Beat Friend

Beat Friend is a digitally-controlled, analogue drum machine that wants to help.

Beat Friend knows lots of beats, in many different styles and time signatures, and has five lovely analogue drums. Beat Friend will do its own thing, but is happy to take suggestions. Beat Friend can swing, in two different ways. Beat Friend can get carried away but, above all, Beat Friend wants to help.

Beat Friend is preset-based device, with lots of beats stored in its memory. Each drum has a slider that affects that drum’s complexity: when the slider’s at the bottom the drum doesn’t play at all, and at the top it plays the most complex version of its beat. Beat Friend also has an enthusiasm knob, which adjusts how much control it will have to change things on its own.

With all output run through an inscrutably-interconnected triforce of built-in analogue and digital effects, even the simplest 4/4 beat can go from a minimal groove to a whirling maelstrom of sound with the turn of a few knobs.

Beat Friend can loop an unchanging beat, just like a normal drum machine. Beat Friend can be given free rein to vary the beat as it plays. Beat Friend can be explicitly instructed via MIDI. Best of all, Beat Friend is an intuitive, responsive instrument that can be played live and spontaneously by inexperienced musicians and seasoned pros.

The first batch of Beat Friends will be released in 2024. Please sign up to our mailing list to find out when they’re available and follow audio.computer on Instagram to see our works in progress.