Gatekeepers

As with much of life and, as suggested throughout the site, technology is the beating heart of sound production. This, more so than ever, is ubiquitous and with the rise of AI is not going away soon. It can be argued, and I certainly do, that it is the programmers, hackers and analogue sound designers who have become the cutting edge creatives rather than the musicians who use he technology. As with much of our digital world the options available to us are exhausting and negotiating them is noisy. Hence, we need gatekeepers. Below is a list of websites, blogs and video channels which promote technology. For more tutorial based stuff, you should head to this page.

Peter Kirn’s CDM is my goTo for all things analogue and digital (which I guess is everything). Digitally it ranges from basic apps, DAW’s and plugins to the more esoteric sound design tools. From an analogue perspective its massively on the ball in terms of new devices on the market and it provides a useful link to new music, iOS apps and various happenings. I probably hit is at least three times a day.

There is a lot of crossover with Synthopia but it does look at things from a more more synth based perspective. Its a useful addition if you are looking for some good knowledgable reviews and tech news.

Of course the Sound on Sound is the “trusted source for all things audio“. Amongst other content, such as reviews It boasts a forum, a glossary of terms and three channels of podcasts. The Sound Advice section is invaluable.

For music I tend to go to The Quietus or Pitchfork. The former offers a broad range of cultural critique on many forms of art practices; the latter, though somewhat more established, provides some well considered judgment on a wide range of music genres. The Wire has clocked up over forty years in interogating the alternative and experimental sound and music field and is still as relevant today as it was when it started.

Attack focuses more specifically on dance culture but it has some excellent content not least the Technique section which dissects everything from beats to modular synthesis.

I also recommend FarOut magazine

Th