News from the week - 2 November 2020

We have had another busy news week. To keep up to date follow me on Twitter and never miss a beat. 

First up we had Modal Electronics who announced a new virtual analogue waveform synth Cobalt. Head on over to - https://www.modalelectronics.com/cobalt8/ for more information. 

Moog has re-introduced the Werkstatt-01 Analog Synthesizer Kit and CV Expander, a portable patchable synthesizer, with as a bundle for $199. You can find more details over on Synthopia - https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2020/10/29/moog-werkstatt-01-synthesizer-back-with-199-price/ 

Sinevibes introduced Albedo, a new granular cloud reverb for MacOS that lets you manipulate live audio like tape or a turntable. https://www.sinevibes.com/albedo/ 

We then took a little pit stop and checked on my background and what drove me into Electronic Music. Here's a quick background about the people that influenced my music education and what started me on the journey - https://adrianearnshaw.com/blog/blog/influences 

Steinberg released VST Connect 5, which is perfect for those remote sessions in these very uncertain times. Even more so now Lockdown 2 has been announced this week in the UK - https://new.steinberg.net/vst-connect/new-features/ 

Matt Bowdler of The Unfinished released the patch library Nordsund II for Zebra 2 and Zebra HZ. If you don't already know, this guys sound design is top-notch so check it out:- https://www.theunfinished.co.uk/shop/zebra-nordsund-ii-bundle/ 

A new Spitfire Audio originals library is out - Firewood Piano - This is a detailed upright piano, with a cracked bridge, creating unique resonances. https://www.spitfireaudio.com/originals/#firewood-piano 

Interested in FL Studio? Then why not take a quick tour of every effect that Image Line’s FL Studio has to offer - 
https://youtu.be/RVN_qRF67E8 

I then came across something really epic for you synth-heads that is worth a listen - https://youtu.be/S4mZq-0ClVE the old silent movie Nosferatu has been given an all analogue synth soundtrack. This is truly a project of passion for music. 

We then head on over to France where the guys over at https://norand.io/ have launched their new synthesizer. This ain't cheap but has a really deep sound as this video shows - https://youtu.be/u56TKtbfjI4 

After a quick visit to France, we hot-footed it over to Ukraine and visited the studio of Fedor Tkachev for a cinematic modular synth session - https://youtu.be/_BKlCgAS1o4 

Cherry Audio launched the CA2600, which is an emulation of the classic ARP 2600 synthesizer - https://youtu.be/ZZkn9srj-r4 and more information here - https://cherryaudio.com/instruments/ca2600 

I came across a really useful tutorial from Attack Magazine in which they look at three techniques that will ensure your wide mixes still sound good when collapsed to mono. It's always worth checking that your mixes work in both mono and stereo. Think of all the smart speakers that people are listening to their music on these days. https://www.attackmagazine.com/technique/tutorials/mono-safe-stereo-width/ 

We now step into the money pit world of modular synthesis. Ritual Electronics has released three new 1 unit rack modules. The modules are designed to be compatible with Eurorack modules but in a more compact format 
https://www.ritualelectronics.com/ 

After more than a year of work, developers have released OpenDeck firmware v5, a major update to the open-source platform for creating custom MIDI controllers. This is a Github project and can be found here - https://github.com/paradajz/OpenDeck 

We had a great deal in place over at Plugin Boutique who launched an exclusive sale on the AudioThing Kontakt Bundle, offering a massive 70% off - https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/55-Kontakt-Instrument/3428-AudioThing-Kontakt-Bundle for more details. 

This is a nice little #app -https://www.therecordingsetupapp.com/ - The Recording Setup App helps you plan, setup and archive recording sessions. So you can plan your recording session ahead of time in a clear and effective manner. 

Towards the end of this week, we took a quick spin through the patch library Realm of Omnisphere II by CL-Projects https://youtu.be/99jEFrpy0BY This patch library is heavily influenced by the style of Jean Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis. It channels that vintage vibe with a touch of Berlin School thrown in. 

For those that have listened to my music, you will immediately know that this library is right in my wheelhouse. As a big fan of these three artists and style of music, patches from this library get used in my music quite a lot. 

Next week we will have a demo track using just the sounds from this library. 

To close the week off we took a trip over to Spotify to check out Crimson Dynamo - https://open.spotify.com/album/5u6y4Nhi0hEyDkAHodCSuX on of my new tracks. This is a light track with some trance melodic elements for your listening pleasure. 

We then round the week off with another track that was released at the end of last month - https://open.spotify.com/album/48kwplAFBVmL34x7SYlzTv 

All the tracks you can hear are available to purchase in the store on this website. Your support is truly welcomed.

If you enjoyed this new format of rounding up the news from the week let me know in the comments below. 

Until next week you have yourselves a great weekend.

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