tzadura
By 0F on January 6, 2026 4:08 am
Something completely opposite what I did last week. As I threatened last year, here's something generative.
This one is something from my ridiculous generative Max system I worked on last year:
It's a bit unwieldy. This year I hope to trim it down a little, perhaps with some macro controls and/or separate tabs for things like sound design, etc. And also take the advice of Mark Fell and start making purpose-built patches rather than a generic system that can do anything.
Anyway, the system contains 8 synth tracks - 2x each of 2op FM, basic subtractive, a nice modal synth, and a percussion synth based on Division Department's 01/iv synth. There's also a granular engine, a delay, and the Valhalla Supermassive VST for reverb.
For sequencing, everything is algorithmic and parameterised, and is entirely deterministic, meaning that a snapshot of parameters will sound the same the next time it's loaded. Rhythm sequencing is my own design of a dual Euclidean sequencer with an A and B section so part of the pattern can be dense with the other part sparse, for example. Melodic sequencing inspiration was taken from a University of Queensland paper I read called "Techniques for Generative Melodies Inspired by Music Cognition" (Brown, Gifford, and Davison; Computer Music Journal, 39:1, pp. 11–26, Spring 2015, for those who'd like to check it out too).
Being entirely parameterised means that snapshots can be "crossfaded" between, for smooth transitions between states. This can be pretty wild when going from something ambient to a fast intense track. I got this idea from Tim Exile's PTNSHIFT/Scapeshift sequencing environments, which in turn were inspired by Autechre's live system. I'd been wanting to crack what they do for years, so Tim really helped with that. I may use his system for future Weeklybeats entries 
Oh yeah, the track title is generated too, because I hate coming up with track titles for IDM stuff lol
Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike (BY-NC-SA)
I really liked the thing when it was working.