You can’t stop Ukrainian music – or music tech. Straight out of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sitka Instruments is an upcoming Eurorack modular line from the artist of the same name. And the first module planned looks fantastic: a 6-channel clock and trigger source that makes loads of sense.
Sitka joins a fledgling Ukrainian modular scene that persists even in the face of the full scale invasion by Russia. That includes our friends at Dnipro Modular (love their Krait LFO and Dots Euclidean polyrhythmic generator, as I’ve written before), plus MachineRoom, also in Kyiv, who continue to run jam sessions in their “cozy room for synthesizers, drum machines, and other musical gear.” (Don’t forget Kyiv sound platform Gasoline Radio, too.) And Oleksiy points us to Kyiv neighbors Crazy Chicken and others below.
Sitka’s told us he was soldering away for a while, and now we get to see what he was working on – and it’s gorgeous.
You have six channels in 6 HP. Each can be set to one of the following modes:
- Clock as a division of BPM (/32 up to x24)
- Random: steady pulses but with a set probability, so it skips some
- Sequencer: 16-step trigger sequencer, with 2x 8-pattern memory banks, with the ability to tap in your own rhythms
You get 2 CV inputs, so you can use control voltage to mess with subdivisions, probability, pattern switching, or even modulate the BPM.
Internal clock, plus 24ppqn external. Or daisy chain on the back of the module.
I’m already thinking actually how this would work alongside the Dots module, which would be popping into my brain even if these weren’t the two Ukrainian module makers I know. (If I missed any, by the way, speak up. I say quantity one counts as you being a producer.)
I’ll be watching this one.
Want more Ukrainian modular? Here you go! Also based in Kyiv, there’s Crazy Chicken, who are also doing great things with clock (along with cases and more):
Or Knob Farm, who continue to operate (small batch-style) out of Ukraine:
Oh yeah, and Endless Processor looks amazing – a creation from Ukrainian maker Bulkač! More on this one soon…
And Sylph Modular, Happy Nerding (now relocated to Tenerife), plus of course Ukrainian-born endorphin.es.
Go check Oleksiy’s music, too:
If you’ve tuned into our Ukraine Resistance Radio project, SITKA and MachineRoom have each contributed tracks – and we’re always looking for more; more to announce soon.