Moonbeam - SOMA Cosmos + LYRA 8

[@bondi5000]

I swear to god, I’ve just come out of a root canal job at the dentist and was listening to this track on my AirPod 2’s and it sent me into a lovely relaxed sleep. Amazing. 👏👏

[@PlazaMoon]

probably sounded like one

[@willswitchcraft]

wow, this is just spectacular....................so beautifully nuanced, flowing, ephemeral, mysterious......so minimal and undertstated - - - - haunting......you achieved some sonic excellence with this goal.......

[@Bombmotion]

Thank you! Glad you liked it, I’ll be exploring more with the cosmos soon, next I’d like to use it in dual mono mode with two input sources. Stay tuned.

[@willswitchcraft]

Dual mono? interesting.......just waiting for mine to arrive, so this was really exciting to find........

[@willswitchcraft]

I just had to come back and listen to this 'drunk' Lyra/Cosmos experiment again - so brilliant. and, I just started uploading some Cosmos vids on my channel - stop by if you're interested.

[@Bombmotion]

@@willswitchcraft Flattered that you like it so much, I've gotten embroiled in experimenting with generative arpeggios from the pulsar into the cosmos, lots of fun! I'll definitely have to check some of your stuff out.

[@willswitchcraft]

You're doing a great job of showcasing the SOMA gear!

[@johnnysutherland5717]

Beautifully rich ambient sounds. Well done!

[@lonecrow1577]

Really well done. Thanks so much for the performance notes.

[@warisaracket8808]

This is just how the two should be used

[@fischergreen4134]

Wonderful I need Cosmos and Lyra 8 in my life

[@makeperceive]

small and precise movements, mastery of sound

[@andykandolf1948]

These two work really nice together. Great work ❤️

[@terjepaulsen5583]

Ohhh, this is very beautiful - so wonderful combination, Lyra & Cosmos!

[@balanceman]

I've been watching a lot of these Lyra 8 videos and yours is by far my favorite. I am also in Oakland! Whatup neighbor!!

[@Bombmotion]

Glad you liked it, nice to hear from a local. Its a very rewarding instrument the more time you spend with it the more you understand how to control it.

[@garaughty]

Such beautiful, delicate, organic sounding tones & textures !

[@RichardPepperBrownakaRed]

Really beautiful!

[@InnerPeaceSounds]

Awesome ambience!

[@KimiElectronic]

Excellent. Lyra really combines different moods nicely. 🙏

[@noiseentropy]

Absolutely splendid

[@intheblink]

Excellent work! You made the Lyra so beautiful.

[@NicolasMelis]

cosmos ❤️

[@TheWaveSon]

Wowwww

[@MysteriousGeoff]

Gorgeous!

[@alanbg2278]

A fine study. I hpoe to learn from this. Thank you .

[@macronencer]

Nice work! I love my Lyra 8. The Cosmos pedal was something I was considering adding to my gear, and this combination is one of many reasons why. I ran out of budget because I was busy buying other stuff that was more "justifiable"... like a computer :) I'd also love to try the Cosmos with acoustic instruments. I have a tin whistle, and I'm sure that will be a lot of fun!

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks! I feel you on prioritizing different things in the studio, I’m currently looking for a new interface and monitors $$$. I’ve not tried cosmos with any acoustic instruments yet but a tin whistle would be awesome, just feed small bursts of melodic or harmonic content and watch it all coalesce, probably some cool extended techniques that would be good fodder too. Hope you get your hands on one some day.

[@PiotrstrashcanŚmietnikPiotra]

wow, this is beautiful

[@hellf.o]

No words but Great!

[@Bombmotion]

Much appreciated!

[@tempestwood]

Beautiful

[@JayaLove]

Wow I didn't realize the Lyra can achieve such clear binaural beats! I hear lots of theta waves in there.

[@Cutflower]

Thus really sounds like strings!!

[@pfmmodule5144]

Lovely stuff.

[@malevolentbeing]

Really digging this, nice work!

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks for listening, much appreciated

[@GNeuman]

Very nice

[@Bombmotion]

Thank you!

[@flowersbeforedeath]

This is great

[@fearofcolor7012]

nice stuff!

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks!

[@carlosvargas894]

Well done!

[@Bombmotion]

Glad you like it!

[@synthebo]

😮wow!! 😍😍😍😍😍

[@djformalin]

Very cool - thx 🎼

[@amedeo-v4j]

Awesome performance! Do you think Cosmos pairs well with the Lyra? Have you ever thought you needed additional reverb or the Cosmos is enough?

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks, glad you liked it! They do pair well together, the cosmos does a good job of adding stereo image to the Lyra. The cosmos is basically just a weird delay pedal, so in terms of combining the cosmos with reverb, it’s pretty much the same as any delay / reverb combination and you have to adjust them to taste or so things stay intelligible. I have an eventide space and often use them together. The cosmos does also have a built in ‘reverb’ mode but it’s pretty useless as a traditional reverb because it all super long fixed decay times and you can’t adjust any of its other parameters. i wish they would replace it with a different algorithm in the next firmware.

[@juan_ta]

Impressive! And I don't usually listen to this kind of music.

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks! Glad you liked it and are expanding your horizons

[@wondersplit9229]

Nice! I like to ask do you get small gap in sound when changing algorithms on COSMOS, or when engaging REVERSE? I got that small gap, and I thought it was said that this problem was solved. pls can u comment? THX

[@Bombmotion]

Sorry for delayed reply. Absolutely, when changing algorithms there is a small hiccup, seems like its just putting the signal into a buffer with a different duration and the recontextualization causes the gap. I haven't used reverse mode very much but was testing it last night and didn't have any issues with gaps using arpeggios and drones as test material. I do also notice that the input is extremely sensitive to transients and quick changes in level , sometimes when I use my lyra and play staccato notes it clips on the end of the note.

