Tim Exile's Scapeshift - The Generative Groove Box That DOESN'T Use AI

video uploads by Tim Exile

Tim Exile's New Generative Music "Instrument" is Insane

video upload by mylarmelodies

"This is a first look at Scapeshift, a new Reaktor 6 ensemble from Tim Exile - it produces music & sounds generatively (ie: not AI), which you can control as little or much as you want. I'll introduce it, then I'll just jam it.

BTW - this is running on a Mac Mini M1 Late 2020 (the base power M1). The Reaktor CPU indicator is declaring 37% on this, it's quite intensive! I've only tried to run this standalone. Tim gave me a copy of Scapeshift to see what I thought, I decided to make this video to show you it. Tim's had a hell of a year with cancer, bereavement and bankruptcy following the end of the brilliant Endlesss.

SCAPESHIFT LINKS (Not affiliate links)
▶︎ Buy Scapeshift and support Tim & future development: / shop"

CHAPTERS
00:00 Explaining the Idea
6:57 The Sequencer
9:13 Jamming Scapeshift Live
20:20 Oh!


Scapeshift is a generative groovebox and sequencer. I started building it in a hospital bed as a tool to soundtrack videos. I was documenting my recovery from major cancer surgery and I wanted a tool that would be fast and flexible and output ready-mixed music.

But I’ve ended up using it for way more than that. It’s become an inspiration machine that can take me all the way to a finished track. I’ve already written and released a full EP with it. Right now I’m listening to it in Wander mode, getting my mind melted as it weaves through continuous variations.

At its heart, it’s a machine designed for evolving, morphing and cross-pollinating rhythms, melodies and textures. The results can stand alone as finished tracks or be used to complement a production in your DAW or DAWless setup. Unlike your DAW, which reads out static sequence data, everything Scapeshift generates is controlled by continuously adjustable parameters. It can do some cool things your DAW can’t. You can morph continually between two completely different patterns, cross-breed multiple patterns or create themes to generate infinite variations on a style. It comes with 12 themes which get you started with one click. It can feel a bit like using AI, but unlike AI you can then precisely tweak the parameters of what it generates and make it your own. And it does all of this without using gigawatts of power and stolen data.

It’s got a full suite of sound engines: 5 drum synths, two monosynths, a polysynth, a resonator, a noise generator and FX. It’s also got a multiband mixing and mastering section so it outputs audio that’s ready to go wherever you want your music to go.

Scapeshift is available from my Patreon store for $59 + tax.
You get a 50% discount if you support my “Adventurer” tier. Scapeshift is my first step on an exploration into building and interacting with a new type of musical system. It's an ongoing adventure which I would love you to join me on.

I’m also rebuilding after a rough year. What I yearn for more than anything is some stability. Your ongoing support will be a huge help towards a sustainable recovery for me and my family. I want to build a village of curious players, makers and tinkerers and I would love for you to come with me on this adventure.

You’ll need a license for Native Instruments Reaktor to run Scapeshift without limitations. If you have Native Instruments’ Komplete bundle you will have this already. You can run Scapeshift in the free Reaktor Player but it will time out after 30 minutes and you won’t be able to save your work.

In terms of system requirements, the more recent your system the better. Scapeshift takes ~35% of a single core of my M2 Max Macbook Pro and ~70% of one core of my 2016 Intel Macbook Pro. A buffer size of at least 512 samples is recommended as Scapeshift does a lot of realtime event processing. This can cause clicks at lower buffer sizes. It’s recommended to run Scapeshift in Reaktor standalone. Most people have had success running it as a VST or AU plugin inside a DAW but some people have reported difficulties on older machines."