Flowfal

27/05/2026

Flowfal can now be added into stand-alone Cycling '74 Max patches.

This shows Flowfal running in Max, using two standard Samsung Android watches to approximate a Theremin.

Raising the angle of the right arm controls the volume.

The roll of the left hand controls the pitch of the note being played.

Raising the angle of the left arm adds vibrato.

28/04/2026

You can now download Version 1.4.4 from the Flowfal website.

Here is what’s new:

👉 There is a new repeat mode on FlowfalMidiNote plugin allows allows you to repeat the triggering of MIDI notes at a given time interval of 1/4 notes or milliseconds

👉 Flowfal now runs in standalone Cycling '74 Max/MSP. It is delivered as a set of patchers you can paste into your own Max setups. Features are similar to the Max4Live version.

🎶 Music by Thunkist

23/04/2026

Come and try out Flowfal at Superbooth.

We’ll be showing our new Max/MSP version, as well as updates to motion controlling sounds in Ableton Live and visuals in TouchDesigner or anything else that can be OSC controlled.

7th to 9th May, FEZ Berlin.

Find us on Booth O391 on the first floor, near the Ableton and Elektron stands.

26/03/2026

01/03/2026

This is an initial R&D proof of concept of a collaboration between Pell Ensemble handmadesound and Thunkist - a spatial-sound, 360° film dance work that confronts the brutal industrial history of Magnitogorsk, echoing the human cost of labour through bodies, movement, and sound.

The music is motion-activated. Using smartwatches on each of her wrists, Rebecca triggers the sounds in the piece and moves them around the surround sound space. For the live performance of this, John will play woodwinds, also manipulated by movement from a watch on his wrist.

To give an idea of the surround sound, the audio is binaural, so best listened to with headphones.

You can find a longer length normal version of this video here: https://youtu.be/3xSoTNWNUkY

And there is also a fully immersive 360 version of that video (works best in the YouTube app on your phone) here: https://youtu.be/3Sj22zLS6es

Movement choreographed and performed by Rebecca Evans - Pell Ensemble

Music written and performed by John Biddulph - handmadesound

Flowfal and spatial audio production by Simon East - Thunkist

Thanks to Tom Bromley at Burnt Orchid for the use of his amazing workshop as the filming location

19/01/2026

This demo shows controlling a TouchDesigner patch.

Movement from a Samsung smartwatch running Flowfal is triggering and altering the sounds being produced in Ableton Live.

You could also use a phone or a Flowfal wand to control it in the same way.

As well as controlling the sounds, we are also using three FlowfalOsc devices to send Roll, Pitch and Yaw data over OSC. That data can then be used by other applications.

In this case, we have set up Touch Designer to receive this OSC information, and we are using it to alter several parameters of a POP based Touch Designer patch we are running.

With Flowfal you can map any kind of movement from a phone, smartwatch or wand to any mappable parameter in Live, as well as sending that data over OSC, so the options are endless.

14/01/2026

Tom ELPHNT has very kindly included Flowfal in the latest additions to his Max For Live Curated Collection🤘

https://elphnt.io/max-for-live-curated-collection/

So we thought we’d make a demo showing Flowfal controlling one of the ELPHNT devices, in this case the ANLG preset collection. We chose the Arp Mod preset for this demo.

A set of simple chords are fed into the Arp Mod device which then produces some lovely arpeggios.

Using one of our Flowfal digital wands (it works in just the same way using a phone or smartwatch) we can use the Flowfal Map device to map the “roll” of the wand to three of the Arp Mod parameters: Decay, Pluck and Colour. This allows you to really play around with the texture of the sounds being produced.

Note that in this case we have set it up to make the Pluck parameter move in the opposite direction to the Decay and Colour parameters - but you can map anything you like to the roll movement.

We have also mapped the “pitch” movement of the wand to the number of arpeggiator steps - so tipping the wand up will start moving notes up one or more octaves, depending on how far up we tip the wand.

Lastly, we have mapped acceleration from the wand to the arpeggiator rate. When the wand is moved around a bit the rate is increased giving the effect of fast arpeggio runs.

With Flowfal you can map any kind of movement from a phone, smartwatch or wand to any mappable parameter in Live - so the options are limitless.

12/12/2025

Here is a short clip of movement-activated spatial sound in action in the Southby Productions d&b Soundscape studio.

Thunkist brought his Flowfal setup into the studio, and we were able to try out a number of demos using his Flowfal system to trigger sounds in Ableton Live and move them around the Soundscape spatial audio system using Flowfal-enabled wands and smartwatches.

In this clip choreographer and dancer is triggering sounds with her movements - she is wearing a Flowfal enabled smartwatch on each wrist.

The audio for this clip is binaural to give you some idea of how the sounds were moving around the space. For the full effect, binaural works best with headphones.

More videos of this are available on the Thunkist or Flowfal YouTube channels - link in those bios.

23/11/2025

This is Clara (aka Mamita Chiedza) dancing in an installation run by Thunkist and Katie Chatburn as part of Delia Derbyshire Day at Manchester Central Library. Loads of visitors!

Participants were given Flowfal enabled magic wands that allowed them to trigger and manipulate a number of sounds and move them around the space in 3D.

The audio is binaural to give you some idea of the sounds moving around - works best on headphones.

The original Delia sounds were made by Caro C.

23/11/2025

Video of an installation run by Thunkist and Katie Chatburn as part of Delia Derbyshire Day at Manchester Central Library. Loads of visitors!

Participants were given enabled magic wands that allowed them to trigger and manipulate a number of sounds and move them around the space in 3D.

The audio is binaural to give you some idea of the sounds moving around - works best on headphones.

The original Delia sounds were made by Caro C.