Native Instruments Releases Traktor DJ for iPad

Native Instruments has released Traktor DJ, its first DJ-oriented app for the iPad/  Utilizing technology from their acclaimed Traktor Pro DJ software, Traktor DJ for iOS is aimed at making the creation of beat synced mixes an effortless and tactile a process as possible.  The app retails for $19.99 and requires an iPad2 or later running iOS 6.

Korg Releases iPolysix fo iPad

Korg has released an iPad version of their heralded Polysix emulation called iPolysix.  As you might expect, this version includes some goodies not found on the original to turn it into more of a self-contained production environment.  The iPolysix set-up includes two Polysix instances, a sequencer to drive them, a drum machine, and a mixer.  This app is available for the introductory price of $14.95 until the end of the year when the price will double.

Moog Music Releases Animoog Synth for iOS

A surprise announcement from Moog - they've released their first software synthesizer (for iOS) entitled Animoog! And the best part? It's only 99¢ for a limited time (regular price $29.99) Here are the details:

"Animoog, powered by Moog’s new Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE), is the first professional polyphonic synthesizer designed for the iPad. ASE allows you to dynamically move through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create a constantly evolving and expressive soundscape.

Animoog captures the vast sonic vocabulary of Moog synthesizers and applies it to the modern touch surface paradigm, enabling you to quickly sculpt incredibly fluid and dynamic sounds that live, breathe, and evolve as you play them.

Visually captivating and sonically immersive, Animoog brings iPad based music production to the next level. Whether you are new to synthesis or a professional, Animoog’s unique user interface gives you the power to easily create a visually vibrant and sonically rich universe. It is the ultimate tool for total creative expression!

Animoog’s diverse library of timbres is derived from analog waveforms captured from classic Moog oscillators, both vintage and modern, and run through a boutique’s worth of high-end outboard and analog signal processors. These include modular synth panels, Moogerfooger pedals and more.


· Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE) - An exciting new Moog technology that allows the user to move dynamically through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create an expressive and constantly evolving soundscape.

· Timbre page – Assemble unique sounds in the X/Y space from timbres of a wide variety of vintage and modern Moog synthesizers and pedals Note: this is NOT simple sample playback.

· Polyphonic Modulation - Simply slide your fingers to control multiple modulation parameters in Animoog right from the keys.

· Polyphonic Pitch Shifting - Easily manipulate the exact pitch of each note in a chord by rotating or sliding your fingers.

· Delay Module - A classic analog style ping pong delay.

· Thick Module - From bit crushing to unison voice detuning and drive, this module adds depth, edge and character to Animoog’s already massive sound palette.

· Moog Filter - The classic four-pole Moog ladder filter with High Pass, Low Pass and Band Pass modes.

· Record Module - Record your performance and overdub new layers, or play along live. Transfer recordings between Animoog and any other apps which support AudioCopy/AudioPaste

· Path Module - Direct ASE through Animoog’s X/Y space to create new expressive and shifting sounds that will blow your mind!

· Orbit Module - Control the rate of orbit in the X/Y space around the path you created for subtle to insane voice manipulation.

· Flexible Modulation Matrix - Amp,Filter and Mod Envelopes, LFO with infinitely variable wave shapes and sync, and four super flexible and assignable modulation slots.

· MIDI in/out - Use your LittlePhatty or any other MIDI controller to control Animoog."

Remiix International Feel Released for iPhone

"To help celebrate their two year anniversary, remix the Balearic sounds of the mysterious label from Uruguay: International Feel. Remiix International Feel is an interactive record, a 2011 version of Brian Eno’s ‘Generative Music’. Combine instrumental loops, playful vocals, slo-mo drum & percussion loops and mercury infused basslines, straight from the shores of Vesuvius.

What is Remiix
The concept is simple. Songs are meticulously organized in four groups or reels. Mix loops from different reels in ANY combination; it’s guaranteed to sound like a professional mix. The sounds are all automatically beat-matched and re- pitched in key. Tweak the sounds with studio-grade effects to add some subtle flavour or to completely transform the material. A high-quality, streamlined, artist-themed interface, including an artist and label info page, adds to the experience.

What is International Feel
Says label boss Mark B: “International Feel is based in Punta Del Este on Uruguay’s Atlantic Coast. The label came into existence to create a home for open minded music heads driven by 100% passion and perfection in everything we do. Whether it be the music itself or the vinyl cut... the artwork or the remixes, we strive to create pieces of music and artwork that play with expectations, never drop the quality and become desirable and collectable items of timeless beauty.”

Over the past 12 months International Feel has released tracks and remixes by DJ Harvey, Daniele Baldelli, Still Going, Greg Wilson, Joakim, Quiet Village and many others, as well as breaking new artists like Rocha and Hungry Ghost. This year has also seen acclaimed album releases from Gatto Fritto and DJ Harvey’s Locussolus project (from which two tracks are included on this version of Remiix).

