Koushion - a challenge to devs, an app I’d love to see reimagined.

Svetlovska

I do bang on about this, but... Yes Drambo, yes Xynthesizer, yes Tenari-on, yes, (probably) a Mirack module and a million other things, BUT, there really is still nothing currently available on IOS that I’ve found (and I speak as a fan of MidiSTEPs) comparable to the sheer goddam immediately creative and interactive FUN to be had with ianthetechie’s grid sequencer Koushion app, now no longer available on the App Store, and living a precarious zombie existence only on my aging IPad.

Reasons why it is great? You can interchangeably build patterns in ‘3D’ as it were, adding and deleting notes as you go, tweaking gates and velocities (and even ccs, though I haven’t explored those so much) on a per beat basis, mono or poly, across in song mode, and down in layer mode, all from the same screen, and with the pattern running live, at different levels of quantise, avoid bum notes by locking them to a scale, and try stuff out with the pattern running, rotate and transpose the patterns, play any layer forward, backwards, Ping pong or random, and drive multiple synths over MIDI per layer. It’s like Fugue Machine on steroids, or a bit like Cykle, maybe, (my other fave sequencer) but defiantly it’s own, highly jammable thing.

I’ve tried the email for Ianthetechie given in the app, and it’s dead. So: a forlorn hope, and an optimistic challenge to devs casting about for a new project:

I’ve cobbled together a hasty video, not for any musical impressiveness (it’s rank, actually, but was maybe starting to come together toward the end...) but just to show any dev fancying a challenge the range of features Koushion had, in the hope that it might spark something in some of the inspired folk here, who might fancy taking on the challenge of making a specifically single screen grid based sequencer fit for the age of AUV3.

Well, a gal’s gotta dream, right?

rs2000

Fugue Machine and Riffer would be great candidates if only the developers still added new features.

Svetlovska

@rs2000 : agreed, I have both, like them, though, and I don’t know why this is, but there is something about the simplicity and immediacy of the limited grid metaphor that really works for me, over piano roll. I grok it, is all. I love the way Koushion lets me iteratively try adding in and deleting things live, building and copying and pasting to a new pattern or layer as I go. I’d like it even more if the metaphor could transfer to my Launchpad Pro. Maybe I just like grids because I used to be a drummer?

[Deleted User]

I see what you mean. I didn't know this one but I can see the potential (Xynthesizr fan here) - sad when apps die that way.

Let's hope someone reimagine it!

rs2000

@Svetlovska It's not exactly a replacement but it also has a very similar style piano roll, scale quantization and that live looping thing that lets you repeat any range within a pattern by touching the live notes strip with two fingers: Genome MIDI.
It also supports live triggering of a large amount of patterns/clips and these launches can be remote controlled by MIDI notes.
Drawing velocity curves is very easy too.

Other than that, your dream sequencer could be built with Lemur and some patience and dedication 😊

Paul16

I also miss Stochastic

RanDoM_rRay

@Svetlovska did you ever find what you were looking for? Or what are you using now for this type of setup?
I like grids too cause BeatWave scam app was one of the first things that made sense to me. (I say scam because i had the Pro mode or whatever version paid for, but on newer ipad i can't download any of the sounds. )
GarageBand didn't click cause i was new to music and new to iStuff, so hidden menu long presses n such just wasn't in my brain yet. Also there was/is a grid Matrix in retronym´s TableTop too, i liked. But that was one sound/pattern each, like xynthesizr.

Svetlovska

Sadly not, it’s still an open goal for a new dev to take a shot at, I think. I’m actually kind of surprised no one has had a go, but there it is.