If you spend any time on r/synthesizers or watch a lot of synth videos on YouTube, you’ve probably noticed the explosion of custom firmware for hardware synthesizers, samplers, and grooveboxes. What unites almost all of them is that they were made possible by increasingly sophisticated vibe-coding tools. These sorts of custom firmware were exceedingly rare […]
Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is known as something of a slacker guitar god. He stands stoically onstage, barely moving, as he seemingly effortlessly works through deft guitar solos and lopsided riffs. Unfortunately, Mascis has developed a similar reputation as an interview subject, quietly sitting and offering deft nonanswers. That’s not to say that Mascis […]
Wu-Tang’s Once Upon A Time in Shaolin album has, for the most part, been extremely difficult to listen to, but you can now hear two snippets of the album thanks to the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, which just published an episode all about the exclusive record. Once Upon A Time in Shaolin has a […]
YouTube is adding a “Made with AI” label to tracks that were “altered or fully generated” using AI, with a similar approach to its existing process for applying AI labels to videos. It doesn’t sound like this will apply to any and all use of AI tools in making music, but according to YouTube, it […]
There’s an entire cottage industry of iPod mods out there, but Sprout Pi and Sprout Pico are two of the few full motherboard replacements that combine many of the most popular mods into a single upgrade. Both versions add Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C, a microSD card slot, FLAC playback, and more. And while cracking open an […]
Apple Music’s iconic red app icon has reportedly been replaced with a black-and-white version in the latest iOS 27.2 beta, 9to5Mac reports. The eighth note on the icon also appears to have a slightly sharper angle than the original. A new Apple Music logo was also spotted last month on the Apple Music Hall website, […]
Artists are taking to social media to complain that DistroKid has unceremoniously removed their work without notice. Now DistroKid has confirmed to The Verge that the takedowns are a direct response to claims made by UMG. The label filed a lawsuit in September claiming that DistroKid has created an “AI-slop pipeline.” Artists are saying that […]
Sunmi is an undeniable force in K-pop. She first made her debut as a member of the Wonder Girls back in 2007, one of the first K-pop acts to really break through in the West. The English version of their single “Nobody” was the first K-pop song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in October […]
Teenage Engineering founder and CEO Jesper Kouthoofd told Highsnobiety that it plans to stop making synths. And yes, that includes the iconic OP-1, which put the company on the map. TE isn’t just a music gear maker; it’s also a sought-after design firm. It’s collaborated with Ikea, Nothing, and Playdate, among others. But almost everything […]
Spotify will offer audiobooks in more than 180 markets by the end of 2026, up from 22 today, the company said at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday. The global rollout will reach more than 750 million people, who will find books next to their music a…