Downloads John Cage-Inspired Prepared Piano & Amplified Cactus from Puremagnetik Experimental composer John Cage made an extraordinary mark on 20th-century music, contributing new ideas to musical conception and performance that continue to ripple through culture today. An early pioneer of sampling, Cage also blurred the lines between what were traditionally considered "musical" and "non-musical" sources, and...
News Vocalisms from Uppercussion: Bigmouth Beats The human mouth is an exceptionally versatile instrument when it comes to making percussion noises - from kick-like pops to hi-hat-esque sibilant sounds, there’s a myriad possibilities. Vocalisms, a new Pack from Uppercussion, includes sounds commonly associated with beatboxing, many out-of-this-world sounds you might never have thought of, and a...
Artists Input/Output: Dizz1 Melbourne-based turntablist, producer, drummer and teacher, Dave Norris (aka Dizz1) has been gradually building up his reputation track-by-track and beat-by-beat. His latest release, the Everyday Grind EP, has just landed via the UK’s Tru Thoughts label and features the likes of Aloe Blacc, Om’Mas Keith and Warrior Queen flowing over...
Artists Petrichor: Sounds Come Alive As a musician, engineer, live performer, DJ, and Ableton Certified Trainer, Simon Stokes plays many roles in his musical life. Working with classic hardware and cutting-edge software, Simon’s music balances a love for pristine, timeless sounds and new techniques for production and performance. His latest project, Petrichor, has seen release...
Artists Second Storey on Push Alec Storey - aka Al Tourettes aka Second Storey - is a master of enveloping ambient atmospheres and sharp, punching electro-style beats. Alec stopped by Sonic State to perform live in-studio and demonstrate his workflow with Push and Live 9 - watch below: Hear more of Alec's music on last...
Events Meet Ableton at SXSW 2014 From March 12-14 we’ll be in Austin, Texas throughout the South By Southwest Music festival. We’ll be debuting Ableton Spaces - a festival space for daytime workshops, demonstrations, and performances with Ableton specialists, Certified Trainers, and some of our favorite artists including Jerome LOL, Knxwledge,...
Artists J-Pop Mashup from Rishabh Rajan We thoroughly enjoyed the last mashup video from Certified Trainer Rishabh Rajan, featuring a series of K-Pop songs. Now, Rishabh is back with a J-Pop mashup video, working with songs by Yasutaka Nakata (songwriter/producer for Capsule and Perfume, among others). Playing Push again, Rishabh is joined this time by his...
Artists Input/Output: Komon & Appleblim Starting out with a remix for Sideshow, Laurie Osborne aka Appleblim and Keiran Lomax aka Komon (or Komonazmuk) have forged a collaborative partnership through a series of lauded releases. Most recently, the duo released the Jupiter EP on the respected Aus Music label, co-run by long-term friend Will Saul. We...
Tutorials Make a Lead Sound in Live - Tutorial from Ambrus Deak A good lead can make a classic track - with just the right cut through a mix and effects movement, you've got a sound for the audience to cling to that's nearly analogous in importance to the lyrics in a rock song. In a new tutorial, Certifed Trainer Ambrus Deak...
Downloads Spy Guitar - Multisampled Bass Guitar Instrument from Antonio Sage The Fender VI Bass Guitar is a classic instrument - moving beyond the traditional four-string bass layout, it features six strings, for an impressive range. Certified Trainer Antonio Sage meticulously sampled his Fender VI for Spy Guitar, a new free instrument for Live. Spy Guitar includes a variety of playing...
Artists It's 303 Day - Celebrating the Acid Legacy Today is March third, or 3/03. Among fans of acid house and techno, it's an day to celebrate all things with squelch, after the legendary sound of Roland's TB-303 bassline synthesizer. And we couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a few of our favorite acid tracks.
Tutorials Develop Your Live Performance Setup with Live 9 Timo Preece performs live Performing electronic music live can be tricky - how much do you want to use loops? How much do you want to play in live? How do you want to use controllers, or external hardware effects/acoustic instruments? It might seem daunting to think of what you...
Downloads Bits and Beats - New Free Samples from 8 bit bandit The video game music (aka chiptune aka 8-bit) aesthetic was born of necessity - early video game systems couldn't synthesize or process audio at higher bit-depths. But from these classic systems, artists have taken influence for a style of music that balances...
Artists New Mixtape from CyHi the Prynce & Tec Beatz Since he first appeard as part of Kanye West's GOOD Friday series, CyHi the Prynce has made a name for himself as an up-and-coming MC with endorsements from other huge names like Pusha T and Akon. Released this week, CyHi's new mixtape, Hystori: Black History Project, presents a politically and...
Downloads Advanced Aftertouch with Push - New From Isaac Cotec The pads on Push are made for expression, and respond to velocity (how hard you initially hit the pad), as well as aftertouch (how much pressure you apply in keeping the pad pressed). Aftertouch can me mapped to a variety of controls - open up a filter by pressing harder,...
News Herse: Deconstruct & Refine Your Sound We’ve all worked with loops that just feel too static - maybe some elements could use subtle rearranging, or perhaps some filter tweaks or rolls/repeats would spice things up. Or, maybe it’s time for the nuclear option, throwing everything through a mangle for experimental/IDM-style results. Whether you’re looking for subtle...
