News Round-Up: 26/2/16

50% off Arturia’s new iOS beatmaker iSpark, new KordBot chord generator device reaches crowd funding target, Goldie awarded MBE, and NI Stems free for all Traktor users.

NI Stems Available Now. Announced in August last year, Native Instruments‘ multichannel audio format Stems, which divides tracks into four discrete parts to give DJs more scope for creative mixing, is available now as part of a free software update available to all Traktor users. Watch it in action on the S4 controller above, and find out more here.

The State of Discogs. Online music marketplace Discogs celebrates both its 15th anniversary and its “milestone-achieving, record-breaking, trend-setting year” with a set of impressive infographics highlighting the most eye-catching data metrics from its 2015 Year-End Report. Find the graphics, with the full report for download, here.

50% Off Arturia’s New iOS Beat-Maker iSpark. For iOS, Arturia‘s iSpark is an innovative and powerful mobile production tool that allows you to create and play rhythmic tracks, complex grooves and complete songs, featuring ergonomic design and sounds from some of the greatest drum machines. iSpark’s introductory price is 50% off. Watch it in action above, and find out more here.

Goldie Awarded MBE. In the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list, 50-year-old jungle and D&B pioneer Goldie has been formally recognised with an MBE for his contribution to the British music industry and young people. “Thank you to my unsung heroes/heroines Kemi, Storm, Grooverider, Fabio, Doc Scott, Reinforced, Frost, Headz family and most of all my family,” he commented. Find out more here.

KordBot Chord Generator Controller. ISLA Instruments‘ new music production tool KordBot incorporates a sophisticated chord generator, a powerful arpeggiator, and a fully-featured step sequencer, all in one unit for use as a controller on any polyphonic MIDI-capable device. Check out its promo video above, and contribute to the Kickstarter project (which has already reached its funding target) here.

Legowelt’s Spectacular 909 Drum Rack. Dutch producer Legowelt’s SMACKOS AMIGA 909 device rack is a drum machine for Ableton 9.5 and up, based on an old Amiga 909 sample floppy disk, also including the “Skooly D REVERB and AMIGANIZER” for a “fresh spectaculair 909 experience u never had before!!!” Get it here.

RIAA Denies Cassette Sales Resurgence. According to RA, RIAA‘s VP of communications has denied any noticeable uplift in tape sales, or that it would consider tracking cassette sales again, amid widespread reports of a resurgence. “It’s such a small number it doesn’t meet the threshold of sales requirements for us to report it,” they commented. More info here.