GEAR + TECH
Daft Punk’s Iconic “TRON: Legacy” Soundtrack Receives Deluxe Vinyl Reissue by Mondo
As rumors around Disney’s Tron 3 continue to swirl around the mythos of Daft Punk, the duo’s iconic soundtrack from 2010’s TRON: Legacy has received a special deluxe vinyl reissue from Mondo. Known for its limited edition comics, vinyl pressings, rare VHS releases, and screen printed posters, Mondo is one of the most renowned pop culture lifestyle companies in the nation. Their brand new vinyl reissue of the legendary duo’s TRON: Legacy soundtrack is nothing short of breathtaking. Featuring exquisite custom artwork by British illustrator Matt Taylor, Mondo’s record is housed in a spot-varnished die-cut O-Card and pressed on 2x 180-gram colored vinyl. The vinyl contains Daft Punk’s entire original score in addition ...
Hear the Milky Way Galaxy with NASA’s Data Sonification Project
Deep space digital telescopes have provided the ability for humans to observe imagery of the Milky Way galaxy’s center, but new technology will now allow humans the opportunity to hear the stars. Much like telescopes translate binary code into vibrant images of our galaxy, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory is using the technique of sonification to translate galactic formations into sound based in part on their brightness and shape. NASA is showcasing their results in a variety of sample images that cover a variety of galactic landmarks around a stunning 26,000 light years from Earth. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope depict star clusters, translated sonically as individual notes using twinkling pianos and harp plucks. Each stars’ brightness impacts the amplitude ...
College Student Develops Electronic Music Production Application for the Visually Impaired
A college student in the United Kingdom has developed software that allows the visually impaired to create electronic music with ease. After performing at a music festival in 2017, Ché Leader was in a serious car accident that left him hospitalized with a split tongue, broken nose, and chipped tooth. While he recovered, he also suffered severe eye injuries and is now visually impaired, experiencing chronic pain and psychological problems from the incident. The difficulties he faces each day and his background in sound design inspired him to create something that helps others in a similar situation. While specifics on his application have not yet been revealed, Leader’s software allows users to create electronic music with less reliance on sight than your average digita...
The Neptunes and deadmau5’s “Pomegranate” is Now Available for Immersive Listening Via Dolby Atmos
Fans now have the opportunity to experience one of deadmau5‘s biggest hits in a multi-dimensional sonic setting. His recent collaboration alongside The Neptunes, “Pomegranate,” has received the Dolby Atmos treatment via Amazon Music and TIDAL. The masked music producer has embraced cutting-edge technology as a core pillar of his brand. deadmau5 now joins a limited selection of artists whose music is currently available on the platform. Dolby Atmos prides itself as “the next era of music” that has the ability to make the listener feel immersed in the song they are streaming. The sonic technology accomplishes this feat by adding layers of perceptible depth and clarity to the music, with fans describing it as “surround sound on steroids,” allowin...
How Redpill VR is Mutating the Modern Music Festival Into a Visceral Virtual Reality Experience
With each major music festival domino that falls due to the impact of COVID-19, Redpill VR smells the blood in the water. Developing mind-bending, immersive experiences that blend music with virtual reality, Redpill has emerged as one of the nation’s preeminent VR companies. They have been working tirelessly for the better half of the last decade, looking through rose-colored VR glasses to mutate the modern music festival into an immersive shared experience that can be funneled straight to the cerebrum of the raver. “At the end of the day, the core element of the experience is to be social,” Redpill’s Isaiah Martin told EDM.com. As the organization’s Chief Magic Officer, Martin has a bird’s-eye view of its technological advancements, helping to spea...
Viberate Launches New Analytics Tool to Empower Music Professionals
Last year, around 40,000 songs were uploaded to Spotify every single day. The figure represents both a staggering statistic and a daunting obstacle for independent artists, whose music is essentially rendered a needle in a haystack. With so much new music entering platforms each passing minute, music discovery and management have become more difficult in an extremely competitive industry. Enter UMEK, the renowned electronic music producer and entrepreneur behind Viberate, a music tech startup that develops tools to empower music professionals. Their latest venture is a brand new analytics tool, which the company launched this week. The tool collects and analyzes crucial social media and music streaming metrics, such as followers, charts, views and engagement, and turns accur...
