Control Ableton From Your iPhone With touchAble mini

SoundCtrl February 13, 2014

By Ruben Lone

The Berlin-based Zerodebug has expanded the newest, smallest version of its Ableton controller software to the iPhone. touchAble mini runs with the same functionality on the popular iPad version, but condensed for even more portable use.

The Zerodebug app functions much like an Ableton hardware controller, emulating many of the controls offered by Ableton’s Push device. However, touchAble expands on many of Push’s features that open the app up to seemingly limitless iterations of speedy, customizable controls. With touchAble, you can browse your Ableton library to add audio and MIDI effects, instruments, and Max devices to your session without ever touching the computer. Complete control of session view means you can add, launch, and stop clips in the arrangement, as well as browse through the entire session.

The Co-Evolution of Music and 3D

SoundCtrl February 13, 2014

By Carolyn Heneghan

Imagine your favorite musician reaching out to you as they perform a live concert on a movie screen. How about playing an inexpensive keyboard made completely with 3D materials? Believe it or not, that future is a reality.

With the rise of 3D visuals and 3D printing technology, musicians are finding new ways to integrate their music in expanded dimensions to create a new experience for their listeners. Several musicians and music professionals have already accomplished this feat using 3D in a variety of ways, with many more in development.

(Space Blanket)

Polyfauna: An App by Radiohead and Universal Everything

SoundCtrl February 11, 2014

By Ruben Lone

Radiohead, known for pushing the envelope in every regard of their creative endeavors, have released an app in collaboration with Universal Everything, the UK-based digital art practice and design studio headed by Matt Pyke. Using elements of the song “Bloom” from the King of Limbs album, Polyfauna is a complex sound and visual experience taking full advantage of the iPhone’s and Android’s resolution, speedy graphics, and enhanced sound processing. The object of the app is to follow a red dot (searchable by rotating the phone on a 360-degree axis), which once found intensely transports you into a variety of psychedelic digital environments that shift as you progress through the constructed spaces. Best enjoyed with a pair of good headphones, we recommend using this app in your own company–it requires a good deal of spinning about in less-than-natural ways. You’ll be surprised at how much space the tiny screen can afford.

[Interview] Emanuel Heinstein, CEO/Founder of Syncofy

SoundCtrl February 11, 2014

Five questions for the CEO of Syncofy: A new, independent marketplace for music discovery and licensing

By Kira Grunenberg

As the sub-title above suggests, it is not too difficult to figure out what indie music licensing marketplace, Syncofy, wants to help people do: get music heard and in the hands of those who wish to enhance non-musical media, such as commercials or movie trailers. This week, the proactive startup launched an alpha version of its service (currently on private request) and has made applications available for music creators or people seeking music for licensing. The core of this platform is all about cutting out the middleman. A non-exclusive service, Syncofy is both flexible and supportive of music makers. “Creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work,” is emphasized more than once in the introductory information on Syncofy’s website. Regardless of the user’s role, Syncofy is dedicated to having few barriers between partnering parties. Communications deal solely with music makers and licensees, and no one else.

Discovery is the other half of Syncofy’s services, as media producers are often unsure of what they’re looking for. A search engine targets specific music with various qualifiers including genre, tonality, social media appeal, rhythm, and correlation. The music retrieved is discerned using multiple elements as well, including “acoustic analysis, editorial data, (artist, album and track info, period, etc.), user generated data (search data, downloads, likes, etc.), and other social specific data such as geo and demographics,” as described on the site.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Syncofy can and looks forward to doing for music creators and media licensees going forward. I spoke with CEO/Founder Emanuel Heinstein and got his perspective on where Syncofy will fit in the current music industry, the future of syncing placement in general, and even a few details on their aspirations for mobile capability.

SoundCtrl: Congratulations on the alpha launch of your service! It’s always great when a startup can get over the first, tough hill and see their idea in action. The cornerstone and necessary starter question, especially for a worldwide available platform like Syncofy: can you share the history of Syncofy’s development? What brought this particular team of people together and how did you go about prepping and implementing your alpha launch?

Emanuel Heinstein: Everyone at Syncofy literally breathes music and music brought us all together. I’ve been a DJ and producer for all my life and since I first picked up a book in a small NY bookstore in 1999 that explained the principals of MP3 encoding and the boundless opportunities which it unleashes, I was hooked to the idea, that one day, technology will be able to dis-intermediate the artist business, putting creators back in control. The team evolved through miraculous ways. I can’t tell you exactly how, but coincidence brought us all together and the idea behind Syncofy was so appealing , that it was simply a no-brainer and a logical next step for everyone to join the project.

BeatStars Launches as a Marketplace for Beatmakers and Artists

SoundCtrl February 11, 2014

By SoundCtrl

With a global musical sprawl, it is often hard for emerging artists to procure production that matches their style. This is especially true in hip-hop and R&B, where beat selection is just as important, if not more, than the flow of the lyricist him or herself. BeatStars looks to bridge that gap with a platform that facilitates sales of beats by established producers to artists in search of production for their records.

Founded by Abe Bashton in 2011, BeatStars has already helped its beta users earn over $500K in its first few years. Now the service has 100,000 active users, including esteemed producers such as !llmind, Focus, Havoc, and EASKI. Producers looking for a more tailored experience can upgrade to Pro Pages, which are customizable profiles that allow producers to sell directly to artists, and more importantly, retain 100% of licensing fees.