Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual £155 PC MAC

Modelled on 2019's hardware delay, the virtual incarnation of the knob-packed atmosphere-carver surpasses its parent in more ways than one

DJANGO DJANGO

Reborn with a new retro house-inspired sound, Django Django's new double-album Off Planet is a flurry of hypersonic colours and energy. We spoke to the band's cofounder David Maclean about the record's influences, tech and evolution....

Punchy commercial-sounding bass

Recreating the impactful bass sound of commercial hits like Jax Jones' Whistle needn't be difficult. Let's learn how...

DH Plugins Halo 2 £99 PC MAC

Halo has become known for its capabilities in the bass music realms. We explore what the latest update has to offer

Bitwig Studio 5 - €399 PC MAC LINUX

With version 5, Bitwig is redefining what a DAW is. This latest update sees it become a modulating monster of a DAW and instrument

Apple Logic Pro for iPad - £4.99/$4.99 per month iPAD

Apple has finally brought its flagship DAW to the iPad domain. Is this the next logical progression for the computer-based musician?

JOAN

With millions of streams, a blossoming global fanbase and a knack for gleaming pop production, Arkansas duo joan are poised to become a very big thing. We caught up with the pair on the heels of their debut album superglue's release to learn more about their home studio working methods and how they've cultivated organic fame

BITWIG STUDIO 8-TRACK GIVEAWAY

Fancy getting yourself a fully-featured DAW absolutely free? Then read on...

W.A. Production KSHMR Reverb

Globally acclaimed music producer KSHMR collaborates with W.A. Production to deliver his first reverb plugin with many distinctive features

Polyverse Supermodal

By using 27 models - ranging from physical bodies to maths formulae Supermodal could well be the filter you didn't know you need

Image-Line FL Studio 21

FL Studio 21 is not celebrating a birthday, as the previous version did, but is introducing some significant additions to this most popular of DAWS

Cherry Audio Mercury-6

Cherry Audio's latest softsynth arrives from the orbit of Mercury, with vintage stimulus from one of the biggest gas giants of them all

15 questions with...Suki Sou

Musician, sound designer and radio presenter Suki Sou may have a studio full of bespoke hardware and software that denotes a precision-based mindset, but she’s also big on adaptability. And her music – influenced by everyone from Raymond Scott to Joanna Brouk, Aphex Twin to Teresa Teng – puts that multifaceted approach on show

15 questions with...Tom Salta

Not content with being one of the video game industry's most acclaimed composers, Tom Salta has turned his attention to plugin development, with the wonderful Auto-Bounce taking the sting out of finalising Logic productions. We spoke to Tom about this life-saving new tool and what motivates his creativity....

Rhodes V8

The Rhodes is back! The new Mk8 electric piano is now joined by the V8 software, with plenty of surprises under the virtual Rhodes lid

Audient EVO SP8

Audient call SP8 the world’s ‘smartest mic preamp’, which might not set your heart racing, but it could also be the desktop expander you need

MAKING IMMERSIVE LONDON WITH ARK360⁰

Are you ready for a post-stereo world? For the Immersive London project, spatial experts ARK360° took a host of emerging Londonbased artists on a quest to expand their understanding of immersive sound. The results, as heard on a new compilation, may serve as an example to the rest of us...

Bundles of free fun

Last time we looked at freeware, we suggested a bunch of different bundles for different uses, so here's a recap, plus some you can download in one go

BUILD YOUR ALL-NEW FREE STUDIO

No, it's not just another freeware roundup of titles you've seen in countless 'best of' lists before. This time we're ditching the old guard, going for quality rather than quantity, and looking at some of the newest and most exciting freeware releases around and how to use them in your music productions. And all for free, of course!

15 questions with...Gryffin

With millions of YouTube and Spotify streams, and successful collaborations with Maroon 5, Carly Rae Jepsen and One Republic under his belt, there’s no stopping the meteoric rise of US producer and songwriter Gryffin. Here he describes how going from AC/DC to deadmau5 and classical piano to Ableton Live helped him launch his bid for Spotify superstardom

Audient iD24

If input audio fidelity is important to you, Audient's latest analogue-inspired desktop interface could be exactly what you need...

Arturia MiniFreak V

Having emulated practically every significant synth ever made, Arturia turns its attention to one of its own creations

Modartt Pianoteq 8

The highly-regarded piano - and so much more - instrument reaches version 8, but is Pianoteq still one of the best you can buy?

Metering tools

Mixing might be mostly about using our ears, but there are other senses we can bring in too, specifically our eyes

15 questions with... The Maghreban

With three decades of production in many different genres under his belt, Ayman Rostom's latest album, Connection, could be described as a bit of a melting pot' of different styles. But with praise from Pitchfork, The Quietus and Resident Advisor, plus fans including Ben UFO, Benji B and The Horrors, it might well be a candidate for dance album of 2022...

Karanyi Sounds Poly Space $49 PC MAC

This latest reverb plugin will take you to outer space, but only has a couple of controls to get you there. Can ‘simple’ really sound ‘great’?

Audient EVO 16 £399.99 PC MAC

Good value is hard to come by right now, but if you want to tickle your bargain sensors look no further than Audient’s new EVO 16

IK Multimedia MODO Bass 2 €299.99 PC MAC

Refining their low-end generator with new tones and stylistic options, IK Multimedia affirm their brilliance for making virtual session players

15 questions with… AmyElle

With an upbringing during which she enjoyed her parents’ “stupidly big” CD collection, AmyElle’s influences include everything from classical music to Detroit techno. But it’s her house tracks that have given her millions of streams and support from Radio 1, and helped launch a DJ career that’s seen her play live at Amnesia, Tomorrowland and across the States

BARGAIN BEATS

Over the next 20 pages we’re going big on drum machines: programming, sounds, the best plugins and more. And for less cash too!