We often hear music makers and other artists talk of âhappy accidentsâ:Â those moments where inspiration presents itself unintentionally, and to the excitement of its own creator. By definition they canât really be conjured on demand, but there are some approaches that can make them more likely. Take a look at the âWrite drunk; edit soberâ chapter in Dennis DeSantisâ Creative Strategies book for instance, in which he advocates a willful recklessness with the record button on: âAim for speed and quantity, judge nothing, and be prepared to make lots of mistakesâ.
Musician and programmer collective Sonic Faction share this willingness to contrive happy accidents. Their new Pack Tricky Traps is a toolkit thatâs designed to make them that bit less accidental. The set of 16 Max for Live devices offers fresh ways of working with MIDI and modulations; quirky contraptions that are designed to be chained together to create unexpected rhythmic and melodic patterns â those sought-after accidents.