GEAR + TECH
These Fully Functional, Environmentally Friendly MIDI Pedals are Made from Cardboard
NILSON brand beat bars has been manufacturing some truly impressive MIDI software and hardware since 2015. Experts in 3D modeling, electronics, and computer engineering are the minds behind some of the brand’s work, including MIDI pedals and footswitches that are perfect for musicians who wish they had four hands instead of two. Pedals and footswitches are nothing new, but beat bars’ quality products have consistently garnered positive reviews and have been an effective tool for music makers across the globe for years now. beat bars recently took things a step further, crafting something that is new. The Cardboard Expression Pedal and Cardboard Footswitch are 100% environmentally friendly, using only cardboard and other biodegradable material. That̵...
deadmau5 Partners With Emanate to Launch New Digital Collectibles for WAX Blockchain
deadmau5 is well-known for being a pioneer when it comes to the intersection of music and technology. His latest venture sees him partner with Emanate, who are utilizing the WAX Blockchain for the release of deadmau5-branded Series 1 digital collectibles, also known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to the microsite, these items will be “exclusive, verified collectible digital merch,” each of which are “certified, authentic, unique, and can never be altered.” WAX, which stands for “Worldwide Asset eXchange,” is a blockchain created specifically for trading virtual items—such as rare collectibles—in video games and virtual worlds. NFTs are a special type of cryptographic token that represents something unique, and they are ther...
These Morphing LED Tattoos are Like a Flow Toy On Your Body
While you might have heard of glow-in-the-dark tattoos, which use UV-light activated ink for their effect, this style has been relegated to old school status with the invention of new LED tattoos. These tattoos pop all on their own, using neon colors and moving artwork to broadcast psychedelic rave visuals right on your body. With tattoos already popularized as a go-to way for EDM fans to express their love of music, adding an LED element could be a fun new option to bring these pieces of art to life. Artwork by Keegan Sweeney. The technology used for these tattoos was pioneered in 2009 by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who developed light emitting diode (LED) devices that could be implanted under the skin and show through to the surface. Made of a thin silicone...
This New App Could Prove to be a Global Solution for Clubbing Safely in 2021
There’s a new app that could potentially pave the way to partying safely in the pandemic era. Announced at the annual International Nightlife Congress meeting in Valencia, Spain, Liberty Pass validates whether a user has produced a negative COVID-19 test within a 72-hour period, allowing the user to access bars and clubs accordingly. The app aggregates official medical information and produces a QR code with a green check mark if the individual has successfully tested negative. When a vaccine becomes available, those who receive it will also be permitted to attend events for the entire period of time the vaccine is considered valid. Liberty Pass (via DJ Mag) It’s important to acknowledge that, in theory, an attendee could become infected with COVID-19 during the 72-hour p...
Native Instruments Warns of Irreparable Damage to DJ Controllers With Apple’s Big Sur Update
A new macOS Big Sur update is usually great news for Apple users, but those who also use Native Instruments‘ Traktor Kontrol S4 Mk3 DJ controller might want to take caution before nabbing the latest update. Native Instruments has warned of the potentially harmful effects of the update in regards to the company’s S4 Mk3 controller, which could be subjected to irreversible damage. The S4—and other devices built for Intel processing structures—don’t exactly mesh with Apple’s shift to their own in-house Silicon-based processing. “Using a Traktor Kontrol S4 Mk3 on macOS 11 (Big Sur) can cause malfunction and potentially damage your controller,” the company warned in a statement on its support pages. “We are working together with Apple...
Spotify Has Invented AI Technology for Songwriters to Detect Plagiarism
Spotify has filed a new European patent after inventing technology for songwriters to detect and combat plagiarism. According to a report published by Music Business Worldwide, the streaming giant recently filed a patent for a “Plagiarism Risk Detector And Interface” that is able to detect plagiarism in a musician’s lead sheets. For our non-musician readers, a lead sheet is a form of musical score that notates a song’s core elements, including its melody, lyrics, and harmony. With Spotify’s new tech, musicians are able to feed their lead sheets through a “plagiarism detector,” which would then cross-reference its components with the encoded lead sheets of Spotify’s vast library of songs. The platform will then spit out a s...
