Cracklefield is a unique, generative music machine, inspired by cellular automatons and early videogames. I wanted a sequencer where sequence elements could interact with each other, creating a dynamically evolving patterns. The sequencer in Cracklefield is using a grid, two-dimensional cellular space called the field.

The field can be read or modified by cursors, serving as a sequence track playing position.

In the basic sequencer you have several tracks, each having its own one dimensional space, which can be read forward or backward.

In Cracklefield all tracks are sharing the same two-dimensional space, each track being represented by a cursor. Cursors can travel in any direction, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, each at it's own rate. They can can be set to bounce off field edges or obstacles, here named 'walls'. The fun part is that cursors can bounce off each other.

Imagine several sequencer tracks playing 'pong' with each other.

INSERT YOUR OWN SOUNDS
I decided to package it with a set of sounds that, most likely, nobody has already.

There are, mostly acoustic/electroacoustic, unconventional, experimental or unusual sample sets, featuring a hollow soviet balalaika, copper rod mallets made with contact microphones, experimental guitar setups, glass chimes or wire-brushed crash cymbals.

Also, it is designed, to make adding new sounds relatively easy, just duplicate a group, put new samples and refresh the instrument.

EVOLVING PATTERNS
Cursors can interact with the field itself, paint, erase or flip cells, build or destroy walls. As well as shift whole field rows or columns. It's a playground for building evolving patterns.

Cracklefield can also use a mathematical phenomenon, named 'Langton's ant' to animate cursors. An ant is basically a cursor, which changes direction depending on what kind of cell it steps on. For example, it turns right on a filled cell and turns left on an empty cell, flipping the state of cell it has visited.

Sounds very simple, but the fascinating fact is, it creates surprisingly complex structures.

In Cracklefield you can combine several ants of different types to explore a variety of possible generative pattern setups.

MIDI OUT
Cracklefield has a built-in note recorder, it allows the user to capture multichannel MIDI clips, which then can be exported to a DAW by drag'n'drop mechanism.

PRESET SYSTEM
Crackelfield can assign presets to keyswitches or store them externally in nka files. Presets can be loaded seamlessly, without stopping the sequencer.

You can also filter which part of the setup to load. For example, only load different field content, or only change sounds.

It comes with 120 presets, to showcase some possible setup ideas. There's also a function creating random presets, which is a fun way to explore the instrument.

THE ARP
Cracklefield can act as an apreggiator.

Each cursor can be bound to one of notes from the chord being currently held.

Arp patterns can modulated (transposed depending on cursor position), transposed and fit to a scale pattern, while each cursor can play a different sound.

The arp is great fun to tinker with.

REQUIREMENTS: full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or newer.

home page: waveforms.fairlyconfusing.net/2017/07/cracklefield.html

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