New Eurorack Module, IDUM, Lowers The Barrier To Making Intelligent Dance Music

Mystic Circuits has introduced IDUM, a gate processing effect for Eurorack systems that promise to make creating IDM (intelligent dance music) easy.

Making complex electronic music with a modular can require a large system and a level of expertise beyond the reach of many modular users. Mystic Circuit says that IDUM puts making IDM “into the hands of people with average intelligence.”

And, if you do happen to be a brainiac, IDUM is based on open source code and Arduino-based hardware, so you can go wild bending the module to your will.

IDUM acts like an effects processor for the sequences that run through it. The module manipulates the gates and sequences of connected modules, but with a level of playability normally inaccessible to a sequencer. IDUM can vary carefully crafted sequences or turn your music into an onslaught of controlled chaos.

IDUM has eight effect modes:

  • HOLD – Alter the length of incoming triggers.
  • BURST – Generates a ratcheting effect with timing determined by the clock.
  • MULTIPLY/DIVIDE – Generates a ratcheting effect with timing determined by incoming triggers.
  • BALL – Generates a bouncing ball effect.
  • ROTATE – scrambles the connections of inputs and outputs.
  • DELAY – postpones incoming gates by a dynamic amount of time based on incoming triggers.
  • BREAK – preset rhythms that turn incoming triggers into breakbeats.
  • SKIP – manipulates the clock output to multiply the clock speed or skip forward multiple steps.

In addition to these modes, IDUM features an eight step looper that loops incoming gates as well as any effects that were active on those steps.

To control when IDUM’s effects are active, the CHANCE slider sets the likelihood that on a given step an effect will activate and the LENGTH slider sets how many steps the effect will last for. The PARAM knob controls a parameter unique to each effect while the MODE knob selects the mode. All of these controls as well as the LOOP status have their own CV modulation inputs.

Unique to IDUM is its ability to manipulate external sequencers using the clock output. This includes functions like: pausing the clock when an effect is active for dynamic clock division, skipping forwards or multiplying the speed of the clock in SKIP mode, and looping a sub-section of sequencer steps in the looper. To keep everything tamed while manipulating the clock, the CYCLE switch will send out bursts of clocks to catch your sequencer up with its original sequencer position after an effect has completed.

Here’s an in-depth guide to IDUM:

Pricing and Availability

IDUM is available now for $295 USD.

9 thoughts on “New Eurorack Module, IDUM, Lowers The Barrier To Making Intelligent Dance Music

  1. Reads “based on open source code”
    Looks for link to the location of that “open source code”
    Can’t find it anywhere. Perhaps the clue is in “based on”

    1. Mystic Circuits have a github, so maybe keep an eye out there?

      Arduino is pretty well documented stuff so you could probably figure out ways to hack it just based off of all of that info.

      1. That’s the second place I looked looked. Zilch.
        I find it a bit disingenuous to promote a project as based on open source code (i.e the work of others) and not continue to publish the modified work with an acknowledgement.

        1. I went looking for it as well with no luck. Though, I think saying it is “disingenuous” might be a bit harsh. Mystic Circuits is a one person operation. It is possible they just haven’t had the time to post things. If you look at their GitHub there are several prior projects available.

        2. Eli mentioned on Reddit that he wanted to clean up the code a bit before posting but it will be posted. He also offered to allow me to use it in my Hemispheres fork so I think overall this is just a lack of capacity to do everything and there’s no disingenuous activity going on.

  2. I’ve always felt the Intelligent Dance Music/Braindance label was more in reference to just the complexity of the sounds? The concepts to make it are quite simple…but extremely tedious and it requires a lot of patience.

    It’s a silly (but fun) genre label. I can say any device I have ever used claiming any sort of “shortcut” yielded less than stellar results. You still had to dig in and really manipulate the resulting audio.

    From the sounds of this demo it seems to still be the case. I’m sure it’s still a blast to play with though and would love to have one.

  3. It looks like it’s module that might actually have some high functionality, but the demo is so glitchy and weird… ugg… couldn’t get all the way through it.

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