Ahead of the 2020 launch of a "new, unified and fully integrated platform", Berlin-based music tech company Native Instruments have reportedly laid off around 20% of their staff. The redundancies will impact the teams across the sales, marketing, administration and engineering departments.
Native Instruments (NI) will host two free workshop days in London later this month.
Powered by two of NI's expansion packs, Global Shake and Lockdown Grind, the workshops will centre on afrobeats and drill music.
The workshops are set to take place in Barking at The Broadway on the 27th and 28th August, and will be free to successful applicants aged between 13 and 25. The three hour long sessions will feature Maschine walk-throughs, tips, tricks and advice from artists and producers.
Learn how to mix harmonically with Native Instruments and Chris Liebing in their new blog post and video. The blog feature explains the concepts behind harmonic mixing as well as being a guide to Native Instruments' own Open Key notation, the circle and how keys work together. In a video with the techno hero, he shows off the new features we revealed in Traktor Pro 3.2 update as well as showing some rule-breaking techniques the German DJ has learned over the years.
After its announcement almost a year ago, Massive X is finally here. Prior to its release, Point Blank were given a copy to test out and explore what the new powerhouse softsynth had to offer. Now, they have shared exactly what they found so impressive about the successor to one of Native Instruments’ most widely recognised plugins.
Native Instruments have released the long-awaited follow up to their classic soft synth: Massive X. The new synth features a completely redesigned GUI and – much like the original – focusses heavily on modulation. With 170 wavetables and 10 oscillator modes, you can also use phase modulation oscillators for extra movement or even use an external input to modulate the sound in real time.
Native Instruments have released the public beta for the latest version of Traktor Pro dubbed the 'Harmonic Mixing Update'. Version 3.2.0 adds new features based around harmonic mixing including an updated version of the Elastique, the algorithm NI use to pitch change your tracks, and a new display that shows the pitch change in chromatic key, rather than just semitone steps, making it much easier to match tracks harmonically. You can also switch to Traktor's own key mixing system, or Mixed in Key's original Camelot system.
Point Blank are back with a brand new Deconstruction from their Head of Curriculum and master of Deconstructions, Ski Oakenfull. This time, Ski pulls back the curtain on American singer-songwriter Halsey’s mega-hit, ‘Without Me’, exploring each of the track’s elements.
SoundCloud have announced streaming integration with Native Instruments' free Traktor iPad version DJ 2 and Mixvibes' Cross DJ 4. As with their previous announcements, the new service allows SoundCloud Go+ members to stream the whole of SoundCloud catalogues directly into the DJ software, including custom playlists.
It gives users access to more than 200m tracks, edits, remixes and mixes, and NI have commissioned real setlists from DJs like Felix Da Housecat, Objekt and Kornel Kovaks for newer DJs to try out their mixing skills on established DJ's selections.
Native Instruments and Nils Frahm have once again teamed up, this time on a Kontakt sampler instrument called Noire. Based on his customised nine-foot Yamaha CFX 9, the samples were recorded at his studio at Funkhaus in Berlin, using most of Frahm's mics and preamps.
Native Instruments have announced details of its long-awaited synth, Massive X. Scheduled to come out in June, the instrument - which is the follow-up to 2007's Massive - will have what Native has called a 'radically overhauled interface'.
As well as 125 new wavetables within a pair of oscillators, the synth will also feature a new pair of phase modulation oscillators and a new comb filter, three Insert FX slots and more. The GUI has also been completely redesigned, referencing the multiple modulation options Massive is famous for along the middle strip of the synth.
