Tools, instruments and devices for disc jockeys, musicians and partygoers.

What if GoPro offers an all-in-one B2B solution: Go-Kart tracks, camera-equipped karts, trackside and overhang cameras, and a seamless system to offer motor race enthusiast to relive the breathtaking moments.

Design Boom – “GoPro GoKart doesn’t want to miss a thing, so it records every race from all angles using the multiple cameras on board and around the vehicle. The conceptual car comes from Sean Gao, who imagines GoPro, a brand synonymous with documenting movement and adventure, installing numerous cameras and artificial intelligence around its very own GoKart vehicle. In a way, it might signal a potential venture for GoPro whose multiple lenses may land their focus on building their camera-planted GoKart”.

H/T Sean Goa Design.

Youtube sharing a sneak peek at first set of AI-related music experiments – Dream Track for Shorts and Music AI tools – built in collaboration with Google DeepMind. Learn more about how we are helping artists, songwriters, and producers in the blog of Youtube here.

H/T Youtube.

The mouse for your Mac and PC like no other. Clip Mouse introduces a new design and functionality while retaining all the features of a regular mouse. It has been primarily designed as a replacement for the Magic Mouse, aiming to transfer all the functions and capabilities of the Apple Magic Mouse into a completely new, even lighter, more minimalist, and more compact form. Clip Mouse is the perfect companion for work and travel. Simply clip it onto your hand. Launch the configuration app, and you’re good to go. Clip Mouse will connect via Bluetooth 5.0 to your Mac or PC and function just like a regular mouse. You can perform all the familiar gestures and functions from the Magic Mouse with Clip Mouse. Read more.

H/T Clip Mouse.

At Splice, we’re really into designing ways to bring you instant inspiration. That’s why we’ve been hard at work on CoSo, our new music creation surface for iOS and Android.

CoSo is your dream collaborator. Its AI-assisted technology listens to your creations in real time and serves up ‘complementary sounds’ (hence the name) from across the vast Splice catalog to feed your music-making instincts while you create. It flips samples in different styles, keys, and tempos to unlock billions of musical outcomes that shift with every decision you make. The result? Musically relevant loops in split-seconds—and more time focussing on what really matters: making music.

To get started, download the CoSo app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and sign in to your Splice account (or create one for free). Next, create a Stack by choosing a style, and add up to eight layers of Splice loops—from beats and bass to strings, pads, keys, and even vocals. Swipe right for a new sound, swipe left to delete, tap a layer to mute it, and long-press to solo.

Once you’ve made your Stack, you can save it and duplicate it to take your creation in a new direction. You can share with collaborators via a unique URL, and locate the individual samples on Splice, where you can drag-and-drop into your DAW for building into a full song. The idea with CoSo is that it’s an inspiring way to make music, whatever path you’re on. Try it now.

H/T CoSo.

Training on 60,000 hours of English speech data, a new AI synthesis tool named VALL-E was detailed in a research paper from Cornell University, now under the ownership of Microsoft. Its existence isn’t particularly alarming, given that AI has become a significant focus for the company in recent years. Explanations of how little input the system needs to produce surprisingly convincing results are the real eyebrow-raising factor this time, with as little as three-second recordings used to generate entirely new messages, utterly unrelated to the original message.

While most AI models that recreate human voice typically require at least a minute of audio recording input, VALL-E needs just a 3-second sample. Read more

H/T Vall-E.

An innovative STAN Airback is protection for cyclists so that they no longer have to choose between style and safety: a smart and connected backpack, integrating the In&motion airbag technology coupled with a 24/7 assistance system capable of detecting an accident and requesting help if necessary.

The airbag will deploy and protect in less than 0.1 seconds in the event of a fall. STAN is designed to protect the most vital areas at risk during an accident: Spine, Thorax, Abdomen Neck, and of course, your HEAD. Connected to the My In&box mobile app, the airbag system triggers a 24/7 emergency call: in the case of a deployment, emergency rescue are alerted and, if necessary, directed straight to the GPS location. Buy it now

H/T Stan Airback.

LAYER collaborated with leading crypto brand Ledger and renowned entrepreneur Tony Fadell to create Ledger Stax, a revolutionary hardware wallet that allows users to securely store, access, and send crypto currency and NFTs. The defining feature of the credit-card-sized Ledger Stax is the innovative and sustainable e-ink touchscreen that curves around the front face and spine of the device to elevate the user experience.

