It morphs, it step sequences, it generates – it’s an incredibly deep, polymetric, polyrhythmic MIDI sequencer for macOS that works especially well as a Logic Pro MIDI FX. And it’s free. Meet XiixiiQ. My Yule log for 2023 is probably feeding this into Sculpture.
Euclidean generators are everywhere, but they give you a fairly particular result – that is, they space subdivisions equally in a way that fits traditional clave rhythms. (It’s a case of mathematics lining up perfectly with African-related musical tradition.) But once you exhaust that, what if you were to sum multiple Euclidean generators? Imagine exploring interconnections between rhythms, or spawning and morphing sequences by combining multiple patterns. XiixxiQ’s developer tried just that, with pages of parameters for exploring sequence dimensions and morphing. The software ships as a free macOS VST3 and AU plug-in, tested on Logic Pro’s (excellent, often overlooked) MIDI FX feature.
This tool is packed with features; it’s a complete approach to generative sequencing:
- Sequence morphing: two-dimensional A/B or 3-dimensional A/B/C
- Subset sequencing: explore connections between separate Euclidean patterns
- Custom patterns: in addition to those Euclidean sources, input custom rhythms via step sequencer
- Pattern matching: analyze that custom pattern and recreate it with Euclidean generators (and their morphing and subset features)
An earlier iteration of this called Roundels was a wild card winner of the KVR Developer Challenge over the summer; the dev seems to have gotten even more wild since then.
XiiixxiQ description and download [KVR Audio]
I just started running it in Logic and … wow.
Actually, on the host note – anyone on which other DAWs support this? Let us know what’s working for you in comments.
But just check these screenshots for a snapshot of some of what this can do. Excuse me, I am… about to go get lost in this one.