[@wondersplit9229]

@@Bombmotion thx for the feedback. i have same hiccups when changing the algorithms as when engaging reverese, i do it with slow attack sounds, like when feeding pads into it. THX

[@SONETARTLAB]

💐👏🏾

[@PrimitiveInTheExtreme]

✨🔝✨

[@phantazzor]

your lyra seem small than the one I had?

[@Bombmotion]

@@phantazzor it’s normal size, I just have big hands 😉

[@christopherwhitehall2565]

Hi, sounds great. How long did you have to spend tweaking and refining before recording this? Or were you able to pretty much dive and record straight away? (Appreciate this was recorded 2 years ago)

[@Bombmotion]

I remember this performance being pretty spontaneous when I recorded it, I do put a lot of forethought into planning the tuning I’m going to use with the Lyra but the rest of the performance is more spontaneous, the cosmos half was totally improvised. Tuning is super important on the Lyra not just for creating interesting harmonies, but because it’s also an FM synth at its core. Looking back at my patch notes in the description it’s clear I wanted both chords to be pretty intelligible by voicing one by thirds and one by fifths a bit like you would do on a piano, to have good bass root notes and upper harmony I could distort with FM for texture for cosmos sampling. So really I was creating a sort of ‘sonic palette’ for myself to explore during performance. There are some interesting parts in the Lyra’s manual where it talks about beginning with the Lyra in one state, taking it to another, and then bringing it back to its original state. I tend to incorporate that sort of idea a lot into my performances to create interest or evolve ideas in a compelling way. After spending some time with the Lyra you start to sort of recognize some of the more complex and nuanced interactions, like how the different modulation depths or envelope sensitivities interact with the hold knobs, or how carefully touching the sensors can create softer attacks to notes. it’s an instrument that rewards you for spending time with it, some of the controls are more prone to chaotic or inharmonious results so it’s just a matter of navigating what’s appropriate for that point in the performance.

[@christopherwhitehall2565]

@ really appreciate you detailed response, particularly so long after you posted the video. You clearly have a strong understanding of the Lyra but also of musical ideas.

[@istvantoth7431]

amazing combo... it's an utter shame that these cannot be used in Live PA as the Lyra cannot save anything therefore it will always sound different.

[@Bombmotion]

Glad you liked it, but... that's the entire point? A sterile perfectly repeatable performance would lose all the magic. I don't think SOMA stuff is as unpredictable as people think, they're definitely unstable and require you to pay more attention when performing than other synths but not so much so that you cant get close to the same results each time, they're the antithesis of perfectionism. There's an entire page in the user manual about the philosophy of why it was designed this way.

[@istvantoth7431]

​@Bombmotion you have put it correctly. "Antithesis of perfectionism". But I am a perfectionist with mild OCD. I like my output to sound *exactly* how I intended. Otherwise the performance quickly becomes some kind of a cowboy synth show.

[@KevinPrice]

Adding “Cowboy Synth Show” to my list of potential band names. 😊

[@Timespacefractal]

Which firmware (Cosmos)?

[@Bombmotion]

Just the normal factory default firmware

[@bungeechord1]

Where are Soma products made?

[@Bombmotion]

Russia, or I think they also have a European division. Been wondering for a bit now what impact, if any, politics will have on their perception.

[@mgscheue]

@@Bombmotion Nice people. I hope no one is dissuaded from buying their products because of this situation over which they have no control. Production and availability continues because of their European operations.

[@INTOTHETERROR]

Can you use this as a delay?

[@Bombmotion]

Yeah, it’s essentially a weird delay pedal. It has 2 and 4 delay line modes with 3 fixed delay times each, so you can’t really dial in a specific delay interval you just have to use what’s available.

[@davemoog4168]

What firmware did you play on it with the Cosmo?

[@Bombmotion]

Just the default factory firmware

[@staq9593]

ohuenno ...

[@vantone]

it's really cool,but why staying on record all the time?love the way you are using Lyra too

[@Bombmotion]

Thanks! The lyra is very versatile, I like how you can combine harmonious and noisy sounds so easily. The reason for staying in record most of the time is to have new audio constantly entering the buffer of the delays. I haven't tried the rhythmic firmware for cosmos yet, but so far my impression with the standard firmware is that thinking of this as a 'looper' in any sense is the wrong idea... its a weird delay pedal. Most of the fun comes from manipulating what's passing between the buffers of the delays using the blur and feedback knobs (maybe filters too!), you can even switch which delay line the audio is written to in the settings to create different effects.

[@willswitchcraft]

I love it that you keep the unit continually in Record, so that there is always an evolution in transition......Yeah, not a 'looper', in the traditional sense, an effects device which modifies the signal and spits it back to you.........which is cool, because c'mon - does the world really need another looper?

[@VersatileRecords]

@@Bombmotion now that i do have it,i understand..i tried all the firmwares,i use the one where drive is changed into pitch..then you can harmonize. also,certain algorhythms are more subjected to feedback than others.But still experimenting after a week but it's a really machine.Looking forward to more demos from you.

[@Bombmotion]

​@@VersatileRecords Very nice, glad you finally got your hands on it! I'm still working on the dual mono idea I have, there's definitely some interesting things going on in those other firmwares, makes me curious how open to modification or customization the algorithms are behind the scenes and if we'll ever see fully user made versions.