The name “Ledger Stax” comes from the ability to magnetically stack the devices, as you would stack physical currency or conventional ledger books. This gives users the ability to store and organise different portfolios on separate devices. The energy efficient screen also creates a clear visual interface and a more personalised experience, with the option to display photographs or NFTs on the lockscreen. Read more

H/T Layer.

Sound of the Earth: Chapter 3 by Yuri Suzuki was specially designed for the 23rd Triennale Milano International Exhibition, bringing together the idea of a local and global community connected through sound. Consisting of a black 4m diameter geodesic sphere situated at the entrance to the exhibition, the artwork challenges how we experience different cultures by using machine learning, a field of study in the sphere of artificial intelligence (AI), to connect distinct localities and create a collective soundscape where no land masses or borders are visible. It is a reminder that everyone can find common ground and connection when listening to each other. H/T DesignBoom.

Yuri Suzuki is a sound artist, designer and electronic musician. Suzuki was born in Tokyo in 1980. His practice explores the realms of sound through designed pieces that examine the relationship between people and their environments – questioning how both music and sound evolve to create personal experiences. Read more

As the Official Connectivity Partner of Mighty Hoopla Festival in London, Vodafone wanted to use the power of its 5G network to promote accessibility and inclusion across the festival. We were honoured to help them do this by using cutting-edge technology in an experience that enabled deaf or hard-of-hearing audience members to feel live music like never before. Read more

H/T Vodafone.

Yamaha Corporation announces that it has collaborated with the world-renowned ECAL / University of Art and Design Lausanne and will present the results together with ECAL at Milan Design Week 2022, the world’s biggest annual design gathering, to be held June 7–12 in Milan, Italy. Titled Yamaha Sound Machines, the collaborative exhibit will feature six product prototypes that aim to reimagine the music player and its accessories. The way that we listen to and enjoy music has evolved over time, with more diversity now than ever before.

H/T Yamaha.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also drastically altered our values and lifestyles, and the rate at which things change is expected to accelerate even further. With this in mind, the Yamaha Design Laboratory conducted a workshop in collaboration with ECAL Master Product Design students to consider how music listening might evolve in coming generations. Under the guidance of Yamaha designers and ECAL Professor Camille Blin, students at the university tackled the issue and finalized a total of six product prototypes. Most people today listen to music on their smartphones, controlling every aspect of the experience using the screen of the device. This project was a clear departure from such an approach, implementing designs that focus on physical and emotive qualities of objects. Considering new technologies and trends such as AI, live-streamed performances, and ASMR, the students produced six new music player and accessory devices that are not only physically attractive, but also propose a novel music listening experience.

H/T Yamaha.

Sounds are complex and vary widely. This experiment uses machine learning to organize thousands of everyday sounds. The computer wasn’t given any descriptions or tags – only the audio. Using a technique called t-SNE, the computer placed similar sounds closer together. You can use the map to explore neighborhoods of similar sounds and even make beats using the drum sequencer. Launch experiment here

Built by Kyle McDonald, Manny Tan, Yotam Mann, and friends at Google Creative Lab. The London Philharmonia for contributing some sounds to this project.

H/T Google AI.

Remixlive 7 is here, and with it comes one of our most innovative features yet: AI Remix. Thanks to artificial intelligence you can now directly extract stems (vocals, drums, bass and instruments) from any audio file (MP3, WAV, etc.) all inside the app. What will you remix now? The sky’s the limit.

New things in Remixlive 7.
• Remix any track using our new AI Remix feature: extract stems (vocals, drums, bass and instruments) from any song, tweak & remix the stems easily.
• The ability to create specific remix projects dedicated to making your own remixes, making it easier to find them among your other project files.
• A brand new AI-powered sample recommendation system for even easier on-the-fly mixing and remixing of tracks.

This new version also includes performance improvements and bug fixes to make your music-making experience as enjoyable as possible. Extract stems, tweak and create your own remixes with Remixlive 7.

H/T Mixvibes.

Yuri Suzuki is a Japanese artist, designer, and musician. His experience as a creator spans a diverse range of projects and collaborators. He’s worked at companies from Teenage Engineering to Disney, and developed instruments for everyone from Jeff Mills to will.i.am. We spoke to Suzuki about bringing 808303.studio to life, his love for acid house and techno through Roland gear, and musical life during quarantine.

