welcome

We were pretty much forced to do this

Ro-ro-ro your synth…

NEW RELEASES • COMMENT • INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS

App watch

We report on the latest developments in phone and tablet music making

Get with the programmers

Tone2 have supplied this month’s free software. Time to talk tech with developer and director Markus Krause

COMPUTER MUSIC 10 years back

Our monthly shake-of-thehead at our younger selves’ news choices…

YA TSEEN

Alaskan-born Nicholas Galanin is a world-renowned artist  and owns a recording studio to die for. But he only has one  microphone in it, as he was duped by Carrie Fisher’s brother.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Ya Tseen

IS HARDWARE KILLING COMPUTER MUSIC?

There are some new  ways to make music in  town and they’re hard as nails. But do these  new do-it-all hardware  units have all the power  of a desktop DAW, and  will they make you  rethink the way you  make music? Time to  go to the hard side…

15 questions with… MORCHEEBA

As producers of lush, downtempo tunes, Morcheeba  have had more than a quarter of a century of success.  It’s been quite a ride, and we’re not just talking about the  transition from Atari to Mac…

Roland Verselab MV-1

Sure, the Roland Verselab MV-1 does everything – beats, instruments, sampling, sequencing, effects, automation – but the emphasis is squarely on performing with, and recording, vocals

Akai Force

The Akai Force is the role model for hardware  that tackles DAWs head-on – this is the closest  thing to a DAW in a box…

Polyend Tracker

It could be said that the Polyend Tracker looks  quite unassuming, but there’s a huge amount of  sequencing and sampling creativity lurking  below the surface…

Native Instruments Maschine+

Native Instruments’ Maschine+ is a unique  example of a software product that’s become a  hardware device – how well has it adjusted to its  new standalone lifestyle?

SHE’S GOT CLAWS

With a sound that melds ominous synth  textures with effect-driven bass guitar, yet  simultaneously leaves space for sparkling,  transcendent pop hooks, She’s Got Claws  haven’t let a pandemic stand in the way of a  fierce new record, co-produced by OMD  legend Andy McCluskey

LAU.RA

Laura Bettinson’s multifaceted career has found  the Midlands-hailing artist leaping seamlessly  from the technicolor avant-garde pop of FEMME  and the cerebral intensity of Ultraísta to the fresh,  wonky electronica of lau.ra. On the heels of a  slew of new singles, we ask what initiated her  new direction, and discover how lockdown has  fuelled a new studio approach

#02 Punchy bass

In the second of his new synth series – focussing on the free plugins we give you each month – Dave Gale makes your basses punch

#01 Adding warmth

It’s another new series in our Expert Guides, this time helping you to add some humanity to your computer music-making

#10 Synthesising a walking bassline

Discover how to create a moving bass that changes in pitch

Arturia Pigments 3 €99 PC MAC

The Pigments powerhouse gets upgraded to v3, adding more engines, more waveforms and more effects. Have we reached saturation point?

Leapwing Audio Al Schmitt £139

Bottling the sonic signature of the sadly departed producer, Leapwing Audio’s latest plugin promises the sound of a legend…

Solid State Logic UF8 £1199 PC MAC

DAW controllers let us take direct control over our projects – can SSL’s new UF8 bridge the gap between software and hardware?

Waves Vocal Bender £110 PC MC

This appealing vocal mangler lets you give music’s most essential instrument the colour and dexterity modern pop production demands

Cableguys DriveShaper €39

Analogue-style distortion and creative wavefolding make this a pulsating box of gritty filth… which is far more pleasant than it sounds

cm mini reviews

A rapid-fire round-up of ROMplers, music gear and more…

Soundware round-up

Audiotent

Bundles!

When companies bundle stuff together, it usually means big savings. Here are six of the best bargain bundles…

TONE2 FILTERBANK3

Is it a filter? Is it a synth? Find out about our free software now with our hands-on, step-by-step tutorial! (Hint: it’s actually both!)

Classic Dub & Bass

We’ve gone far back with the mighty cm Vault this month as we dig deep for some dub and almost as deep for even more bass mayhem…