SAMPLED▌ FRONT AND CENTER
Is LUNA Really Free? The Free DAWs Worth Downloading on Mac, Windows and iPad
Universal Audio's LUNA now costs nothing on Mac and Windows. Here is what that gets you, plus the other free DAWs worth your time, including Sampledex on iPad, Mac and Windows.
// also right now
GearWhat Equipment Do You Need to Start a Video Podcast at Home?
A home podcast studio built from gear I actually use: a 4K webcam, a pair of tracking PTZ cameras and the headphones every broadcast booth already owns.
FeatureIs Sampledex for iPad a Real Free DAW, and What Can It Do?
Robert Clemons has brought Sampledex from the Mac to the iPad as a free download. Here is what it does, what it can't do, and who it's for.
// from the dispatch
The August 2026 underground roundup: five records the labels announced themselves
Backwoodz, Stones Throw, Ghostly and Sub Pop all put real information on their own sites this month. Here is what the press pages actually say — release dates, pressings, and where to pre-order direct.
Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: how Madlib turned a Dilla tribute into 42 instrumentals
Dil Cosby & Dil Withers Suite is the softest, saddest corner of the Beat Konducta series. Here is what Stones Throw says about it and what producers can take from the way it is built.
The billy woods discography, mapped
Solo albums, Armand Hammer records, instrumentals, compilations and remix companions — the full shape of billy woods' catalog with release dates and where to buy each one.
Where to start with Madlib on vinyl: a buyer's guide to the Stones Throw catalog
Beat Konducta, Madvillainy Demos, Quasimoto, Jaylib and NxWorries — which Madlib records are actually in print at the label, what each one is, and the order that makes sense.
Madlib's Beat Konducta series is finally boxed up — what is actually inside
Stones Throw is collecting all six Beat Konducta volumes on vinyl for the first time. Here is the volume-by-volume breakdown, the new colored pressings, and why this run still teaches more about sampling than most tutorials.
ELUCID and Sebb Bash stripped it back to two turntables and a microphone
I Guess U Had To Be There is a rapper-producer record in the oldest sense, with billy woods, Breeze Brewin, Estee Nack and Shabaka Hutchings passing through.
The billy woods collaborator map: producers, guests and the Backwoodz house sound
Fifteen producers on one album and a guest list drawn mostly from his own label — a guide to the people who build billy woods records.
Country has the entire Hot 100 top five — the interesting part is how the records are produced
For the first time since 1958, every song in the Hot 100's top five is country. Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" is at No. 1 for a 16th week. The chart story is easy; the production story is the one worth having.
Overmono made a dance album that doesn't constantly beg for the drop
Pure Devotion arrived August 7 — eleven tracks written in the Icelandic mountains with two synthesisers and an FX unit. What happens to club production when you stop optimising every arrangement for a viral clip?