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The Latest Breaking News from Akai

“It’s impossible to make a record if you’re having to clear a horse noise”: How The Avalanches assembled their surreal monument of weird, Frontier Psychiatrist, from a huge range of samples

Tighten your buttocks and pour juice on your chin as we unpack The Avalanches’ sample-constructed maelstrom

MusicRadar

“Kudos to Akai’s software team”: Roger Linn uploads video that praises the MPC Live II as “the ultimate looper”

He works up a track in just two minutes

MusicRadar

"We listened to the community, and this release is our answer": Akai drops major firmware update for Force groovebox with stem separation and plugin support

Billed as the "most significant" update since the product was released, Force 3.5 is available now as a free public beta

MusicRadar

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“You could take everything away from me but leave the laptop and I'm confident I could make interesting music quite happily for the rest of my life”: Lone on the gear behind his technicolour, rave-adjacent electronica

We spoke to the producer about his unique approach to shaping sound and the tech he can't live without

MusicRadar

“It provided a blueprint for the ecosystem we swear by today”: How music production became accessible to all thanks to a handful of innovators

We sat down to write a track with our laptop, and pondered how we got here? Maybe via our spare bedroom…or even a kitchen?

MusicRadar

If you own any of these MIDI controllers from Akai, Korg, Novation, Nektar and M-Audio, you can have Native Instruments Komplete 15 Select for free

Native Instruments' NKS Hardware Partner Program launches today, bringing NKS compatibility to owners of a handful of its competitors' MIDI controllers

MusicRadar

"We’ve heard your frustrations": Native Instruments responds to customer concerns, announcing Maschine 3, Kontakt 8 support and Play Series instruments for Maschine+

"We want to reinforce our strong commitment to Maschine", reads the company's post on its community forum

MusicRadar

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Unexpected collabs, Behringer surprises and more: The biggest music tech stories of NAMM 2025

We round up NAMM 2025's best new synths, controllers, studio gear and more

MusicRadar

NAMM 2025: "This is the beginning of a really long journey": Native Instruments teams up with Akai, Korg, Novation and more to "empower millions of music creators"

Native Instruments is expanding NKS integration to its competitors' controllers and making its software and sounds available on the Akai MPC platform

MusicRadar

NAMM 2025 as it happened: rolling news from the world's biggest music-making gear show

All the hottest new guitars, synths, drums and other gear from Anaheim 2025

MusicRadar

NAMM 2025: Latest news, rumours and updates as the show gets ready to open its doors

LA wildfires threatened the world’s biggest musical instrument expo, but it's got the green light and the product announcements are coming in thick and fast

MusicRadar

“The core thing to remember is that your beats are slow - 90 bpm maximum - and they are filthy”: Unpacking the dark, sample-based sound of trip-hop

It's this genre that set a blueprint for today's down-tempo sounds

MusicRadar

“Michael Stipe said it was his favourite dance album – he used to put it on and then write his lyrics for REM to it”: Rave icons Utah Saints on their legacy, sampling Kate Bush, and the challenges of making their debut album

“Sometimes it would take three of us to make little adjustments as the track was going down live – we all had to get our cues in the right place”: The UK duo look back on their debut as it’s reissued over 30 years on

MusicRadar

"Construct and sequence songs from start to finish in a true DAW-style workflow": Akai Pro announces huge update to its MPC software

MPC 3 brings a new Arrange Mode, new mixer, new channel strips, enhanced automation capabilities and much more to standalone MPCs

MusicRadar

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MusicRadar

MPC Stems goes standalone, bringing on-device stem separation to the Akai Pro MPC One, Live, X and more

MPC owners can now split samples up into four layers of stems using tech from Zplane

MusicRadar

"We’ve never had it so easy": 5 ways music gear has improved over the years... and 5 it hasn't

We take stock of the progress that's been made in modern music technology - and consider where there might be room for improvement

Evening Standard

Best MIDI keyboards to kickstart your home music production

MIDI keyboards to take control of your music-making

MusicRadar

"I didn't expect it to be as good as it is": Watch Roger Linn, creator of the original MPC, test out Akai's MPC Live II

"Akai has done a very good job of honouring the workflow of my original design and bringing it into the present"

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MusicRadar

“There’s no way I’m spending more on a Rhodes than a car - it’s ridiculous for a working-class musician”: Prefuse 73

Fascinated by news media’s sensationalism ofcrime, Guillermo Scott Herren created his own soundtrack to an imaginary film. Danny Turner finds out more

MusicRadar

"He transformed a piece of samba-flecked elevator music into one of the hardest hip-hop tracks of all time": 10 genius moments in hip-hop sampling history, featuring J Dilla, DJ Premier and more

We spin the record back on ten hip-hop tracks that show samplists at the peak of their powers

MusicRadar

SampleRadar: 537 free lo-fi sampler samples

For our latest free sample pack, we ran a variety of loops and one-shots through the Casio SK-1, Akai S900 and Bugbrand BugCrusher

MusicRadar

"It puts ease-of-use, speed and versatility ahead of sound design depth – at least when it comes to the hardware": Arturia AstroLab review

Those hoping for the full V Collection experience in hardware form might be disappointed. But, as we discover, AstroLab’s simplicity is its biggest selling point

Wallpaper

Cutting-edge sound machines celebrate the independent spirit

Synths, effects, and even toys – these sound machines offer up new adventures in music creation, and showcase the idiosyncratic world of low-volume tech production

MusicRadar

"Hands down the best Amiga emulation I've ever used!": This old-school sampling plugin gets you the retro sound of the Commodore Amiga for only £10

PotenzaDSP's Amigo Sampler nails the "authentic crunch" of the Amiga and offers classic Akai-style time-stretching too

MusicRadar

How to use vintage samplers in a modern studio: "You can pick up a classic sampler for a fraction of their original cost, and adding one to your rig opens up a whole new world of sound design possibilities"

Consider ditching the DAW and picking up a used hardware sampler as we show you how to turn the limitations of these classic machines into strengths

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