First, it must be said: Many people already DJ with an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. They works just fine in many settings, even without using fancy DJ apps that enable cross-fading, EQ, headphone cuing, and other mainstays of the DJ trade. After all, when most people talk about DJing at a bar or party,…
We’ll stop writing about all the neat stuff to emerge from Music Hack Day Sydney at some point, but I’m not done with this thing yet, even as my jetlag is finally waning. Although this latest iteration of the Music Hack Day series produced only just north of 20 functional apps, they were all humdingers….
We’re all for apps that let beginners and seasoned geeks alike make music in a fun, easy, engaging way, but with the potential for sonically interesting results. We like to call them apps for making music without really trying. eDrops (free-$2, for iPhone and iPad), the latest entry in this field, takes its musical inspiration from the…
When we finally saw Spotify’s new iPad app in the company’s New York City offices this week, we breathed a sigh of relief on behalf of all the breathless Spotify fans who have been demanding its release. A web search for “iPad Spotify app” on the eve of the announcement revealed millions of matches, including…
After almost a decade of musical silence, acclaimed electronic artist and SoundCloud CTO Eric Wahlforss (a.k.a. Forss) has returned with a new album of music, which is already available as a simple web app preview that will soon be joined by a more elaborate iPad app. Hugely inspired by one of Europe’s oldest musical forms — choral church…
Paul Miller, records and tours under the moniker DJ Spooky. He also writes books, makes art, writes articles, and releases his music in an interactive, remixable music format: DJ Spooky and The Secret Song 2. These apps not only let you remix his songs so they can sound different every time you play them, but you…
Sure, you can make music on the iPhone, but iPad‘s big screen and faster processor work better for apps that present a more complete version of the typical recording studio. This difference becomes immediately clear with Tabletop for iPad. It’s not just a collection of sequencers and sample pads, but rather a full-service, multi-channel, multi-machine modular workstation for…
Audio sequencers typically work the same way. Most of these tools, favored by DJs and electronic musicians, organize sound on a grid with time on the horizontal axis and notes on the vertical axis. Gliss ($3, iPhone or iPad) bends that tried-and-true convention. The resulting app feels altogether new, despite elements that will feel familiar to…
When we met with Shazam last November, executive vice-president of marketing David Jones told us about a plan to turn Shazam, which is widely used as a way to identify ambient music using just about any smartphone, into a full-fledged music player app. Today, not at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced its release. Shazam Player…
One of the neatest things we saw at last year’s CES was Ion Audio’s line of iPad-docking keyboards. This year, the company is displaying a new version on the CES showroom floor that looks like a big improvement; it was enough to take home a “CES Innovations Design & Engineering Showcase Honors 2012″ award. Ion…
Daft Punk uses it. Deadmau5 uses it. Nine Inch Nails uses it. Now you can use it too — or try to, at least. The Lemur multi-touch application for iPod from Liine, which also makes hardware and computer controllers, is probably the most comprehensive MIDI/OSC multi-touch controller available today. (We say “likely” because we generally focus on stuff…
Contrary to form, let’s talk about something old-fashioned: music boxes — specifically, the kind that are attached to snow globes. You may still have one of these holiday-themed tchotchkes on display at your house, although it might take on a forlorn air now that Festivus is over. You know the drill: flip them over, wind them up, and enjoy…
Happy holidays! So, you scored a new iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. You’ve already downloaded Angry Birds, set up email, and possibly had some interesting conversations with Siri. What about the music? You probably have some, and you probably want more. Sure, you could just sync and playing the same music from your iTunes library. But that’s something your…
When I heard that everybody’s favorite instrument-wielding, Bachmann-baiting, bona fide hip-hop and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon house band extraordinaires, The Roots, would be releasing an app album, my interest was piqued. This group has spent the last two decades infusing classic, head-knocking rap with jazzy instrumentals (and, lately, spacey electronics), so I was excited…
There are plenty of reasons not to buy Apple TV or Google TV, and some of them have to do with the people who hold many of the cards being perfectly happy with the way things are today. You can’t really cut the cord if you like television programming, as many of us do, which is…
