Native Instruments has released Reaktor Animated Circuits, a new Kore Soundpack that explores the world of complex self-generating soundscapes, textures and rhythms.

Reaktor Animated Circuits is based on 200 KoreSounds that take advantage of the capabilities of the Reaktor engine embedded in Kore 2 and the free Kore Player. The unconventional Reaktor sound generators "Newscool", "Metaphysical Function", "Spacedrone" and "Skrewell" are utilized to produce deep, constantly fluctuating soundscapes that range from dark to meditative and from moody to abstract.

Reaktor Animated Circuits also introduces the new sequencing instrument "Spiral", the latest creation of Reaktor builder Lazyfish, based on an unusual approach to pattern generation. Spiral uses concentric sequencing lanes and advanced algorithms to create continuously shifting, kaleidoscopic melodies, and can be routed into any sound source that accepts MIDI input.

All sounds in Reaktor Animated Circuits offer sound shaping options through eight "morphable" Sound Variations per preset, with crucial sound parameters also conveniently assigned to the unified Kore user interface. Owners of Reaktor 5 get full access to the panels of the individual ensembles for full control of every single sound parameter.

The Spiral ensemble is also available separately as a free download for all owners of Reaktor 5 through the NI Service Center application.

Reaktor Animated Circuits is available now for a suggested retail price of $59 / €49.

The legendary Alan Parsons, renowned for his work with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, Al Stewart, Paul McCartney, the Alan Parsons project and so much more, is coming to visit SAE Institute London. Alan will present a masterclass to SAE students and members of the SAE Alumni association on Thursday 6th November at SAE Institute in Kingsland Road. He will talk about his past and current work and techniques, enriched with examples. There will also be the unique opportunity to interact with Alan Parsons in a Q&A session.

Only a limited number of places are available for members of the public for £50.

Virtuasonic has just released Choir Breath, a new sample library consisting exclusively of choral breath samples, produced for composers that already own a choir library and are in search of tools for improving the impact of their MIDI mock-ups with additional details.

Specifications :

- Mixed Choir, Women, Men, Young Choir.
- Close/Far presets.
- Sampling rate: 24-bit / 44.1 KHz.
- Total size: 190 MBytes (over 420 samples).
- Formats: KONTAKT 2 / 3, WAV 24bit.

Pricing : €17.95 (excl. VAT), $24.95

FracturedSoftware has announced the immediate availability of Rondo 2.8, an update to its award winning MIDI Player for OS X. This latest version of Rondo has a number of interface improvements, an integrated help file and the ability to specify the absolute rate at which a MIDI file plays.

Rondo is unique among MIDI players as it has been designed to help non-score reading musicians follow the music as it plays. Its horizontal live-playing pianos located directly over vertical scrolling note columns make it very easy to see what notes are about to play while the innovative visual track filter allows you to visually isolate a track without affecting the audio. Users who just enjoy listening to MIDI files will also find Rondos simple and uncluttered interface a delight to use. Rondo has a set of intuitive controls to play, pause, fast forward and rewind your music while individual track muting allows you to switch off unwanted tracks. Other features include the ability to jump to a specific bar or section and play through an external sound module or keyboard connected to your computer.

GenoQs has released v1.60 of the operating system for their hardware sequencers Octopus and Nemo.

The new OS is a significant leap forward and it includes numerous new features, and workflow improvements. Too many to list here really, but all minutiously captured in the latest release notes document. Their main page links to all that information and more.

Discover what those units are able to do on these videos at 440tv...