Native Instruments Announces Dubstep Softsynth

It's not April 1 yet, so this must be real. Gadzooks.

Virtual Monotron

In honor of Korg's incredible wündertoy, the Monotron, here's a virtual version to test drive.

Beware. It's addictive.

Java-heavy applet after the jump.

Academik SXSW Launch Event Update

Man, this week is just cuh-razy. Planning a label launch is hard work...

That said, the Ableton t-shirts are in. The Korg Monotrons are here, as are the Bleeplabs Thingamagoop 2s. The Avid/M-Audio Venom is looking pretty in its box - and we've got a ton of Propellerhead beanies to go along with the copies of Reason Record Duo we're giving away. It looks like a friggin' Guitar Center at Academik HQ.

But that's how we like it :)

Just as cool - maybe moreso - the Secret Panda Society played me some of their newest tracks and well, I'm more than a little blown away by what I'm hearing. Today and tomorrow, we're working on a couple of tech house collabs in The Danger Room. Seriously good stuff. Brace yourself for an amazing show this Friday.

Buzz is growing. Tweets are flowing.

More event info here.

New Ableton Preset: Arkade

Taking the occasional break from launch activities, I've been fiddling around with this preset for a couple of weeks and I think it's ready to release into the wild.

Arkade is designed to emulate 8-bit video game sounds, with a few effects like bitcrushing and highpass filtering thrown in for good measure.

MACRO PARAMETERS

Rate: Adjusts tempo-synced arpeggiation rate
Length: Adjusts duration of arpeggiated notes
Range: Determines maximum upward range of arpeggiation
Step Size: Varies the step size from 0 steps (only held notes are apeggiated) to one octave (classic octave jumping arpeggiation)
Octave 1: Introduces an additional square wave, one octave higher.
Octave 2: Introduces an additional square wave, two octaves higher.
Bitcrush: Bitcrushing amount
HiPass: Highpass cutoff frequency

Notes and download link after the jump...

Polymoog Surrealism

Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Michael Boddicker, and MIMES!

Oh yeah, and the Polymoog.

This promo video redefines the word "surreal"...



Part 2 after the jump...

How To Launch Your Own Record Label :)

Introducing Academik Records...

This & That #6

I've been too busy working on this to worry about that.

Back in the saddle after SXSW. Promise.

Pow!

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make you smile the most...