CDM Create Digital Music

Cook every day: read Suzanne Ciani’s 1976 Buchla Cookbook, for free

Peter Kirn — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:47:38 +0000

In 1976, Suzanne Ciani reported back to the USA’s National Endowment for the Arts with a report on her compositions, in the form of a modular cookbook. Now you can read her notes and follow along using entirely free software, complete with sound examples. I love overusing the cookbook metaphor, maybe just because food is […]

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Adam Wiltzie talks about his posthumous collaboration with Jóhann Jóhannsson

Peter Kirn — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:00:23 +0000

On Friendship Survival Guide, constructed from an archive of loops and sound exchanges, it's as if Jóhann Jóhannsson is alive again. Adam Wiltzie, co-founder of Stars of the Lid and part of A Winged Victory for the Sullen, talks to us about the process, and about the perfect and fleeting personal and creative connection the two artist shared.

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x0xb0x, the synth that launched an open-source hardware boom, is reborn

Peter Kirn — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:06:43 +0000

Based on the legendary TB-303, the x0xb0x was an underground legend all its own, one that helped popularize the open-source hardware movement. And now it's back, in a digital emulation of the original hardware, from x0xb0x's original creator.

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MOTU DP12 arrives, adding Dolby Atmos and more to a DAW classic

Peter Kirn — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:32:46 +0000

MOTU's DP doesn't get a lot of hype -- it just quietly remains a favorite for everything from scoring to post-production. DP12 has deep Dolby Atmos support, an Arrangement Strip, and lots of other welcome additions to this Mac and Windows DAW.

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Elgato’s Stream Deck as a DAW companion; new Reaper controller

Peter Kirn — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 20:48:41 +0000

Elgato's Stream Deck, a push-button desktop controller with interactive color keys and software shortcuts, has quietly become an ideal DAW accessory. Take, for example, this thoughtfully designed addition from Granite Coast Studio for the inimitable Cockos Reaper.

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ALM records everything to stems, and now mixes, too, in compact modules

Peter Kirn — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 17:57:16 +0000

It's Stem Ripper, and its expansion module accomplice, "With Mixer." Patch it up quick, record individual stems, and perform stereo mixing with aux sends, panning, and even external USB MIDI control. And fit it all in 6HP + 8HP, with clever Eurorack modules from ALM/Busy Circuits.

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Kevin Saunderson teaches a free 909 workshop, online and in Detroit

Peter Kirn — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:57:55 +0000

The best 909 Day reveal yesterday was this: on Saturday, Kevin Saunderson, techno originator and one of the Belleville Three, teaches a free workshop on the 909 with Roland (with Dustin Good). You can tune in online, and until tomorrow, there are in-person slots in Detroit, at Waajeed's Underground Music Academy.

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Dirtywave M8 has an official iOS app — a great addition to mobile tracker apps

Peter Kirn — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:23:55 +0000

Dirtywave M8 is already superb as hardware, whether you run their pre-made device or build your own "headless" rig. Now, it has its own official iOS app for iPhone and iPad, too, and it looks hot.

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Eminently controllable, accessible by design, Sting is now a plug-in

Peter Kirn — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:57:31 +0000

Now this is how to do generative melodies. Add expression. Get control with your hands. Make melodies accessible -- including if you're blind and visually impaired. Sting, the beloved maker of acid melodies and other patterns, is confined to Max for Live no more: now, it's available as VST3, AU, CLAP / macOS, Windows, Linux.

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Scales among updates to the free Ardour DAW — with tuning on the way

Peter Kirn — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:39:51 +0000

Ardour 9.8 continues the rapid, detailed development of this free and open-source DAW, with improved session recovery and clip recording, expanded support for controllers and hardware, and an arpeggiator MIDI tool. The 9.8 update also adds scales and keys, but with a twist: unlike competing software, scales/modes will soon be tuning-aware.

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