has taken another interesting step when it comes to making music production gear. Well known for their software emulations of classic synthesizers, like the Minimoog, ARP 2600 and Yamaha CS-80, they some years ago started building hardware synthesizers like the Minibrute and Microbrute. Now they are at it again, […]

From V Collection and beyond – Arturia’s Pigments modulates everything

You may, or may not have heard of FLORA, but if you are in to experimental electronic expressions like 4D performances, this one may be for you. FLORA is the collaborative alliance of Melina Åkerman Kvie (AnnaMelina) and Jonas Rönnberg (Varg), two Swedish artists whose works seemingly divert from one […]

FLORA explores sound in 4D and the route to excellence

Björk is all set to go on tour with a new stage concert called Cornucopia. The new concert production conceived by the Icelandic superstar will be presented at The Shed – a new Manhattan venue that will open in the spring for its inaugural season. Björk states herself: “I am […]

Cornucopia – Björk takes on NYC with her new stage ...

Impressive to say the least. TONTO or The Original New Timbral Orchestra synthesizer celebrates 50 years. Still seen as the world’s largest synth, even though debatable from a different perspective considering the setup. The mastermind behind this beast was an Afro-English bassist tech guy named Malcolm Cecil who lived above a […]

Celebrating 50 years of The Original New Timbral Orchestra – ...

We happily admit never been to Kazakhstan, but after seeing this video we are so tempted to go there immediately. Deep house staged in this remote place with an awesome dancer. Astana – the city has only been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997, and during that time has developed […]

Deep house in nowhere land – Simply awesome

Puce Mary (Frederikke Hoffmeier) has created a world of her own. Noisy, ambient, sometimes relaxing, sometimes utterly annoying, but that is the beauty of it. She’s created her own music universe and it is not for all. An open mind to intriguing textures, harsh noises, angry synthesizers. Something that is […]

The apocalypse is near – The ambient world of Puce ...

The annual Apple event is over and it is time to look on what came out of it from a music production perspective. On a high level it is clear that music creators and artists are no longer a focus group of Apple. Instead their new line up continues to […]

Has Apple opted out of the music market? Air, Pro ...

Although many artists have been experimenting with vocals since long time back, like Kraftwerk, ABBA and the Beatles, the real breaking point came when Cher delivered Believe in October 19, 1998. The era of autotune was born. Since then the impact of autotune has been monumental in the music industry. […]

1998 – The year autotune took the music industry by ...

As we are eagerly waiting for the duo to deliver new material, or even better get out of their studio and go on tour we will have to settle with this little teaser by Thomas Bangalter. Ed Banger Records has teased this new track on their Instagram account. The track, ‘Riga […]

Is Daft Punk on the move? At least Thomas Bangalter ...

So the Moog One has finally been launched, although it comes with a hefty price tag ($5,999/$7,999). The Moog One was announced earlier this month as a successor to the discontinued Memorymoog which the company produced from 1982-1985. Following its tradition Moog has not moved far from its design guidelines. Knobs, […]

Ryuichi Sakamoto hands on with the new Moog One polysynth

We have done some cherry picking among the latest releases. Material that deserves a little more attention. First one out is an intriguing EP from Sweden. Peder Mannerfeld is at it again with a live recording from Berlin Atonal dubbed Roll the Dice. Live at Berlin Atonal 2017 collects four tracks recorded […]

Peder Mannerfelt’s Atonal performance on new EP, and a bunch ...

The use of lasers in music is not new and artists like Jean-Michel Jarre has been experimenting with it for years. But things are progressing and many artists are now now leaning to more autonomous systems – creating their own code to have the audiovisual performances behave in a certain […]

The sound of lasers – The audiovisual experience Espsills

Few dares to be monotone. Few dares to avoid the rhythms, like Caterina Barbieri in association with ELEH. The elaborate audio waves that drives into infinity is there to make you listen and explore. The subtle notes on the piano re-enforces the electronic harmonics that seem endless. Caterina boldly explores […]

The psychedelic works of Caterina Barbieri and ELEH

We’ve been reporting on AI in music creation before and new steps in this direction are evolving as we speak. The latest iteration in this field comes from robotics engineer and media artist Moritz Simon Geist. Now it’s the time of the robots to enter the techno scene (again). The German producer […]

The robots are coming – Electronic music re-invented

Techno DJ, label owner and audiovisual artist – the labels on Berghaim resident Ben Klock are many. For years Ben has contributed deeply in shaping the techno seen around the world, but always in one leg firmly rooted in Berlin’s underground scene. During 2018 a lot of his focus and […]

The world of Ben Klock – Photon explored

Driftmachine, Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer, is a duo that have taken modular into the mainstream. Although their music may not be for all they do an amazing job in tweaking their gear to do everything from techno-ish tracks to drone. They are also a highly productive duo who have […]

Modular goes mainstream – In the studio with Driftmachine