Octatrack MK1 users might be getting conditional locks!

    Elektron recently launched updated versions of their boxes, including an Octatrack MKII.  Octatrack MKI owners might still benefit from this release as Elektron has now officially anounced via their website (see image below) that the MKII OS will be compatible with the MKI box and will "include the functionality of the MKII".  As you may have heard, the MKII will support conditional locks, which is a great way to add probabilities to your sequenced steps--opening up a whole lot of good fun.


    (source: https://www.elektron.se/support/?connection=octatrack#resources)

    Now, to further legitimize my suspicion that MKI will now be able to do conditional locks (aka trig conditions), have a look at the manual and you will notice that everything is almost identical between the MKI and MKII manuals except for the highlighted sections below: CONDITIONAL LOCKS and FILL MODE. (MK1 manual on left, MK2 on right)

     

    So, congrats to all MKI owners as it looks like you will have at least one more OS update to come (but perhaps more!) with additional features here and there.  Personally, I'm still waiting for program change parameter locks, which are present in the digitakt and monomachine.

    What features would you like to see implemented in the MKII OS?

    audio production, tech




Grid-25

4/24/2014

Aggression, jaggedness, danger, deviation, sharpness, peril, speed, suspense, determination, and wild are all words that come to mind as I look at Grid-25.  The initial idea was not far from the result: I wanted to use only triangles in order to express danger.  Don't be scared if you catch a crocodile staring right back at you as you immerse yourself in this grid!

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Grid-24

4/23/2014

Grid-24 uses rectangular shapes in combination with vertical symmetry to create a highly neutral composition.  While meditating on this composition I found that the ideas/images it triggered were remarkably more spaced out from each other than those inspired by other compositions.  This may be due to the simplicity of the design.  As with most final gridz in the series of 30, Grid-24 was inspired by a very specific objective: in this case creating a blocky composition made of simple rectangular shapes.

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Grid-23

4/09/2014

This grid plays with repetition of elongated right triangles and heterogeneous sizing/positioning of squares.  Sources of inspiration for this piece are biology, chemistry, and automation.  The piece portrays an assembly-line type of systematic environment--this is hinted by the duplicated positioning pattern of the triangles found on top and bottom.  The triangles are syringes or needles that inject substances into blobs (squares) that vary in size and position--perhaps chemical samples?  The relationship between the syringe and the substance is hinted by the contact which happens at the corners.

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Grid-22

3/24/2014

Grid-22 plays with the idea of sticker-like layers.  A few corners seemingly peel forward, giving the otherwise flat composition a mild 3D look and feel.  In this particular grid I decided to break the rules to maintain consistency with the 3D effect.  On the lower-right corner, not all lines end/start on a grid because I needed and in-between point to make it more realistic.  What can I say? Rules were made to be broken.

Some people did not see a peeling effect when I showed it to them--did you?

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Grid-21

3/14/2014

Grid-21 was inspired by the Sci-Fi movie "Cocoon".  Instead of simply designing something that looked like an oval to resemble a cocoon, I wanted to give it a more mechanical feel.  I added a few lines dividing the oval to give the illussion that there is a structure encompassing it.  The result is a cocoon-shapped object with mechanical characteristics somewhat similar to the cockpit of a WWII B-29 aircraft:

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Grid-20

3/11/2014
Computers did not always fit in our pockets.  Grid-20 was inspired by old computers, especially creative renderings of them, like something you would find in an old Sci-Fi movie or classic Star Trek episode.
 
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