It’s been quite the year for Computer Music, though the start of the year brought a slight internal re-alignment (with the departure of editor Andy Jones, and the arrival of new editor Andy Price) we’ve continued to keep hyper-focused on tracking the ebb and flow of in-the-box music production. From complex and rich software instruments, lifelike sample libraries and new idea generators to the onrush of AI-fuelled tools, we’ve always been eager to review as much as we can. However, the truth is that there’s simply been so much released that we’ll likely continue to be testing some of the deluge of 2023’s releases well into 2024.
That being said, what we have scrutinised this year has been largely excellent. Some offerings have introduced something new, and others have solidified already capable packages. Others, we now just can’t live without. This is the feature where we justify that love, and explain just why the following chosen products have attained the highly-coveted mantle of Computer Music Gear of the Year.
A caveat though; in past years, we may have been a little too linear (and limited) with our choices, so this year we’ve opted to analyse the year’s developments within each category, and pick many more than just a couple of examples of brilliance. That means there’s no outright winners. As you’ll see across the following pages, this hopefully makes for a far more engaging, democratic and thought-provoking read than simply a list of releases in a structured hierachy.
For ease, though, we have decided to add a concise, at-a-glance summary of the key products mentioned in the feature toward the end of each spread. Our categories hopefully cover a broad selection of products this year, with some (sample libraries, for example) spanning a larger array of releases than others. So don your fanciest evening wear, get papped on the way in, take your seats and prepare to relish in this year’s very special Computer Music awards.
DAWs
From long-awaited upgrades, to radical new features, let’s start with that most integral piece of software, the DAW, and how it’s evolved this year
DAWs are the central workspace for (pretty much) all computer musicians, however the sad truth is that once we find the software we like, we tend to settle in with it like a nice pair of comfy slippers. It’s rare for some of us to even think of dabbling with an alternative. They all effectively do the same thing, right?
Perhaps more than any other year, 2023 saw the major DAW manufacturers carve out increasingly individualised niches. We saw Bitwig’s sound-design-focused v5 which added vast modulation parameters via its MSEG system, Logic’s leap to iPad as a subscription-based mobile DAW, and recently, FL Studio 21.2’s much vaunted addition of slick stem separation as a standard function. Many of the biggest players made major strides in underlining their points of difference to the competition.
Perhaps the biggest news for most readers, (and still in beta right now) is Ableton Live’s long-awaited version 12. Set for release in early 2024, this extensive upgrade (which we delved into last issue, via a hands-on preview) solidifies Live’s beloved workflow with an enhanced UI, new MIDI-transforming abilities as well as a selection of meaty new instruments: Roar, Meld and Granulator III, each of which add even more dexterity to a touchstone DAW which utterly dominates the electronic music space.
This upcoming upgrade wasn’t the only major move made by Ableton this year, with the third version of its Push hardware controller housing a version of Live within its shell. Following in the footsteps of Akai’s trailblazing Force, this move ostensibly allows users to write, mix, perform and more using Live but sans desktop computer. Back in our August issue, we pondered if this was potentially the firing gun on a move away from desktop-oriented production. Yet, with the aforementioned feature-rich Live 12 looming, we don’t think that’s a worry for the foreseeable. There’s more about this in our ‘Innovations’ category later.
It was also a big year for Image-Line, with the FL Studio 21.2 update adding stem separation to the mix. Harnessing the now-omnipresent power of AI, the stem separation tool allows for any audio source to be split into its component parts. This fluid and fully integrated new feature definitely turned the heads of DJs, sound designers and anyone looking to pull apart those dusty old mp3s. That wasn’t all, however, as Image-Line kicked off its new FL Cloud sample and distribution ecosystem with the update, as well as throwing in a meaty Junonodding synth, Kepler. Taking all of that into consideration, it made for one of the most robust DAW updates in our memory.
But 2023, for our money, belongs to . Scoring a full-fat 10/10 in our review back
