Creating Generative Patch in Eurorack

For this week’s miniature, I want to try an approach that’s a bit different from how I usually make tracks in DAW. Since this brief asks us to experiment with indeterminate or generative approaches, I decided to create a dawless modular patch that allows the system to evolve itself.

My initial idea was to build a patch that could slowly change by itself. I used random modulation from LFOs and sample and hold to control parts of the sound, like the ADSR, sequencer, VCF, and VCO. Instead of writing every detail, I set up a basic structure and listened to how the patch reacted. The Malekko Varigate was the main sequencer, and the Qu-bit Chance sent random CV signals around the system. Then the sound went through the Intellijel Rainmaker, which made the texture feel wider and more unstable.

What I found interesting was that small changes in the patch could push the piece into a different direction. Sometimes it became rhythmic, and sometimes it turned into a pretty drone texture.

This was my first real attempt at making a generative patch. The thing I want to improve next time is to use fewer modules next time. I still think limitations are important in modular practices because they can make the choices clearer.