I designed sounds for a musical space grapefruit.
Orba 2 is a palm-sized sampler, synthesizer, looper, and MPE controller. I created its vast sound library.
The Backstory
During my studies at Berklee College of Music, an member of the Artiphon team contacted me after discovering my electronic performance videos on Instagram.
She offered to send me Orba, a grapefruit-sized, UFO-looking synthesizer and MIDI controller.
I'd never heard of the company, but after connecting with them and holding Orba in my hands, I became infinitely inspired by their unparalleled principal of musical expression.
Boldly and confidently, I asked if Artiphon could use an intern.
They said yes!
When my internship came to a close, I promptly transitioned to a full-time role as Artiphon's first in-house Sound Designer.
I joined the team amidst the launch of Orba 2, quickly learning that Artiphon was in dire need of sounds ahead of the instrument's release.
While Orba 1 featured just two oscillators, Orba 2 introduced multi-sampling capabilities to Artiphon's audio engine.
Designing Expressive Sound
With gesture-controlled sound being the foundation of Orba 2, I had an added layer of sound conception: mapping the MIDI CCs sent by Orba’s nine playing gestures to modulate audio engine parameters.
Thus, beyond simply creating synth presets, my role involved thinking about how a basic multi-sampled piano could be transformed into something much more expressive by moving the instrument in space.
Beyond my deep understanding of Synthesis and Interaction Design, creating sounds for Orba 2 required me to edit and format XML files readable by the instrument’s firmware, along with applying my knowledge of Git.
Results
Racing towards launch, I designed 125 multi-sampled synth patches in two months.
Orba 2 launched with an extensive library of sounds ranging across cultures and instruments— a massive elevation from the mere 50 presets available for Orba 1 to date.