Tracklist
Hungry Ghost - Illuminations
Bubble Club - The Goddess
Rocha - Hands Of Love
Locussolus - Next To You
Coyote - Moving
Locussolus - I Want It"

Camel Audio Releases Alchemy Mobile

Camel Audio have announced Alchemy Mobile, a special version of their flagship Alchemy softsynth.  The app is available in two flavors, a free version with limited features, and a "pro" version that expands on those a bit.  Here's what they have to say about it:

"Turn your iPhone / iPad into a powerful synthesizer! Alchemy Mobile includes everything from evolving soundscapes and fat bases to lush pads and pulsing arpeggios, and is available for free from the iTunes App store. This is the iOS version of Camel Audio's award-winning Mac/PC Alchemy synth - the leading sample manipulation synthesizer which can be heard on thousands of records and films by world-class artists.

Touch Remote for Alchemy on Mac/PC

With the Pro Upgrade ($19.99/€15.99/£13.99), you can remotely control Alchemy or the free Alchemy Player on your desktop computer. This is the first iPhone App to offer a dedicated touch remote feature for a desktop synth! Easy one touch access to the remix pad and preset selection means you'll spend more time getting inspired and less time reaching for your mouse.

Create Your Own Sounds with the Remix Pad

Discover an almost limitless palette of sounds using the unique remix pad to morph between sound variations. 16 controls including cutoff, resonance, ADSR and effects parameters are specially selected for each preset to make tweaking sounds to fit your music easier than ever.

External MIDI or Built In Keyboard

The Alchemy Mobile interface was designed with ease of use in mind. You can play the mini keyboard built into the app, which features scalable key size and one touch major and minor keys so even the clumsiest fingers can play along with friends. You can also plug in an external Core MIDI keyboard.

Copy/Paste and Loop Player

Using Alchemy with other apps like NanoStudio and Garageband is easy, thanks to the included loop player. Simply paste a loop from your sequencer into Alchemy Player, hit record, and play in your killer bass part, and then paste the resulting loop back into the sequencer. Alchemy Player is the first iPhone app to feature exposé, which makes switching between pages a breeze.

Most Powerful Synthesis Engine on iOS

Want to know why Alchemy Mobile has such amazing sounds which can change so drastically with a tap of the remix pad? The performance controls and remix pad are linked to the most powerful synthesis engine on iOS, which allows you to morph and change the sound in radical ways not possible with any other synth. Alchemy's VA synth, sampler and granular and additive resynthesis, combined with almost unlimited modulation sources, effects and a flexible arpeggiator are used to power this expressive way of creating new sounds for your music.

Expandable with Sound Libraries

The free version of Alchemy Mobile includes 25 sounds, with a further 25 available when you register for free with Camel Audio. You can expand Alchemy Mobile with a wide range of sound libraries such as BigTone, Cinematic and Arp Dimensions from world class sound designers. The libraries each contain 50 sounds (400 variations) and are available as in-app purchases for $4.99/€3.99/£2.99.

Check out the FAQ for answers to all the most commonly asked questions.

Free Features

• remix pad to morph between sound variations and create your own sound
• 16 performance controls so you can easily tweak sounds to fit your music
• most powerful iOS synthesis engine with VA, sampler, granular and additive resynthesis
• external MIDI keyboard support
• loop player with 25 drum loops included
• copy and paste support for easy integration with sequencers
• built in keyboard with scalable keys
• one touch major and minor chords
• iPad native version included
• 25 sounds with 25 more free when you register
• add on sound libraries available as in-app purchases

Pro Features

• remote control of Alchemy or free Alchemy Player on your desktop computer
• free download of Mobile version (if available) of desktop sound libraries you own
• 125 sounds
• 50 loops"

Native Instruments Introduces Maschine Micro and iOs App

Native Instruments have announced 2 new additions to the Maschine line of software/hardware drum machines.  First up is Maschine Micro, which offers the same software and sample library as the original Maschine, but includes a smaller, more portable controller and a lower price ($399).

Additionally, they've released their first iPhone/iPad app called iMaschine.  iMaschine is focused on mobile beat-making, allowing you to program rhythms, add samples via the phone's mic, and export your projects to the full Maschine software to finish up.  iMaschine features a small sample library (100MB) and goes for $4.99.

Website Focused on iOS based Audio Apps

iDesignSound is a recently-launched site that might be of interest to those of you out there with an interest in the music-making abilities of the iPhone and iPad. Check it out!

Alesis iO Dock

This is quite a cool idea...

Fairlight for iOS Released

The eagerly-anticipated Fairlight app for iPhone and iPad has been released. You can find out more info here. And you can buy it by clicking this button...

Review: Kraftwerk Kling Klang Machine for iPhone/iPad

Product: Kraftwerk Kling Klang Machine

Developer: Fox Mobile Distribution

Platform: iPhone / iPad

Price: $8.99

Kraftwerk are a band who need no introduction. With a career spanning over 40 years, they've had an impact on music most bands could only dream of. Spawning countless genres and still influencing new artists today, they truly are the Beatles of electronic music. Given the band's fetish for technology as evident from songs like "Pocket Calculator" and "Home Computer", it seems fitting that the band enter the world of software for handheld devices. Indeed, it's rather easy to imagine the band performing a concert on cell phones. So it was with great interest that I downloaded their first iOS app, appropriately entitled "Kling Klang Machine".