Spotify is Testing an Instagram Stories-Like Feature In Editorial Playlists
There’s a running joke that soon every digital interface—from Instagram to Microsoft Excel—will offer some kind of stories-related social feature. However, it’s becoming less of an exaggeration by the day, as Spotify has drawn attention for its latest stories feature test. If you take a look at Spotify’s “Christmas Hits” playlist on a mobile device, you may be lucky enough to see the latest test of Spotify stories. The playlist, which currently boasts music from Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, and Kelly Clarkson, includes a reel of short clips from the artists akin to Snap and Instagram’s stories features. Spotify (via The Verge) In a statement to Engadget, the company confirmed that the availability of this feature is still limited in scope. &...
You Can Win The Chemical Brothers’ Roland TB-03 Synthesizer
Want to own a piece of EDM history? You can now get your hands on a Roland TB-03 synthesizer owned by The Chemical Brothers. The legendary electronic music duo is giving away the synth to raise funds for #ILoveLive, a campaign developed to offer help to live music stage crew workers in the UK who are experiencing the financial pitfalls of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new campaign published on Crowdfunder, The Chemical Brothers called those workers the “unsung heroes of the live entertainment world” and asserted that the funds raised from the initiative could literally save their lives. “The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for the whole music industry but particularly for the stage techs, sound engineers, guitar techs, keyboard techs, drum techs,...
TribeXR to Incorporate Beatpork LINK for Virtual Reality DJing
Beatport LINK subscribers will now be able to access their libraries in the virtual realm after a new partnership with TribeXR was announced. For those unfamiliar with the program, TribeXR is a virtual reality DJing platform where players can interact with simulated mixers and create their own DJ sets with nothing but a virtual reality-enabled device. While users can upload their own music for their digital sets, the new partnership will give subscribers instant access to the music platform’s entire library without the need for a storage device as the tracks are streamed from Beatport. The TribeXR program is a one-time purchase of $29.99 while Beatport LINK is a monthly subscription that comes in three packages with a variety of added features. Users who own a virtual rea...
You Can Now Learn Spanish, French, and Other Languages With New Deezer Playlists
Need to refresh the foreign language skills you haven’t tapped into since high school? Deezer‘s latest playlist series may be for you. The streaming platform is betting on listeners’ openness to the idea of learning their next language through the power of music. A survey conducted by the company appears to have revealed exactly that, as over 90% of respondents confirmed they believe music assists with language mastery. The company has retained language expert Susanna Zarysky to help curate and launch five separate playlists, each designed to enhance the listener’s understanding of a particular language. The playlists, consisting of 20 tracks, are broken down into four segments, each having a specific purpose. The first five tracks are designed to enhance the l...
AIAIAI’s Black Friday Sale Will Get You 30% Off Sitewide
Sustainable audio design brand AIAIAI‘s TMA-2 model has made a name for itself as one of the industry’s top-shelf headphone offerings. Favored by renowned DJs and performers worldwide, including Richie Hawtin, KAYTRANADA, Charlotte DeWitte, Skream, Yaeji, and many more, the fully modular TMA-2 headphone is now even available in an HD Wireless model. For those looking to score a “preset” version of the TMA-2, or to build their own custom pair from the ground up, there isn’t a better time than now. On Black Friday, AIAIAI will host a sitewide sale giving customers 30% off any purchase. That means that the TMA-2 HD Wireless configuration will be priced at $245.00, rather than its typical retail price of $350.00. Over $100 off of retail is incentiv...
Kryder Enters the VR Space With Launch of New “Kryteria Metaverse”
Having moved forward with a jam-packed year of releases, the launch of his own music production coaching service, and now the debut of his new VR experience, Kryder has not allowed the pitfalls of 2020 to get the best of him. With the launch of “Kryteria Metaverse,” the renowned English DJ and producer has rendered himself into CGI-character form for his exciting VR concept, which brings fans along for a 60-minute monthly show. The episodes will showcase the best new music from his trio of labels: Kryteria, Sosumi, and Cartel Recordings. To bring the stunning performance to life each month, Kryder is working with full-body motion capture technology to mimic his DJing and superimpose the movements onto a custom avatar in his new virtual world. The...