Suzuki and the team at counterpoint have updated this digital platform to include the classic SH-101 analogue synth to the TB303 and TR808 interfaces, introducing a newly formed roland50 studio

For their collaboration with Roland and the Design Museum in London, Suzuki and Pentagram created 808303.studio. The name pretty much says it all; 808303.studio is a web-based music tool. It combines interactive recreations of Roland’s TR-808 Rhythm Composer and TR-303 bass synthesizer. The tool distills each down to its most essential functions and syncs them together for quick, immediate play.

H/T Roland / Yuri Suzuki.

A limited run of color-changing turntables from the godfather of ambient music himself, Brian Eno. Eno collaborated again with the Paul Stolper Gallery in London, this time releasing 50 turntables whose plinth and platter morph into different colors and add a psychedelically visual layer of listening to music. Like the music he pioneered, the turntables create the perfect vibe for a meditative or contemplative atmosphere.

Technical specification: acrylic, LED lights, 420mm x 420mm x 76mm case on 16mm feet with an 18mm clear platter. Total height from top of platter to base 110mm. Edition of 50 signature and edition number engraved on the back right-hand side.

H/T Brian Eno | Inputmag.

The optical element “Parity Mirror®” works by finely dividing the light beams using discrete unit optical elements, then forming images by collecting the divided rays according to geometrical optics. The floating images created by a Parity Mirror® can be seen at fixed positions in the air regardless of the direction and distance of viewing, thus there is a definite presence, just as with real objects. By using a small Parity Mirror® (10cm square or so), the floating image can be made to be observed at a short distance, within reach of the user, suitable for use as a personal device.

Parity Innovations Co., Ltd. was founded in December 2010, with the business of planning, development and design of optical components and systems, and for developing, acquiring and licensing related industrial property rights.

Company is engaged in practical research and system development of various optical elements, such as the mass production and upsizing of the new optical element “Parity Mirror®”, which has Dihedral Corner Reflector Array (DCRA) structure, and developing prototypes of application systems using it.

H/T Parity Innovation | Murakami Corporation.

Scientists have developed an AI that can generate music from silent piano performances, just by watching the movements of the player’s hands. The system, called Audeo, analyzes top-down videos of someone tickling the ivories to predict which keys are being pressed in each frame. It then produces a transcript of the music, which a synthesizer translates into sound.

The researchers trained and tested the AI on footage of pianist Paul Barton playing tunes by famous composers. They then evaluated the accuracy of the Audeo’s compositions by playing them to music-recognition apps, such as Shazam and SoundHound. The apps identified the tune 86% of the time — just 7% less than they recognized the source videos.

Senior study author Eli Shlizerman, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, said he was surprised by the quality of the AI’s output: To create music that sounds like it could be played in a musical performance was previously believed to be impossible. An algorithm needs to figure out the cues, or ‘features’ in the video frames that are related to generating music, and it needs to ‘imagine’ the sound that’s happening in between the video frames. It requires a system that is both precise and imaginative.

You can judge its performances for yourself in the video here
The researchers have also explored using Audeo to change the style of music. Shlizerman said the system could show how music produced by a piano sounds when played through a trumpet.

H/T The Next Web.

The Kinetic Touchless is an contactless interaction that brings tactility back to touchless tech. By mimicking movement at a distance, Kinetic Touchless provides tactile feedback that mirrors the input motion, even when no direct contact is involved. In doing so, Kinetic Touchless capitalises on the flexibility of contactless interactions while maintaining the tactility of contact interactions.This type of touchless interaction can be applied to various gestures, such as pushing, pulling, and sliding.

The Kinetic Touchless button uses motion as feedback. When used in the context of lift buttons, Kinetic Touchless mirrors your finger movements to recreate the tactile response of pushing a button. As the finger moves towards the button to activate it, as one would a traditional lift button, the Kinetic Touchless button responds with the same motion by sinking inwards before pushing back out, directly mimicking the finger motion. This drastically shifts the image of how touchless tech can be—a tactile button that remains safely contactless.

By going beyond the expected feedback of light and sound, Kinetic Touchless provides a surprisingly delightful and yet newly familiar way to interact with contactless technology. STUCKLabs uses technology creatively, concocting engaging experiences that people love. Various organizations & leading brands have sought STUCK to help imagine and deliver remarkable launch experiences, engaging demo kits, or develop SmartWare (though we aren’t able to show them).

