Behold the sonic possibilities of the “depths of the mathematical universe.” Eccentric, prolific software developer Alexander Zolotov (NightRadio) is back from the reaches of space with a crazy new app for Android and iOS, an endless sample generator for just US$1.99.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this one since it was teased earlier this week. It’s not the first time Sasha has plumbed the depths of sample-making possibilities. Fractal Bits covered this territory before (see below). Think of Relic Waves as building on that architecture and UI, but adapted to longer sounds. Put the two together, and you should have a pretty wide variety of generative tools, perfect for mobile – and an ideal counterpart to the incredible SunVox environment.

The idea is this: pull up a random set of 12 sounds then tweak, control six additional processing parameters (also controllable via MIDI, and record. The sounds themselves are encoded as 8 text characters, meaning each preset you discover is also contained in text. Save the text, copy and paste the text – the sound is retained. You can export to WAV or SunVox format – with SunVox, the effects are retained, too.

This means you have a new, generative way of getting started with sounds that you can then finish up in SunVox. As usual, you get a full complement of features:

  • AUv3 extension format on iOS
  • Wi-Fi export/import
  • Three keyboard types – on-screen, PC keyboard, or MIDI input

And, c’mon, it’s two dollars.

Love it. So yeah, Fractal Bits for your percussion sounds, and Relic Waves for your longer sounds. Then SunVox to finish it off. Genius. It’s a whole NightRadio suite, really, for less than the price of lunch.

Watch:

Catch up on SunVox if you haven’t: