Articles by: Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.

Articles by: Ben Rogerson

Antares’ Vocal Reverb plugin promises to make your singing sound all the sweeter (with a little help from AI, of course)

By Ben Rogerson published 14 December 23

It also uses Auto-Tune pitchtracking to tune-up your tails

St Pancras State of Mind: Alicia Keys becomes the latest big-name musician to play the public piano at London station

By Ben Rogerson published 13 December 23

The global star delighted onlookers with a selection of her greatest hits

Jacob Collier and his mum turn up the “Home Alone warmth” with a moving rendition of John Williams’ Somewhere In My Memory

By Ben Rogerson published 13 December 23

Give it a listen, ya filthy animals

The SoundForce SFC-08 could be the most affordable route to owning a ‘hardware’ Oberheim OB-X, though you’ll need to bring your own synth plugin

By Ben Rogerson published 13 December 23

This bespoke MIDI controller looks like a beauty

Algoriddim’s “next-generation” djay Pro 5 is here to power-up the party season with improved stem separation, crossfader transition presets and support for fluctuating tempos

By Ben Rogerson published 12 December 23

We’re available for bookings from today until New Year

Plogue’s Chipsynth C64 plugin promises to be “the SID synthesizer you’ve been waiting for,” and a dream for lovers of ‘80s 8-bit music-making

By Ben Rogerson published 11 December 23

It runs on PC and Mac, but it’ll sound like you’re using a Commodore 64

“I really wanted the whole thing to sound like Animal Crossing”: Billie Eilish and Finneas reveal that Barbie song What Was I Made For? has a Nintendo influence as they break down the track together

By Ben Rogerson published 11 December 23

Just don’t tell Tom Nook or he’ll be after a co-writing credit

"It's got a very particular sound”: The soundtrack to Ridley Scott’s Napoleon movie features a piano that was once owned by Napoleon himself

By Ben Rogerson published 11 December 23

At least the fact-checkers can’t criticise the music for being historically inaccurate

Damon Albarn slams The Rolling Stones and their new album Hackney Diamonds: “Making exactly the same music but not that good. There must be no joy in doing something like this"

By Ben Rogerson published 8 December 23

“I love the idea of devoting your life to one thing, in search of the sublime. But the truth is, they’ve become worse”

The launch of Suzuki’s new Omnichord has been "postponed", but the good news is that it will be at the 2024 Winter NAMM Show

By Ben Rogerson published 8 December 23

And that’s just a few weeks away

Ableton’s Push 3 Upgrade Kit is here, and It looks like it’s incredibly easy to turn your MIDI controller version into a standalone instrument

By Ben Rogerson published 7 December 23

Is it worth the $1,049 upgrade price, though?

Ubisoft’s Rocksmith+ can now teach you to play piano as well as guitar: use the 'falling notes' method or the sheet music view

By Ben Rogerson published 7 December 23

Gamefied learning platform adds keyboard lessons to its syllabus

“This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt”: Taylor Swift is named Time’s Person of the Year

By Ben Rogerson published 6 December 23

In a new interview, the star compares her album re-recording project to “collecting horcruxes” and reveals that she has a framed note from Paul McCartney hanging in her bathroom

Moog takes a deep dive into the world of bass sounds with the new Mariana soft synth, and the good news is that it runs on iOS, Mac and Windows

By Ben Rogerson published 5 December 23

Say hello to the “next evolution of Moog bass”

7 free plugins you need to know about this month

By Matt Mullen published 5 December 23

This December, we've got analogue-style saturation, lo-fi processors, spring reverbs and even a free DAW from Universal Audio

Believe it or not, the Behringer UB-Xa synth is now on sale - and it’s even cheaper than we thought it was going to be

By Ben Rogerson published 4 December 23

Find out why this Oberheim OB-Xa clone is being sold for “way below the actual value”

Cherry Audio kicks off the festive celebrations with a free plugin emulation of Oberheim’s classic SEM synth module

By Ben Rogerson published 4 December 23

Have yourself a Cherry little Christmas

Chroma chameleon: Arturia’s limited-edition KeyStep Pro controller comes with blue LEDs and lets you customise the colours of your tracks

By Ben Rogerson published 1 December 23

Who said that grey was boring?

“It covers my utilities bill”: German electronic musician Hainbach reveals how much his 1 million Spotify streams earned him in 2023

By Ben Rogerson published 1 December 23

“Bandcamp or coming to a live show is still the best way to support me and other artists,” he confirms

Spotify Wrapped 2023 is here, and Taylor Swift has been crowned the top global artist of the year

By Ben Rogerson published 30 November 23

It’s estimated that her 26.1 billion streams have earned her more than £72 million

Klanghelm reboots AKG’s BX spring reverb with its new Tens plugin, and there’s a free version, too

By Ben Rogerson published 29 November 23

Put some ‘70s-style spring in your (dub)step

“It feels like there are more keys”: this curved grand piano just made its debut at Carnegie Hall, and is praised for its “effortless” playability

By Ben Rogerson published 29 November 23

Has keyboard development turned a corner or gone round the bend?

Surprise, surprise: Taylor Swift is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, but which artists, songs and albums did you listen to most in 2023?

By Ben Rogerson published 28 November 23

Find out now with Apple Music Replay

The developer of SketchCassette has just released a free plugin called Lofi Oddity, an audio “degradation toy box”

By Ben Rogerson published 28 November 23

Stick your apron on because things are about to get messy

“I am not your guru, OK? I’m not Rick Rubin with a beard”: Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton promises to be your “cool professor” as he launches a new mixing masterclass that takes you inside the ‘Vulf Sound’

By Ben Rogerson published 28 November 23

“I might show up at the football game and, yeah, we’re all getting girlfriends after this,” he promises

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