CDM Create Digital Music

Chaotic vocals, polyrhythmic grooves — meet the every something plugins

Peter Kirn — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:17:07 +0000

Imagine crossing vocal synthesis with a rungler, vocal circuits entangling with each other like they're "speaking in tongues." Or enveloped grooves that bend and twist with liquid controls, shaped with tuplets and polymeters. Creator Jelle Akkerman is launching every something plug-ins today with two new tools, Glosso and Artikulation. Here's your guide to both.

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Francisco Partners exits Muse Group (Audacity, Hal Leonard, MuseScore)

Peter Kirn — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:31:10 +0000

Francisco Partners, the private equity firm, is now exiting Muse Group amid 2026's financial maneuvers. Muse Group is the Cyprus-based conglomerate that owns the publishing giant Hal Leonard, audio editor Audacity, notation software MuseScore and StaffPad, and the online platform Ultimate Guitar.

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Ableton Extensions will let you code your own tools and actions for Live

Peter Kirn — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:30:47 +0000

You run up against a limitation in Ableton Live, or you've got a creative idea. What if you could make it happen using code? That's the Ableton Extension SDK, out in public beta now (JavaScript, TypeScript, Node.js). And just like that, we've got Live with handy new workflows, opening up scores, connecting to the Web, and playing games. Here's what it means, and what it can and can't do (so far).

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Kaximia on channeling aggression, soldering into survival; VCF giveaway

Kaximia — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 21:08:13 +0000

Behind the headlines, there is the reality of living through war. Our friend in Kyiv, Kaximia, (part of Tembra Modular, “Let’s explore modular synthesis”) is back to talk about how music can be an outlet. The past days and hours have been horrifying, from Tyre to Odesa, so I’m grateful to Kaximia for her reflections […]

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Unreal Engine 5.8 is a major audio release, despite Epic staffing cuts

Peter Kirn — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:04:27 +0000

Epic layoffs in March cut deep into the audio and music teams. But there's hope that their work will live on in Unreal Engine and MetaSounds, via what is arguably the most innovative sound work built into any game engine. Unreal Engine 5.8, now in preview, features a bunch of powerful tools for working with sound, one of the biggest sound releases yet. Here's a look at what's in that roadmap.

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Niseko is a gorgeous, instant must-have additive synth for Ableton Live

Peter Kirn — Fri, 29 May 2026 21:12:05 +0000

Forget any associations you may have with additive synthesis. Monomono's Niseko takes that harmonic content and makes it accessible and expressive, via the UI or an input (including Push and MPE).

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Microtonality is the big trend of the 16th century — ask Nicolà Vicentino

Peter Kirn — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:29:03 +0000

Kids today, with their 31 equal divisions of the octave. Yes, it's the music of Nicolà Vicentino, a Renaissance theorist and composer who built his own microtonal harpsichord to accommodate his experimental tunings. But it's not just a theoretical experiment: there is some connection to musical practice (even if Vicentino was basically making this up). Food for thought as we mess with digital tuning systems and microonality."

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monome at 20: memories of the grid, in pictures

Peter Kirn — Wed, 27 May 2026 22:48:07 +0000

Kelli Cain and Brian Crabtree are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their monome company and project this week. For anyone moved by their creations over the years, there will be no escape from the feels in this gallery -- and, of course, I couldn't resist adding some extra memories from that era.

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The joy of Splines, a module that can make anything from curves

Peter Kirn — Tue, 26 May 2026 17:13:25 +0000

It's an oscillator, a step sequencer, a modulation and envelope source, a quantizer (with custom tunings) -- even a scope, thanks to its interactive, animated visual interface. Thorn Audio's new Eurorack module can make anything from elegant, precise curves. It's more than just another do-everything module. Now you're playing with Splines.

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Let’s all watch Piaman cover songs with a joystick and voice synthesis

Peter Kirn — Mon, 25 May 2026 17:58:07 +0000

Piaman, aka half of RYOKO2000, formerly Pianoid (bio: "doesn't play piano at all") is turning himself into a human Vocaloid, with joysticks and fast reflexes. And this is what you need right now. Linkhole trail begins now:

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