Altwire

Welcome to our Home & Wellness section. In 2026, the ALT in Altwire becomes Audio, Living & Tech. I must say, I never expected I’d be reviewing an electronic flosser on Altwire. But honestly, Flaus came at the right time. Most of us aren’t honest with our dentists. We’ll look them straight in the eye and make the usual claim that we floss regularly, even when we don’t. And we’re not alone. According to the ADA, only forty-two percent of Americans floss daily.

When Bob Coover first pitched me on the 3rd Wave 8M in mid-September 2025, he said something I probably filed under sales optimism at first: “You can make any sound you want with this thing.” Bob was clearly proud of the 8M, and he had the résumé to back it up. Bob came up through Sequential as a DSP engineer, working alongside Dave Smith, and he co-founded Groove Synthesis with one obvious target: build a faithful, modern successor to the PPG Wave.

Fifteen minutes after the Blipblox myTRACKS arrived at my doorstep, I had it sitting on the desk with the built-in speaker pointed toward the ceiling. Then I hit the RNDM button for the first time. Out came an EDM track. This had layers, movement, drums, and a clear sense of direction. It sounded like something that was already in progress.

Disclaimer: Kulshan Studios sent me the preset packs for this review, but had no editorial control over the final piece. A clean Subsequent 25 popped up on Facebook Marketplace for $550. Honestly, I probably should have owned a Moog by now. I’ve reviewed a ton of synths, and I’ve lost entire weekends to scrolling gear listings, looking but not biting. So admitting that an actual Moog had never made it into my studio, even something tiny like a DFAM, feels almost embarrassing.

Most music software companies don’t pay much attention to hardstyle. They might add a few hard dance presets, throw some distortion on a sound, call it “raw,” and move on. But that’s not the same as making tools designed for how hardstyle, rawstyle, hardcore, uptempo, and hard techno producers really work. In these genres, the kick is more than just a drum. It carries the bassline and shapes the groove. Sometimes, it’s the hook, the drop, and a big part of the track’s identity.

When we reviewed Brynn Putnam’s Board in December, we said it was a big step forward for gaming. Seeing digital characters interact with real pieces in real time reminded us of those science-fiction holographic tables that, in the past, seemed impossible. We also said we were excited to see what would happen next. Now, we have a better idea of where things are headed. Board just announced a $20 million Series A round led by Union Square Ventures.

Big news in the music world as it was today announced that inMusic is preparing to bring one of music software’s biggest names into its portfolio. The company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Native Instruments, guaranteeing it’s future, mere months after the Native filed for insolvency in a German court. This move now places the maker of Kontakt and Traktor alongside brands such as Akai Professional, Moog Music, M-Audio, Denon DJ, Numark, and Rane.

On April 17th, 2026, Nashville’s DIY Alt-Singer-Songwriter Nicole Alexis made listeners aware of her multi-faceted skills, versatility, and rich inner artist world when she released her latest heartfelt, relatable Alt-Acoustic EP, Mirrors and Smoke.

If you want a one sentence takeaway from this review, go no further than this: Erica Synths‘ new Xenodrive can make your synths an industrial workhorse. If you’ve been on synth forums, you’ve probably seen the Akai Timbre Wolf slammed as one of the worst synths ever made: just four voices, only two waveforms, and thin, unremarkable sound. I picked one up recently, and while it’s better than its reputation suggests, it clearly has its flaws. So why bring up Akai in a piece about Erica Synths?

Many years ago, Teenage Engineering had an idea for a reggae-themed Pocket Operator. What shipped in November 2025 was something else entirely. Turbulence and Junior Reed performed on an unreleased unit at Weddy Weddy Wednesdays in October. King Jammy and the team ran workshops at Alpha Boys School. Thirteen Jamaican artists: King Jammy, Mad Professor, Mafia & Fluxy, Dre Skull, MPC, Rigo Fuego, Mighty Crown, Baby G, and more, put their hands on this machine before it was a product.