Things are getting very meta in the music technology world this week. Only a few days ago, 4ms unveiled the Meta module, a Eurorack module that runs digital versions of other Eurorack modules via VCV Rack, putting a software emulation of a modular synth inside your actual modular synth.
As if that wasn't enough mind-boggling for one week, today we stumbled upon NoInputMixer, a feedback-based instrument and app for Mac and iOS that recreates a no-input-mixing set-up in software. Essentially, this app is a no-input-mixer with no input... and no mixer.
No-input-mixing is a technique pioneered by Japanese musician Toshimaru Nakamura that turns the mixing desk into a standalone instrument by connecting its output to its input and manipulating the feedback that it generates in order to produce experimental soundscapes.
The work of developer Igor Vasiliev, NoInputMixer is an app for iOS and Mac that recreates the no-input-mixing setup in software, modelling an analogue mixing console that uses digitally emulated feedback loops create "amazing, otherworldly electronic sounds".
The app emulates a seven-channel mixer with an eight-slot effects rack. Each effect slot can be configured as an insert effect for a mixer channel or used with two buses, and each mixer channel is equipped with an algorithmic noise generator.
The input selector can flip between multiple points in the signal path to experiment with different routing configurations and feedback loops, and the app offers a number of presets to help you get started on your journey into the freaky world of digital no-input-mixing.
We're told that NoInputMixer also offers a number of features not found in conventional mixers, including the ability to choose between different preamps and op-amps and to adjust the overload protection circuit.
If it's all sounding a little bit too abstract, just watch the demo video embedded above for a taste of the weird and wonderful sounds NoInputMixer is capable of creating. If you're looking to soundtrack an arthouse horror or impress your friends at the experimental noise show, this may be the app for you.
NoInputMixer is priced at $15.99 and is available now on the App Store.
Watch YouTuber Sarah Belle Reid's tutorial on IRL no-input-mixing below.
