Emergence Audio Time Crystals Main UI

Time Crystals Review: Emergence Audio’s Stunning Ambient Tool

Derek Oswald

If there’s one word I can use to describe Time Crystals, it’s alive. Emergence Audio’s Time Crystals isn’t just another Kontakt library offering pretty pads and endless drones. It’s a living, breathing ecosystem of ...

MNTRA

Sound Sculpture for the Soul: Inside MNTRA’s Beautiful Library Powered by MNDALA 2 Engine

Derek Oswald

What happens when you take ancient instruments, capture them in stunning high-definition audio, and then run them through a synth engine inspired by video games and nonlinear storytelling? You get MNTRA.io—a boutique plugin maker ...

Pitch Innovations Plugin Suite

Pitch Innovations Review: 5 Creative Tools That Will Transform Your Music

Derek Oswald

What if your pitchwheel never hit a wrong note again? What if a simple chord could evolve into an entire melody? What if your rhythm section could swing, shuffle, and surprise—without hours of programming? ...

Native Instruments Claire

Is Claire the Best Fazioli F308 Library Yet? Native Instruments Might Have Nailed It

Derek Oswald

When it comes to sampled pianos, the bar keeps getting higher. Every year, new libraries promise pristine realism, expressive nuance, and creative tools that move beyond the traditional. In late 2024, Native Instruments dropped ...

WIDI Master device

CMEPRO WIDI Master – Unleash Wireless 5-Pin MIDI and Ditch the Cable Chaos!

Derek Oswald

Intro – An Overview of the WIDI Master The CMEPRO WIDI Master is designed as a wireless MIDI solution that frees you from the traditional cable clutter. For bigger studios or even a smaller ...

Nightfox Audio

Nightfox Audio’s Plugin Suite: A Deep Dive Into Their 9 Virtual Instruments

Derek Oswald

An Introduction to Nightfox Audio If you’ve ever wished your plugins worked like a box of LEGOs—clicking together real instruments to build something completely your own—Nightfox Audio might be your new playground. Their whole ...

this.is.NOISE.inc NM2 and NMSVE

Tiny Titans of MIDI Control: This.is.NOISE.inc’s Astonishing NM2 and NMSVE

Derek Oswald

Sometimes the best creative sparks come from something small. Really small. Like, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand small. This.is.NOISE.inc, is a hardware company that’s built a reputation around ultra-portable, ultra-playful MIDI controllers that don’t just look cool — ...

Altwire Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval

Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval: An Adventurous Sampler for Bards, Beats, and Battlefields

Derek Oswald

Introduction to the EP-1320 Medieval Only Teenage Engineering would take the phrase “sampler workstation” and respond with “What if we made it Medieval?” Enter the EP-1320 Medieval—a fully functional portable groove box, completely reimagined ...

ISOVOX ISOPOP Broadcast in use during a recent episode of The Altwire Podcast

Crystal Clear and Camera Ready: How the ISOVOX ISOPOP BroadCast Fixed My Sibilance In 5 Minutes

Derek Oswald

Pop filters are one of those accessories you don’t think much about—until they’re ruining your setup. Whether it’s an awkward arm that never stays in place, a filter so bulky it blocks your entire ...

Fracture Sounds Trails

Trails by Fracture Sounds – A Hauntingly Beautiful Kontakt Library for The Modern Composer in 2025

Derek Oswald

Let’s face it—there’s no shortage of string libraries out there. But now and then, something hits differently. Trails by Fracture Sounds is one of those very moments. This one’s for the subtle stuff—the kind ...

Beatsurfing plugins - Random, Random Metal, 7DeadlySnares, LunchTable, Beatfader

Beatsurfing: 5 Plugins You Need Right Now / Including Random, Random Metal and More!

Derek Oswald

Beatsurfing: A Creative Playground for Modern Sound Design If you’re curious about how innovative technology meets raw musical creativity, BEATSURFING is a name worth knowing. Born in 1997 under the moniker Herrmutt Lobby, this ...

Sonora Cinematic creators of Aria Vocalscapes, Emma Legato and more

5 Excellent Must-Have Sonora Cinematic Products: Emma Legato, Aria Vocalscapes & More!

Derek Oswald

If you’re into composing soundtracks or creating immersive soundscapes, chances are you’ve heard the buzz about Sonora Cinematic. This plugin developer, based in Edinburgh, UK, and helmed by Italian composer and sound designer Alessandro ...

Blezz Beats Purple Pak

Blezz Beats Purpl Pak Vol 3: Vocodine, SNOP & More – Packed With Vintage Greatness

Derek Oswald

A Blast from the Past Meets Tomorrow’s Sound Scrolling through Instagram one day, I was suddenly hit with a series of quirky, VHS filter-drenched ads that looked exactly like a 1980s infomercial. With over-the-top ...

Rast Sound Motif 2

Rast Sound Motif 2: Your New Creative Music Partner

Derek Oswald

Ever find yourself staring at a blank project with a head full of half-formed musical ideas? Sometimes the spark just isn’t coming, and you end up scrolling through endless plugin options looking for something ...

MIDI AGENT

MIDI Agent v1.0.5 Beta Preview: A Powerful New Frontier in AI-Driven Music Creation

Derek Oswald

As our AI underlords get smarter and smarter (and perhaps one day become our overlords and take over our lives ala SkyNet), many music plugin developers are dipping their toes into the space, discovering ...

Elementary Sounds

Elementary Sounds: Vintage Vibes Trusted by Depeche Mode and Lo-Fi Producers

Derek Oswald

In today’s world of hyper-polished digital production, it’s easy for music to lose a bit of its soul. Enter Elementary Sounds—a plugin company focused on sampling unique vintage instruments, that may have otherwise been lost ...

Void & Vista Folds

Void & Vista – “Folds”: The #1 Plugin Right Now for Haunting Vocals

Derek Oswald

FOLDS: A Gateway to Ethereal Expression FOLDS by Void & Vista is one of those special plugins that manages to strike a rare balance: it is at once deceptively simple in its appearance and ...

Klevgrand, creators of Tomofon and Speldosa

Klevgrand – Tomofon and Speldosa: 2 Creative Offerings from the Heart of Sweden

Derek Oswald

In today’s musical landscape, where tons of new plugin companies pop up daily and saturate the market, Klevgrand, a small but passionate Swedish music software company, isn’t afraid to break the rules. Known for ...

TAQS.IM - SOLO SYNTH, MICROTONER

TAQS.IM: Beautiful World Culture Plugins – SOLO Synth and Microtoner – 10% Discount Code

Derek Oswald

Want a discount? Provide “ALTWIRE” at checkout upon purchasing these plugins to get 10% off. TAQS.IM: Bringing Global Sounds to Your Digital Studio Greetings Altwire readers! I recently had the privilege of getting to ...

Yungblud Hello Heaven Hello

Yungblud’s Bold 2025 Return: Dive into the Epic Journey of “Hello Heaven, Hello”

Derek Oswald

Yungblud is back, and he’s shaking things up with “Hello Heaven, Hello,” a nine-minute, nine-second track that marks his return after some time off the grid. The 27‐year‐old singer-songwriter from Doncaster, UK—whose last two ...

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Articles by Derek Oswald