GEAR + TECH
How to choose a sleeping bag: a buying guide
Our comprehensive guide on how to choose a sleeping bag will ensure a cosy night’s sleep whatever the temperature Whether you’re a weekend warrior making a dash for the hills or preparing for a multi-day trek through the Himalayas, choosing the right sleeping bag can make or break a camping trip. It could be the difference between waking up fully recharged and ready for another day on the trail, or utterly exhausted and set to pack it in and head home to the comfort of your own bed. With this in mind, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to choose a sleeping bag. How to choose a sleeping bag We’ve broken down our guide into the following subsections. Where will you use your sleeping bag? The first question to ask is ‘where will I use my sleeping bag?’ I have two sleeping bags. O...
Sony Launches Wearable Motion Sonic Wristlet, Allowing Musicians to Apply Effects Live
Sony’s new Motion Sonic technology is bringing an added level of sophistication to live music performance. Imagine being able to apply effects to live instruments on the spot through the use of gestures alone. This handy piece of wearable technology allows musicians to do just that, applying delays, filters, pitch bends, and much more with just a wave, flick, or roll of the wrist. Motion Sonic allows users to map custom movements and effects all within the native app, then apply the effects by way of plugging their mobile device into an audio interface. Sony/Motion Sonic The technology is fully customizable to one’s desired method of performance. Through use of the Motion Sonic native app, users can map specific types of movements with a desired effect, then simply route ...
Kaskade and Chad Knight Release Digital Sculpture Garden as NFT
The hottest acronym of 2021 just picked up a major dance music player to add to its digital dominance. For his first NFT, Kaskade has teamed up with renowned digital artist Chad Knight for their “//SEASONS//” collection. NFTs have become saturated in recent weeks, but this collaborative drop is unique in that it contains an interactive, virtual reality-powered sculpture garden that anyone is free to explore. Set to the hypnotic sounds of Kaskade, the NFT drop allows fans to beam into the app and explore a virtual art gallery inspired by the collection. With four distinct areas representing each season, the experience helps tell the story of their audiovisual release. Kaskade and Chad Knight’s “//SEASONS//” NFT collection was released on Friday, May 2...
Headhunterz, Da Tweekaz Top “Defqon.1 at Home” Lineup, Streamed Exclusively On New Q-dance Network
It’s been a landmark week for Q-dance. This week, the famed hardstyle music brand announced their forthcoming digital broadcast network, Q-dance Network, and they’ve now slated its first exclusive block of programming. Q-dance dropped their hotly anticipated Defqon.1 at Home festival lineup today, and it’s a formidable showcase of the latest and greatest in hard dance. Headhunterz, Wildstylez, Frontliner, Angerfist, Da Tweekaz, and many more will be igniting the stages of this four-day livestream event, to air exclusively on Q-dance Network in June. Q-dance The platform is launching with a DEDIQATED Membership subscription option as an alternative to just purchasing a ticket for Defqon.1 at Home. The company states a membership plan will pro...
Still Confused About Audius? Here Are 3 Takeaways From Their Revealing Reddit AMA
Despite a highly competitive battleground for users, blockchain-powered music streaming platform Audius has held its own thus far against its massive competitors, like SoundCloud. That is impressive in itself, but it’s important to remember that Audius offers a value proposition unlike any other streaming platform out there: the promise of a decentralized network governed by blockchain technology. While the Audius team is no doubt discovering the benefits and limitations of this decentralized future as they go, it’s clear that artists and fans are eager to help fulfill their vision. Here are some of the takeaways we took from the leadership team’s recent Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) published on r/electronicmusic. Audius Audius’ Approach To ...
The Annual Pokémon GO Fest is Turning Into a Music Festival in 2021
Pokémon GO Fest 2021 has become the annual mecca for the app’s avid fandom. For last year’s first-ever online-only event, Niantic confirmed millions of Trainers, who shattered records and caught nearly 1 billion Pokémon. While there were a staggering amount of participants at the 2020 event, the 2021 edition could be even bigger after Niantic, the game’s developer, announced that it will double as a music festival. “2021 marks both the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pokémon and the fifth anniversary of Pokémon Go,” Niantic shared in a blog post. “So trust us when we say you won’t want to miss Pokémon Go Fest 2021!” The two-day event will kick off on July 17th and will be held exclusively online. Attendees will have the choice to select one of...
