Undersong

What it does

A generative play along effect for iPhone and iPad, standalone or AUv3. It listens to incoming audio and answers each pluck, hit or swell with small synthesized notes held to a chosen scale, replying softer and lower when you play softly. Particles come from twelve materials shaped by ten patterns and ten modes, alongside a gravity dial that pulls stray notes toward the root, an Ear mode that tracks pitch, and a drone.

In the demo

Jade feeds it piano, drums, a vocal and a guitar inside AUM, starting from an init patch each time. She works density and order against the patterns, shows sensitivity deciding which quiet notes register, and turns a bare kick drum into a melodic part.

Worth knowing

It needs a source to listen to, so it does nothing alone, and a large audio buffer makes its answers trail behind live playing. A separate Max for Live version is sold on the developer’s site.