For $199, You Can Look Like a Cringey Daft Punk-Esque Astronaut With This Pandemic-Proof Helmet
Thanks to a bizarre new pandemic-proof wearable, you can now look like an astronaut plucked out of an early 90s pre-Daft Punk helmet blueprint. For $199, you can squeeze your head into MicroClimate‘s freakish “AIR” helmet, which the company is touting as a safe and stylish alternative to protect against COVID-19. More of a clumsy fishbowl than a trendy fashion statement, the new wearable cycles both inlet and outlet air through HEPA filters and contains a patented acrylic visor, which offers a clear view of the cosmonaut DJ behind it. Despite its Black Mirror-esque appearance and inherently comical existence, though, the “AIR” model comes with a laundry list of impressive tech specs. In addition to its state-of-the-art fan-powered ventilati...
Spotify Is Beta Testing Critical Upgrades to Its Apple Watch App
Though the Apple Watch first appeared on the scene nearly five years ago to underwhelming sales in its first year, the industry-leading wearable device has flourished in popularity in recent years and is poised for further growth. As the release of Apple’s latest Series 6 watch looms, Spotify has stepped up efforts to support and improve its capabilities on the device. Despite having an app since 2018 on the watch, Spotify has not created a native wearable experience, instead vastly functioning as a control for the Spotify app on the iPhone. Until now, Spotify’s Apple Watch app has not supported streaming natively through the device. However, recently users have reported seeing a blue “beta” icon within the watch’s connected devices window, which has all...
Reveho Launches Kickstarter for Revolutionary Modular Slite Guitar
Six years ago, French music equipment brand Reveho dreamed up a modular and easily portable electric guitar that didn’t compromise quality and sound. The Slite was born out of that dream, and Reveho’s plan for the instrument has nearly come to fruition. Funded via Kickstarter, the Slite aims to be the next big evolution of the electric guitar. A fully modular product that eliminates the need for pedals, interchangeable pickups, analog effects, and easily replaceable strings, the guitar is endlessly customizable to produce a vast multitude of sounds. The Slite can also house its own amplifier on the higher wing of the guitar, ensuring full portability with its collapsible body. Knobs and controllers allow the unit to easily adjust effects, pickup sensitivity, volu...
deadmau5 and SUBPAC Team Up for Custom M2 Model
deadmau5 and SUBPAC have teamed up for a one-of-a-kind collaboration that will literally send shockwaves down the spines of his fans. SUBPAC made waves back in 2013, when the company debuted its inaugural S1 model, the first fully integrated audio system that “immerses the body in high fidelity physical sound.” The one-of-a-kind audio ecosystem offered a unique listening experience that allowed users to append it to their backs in order to literally feel the frequencies of their music, games, film, and more. SUBPAC has released a number of iterations since the release of the S2, but the brand has just unveiled perhaps its most momentous model yet. SUBPAC has released a new collaboration with deadmau5 in the form of a custom M2 model. It has a new ergonomic shape ...
Pioneer’s Limited Edition DDJ-400-N Controller is a Portable, Gold-Dipped Nugget for Precision DJing
When Pioneer DJ unveiled its limited edition DDJ-400-N controller, the company took a proven hit and dipped it in gold. With subtle hues of gold splayed throughout the instrument like the gilded wings of a sparrow, the DDJ-400-N is a sleek and portable controller for precision DJing. While it is ideal for at-home performance due to its incredibly easy USB setup, its portable size renders it a great option for on-the-go mixing as well. It’s clear that Pioneer did their best to make the model their most accessible yet, as users are able to unbox their controller and find a rekordbox license key so they can start DJing immediately and avoid bottlenecks. Pioneer DJ Learning to DJ has never been easier with the DDJ-400-N, which was released earlier this ...
Fortnite Reveals New In-Game Concert Series Amid Bitter Legal Battle with Apple
The wildly popular battle royale mass multiplayer game Fortnite has been continually collaborating with musicians such as Marshmello, Diplo, and Travis Scott, pushing the envelope of what’s really possible within the world of video games. Fortnite has now announced a brand new concert series within its “Party Royale” mode to kick off with singer and rapper Dominic Fike, but users hoping to stream the shows via their Apple devices may find themselves royally peeved. Amid a bitter legal battle stemming from Apple’s accusation that Fortnite creator Epic Games introduced its own in-app payment system to circumvent the tech giant’s 30% transaction fee on all digital payments, Fortnite is currently unavailable on th...
