Artificially Intelligent Robot Writes And Performs Its Own Music - Turns Out To Be Pretty Chill
Meet Shimon - a four-armed robot that composes and performs its own Marimba music using artificial intelligence.
Hackers Can Now Take Control Of Your Smartphone Using Sound Waves
A team of researchers have done something incredible yet terrifying - using sound waves to hack a smartphone, using a method that could be used to theoretically control any technology with an accelerometer.
Eye-Tracking App Lets Paralysed People Make Music
Plenty of work has already been done in creating eye- and face-tracking technology, which helps the paralysed to communicate. But what if you want to have some fun? What if you want to create music? That's where Andreas Refsgaard and his new app, Eye Conductor, come in.
Wearable Robot Transforms Musicians Into Three-Armed Cyborg Drummers
Researchers at Georgia Tech have created a wearable robotic, which transforms drummers into three-armed machines even the experts of speed metal would be jealous of.
Quiet Quiet Band - Low Noon album review
Not too happy with Mumford & Son's recent turn to electronic? Missing the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Levellers? Allow me to introduce you to Quiet Quiet Band, the Reading based alternative folk/rock band with the odd combination of a classically trained violinist and a death metal bassist.
Aurganic - Deviations Album Review
“Aurganic” are two long-time friends based in Toronto/ New York who originally started in local punk rock bands together. The duos taste changed with the years, they now boast an alternative/ electronic mix using an exciting blend of synths, keys, guitars, bass, and vocals engineered through masterful programming. With a touch of an alternative rock feeling, fans of “Incubus” and “Muse” will see the guys’ new album "Deviations" released on September 24th, 2013 mixed into their favourite playlist.
The Boston Boys - Keep You Satisfied EP Review
The Boston Boys are an up and coming mix of classic folk rock with an electric feel, shown in their recent release Keep You Satisfied. Forming as a quartet while attending Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts in 2009, the electric bluegrass style of music is a great fit for any fans of Mumford & Sons.
Exeter Students Win $50,000 For 'SoundSynk' App That Plays Music From Infinite Phones
A team of four University of Exeter students have won $50,000 (£33,100) for developing an app that allows an infinite number of devices to play music simultaneously, effectively creating a symphony of speakers.
Twitter Unveils New #Music App For iPhone And Web
Twitter has officially the launched the much anticipated 'Twitter #Music,' its new music discovery and streaming app. This new service pulls trending data from both your followers and the wider community to make tailored music recommendations to you. Currently available on iOS or through the browser at music.twitter.com, it is currently not available for Android.
Bonobo - The North Borders Review
As per usual for UK electronic artist Bonobo, The North Borders starts off extremely well. 'First Fires' punctuates a beautifully understated vocal performance from Grey Reverend with submerged synth droplets and fleeting, glacial, ASMR inducing pads -- all enhanced by a confident and generous allowance for negative space that seems to only come with experience. In terms of perfect intros, it almost stacks up to the double barrelled future classic of Prelude/Kiara from 2010's Black Sands. Unfortunately, in this case there isn't a whole lot of interest that follows.
Man Plays Music By Electrocuting Vegetables
Musician-cum-electrician Jonathan Dagan, aka j.viewz, has turned fruits and vegetables into a range of musical instruments, electronically connecting them to a circuit board and playing the most nutritious version of Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' you've ever heard.
Yo La Tengo - Fade Review
Yo La Tengo's thirteenth LP is permeated with startling confidence and clarity, unpretentious in its accessibility and masterful in the art of understatement.
Opening track 'Ohm' is a bright, dreamlike anthem that gradually layers simple, subtly evolving elements which amount to a psychedelic crescendo in slow-motion. 'Cornelia and Jane', another standout, sees Georgia Hubley's gentle falsetto vocals drift over guitar melodies reminiscent of Death Cab For Cutie's Translantacism. It's all very soothing, like a day at Centre Parcs without the extortion.
Emily Capell - Who Killed Smiley Culture EP Review
Emily Capell’s website describes her music as “telling stories of celebrity lust, longstanding musical influences and the ups, downs and rounds and rounds of general adolescence”, which couldn’t be more true in her first EP, Who Killed Smiley Culture.
'Beatoven.' Make And Mix Music With A Cooking Pot
Korean artist Viktor Jan has combined music and cooking in a way you've never known before with Beatoven. We understand that their rather similar in their craft of blending certain ingredients for the perfect sound; but this is a more literal transition of that idea, adding a music interface to a cooking pot.
'Cello Fortress.' Experimental Shooter Game Controlled With A Real Cello
Game designer Joost van Dongen has created a new experimental game called Cello Fortress, in which he has managed to combine a multiplayer-based shooter with musical instrumentation. Simply put, it is played by playing music on a Cello.
New Rising Media Christmas Gift Guide: Music
The standard music recommended in Christmas gift guides across the globe can get rather dire. A selection of albums from the most commercialised of "talent," which quickly loses all musical value in a storm of stereotypical song structure and torrenting. With that in mind, we've counted down the Top 25 albums of this year, all of which will make a great present in both physical or downloaded form.
New Myspace Review
Myspace has suffered in its position as the 'punch line' to any Social Media humour. Destroyed by News Corporation, then rendered further into obsolescence by a minor reboot and a subpar software integration into TVs. That is until a certain popstar/star in a movie about Facebook took interest, both financially and mentally. The result is what you see, a complete overhaul.
Has this proverbial phoenix risen from the ashes, or have we fallen for good looks with no form and function?
The Infinite Jukebox: Your Favourite Song Mixed To Last Forever
Let's be honest, we call our music tastes "diverse;" but there is always that one favourite song that deserves multiple uses of that Repeat button. The Infinite Jukebox takes this concept in a new, algorythmic direction, remixing said song to continue playing forever.
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Cobra Juicy Review
Like BMSR's previous efforts this is a hazy, sedative affair which leaves you feeling like you've received an injection of pure fruit matter.
The tracks have names like 'Dreamsicle Bomb', 'Psychic Love Bomb' and 'Hairspray Heart', and I can't be sure whether this is satirical or not. BMSR are a band I enjoy in short bursts, which is especially relevant here as this album's accessibility renders it repetitive.
MR-808: The Real Life Drum Machine
The 1980s are considered to have given birth to modern electronic music. One of the backbones was (and still is) the Roland TR-808, an early programmable drum machine. This iconic piece of hardware has been mimicked, sampled and synthesized countlessly over the past 30 years since its debut yet now Moritz Simon Geist (aka Sonic Robots) has taken this one step further.