TEMPERA
Dear musicians, enthusiasts, explorers and friends,
As the colorful palette of November is passing by, it's time overdue to get some news going -
Production progress & shipping schedule
First of all let me apologize for being late on the updates. There's so much going on but oddly so little to share: the past few months have been what is in the movies usually depicted as a fast-forward collage of "getting it done". A sequence of bolting things together, examining parts, deciding on which variant to pick, measuring signals, verifying results and nodding at each other. You get the idea :)
There have been some surprises along the way, some challenges and a few near misses. There's a reason it's called hardware and not easyware! Some things that we anticipated to be problematic turned out to be just fine, and a few things that we considered to be routine gave us some hard time. We feared the remnants of chip shortage but it looks like it's mostly over, while a simple custom-made internal mechanical support part took over 10 iterations to get right.
Here's the answer to the question you are looking for: We have a slight delay. That being said, we are still on track to start shipping this month. The delay unfortunately means that many preorders will slide into December and given the holiday season a few into January. I don't know exactly. Rest assured that we're firing on all cylinders, and you will not regret being patient.
If you're in the second batch, you are unaffected by this delay.
Beta testing, firmware, samples
I believe Tempera is coming with an amazing set of canvases. Sounds that are unusual, uncommon, made specifically for Tempera with its unique workflow in mind. You will not find many "bread and butter" sounds in there for now, so bring your own. You will find however things that are really special.
Tempera works with a set of 8 sounds at a time, and a collection of these sounds in an intentional order, along with emitters and modulators, makes up a canvas. For this the factory sounds needed to be made not individually, but as little thematic collections. Each canvas is kind of a micro-library of samples. :) Where does Tempera get them from?
Dean
We are happy to work with Dean Freud, a sound demon and a host of SequencerTalk, who's focusing on raw, industrial and hyperrealist sound set. Rusty chains, metal doors, loose hinges and gears. Dean kindly reached out to us with a preview of what he's doing with IRON and STEEL. I was amazed immediately and here we are.
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Vibrant!
Dean doodling around with one of the Industry canvases
Kai
We're also lucky to work with Kai Niggemann who agreed to make a bunch of canvases for Tempera. Sounds of our place in the world, of nature and humanity and our interface with technology. Also, unknown to me at the time, Kai has been playtesting Tempera live at the Ambient&Drone Modus Festival. I didn't think it was quite ready for live performance, but turns out it was without issue!
Kai's setup for the Modus Festival
After meeting Kai in May in Berlin, we had a chat, one thing led to another, and you'll get the most unique sample set you've ever seen in a granular synth. If you're around Cologne today and not attending the Klang und Raum ambient festival, you're missing out both on Kai, and Tempera.
Kai's setup at the Klang und Raum festival
Jeremy
Last but not least, you know we love working with Jeremy Blake aka Red Means Recording, a man of patience. His help in finding the sound of Tempera has been instrumental, and we are happy that he's made a whole lot of new canvases for Tempera. I've listened to them and they are pure nectar. What is he up to? I don't know. Or do I? Watch his channel closely :)
What's next
Our programming for the upcoming weeks is a lot of work, assembly, QA and shipping. In addition to the collaborators, I would like to thank all pre-orderers, you have been exceptionally kind and supportive and it is a pleasure being a part of such a wonderful community :)
Love you all,
Beetlecrab crew
