From the depths of digital time, the zeros and ones have arrived in the form of Comput0: Beats by Puremagnetik.
Micah Frank programmed the Pegasus generative drum synth in CSound and Beats, the second instalment of Comput0 by Puremagnetik is the outcome.
Generative music is like one beat of the heart of computer music. Algorithms derived from evolving maths equations become notes, durations, tones and timings, and sometimes, what comes out is beautiful. Or just plain good.
Contrary to popular belief, getting something good out of maths is hard work and, even though Pegasus works on the click of the button, the work under the hood requires the mind of a musical madman… so, Micah Frank does the work and pushes the button, Puremagnetik assemble the results and we get to play with them.
There is a family sound: resonances, sine wave tones and noisy hits, each reminiscent of modular synth patchworks: rhythmically challenging and always tonally interesting.
The individual hits you can cut out are worth hunting for but slicing on the grid, as opposed to by transient, gets the best results as you can get a number of variations while maintaining each loop’s rhythmic integrity.
There are 500+ loops here, which are all grouped by tempo, from 79-159bpm. The Apple Loops contain format specific metadata, and the Ableton Live Pack opens as a Live Set with 8 tracks of loops each with an effects rack.
Conclusion
Priced at $17 (currently on sale at $11.90) this pack will prove useful for anyone looking for new rhythms and old tones. Recommended.
