The Week in Computer Music #2

Madrona Labs Aalto
Madrona Labs Aalto

Welcome to the second instalment of The Week in Computer Music, an off-the-cuff rundown of the stuff that's caught our eye over the last week or so...

Aalto is a brand new soft synth from relative unknowns Madrona Labs, and it really stands out with its fantastically forward-thinking feedback-providing interface. What we've heard from it sounds rather good too - we can't wait to subject it to some serious sonic experiments in the CM labs. For now, enjoy this video:

A few weeks back, Avid launched a bunch of Pro Tools|HD stuff - specifically, new interfaces and the HEAT mixer plug-in. That's already old news, of course, but Avid have landed a knockout one-two combo by immediately following up with the Mbox 3 range, announced just yesterday. Oof! Also new from the Avid stable is the range of M-Audio-branded GSR PA speakers - we didn't see that one coming.

We've been getting into touchAble in a big way recently. It's an iPad app that's designed to control Ableton Live 8. Check out some of the features in this video.

Other notable recent releases include bx_shredspread from Brainworx, which is a stereo widener designed for guitars; Blue Cat Audio's MB-5 Dynamix multiband dynamics plug-in; and yet more plug-ins from the unstoppable MeldaProduction, who are this time tempting us with MMultiBandConvolution and MRhythmizer.

Finally, here's the brand new trailer for Frozen Synapse, a nail-bitingly exciting strategic snipe-'em-up from Mode 7 Games. In CM153, we had a behind-the-scenes feature on the game's soundtrack, which is composed by Mode 7's nervous_testpilot, AKA Paul Taylor, who also happens to be a CM contributor. Paul, you've done us proud, lad!

Computer Music

Computer Music magazine is the world’s best selling publication dedicated solely to making great music with your Mac or PC computer. Each issue it brings its lucky readers the best in cutting-edge tutorials, need-to-know, expert software reviews and even all the tools you actually need to make great music today, courtesy of our legendary CM Plugin Suite.