CATEGORIES

Moog Animoog Z $19.99

Proving that the old masters can still show us new tricks, we get animated by Moog’s latest update to their affordable software synth

PSP Audioware: PSP Saturator $99

Saturation can be a fantastic tool for bringing sounds to life, but does this new offering from PSP have what it takes?

Producer Masterclass: MOUSSE T.

Mousse T. is a legendary dance music producer whose hits back in the 90s paved the way for a three-decade – and counting – career in remixing and production. It has taken him everywhere from the top of the charts to Eurovision, and co-writing a Tom Jones smash to being a judge on the German version of Pop Idol. Here he gives us a couple of lessons in remixing, three decades apart…

Free software: W.A. PRODUCTION MULTIBENDER CM

Get to know this issue’s freebie: a cm edition of W.A.’s incredible multiband, tempo-synced delay

THE BEST FREEWARE PLUGINS

It seems with each passing year, the number of exceptional free plugins, DAWs, instruments, tools and services increases tenfold. With such a rich field to harvest, we know how overwhelming it can be to know just where to begin when collecting free music-making software – and avoiding that feeling that your precious hard drive space is being clogged by software that you’re never likely to actually use. Luckily Computer Music is on hand to help, with some carefully considered groupings of the very best – and genuinely useful – free swag that you can download this very day…

Delay effects

Our attention turns to a family of effect types that takes your signal and does weird and wonderful things

9 mins |

15 questions with…Keinemusik

Keinemusik first caught our ear back in 2017 with their ambitious debut album You Are Safe. Since then, the Berlin-based trio have refined their creative process, linking up with a variety of collaborators to produce an impressive sophomore effort that expands their sound while remaining firmly focused on the dancefloor

9 mins |

#12 LFO sequence

If you’ve ever wanted your Zebra CM to help you out by playing short phrases, it’s time to step up to the LFO. Dave Gale gets sequencing…

#01 Creative basslines

In this tutorial you’ll learn how bass can be so much more than a rhythm instrument as we delve into that low end

15 questions with…Sun-El Musician

Sun-El Musician has a huge fan base in his home country of South Africa, with tens of millions of Youtube views, but is on a mission to spread his brand of EDM across the world, even inventing a sub genre of it along the way – African Electronic Dance Music. We catch up with the man whose ambitions are as big as his setup is small. “I’m not one to have crazy things and just like my studio to be simple…”

EQ & filtering

Let’s explore a few different ways to shape your sounds with EQ and filtering

10 mins |

Dynamics

For our final ‘How to do everything’ set of workshops, we’re looking at the moving subject of dynamics

10 mins |

BLEASS Dragonfly £25

Bringing a fresh approach to one of the oldest of modulation effects, Dragonfly re-thinks tremolo as a reactive rippler for quirky pop

4 mins |

Expressive E Imagine €166.80

With the latest addition to their softsynth lineup, Expressive E get modelling, and there’s not a tube of glue in sight

Beat it!

We open our How To Do Everything features with beats, and with our free plugins, you can get great beats… fast

9 mins |

Heavyocity Symphonic Destruction £325

Ever wondered what a symphony would sound like if it were to do battle with Optimus Prime? You’ll get a kick out of this then…

Keys and more

Now it’s time for the keys to step into the spotlight as we move on to think about creating chords and harmonies

10 mins |

MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD

Martina Topley-Bird has a three-decade career during which she has worked with Tricky, Massive Attack and The Prodigy, but her fifth album, Forever I Wait, sees her embracing a new-found confidence

Mixed in Key Live €58

Embarrassed by theory-blindness? This learned virtual assistant can step in to detail what your music is doing in the theoretical sphere

4 mins |

Mastering the Mix Reso £41.65

Mastering the Mix present another innovative peak-smoothening tool. Reso’s smart insights prove the benefits of AI for music production

4 mins |

15 questions with… Mason Maynard

After last month’s 15 Questions With Shane Codd, we have another young producer who is making it big in the world of dance music. Mason Maynard already has the backing of BBC stars and some top production legends plus a studio packed with the best hardware and software. And it all stems from a school lesson when he was asked to produce on a computer. “There was another way to make music…”

January 2022

15 questions with… Amon Tobin

Amon Tobin’s new release, How Do You Live, marks his 25th year in music. Working under four aliases and across more than a dozen albums, he’s transmuted elements of jazz, drum & bass and trip-hop into his own brand of intricate, brooding electronica, developing a sound and method that’s defined by process and technique – not genre or style. But, we hear you ask, what are his favourite plugins?