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Ephemera instrument family · 17 surfaces

Seventeen new ways to play.One rule: no prompts.You are the music maker.

Most DAWs hand you static sliders. Ephemera hands you a midnight snowstorm, the pull of a full moon, and the shifting of the seasons. A dynamic, living framework to craft music that breathes with the world.

Instead of replacing the artist, Ephemera puts you deeper into the process. We favor the opposite of AI generation: craft, intention, and presence built for hands, eyes, and ears.

  • Browser native
  • MIDI + audio out
  • Free to play

Start here

How do you want to play?

When you think about sound, how do you picture it? 5 lanes to explore your style. Which one speaks your language?

Surfaces built to give sound somewhere to live and room to breathe.

Launch
Launch
Launch
Launch
Launch

The family

It's all in the family.

The Ephemera Family of Instruments take on the same bold vision as the DAW. New music tools and experiences that challenge how we picture the future of music creation tools. There's something here for everyone, we promise.

Poles

H(s) = k · Π(s − z) / Π(s − p)

Place points on a complex plane. The sum is the sound.

Surface2D s-planeOutputAudio
mathgesturedecay

Strands

one mode tower → string + sound

A visible string and an audible waveform share one mode tower.

SurfaceGPU stringOutputAudio
stringsGPUproof

Braids

σ₁ σ₂⁻¹ σ₃ … → counterpoint

A crossing swaps two voices. The braid word is the piece.

SurfaceStrand canvasOutputMIDI
linesMIDIsections

Timbre

corners → patterns · position → mix

Paint patterns onto corners, then move through the groove.

SurfaceRhythm cubeOutputMIDI
rhythmcubesMIDI

Murmur

cohesion → harmony · turns → attack

A flock is a chord. Its turns are attacks.

SurfaceFlock fieldOutputAudio + loops
flockingharmonyloops

Resonance

touch → pitch → sustained field

Press anywhere. The surface tunes itself to your touch.

SurfaceTouch fieldOutputAudio
padskeysmembrane

Wavefunction

iℏ ∂ψ/∂t = Hψ · |ψ|² = the sound

Shape a potential. The wavefunction evolves. Observation is the sound.

SurfaceQuantum fieldOutputAudio
quantumevolutionBorn-rule

Exciton

antenna → κ → ⋯ → sink

Strike one node. The energy migrates antenna→sink, and the timbre travels with it.

SurfaceResonator networkOutputAudio
resonatorsphysicspolyphonic

Gasman

shocks + vortices → resonator bank

Strike a real gas. Shocks and vortices become sound.

SurfaceGPU gasOutputAudio
fluidshocksGPU

Mantle

u(t) = Σ Aₙ e^(−t/τₙ) sin(ωₙt)

Load a fault, let it rupture, and the planet's deep modes ring out as the bass.

SurfaceFault lineOutputAudio
bassseismicsub

Bassic

ẍ − μ(1−x²)ẋ + ω²x = drive

Bias a circuit to the edge, let it break down, and the runaway oscillation is the bass.

SurfaceCircuit fieldOutputAudio
basschaosacid

Breezaphone

breath → excite(Δp) → bore(L) → bell

Blow into a tube. The air column rings at the note. Change how you excite it — an edge, a reed, your lips — and one breath becomes a flute, a clarinet, or a horn.

SurfaceBreath ribbonOutputAudio
leadaerophonebreath

Circuit

|ψ⟩ → gates → amplified partial

Reversible gates move energy through a harmonic state vector — amplify the partial you want to hear.

SurfaceState vectorOutputAudio
harmonicsquantumspectral

Pollen

source → spray(density, jitter) → grain cloud

Scrub a source and let thousands of grains settle into pads, dust, and bloom.

SurfaceGrain cloudOutputAudio
granulartextureclouds

Moiré

grids drift → interference → onsets

Stack a few grids, set them drifting, and listen to where they agree.

SurfaceDot-grid fieldOutputMIDI
rhythmpolyrhythmphasing

Entrain

θ̇ᵢ = ωᵢ + (K/N) Σ sin(θⱼ − θᵢ)

Scatter a swarm of clocks, then raise the coupling until they agree on one beat.

SurfacePhase ringOutputMIDI · WAV · stems
rhythmemergenceKuramoto

The pattern

Learn it. Play it. Place it.

You've met the seventeen. Whichever one pulls you in, the way in is the same, and it's quick.

  1. 1

    Learn

    Each instrument has a page that makes its one idea click: the metaphor first, the real math right under it.

  2. 2

    Play

    Hit launch and you're making sound before the page finishes settling, full-screen, right in the browser.

  3. 3

    Place

    When an idea outgrows one surface, send it into Dimensional and arrange it in 3D space.

Compare

What each one touches, and what comes out.

Heard a few, seen them move. Now line them up. Two columns: what each instrument puts under your hands, and what it sends out. Scan for the row that matches the idea in your head.

InstrumentSurfaceOutput
Dimensional3D cosmic sequencer3D sceneMIDI + audio
Polesplayable s-plane2D s-planeAudio
Strandsstring-theory synthGPU stringAudio
Braidswoven counterpointStrand canvasMIDI
Timbrerhythm cubeRhythm cubeMIDI
Murmurflock harmonyFlock fieldAudio + loops
Resonanceplayable fieldTouch fieldAudio
Wavefunctionquantum probability cloudQuantum fieldAudio
Excitoncoupled-resonator networkResonator networkAudio
Gasmana gas, playedGPU gasAudio
Mantleseismic sub-bassFault lineAudio
Bassicnonlinear chaos bassCircuit fieldAudio
Breezaphonebreath-driven aerophone leadBreath ribbonAudio
Circuitquantum-style harmonic synthState vectorAudio
Pollengranular cloudGrain cloudAudio
Moirédrifting-grid polyrhythmDot-grid fieldMIDI
Entrainself-syncing swarmPhase ringMIDI · WAV · stems

Studio

Where the seventeen become a band.

You've played them one at a time. Studio is where compatible instruments share a transport: Braids writes the counterpoint, Timbre lays the groove, Resonance fills the pads. Three strips, one mix. Standalone pages are for focus; Studio is for finishing.

Open Studio

You wanted room to breathe.

Dimensional and Murmur give sound a place to live. Dimensional is the closest one. Open it full-screen and let it spread out.