Whenever DJs and sound engineers are featured on screen, they’re often portrayed using devices that almost look like NASA’s control panels. Yes, they do have all the knobs and buttons and sliders they need to craft the perfect tunes, but the uniform appearances of these controls require rote memorization, sometimes through trial and error. They’re also not the most inspiring of aesthetics, starkly contrasting with the artistic nature of their craft.
Lately, there has been an explosion of new designs for music and audio equipment, like the unique blend of minimalism and industrial aesthetic that has been popular among teenage engineers. This innovative controller, however, does more than just give the controller a facelift. It practically throws away familiar knobs and sliders, replacing them with a tactile surface and light display that will make your music performance even more expressive in more ways than one.
Designer: Embodme
There are still some buttons to press, of course, and there’s even one dial to turn. After all, there are some actions that need to be done quickly, and these are the perfect interfaces for them. But when it comes to the art of mixing music, creating beats, and regulating rhythms, something more organic might be a better solution.
The Erae 2 is that solution, offering what is practically a blank canvas for your fingers to “draw” tones on. In fact, it even feels like a literal canvas with the fabric skin layer on top of it. Press softly with a finger or press down hard. Glide your fingertips with finesse across the surface or beat it with special drumsticks (and the silicone skin on top). With 16,000 force sensors, the entire surface of the Erae 2 becomes a magical instrument in its own right.
But how do you know which areas to press or slide? That’s where the 42×24 grid of LED lights comes in. It’s a programmable matrix that can draw a keyboard, a face, or even a slider that you can interact with. Even better, these images react to your touch, and they can dance along with your hands as you paint with your music. Of course, all of these can be controlled using powerful software that lets you design your own controller as well as the tones and beats that play at each touch.
The Erae 2 offers an opportunity to level up your music performances, bridging that gap between the harmony that you create and the movement of your body that swings to music. It makes the experience not only more tactile but also more personal, turning it into a true art form that goes beyond pushing buttons and scrubbing sliders. It gives the user the feeling of agency as they almost literally see the sounds they create, enchanting not just their audience but themselves as well.
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