A Pornographic, Anime-Themed Plugin is Stirring Controversy in Music Production Circles
A new distortion plugin that features sexually explicit anime imagery has the music production community divided. The Nani production tool was developed by Los Angeles-based company WXAudio, who has called it “the first obscene anime distortion plugin.” It features six modes of distortion with drive and color controls and a depiction of a female hentai (an overtly sexualized style of anime and manga) character. In a similar style to Dada Life’s infamous Sausage Fattener plugin, the character depicted in Nani reacts to performance on its digital knob control. As the drive knob is turned up on the plugin, the character loses more and more of her clothes, and if turned all the way up, her breasts become fully exposed. Naturally, the plugin has sparked some ...
Harmonix’s Fuser Launches “Headliner Spotlight” Update With 24/7 Live Music Festival
Last year Harmonix, the developer behind Rock Band and Dance Central, launched their latest title Fuser, allowing gamers to become their very own DJ heroes. Without any special equipment, players are able to explore the world of mixing music in front of a massive virtual festival. Little did we know, even the professionals would be performing like this in just a few short months post-launch. After the rise of Twitch DJ sets due to the pandemic, developers are now releasing an update to the game called the “Headliner Spotlight.” This feature will allow players the chance to DJ for actual people at the Diamond Stage, a 24/7 live venue. Over 250 people will be able to watch a lucky user spin both in-game and on Twitch. While the performance in itself is impor...
Fender’s New Guitar Brings Electronic Music Production and Performance Into the Future
The future of guitars is here and it’s called the American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster. Fender’s latest in their Acoustasonic series may look like their classic 1960s Stratocaster on the outside, but it’s far from just any electric guitar. Offering a wide variety of both electric and acoustic sounds, the hybrid unit is the ultimate guitar for electronic music artists like San Holo, Dabin or Sullivan King, who creatively utilize guitars both in the studio and during their performances. Color options of Fender’s American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster Guitar. Fender What makes this guitar so special is that it’s the result of feedback from over 25,000 musicians who’ve used Acoustasonic guitars. With that in mind, it has a liberating form factor that ...
ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective Shares New Compilation and Innovative NFT Drop
Foreign Family Collective is providing a platform for their artists to release music without expectations. Amid a stressful past year for musicians due to the pandemic, ODESZA’s flagship label has brought forth an innovative album and NFT compilation, Rare.wavs Vol. 1. The record is jam-packed, consisting of 15 tracks from a number of the brand’s high-profile names such as Kasbo, MEMBA, Robotaki, and many more. From the spritely synths and quick-cutting drums of Jai Wolf‘s “Hikikomori” to Phantoms‘ cascading melodic slow jam “Do It Again,” the compilation reinforces this roster’s versatility in a multitude of genres and sound palettes. This particular compilation stands to weather the test of time in more ways than ...
Timbaland’s New Music Contest Offers Ultra-Rare, Molten-Blue MIDI Controllers—And Only 150 Exist
Timbaland is on a constant mission to democratize music creation. With an Energizer Bunny-like motor and a dogged entrepreneurial bug, the fabled music producer is as disruptive to the industry as a heavy metal concert is to a local bed-and-breakfast. He gamified music mixing by developing Beaterator. He’s changing the way people “feel” music with SubPac. He grew Verzuz from an unheralded DJ battle to a global powerhouse webcast series. But despite these subversive accomplishments, his latest venture could be his most impactful. Timbaland is currently gearing up for the launch of Beatclub, a premier music marketplace that gives independent producers access to samples and loops created by the music industry’s most prolific beatmakers. Mike Will Ma...
How Aloe Blacc Is Utilizing NFTs to Keep Avicii’s Legacy Alive
In the cutting-edge world of NFTs there’s almost no greater compliment than to call a piece “timeless.” In their perennial pursuit of value and utility, NFT creators and collectors alike constantly question what combination of creative and immutable qualities have the ability to leave a lasting impact. Given the feverish mainstream interest in the space, most NFT (non-fungible token) projects have borne little meaning beneath their superficial qualities. However, every once in awhile, a project with the organic confluence of superior design, noble intention, and historical relevance comes along. The rise in popularity of digital collectibles immediately grabbed Aloe Blacc‘s attention, and soon the Grammy-nominated artist became consumed with an idea that had t...
