MANIFOLD

Generative just intonation. Nothing is sequenced.

Firmware that turns the FM-1 into a self-playing instrument. Two layers of moving points wander over a map of a just-intonation scale, and every note they pass near sounds. The rhythm is a continuous landscape, the drums ride the synth's own notes, and every partial is a whole-number multiple of its note. Steer it with four knobs; play into it with the keys.

How it plays Perform

The mapA scale laid out on a Tonnetz: neighbours are fifths, thirds and sevenths. 41 scales, from the harmonic series to handpan tunings.

Two layersUp to eight points each, moving along continuous functions. A note sounds as loud as the points near it.

The streamRhythm as one smooth function of the bar: swing, three-against-four and long form are continuous controls.

Four knobsTimbre, Groove, Space and Motion each ride a path through a dozen settings. REC rolls a new patch.

Twelve motions Layer 1 · Layer 2

Lissajous figures, Kuramoto swarms, the Lorenz attractor, Sinai billiards, gravity wells over the key's own notes, coprime tape loops, eroding figures and chord progressions, each with eight envelopes and routes that let one layer move, add to or gate the other. The developer notes give the mathematics.

On the screen every page

The nine color themes of Setup → General. MANIFOLD is MPL-2.0, built on fm1-base by Charles Vestal. Not affiliated with M-VAVE.