Whimsical Raps Atrium: This Gesture-Controlled Polyphonic Instrument Will Blow your Mind
Analog Performance Instrument with 5 Voices and Polytimbral Modulation
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Every once in a while, a synth comes along that’s so different you just have to love it. Whimsical Raps Atrium is an analog polytimbral performance instrument with five voices, heaps of modulation, and a mind-blowing user interface.
Whimsical Raps Atrium
When I was just learning to walk, my dad built me a battery-operated electric box that immediately captivated me: it was covered with switches, knobs, dials, and lights, and depending on what you pressed or turned, it made all kinds of noises and light effects. This new instrument from Whimsical Raps triggers very similar reflexes: you immediately want to touch it, turn the knobs, interact with the mysteriously glowing touch surfaces, and simply discover what happens.
According to Whimsical Raps, Atrium is a 5-voice analog instrument that emerged from the developer’s modular experiments. The goal was to develop a novel approach to polyphony and polytrimbrality. While Whimsical Raps hasn’t shared the details of the sound engine yet, there seem to be three timbre modes including sub-octaves and noise, FM, and formant synthesis. For sound shaping, Atrium uses lowpass gates to shape the harmonic structure and energy of the five voices in an organic way.
In addition, there’s a unique effects section that consists of a novel combination of three filters, two delays, and feedback. Modulation also plays a central role. According to the developer, “everything is mappable to everything else”, and creative mapping is intended to become part of the performance.
The user interface isn’t just extremely unique, but simply gorgeous. In addition to various knobs and sliders, Atrium has a number of touch-sensitive controllers, illuminated by mysteriously glowing LEDs. There are also five recorders that let you record gestures, dynamically “phase” them across the voices and stretch their duration over time.
Check out the demo video for a glimpse of what you can do with Atrium. It sure looks like an exciting new instrument for creative live performances and novel approaches to electronic composition.
Price and Availability
Whimsical Raps Atrium will be available to order from October 31, 8 AM PDT for $1,600. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can experience the official unveiling in person at two events on 10/31 and 11/01 – check the website for details.
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