A new iOS app from audiovisual startup Chroma blends music-making and visual art by enabling the user to draw with sound.
Designed in collaboration with electronic music artist Cari Lekebusch, EZPZ lets users make music by using various "sound brushes" to draw on their mobile phone screen, each of which plays a different timbre.
EZPZ then translates these doodles into music. The user can add background loops and pre-made beats to play over these melodies, before adding effects and adjusting tempo and loop length to perfect the resulting composition. The final product can be shared with friends through a screen recording function, but not exported as an audio file.
A key aspect of EZPZ is that it's easy (peasy) to use: anyone can pick it up and create sounds instantly, even those with no musical knowledge or background in music production. The app's not aimed at advanced music-makers, but instead positioned as a new way for fans to engage with an artist's work.
"It is not just a new way of creating music, but also a new way of distributing it," say the app's creators. "Imagine EZPZ as an album release chopped up into fragments you can play with. Along with Kano's stem player, EZPZ represents a shift in the music industry towards breaking free from legacy formats that have dominated for decades."
“EZPZ creates a space for an unprecedented, engaging way for fans to explore and interact with my music," Lekebusch says of the app's release. "It’s not a record, an MP3 or a digital stream, but an audiovisual experience that allows the listeners to also be creative. The idea of being able to doodle with sound has always been in the back of my mind, and I am so happy to be able to bring it to life with Chroma.”
Chroma is a Swedish startup backed by Twitter cofounder Biz Stone. The Chroma team has previously worked alongside Venezuelan electronic musician Arca to produce Lux Aeterna, an audiovisual app based on the artist's music.
Download EZPZ for free at the App Store.