H/T The Kinetic Touchless.

Real-Time Music Source Separation. Neural Mix™ is a revolutionary technology to deconstruct and mix music in real-time. Instantly isolate beats, instruments, and vocals based on cutting-edge AI.

From the analog to the digital age, DJ technology has seen numerous transformations which had a profound impact on music styles and genres as a whole. Neural Mix™ is a major paradigm shift. Inspired by the auditory system of the human brain, it changes the way we conceive and mix music. It allows artists of all skill levels to experience and interact with music at an unprecedented depth.

Isolate beats, instruments, and vocals in real-time. Extract the instrumental and acappella of any song for use in your favorite music production or DJ software. djay, winner of multiple Apple Design Awards, is the #1 DJ app for iOS. Available as a free download on the App Store, this DJ app provides everything you need to get started with DJing.

AI Waveforms.
djay Pro AI shows individual Neural Mix™ waveforms for beats, instruments, and vocal components per track. As the Neural Mix™ sliders are adjusted the waveform colors and amplitudes are recomputed in real-time.

Isolate beats, instruments, and vocals.
You can now isolate, play, and remix singular elements from streamed and local tracks in real-time, allowing you to blur genres and redefine your style.

Core ML and the Apple A12Z Bionic.
Harnessing the power of Apple’s Bionic chip for human brain-like processing of sound, Neural Mix™ redefines what is possible with mobile technology, music, and AI.

Patent Pending.
Neural Mix™ is the world’s first real-time AI system for DJs. The Neural Mix™ technologies for playback, live decomposition, mixing, and visualization are covered by multiple pending patents in the US and other countries.

H/T Neural Mix Pro.

Claravox Centennial is an elite performance theremin that integrates decades of expertise from Moog, the world’s leading theremin makers, to produce a once-in-a-lifetime instrument.

A Celebration of the Theremin’s Past, Present, and Future.
Named after the original theremin virtuosa, Clara Rockmore, Claravox Centennial features the highest quality control and sound available in a theremin for deep artistic exploration. Offering both traditional 100% analog theremin operation and expanded modern performance, as well as an onboard analog delay, preset storage, and more, Claravox Centennial is an extraordinary instrument for creative expression. Claravox Centennial is designed in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the invention of the theremin by Leon Theremin, and is only available for a limited time.

The most versatile Moog Theremin in history.
Switchable Traditional and Modern performance modes select between classic heterodyne oscillators (for a genuine analog theremin experience) and multimode DSP oscillators (sine, triangle, saw, wavetable) with assignable scales, quantization, octave ranges, and response curves. An analog wave-shaping circuit (derived from the legendary Etherwave Pro) imbues ethereal sonic character and empowers rich sound sculpting possibilities, and the on-board analog BBD delay creates a wash of spiraling echoes and resounding warmth.

Connect your Theremin for a completely new performance experience.
DIN MIDI, USB, and CV inputs/outputs allow Claravox Centennial to be used in tight integration with DAWs, or as a creative controller for the dynamic and responsive command of external sound sources. Front-panel preset storage provides instant recall of your favorite sounds and settings, while the free Claravox Centennial software stores your entire preset library and indulges control of a host of under-the-hood features, unlocking an expanse of sonic capabilities.

The best feeling instrument that you’ll play without touching.
An instrument designed with exceptional playability to satisfy the most skillful thereminist, Claravox Centennial invites access to multiple levels of calibration and control settings to create a custom fit between this unique instrument and each unique player. Front-panel Pitch and Volume knobs give quick and immediate control for dialing in to new playing environments, side-entry calibration ports create easy access for fine tune adjustments, and dedicated Response knobs allow for the creation of recallable custom antenna curves in Modern mode.

“Clair de Lune” Performed by Grégoire Blanc & Orane Donnadieu.
Set among the baroque architecture and expansive gardens of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, French musician Grégoire Blanc channels theremin marvel Clara Rockmore in a stunning performance of Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” alongside pianist Orane Donnadieu. This tribute to the timeless classical duets of Rockmore and her sister, pianist Nadia Reisenberg, captures the beauty of the theremin’s distinct tone and personality that will continue to captivate audiences into the next century.

H/T Moog.