The most powerful multi‐touch controller app is undoubtedly Konkreet Labs Performer
Sound on Sound, “Apps For Controlling Ableton Live”, November 2011
Performer completely changed the way we can manipulate music. It allows me to freely create sound design elements, but most importantly, perform musical ideas that can’t be done any other way.
Sascha Dikiciyan, Composer “Tron: Evolution”
A smart, elegant way to take a different approach when it comes to playing live.
DJ Tech Tools
Konkreet Performer totally recommended for Live/Reaktor/Max users.
Resident Advisor
Sweet jesus this is mental!
Nick, Liine
is a music control and performance instrument that was designed to use multi-touch technology to the full. Instead of traditional faders and knobs, use multi-touch and gestures to manipulate PERFORMER’s beautiful shapes to dynamically control your computer’s software instruments in real-time.
In the studio, it allows the artist to approach their sound-design routine from a new, inspiring angle: to reconnect to their software instruments and Digital Audio Workstations by using Performer’s revolutionary interface and arriving at sounds and progressions impossible with traditional controllers.
But PERFORMER was also made to be seen! On the stage, alongside with VISUALISER (PERFORMER‘s big-screen visual output module – in development), PERFORMER creates an engaging live show that is indeed “alive”.
PERFORMER is a controller. It does not generate sound by itself.
The heart of PERFORMER is the control object, an abstract graphic element, made out of up to 10 nodes. Combine up to 3 graphical layers to design the look of this object.
This object can be moved around as a whole. Zoom, turn, throw, distort and reshape it across the screen. Moving and tapping a single node can send up to 7 different control messages, simultaneously.
Tap an object centre to send a Trigger (designed with function as a “note on”, or “gate” in mind).
Save the shape of your music
PERFORMER has the ability to save the shape of your objects (and hence the sound that they represent) into 8 snapshots, organised into 8 banks, i.e. 64 slots in total. Once you find a sound that you like, tap the red button (top left corner) and then tap one of the 8 snapshot buttons below to save. It will save the position and shape of the object and you’ll be able to recall it every time you tap that button. You can now play by jumping from one snapshot to another.
Inertia Control
The variable inertia feature enabling smooth morphing in your music, from fast and responsive to ultra slow gradual transitions. When dragging the object, the nodes are pulled according to the inertia value; when using snapshots/jump mode it sets a target to which the object morphs according to the inertia value. For real-time changes during performance, you can even control the inertia value directly via the ribbon.
Ribbon Controller
Additional control of your music can be done using Performer’s multitouch ribbon controller, for example for controlling pitch bend while simultaneously manipulating the other sound parameters using the Performer object, or even playing polyphonic notes!
The Visualiser
Performer’s evil twin, called “Visualiser”, an upcoming Mac/PC application that mirrors everything you’re doing on the iPad screen. Wirelessly, needless to say. It is the visual output of Konkreet Performer that makes the art of playing an instrument visible to the crowd.