Takt

In 2022 I bought an Elektron Digitakt. It’s a sample based drum machine and synth. In the end I only kept it for a few months and then traded it in because at the time I needed something that could work with longer stereo samples.

But I did make quite a bit of music with it during the few months it was here.

One series of works I made was based around triggering six identical samples with slightly different lengths that would then endlessly loop — not using the built in sequencer at all. So the samples would start to phase. I also used the available LFOs to change a range of parameters controlling the filters, panning and effects.

Some setups and samples worked better than others. This track was probably the most successful in that it never seems to repeat and the sounds and rhythms are subtly and endlessly changing.

The amount of variation generated in such a simple setup is quite amazing. I find it a fascinating and somewhat meditative listening experience. Sometimes it becomes quite spacious, sometimes quite intense.

This is a four minute excerpt of a fifty-eight minute track. I’m not sure why I recorded for so long, I imagine I was just listening!