Korg have just released a new synth - the KingKorg. It uses physical modelling, and has a CV /gate output to control pre-MIDI synths such as the MS20.

To celebrate The Beatles Please Please Me recording 50 years ago, 11 top artists went in to Abbey Road to record the album again - all in one day! The video is here.

I finally decided to update the Mac OS from 10.6.8 (missing 10.7  - Lion). The upgrade is cheap, downloadable, and easy to install. Gone are the nail-biting days of OS upgrades. Of course, one or two applications now need to be upgraded too. 
The new Safari (version 6) has no Activity window so I had to search for a new way to download Youtube videos. The plugin at Vertical Forest is the answer: once installed you just click on the information "i" at the top-right of the video screen, then right-click (control-click) on the resolution you want, and select 'download linked file' from the menu.

David Byrne (Talking Heads) has written this new book. In it he explains how the music biz operates, looks at recording technology, recording sessions, and has a go at explaining exactly what music is. Alternative styles of music and amateur music making are included, and a whole chapter is devoted to the important, yet rarely included topic of collaboration. Much of the content is straight from his own experience, so overall it is a perspective, rather than a textbook.

Bernie Krause has just published a book about 'biophony', which is the study of the sounds animals make. For decades he has been documenting these. He has a website called Wild Sanctuary. Yes, this the the same person who, with Paul Beaver, introduced the Moog to pop artists in the 60s. Their 1970s album 'In a Wild Sanctuary' is well worth a listen.