Chroma and Gris-Gris are a beautiful pairing, a performance-savvy sequencer and a “monster” monosynth. If the release of the OSC implementation we dreamed of in Reaktor wasn’t enough to make you dust off NI’s modular flagship, this will surely do the trick. It’s the work of Montreal-based Reaktor guru Peter Dines, veteran CDM contributor and one of our favorite patchers anywhere, on any platform, for his eminently-practical, sonically-lovely creations.
And just as the Chrome sequencer goes nicely with the Gris-Gris synth, the whole thing comes alive with Reaktor’s new OSC implementation, letting you perform sequences – alone or in public – with a variety of inputs. So, in addition to mouse (which works quite well, in case you’ve only got your laptop handy) and MIDI, you can fire up OSC. That means Konkreet Performer, TouchOSC, and Lemur on the iPad/iPhone/etc. all make gliding through sequences from your fingertips a joy.
In fact, Peter says Konkreet Performer is his favorite. I think if KP hasn’t won over everyone’s heart, it’s probably because you need the right patch to match its alien, futuristic abstract interface – and this could be that, as seen as Peter uses the two in the video here.
For its part, Gris-Gris has legato and glide features that combine with Chroma, plus great-sounding virtual analog mono sounds with “flux controls” for adding a bit of chaos and morphing. There’s a dedicated filter LFO, too – listen via SoundCloud below.
The whole package is tuned for plug-in operation as well as standalone says Peter. (Good call.)
Check out the sounds and Konkreet Performer – performing.
US$24.99; requires a full copy of Reaktor. Full details and interface guide:
Chroma and Gris-Gris: Sequenced Monster Monosynth
(We dreamt about proper OSC happening, and it happened. Maybe now we can dream about Reaktor Player support for the amazing Reaktor community, somehow? Well, we can dream, anyway.)