XOXX Composer Is ‘A Music Box For The Digital Era’

xoxx-tangible-music-sequencer-instrument

Axel Bluhme’s XOXX Composer is a tangible beat sequencer that uses magnets stuck to wheels to sequence cyclical rhythms.

XOXX Composer features eight rotating discs, so eight sound samples can be sequenced at one time. Each disc is quantized into 16 steps. Below each disc there is a physical interface for pitch tuning and volume output.

Here’s a demo of XOXX Composer in action:

There is a dedicated XOXX desktop app, but XOXX is also MIDI compatible, so it can connect to a wide variety of electronic music gear and software.

“XOXX wants to simplify the language of rhythm by exposing how hidden digital functions like; sampling, looping and sequencing relate to mechanical functions and physical interaction,” says Bluhme.

Pricing and Availability

No details on pricing or availability are posted yet on the XOXX Composer site. Bluhme has a email signup form there, though, for people that would like to know when the XOXX Composer will be available.

16 thoughts on “XOXX Composer Is ‘A Music Box For The Digital Era’

  1. If I wanted to deal with a large, cumbersome, percussion source I would hire a drummer.

    Then again…. Nevermind, I would rather build a Rube Goldberg device to play my sets than to have to deal with another drummer.

    1. Different strokes, I know, but the occasional accidental dissonance can add a lot to a piece – especially when it’s played against some inhumanly perfect sequencer lines.

      BTW, that video got rather nice at the end where he started playing a guitar groove against the XOXX.

      It’s probably not for me, but I can see some people jumping on this. Like Bjork, maybe: “I need one, but the disks need to be 3 meters in diameter …”

  2. i dont get it… ?

    “XOXX wants to simplify the language of rhythm by exposing how hidden digital functions like; sampling, looping and sequencing relate to mechanical functions and physical interaction,” says Bluhme.

    still dont get it, mate

  3. spinning wheels that trigger samples on a computer? seriously? the design looks very cool – something I might put out in the living for people to ask “wow, what’s that?” But then I’d have to sheepishly say, “a sample playback triggering machine. Here let me hook up the computer……” Hmm….maybe not.

    I think if the wheels could each spin independently (as well as keep them “locked” in place), I might be interested in terms of more experimental composing, which I thought this device was going to be.

  4. Looks like 4 beats of 16th notes is baked into this particular cake.

    I’d be more intrigued if it was an semi-acoustic instrument– somehow triggering little events and amplifying them with piezo pickups– and no computer at all.

    Still, it’s an impressively well-executed concept, even if it is not especially ground-breaking.

    1. If it actually makes it into production, that by itself would be groundbreaking.

      Has any other tangible sequencer of this nature ever been in production?

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