Peter Kirn

Novation Launch Control finally brings back the smart, little encoder box - CDM Create Digital Music The best thing about Launch Control XL is that it has faders. The best thing about Launch Control is that it doesn't -- and fits into a small space. It really is that simple, if contradictory, thanks ...

Basically you don't have to read past the opening of this story. It's a Launch Control XL minus faders, which is actually pretty awesome.

I still love Mutagen. Thanks, RE, for allowing software to live forever.

#303day just ... reminded of abl3 in @reasonstudios.com with Ripley, Mutagen (discontinued), and Bassline Generator.

Michigan Synth Works has an open-source 303 processor and a new kit - CDM Create Digital Music Call it the Bride of x0xb0x. Michigan Synth Works today teased a new, Arduino-compatible, open-source 303 processor, plus a full DIY kit. They’re both affordable ways to build your own all-analog, mod...

The legacy of the x0xb0x returns! An open-source, Arduino-compatible processor (as powered 303, 606, and 909), plus an upcoming DIY 303 kit, from @michigansynthworks.bsky.social

#303day and some @adafruit.com memories...

featuring @shorefreak.bsky.social @martinic.com @cycling74.bsky.social and a bunch of Japanese cats we need to convince to migrate off the elonsphere...

On 303 Day, acid bassline love abounds, and some freebies, too - CDM Create Digital Music Roland is fairly quiet on this 303 Day, but in the maelstrom of terrible news, it was a relief to see the Japanese music community out in force. This is what we really strive for: a world where we can...

Here, have way, way too much #303Day stuff, including a free Max for Live instrument (and Max 303 patching tutorial), free sounds, discounts on plug-ins, a ton of players showing off the 303 and adjacent instruments (especially from Japan), a music mix, and a gorgeous music video.

Also curious to see how I did with the vague round-up of past tape pieces and who you'd add...

Endless joys of the Open Reel Ensemble and reel-to-reel performance - CDM Create Digital Music Japan's Open Reel Ensemble has been active continuously since 2009, with collaborations from Issei Miyake to Ryuichi Sakamoto. But there's a special magic that some of their most experimental performa...

Beautiful use of these machines as kinetic instruments. Have you seen some of this? Probably. All of it? I think not! They've been busy...

If you're trying to break away from your browser, this script will make an ominous horse appear.

I'm slightly worried I may *internalize* this horse now and have it just appear at rando.

Well you can just read my site and catch up on research on theta waves, Iranian music, Max patching, and a really stupid song from Hee Haw.

Okay. I realize I may not be helping people focus.

Learn spectral filters and other spectral tricks in Max (or elsewhere) - CDM Create Digital Music Spectral tools are all the rage. Ever fancied trying to play with those techniques under the hood? Umut Eldem aka Hearing Glass has a great set of video tutorials. They're implemented perfectly in Max...

Get spectral: understand how those tools work under the hood, and even try building one yourself, with tutorials for @cycling74.bsky.social Max:

A reminder in that story of how disconnected people are from Iran and ... some brief notes on what you can do, even if right now it seems very few packets are getting in or out.

From Tehran's Bernisaun, dreams, cortisol reduction, and analog rituals - CDM Create Digital Music In dark times, music and sound can go from seeming irrelevant or empty to becoming a lifeline. The artist Bernisaun from Tehran has been brewing music that can, in his words, "engineer the frequency o...

Sounds from Tehran -- to reduce cortisol and "backup your dreams."

Thanks @bernisaun.bsky.social

Well, whatever happened here happened here. @voxglitch.bsky.social @vcvrack.com

Absolutely -- though there's overlap. I think the ethics require a better common understanding of exactly how LLMs generate their outputs -- and indeed, the big tech is capitalizing on even some fairly tech-savvy people not understanding that at all.

It's not the only issue, but it matters.

I'm curious then -- since I was just scanning some of the latest data science research on this. Have you looked at that research?

none of it remotely says "we don't need programmers anymore"; I haven't heard that from even total AI advocates, *provided* they have engineering experience ;) but...

There's another possibility, too, which is that the code will work just fine, but we need to ask ourselves whether every single tool needs to be a product. That sort of has always been the case, just now ... amplified.

oh yeah, and this! Different issue.

It's weird, this all makes me want to get back into coding ... minus AI.

But yeah back to the original issue -- we really need to arm people, including those solo devs, with an understanding of what these tools mean and how you make the code work.

Well there's a better term for that, anyway -- "broken"

And it isn't necessarily "vibe coding" so much as "firing engineers" or failing to hire them in the first place.

Sorry, now I'm talking about our world in general more than music per se :D

Yeah, and I worry that people will pour marketing money into that. (actually here's a weird precedent for that: 1980s vinyl releases. When you have the capacity for vanity releases, terrible things happen.)

Very different from Max or Pd, where you can open the patch, and people don't do that.

Theoretically, what I just said should appeal to people who are really into using AI, too. Plus AI is just such a huge category, going back to the beginnings of computer music. It feels like we need to have a more robust conversation than we're having now, which will take some work.

Yeah, this is where we actually need a *lot* more proactive action. So that means talking more about how tools like Claude Code actually work, finding ways of measuring the outputs, and identifying software that crosses the line into plagiarism or threatens quality.

Yeah my spidey-sense is also set off by plug-ins. But while some devs are very loudly *not* using AI (which I'll share), effectively what we're really evaluating is who is reviewing their own code, etc., carefully. So everything changes but also nothing changes. Just a *lot more* of the same.

No, I think you have a point -- meaning we have to be really careful with the stuff we test.

It'll really mean building a relationship with the tools and not trying to cover everything, because most devs I've talked to are using some AI assistance in their coding now.

I don't want to suggest there is a technological solution all the time; there really isn't. But Iranians deal with an unprecedented level of internet shutdowns. So this is one small thing you can do.

The bigger thing is just to actually acknowledge this is the reality for so many right now.

Conduit - Join the internet freedom movement. By running a Conduit Station, you immediately help people in censored countries access the free and open internet around the world.

Internet has again plunged to near-zero in Iran. First and foremost, that means our friends and colleagues are out of touch with loved ones.

Because of the outage, it may not look like it's working, but you should try running Conduit on a spare phone or computer; it helps.

Now meshes, video, and more can go 3D inside Ableton Live: SenSei update - CDM Create Digital Music EboSuite and SenSei, live visual add-ons for Ableton Live, got some nice updates this week. SenSei, the tool that puts the power of Unreal Engine inside Ableton Live, gets a particularly major expansi...

Updates to @ebosuite.bsky.social and the Unreal Engine-powered SenSei.

This already compelling tool gets better with type and video features on the EboSuite side and 27 3D plug-ins for SenSei.

Essential mix: let an hour of tilde's music energize you (then nerd out!) - CDM Create Digital Music Glitchy but driving broken beats are what's for dinner. Hannover's tilde (~) is a font of knowledge on topics from Pd/plugdata to Bitwig Studio Grid FX to mixing and mastering. And those skills transl...

So much goodness here -- and plenty of skills sharing, too, from courses to @bitwig.bsky.social and #plugdata grid freebies.

Enter the world of @tildesounds.bsky.social -- had this mix on repeat all week.

and it is even a W3C recommendation! (though stalled at that status!)

looks cool but very, very proprietary! guess the question is whether you can get the spare parts there...