WHAT IS IT?

Kling Klang Machine is essentially a generative music app, which means it outputs "improvised" music based on a set of rules. Those rules are selected in this app by selecting a time zone on a map of the world. Although it's unclear how exactly that translates into the results it produces, it does give the app a nice bit of unpredictability. Aside from the world map, there is also an X/Y controller that allows you to alter the results in real time, a Tenori-on style grid that allows you to edit or save the results of the music generator, and a "mixer" screen that allows you to customize settings for Volume, Echo, Reverb, Tuning, EFX level, and tempo.

THE VERDICT?

How you feel about generative music will largely decide on how you feel about this app. Overall, though, it's hard to avoid the feeling that this is going to be a colossal disappointment to most Kraftwerk fans, because aside from the programs stylish graphics (which are very well done), there is little to nothing Kraftwerkian about it. The sounds and sequences it produces more often than not sound like seasick doorbells. Obviously, we don't expect this app to generate the next "Radioactivity", but would it be too much to have it produce sounds that one might expect to actually hear in a Kraftwerk song?

The other major problem with this app is the price. If this were your standard 99 cent app, there would be little to complain about, but when the asking price is $8.99, it's hard to avoid the feeling that this was just a crass attempt to slap the name "Kraftwerk" on something and watch the cash flow in. Make no mistake, you are not getting $8.99 worth of app here.

As I said, the look of the app is very nice and fits the Kraftwerk aesthetic very well, and the program itself is robust and never crashed once on me during the time I tested it. But ultimately, unless you are way into generative music and sad gamelan sounds, you're likely to be sick of this fairly quickly. Save your money and spend it on buying some Kraftwerk songs off iTunes instead. [2/10]

Liine Remiix

Remiix is an app (or more accurately, a series of apps) for iPhone and iPad which allows users to remix parts of an artists's actual recordings in a simple way. The parts are essentially grouped into stems and are designed to create nice sounding results no matter what combination the user chooses to combine the parts into . So far they've done apps for Plastikman and Joris Voorn with more editions promised shortly. This is a very interesting idea as a way for artists to connect with their fans who also happen to be musicians. How many of us would kill to have access to the individual tracls of our favorite artists' songs?

Remiix Plastikman Replikants

Remiix Joris Voorn

Insanely Fun (and Free) iOS App

While it's hardly new, it's new to me, so I thought I'd share an app a friend showed me the other night. This resulted in all of us downloading it and embarking on a beer-fueled "jam session" that I'm sure annoyed the holy hell out of the neighbors. The app I'm speaking of is Async's "Baby Scratch", a free app that lets you sample any sound and then "scratch" it on the on-screen turntable over a handful of selectable beats. It's an extremely simple app, but sounds fantastic and is extremely addictive. Give it a try!

FAIRLIGHT CMI iPad App FIRST LOOK | NAMM 2011 | ProAudioStar.com

While the new Fairlight CMI's seems a bit silly and overpriced to me, THIS I can get behind.

Akai Introduces the SynthStation

Back in November, I made a post about Music Computing's new line of controllers, one of which included a dock for your laptop. I thought this was a very cool idea, but most people seemed to balk at the price which, while certainly cheaper than Open Lab's offerings, still weren't cheap.

I think Akai might be onto something with their latest offering, the SynthStation 49. This 49-key controller includes a dock to accommodate your iPad, allowing you to use your favorite iOS synths like a "real" synth. With the iPad being very popular among musicians, this type of product could become a lot more common. What do you think?

[via CreateDigitalMusic]

Korg iMS-20 for iPad is Out!

Well that didn't take long. After just announcing it was coming, Korg has already released its beefed up Korg MS-20 emulation for the iPad. Price is $15.99.

And if that isn't enough to scratch your itch for Korg-y goodness on your iPad, they've also lowered the price of their iElectribe app to $9.99.

Korg Announces iMS-20 for iPad

Korg has announced iMS-20, an emulation of their legendary MS-20 monosynth that runs on your iPad.

This new emulation goes a bit further than Korg's previous Legacy version:

"• A complete recreation of the legendary Korg MS-20 analog synth

• Built-in 16-step analog sequencer to control the sound
• Music production studio with the MS-20 mono synth, a six-part drum machine, and a mixer
• Kaoss Pad function allows intuitive performance and control
• Publish and share your iMS-20 songs online with the SoundCloud music distribution site
• By combining a recreation of the Korg MS-20 analog synthesizer, an analog step-style sequencer, six-part drum machine, Kaoss-style performance, and a mixer to control it all, the iMS-20 will “transform your iPad into one way-cool sound studio for the modern musician – and the analog enthusiast as well!”

Pricing and release date TBA.