Image: Endlesss
Endlesss founder Tim Exile wanted to create a platform that encouraged live, creative collaboration and electronic improvisation.
Today (31 March), a collaborative music-making app called Endlesss was launched on the iOS app store. It was designed to help musicians play together remotely, which may come in handy as people follow physical distancing measures put in place across the world to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Endlesss will hold a launch party of sorts on Twitch today, which will feature collaborative jams from artists such as Imogen Heap, Flux Pavilion and Bulgarian electronic artist KiNK. The launch party will continue from 10am until 11pm (UTC +1) on the Endlesss Twitch channel.
The app was founded by musician and technologist Tim Exile, who wanted to bring “the joy of spontaneous collaborative creativity” to music-making, in a similar way to how TikTok has impacted other forms of media.
‘A game-like alternative’
In a statement, the team behind Endlesss said that Exile originally set out to build an instrument that he called the ‘flow machine’, with the goal of encouraging electronic improvisation. After developing this, he saw the potential for a “fast-paced, live-action, game-like alternative to the complexities of music production and the competitive music industry”.
Exile has developed software instrument products for Native Instruments and has released his own music on Warp Records. He has also brought his flow machine around the world for live performances, and has discussed musical improvisation at a number of TED and TEDx conferences.
The Endless app has a number of features built into it, such as a drum machine, synths, a microphone and Kaoss Pad for controlling effects and filters.
How it works
The app can be used by itself, or with Ableton or external instruments. Exile described the app as a tool for professional musicians, but added that it is accessible to people with no prior experience making music.
In a statement, Endless said: “It will also be an easy way into music making for a novice. You could form an acapella choir, cover your favourite minimal 808 rap beat, form a jam band from all four corners of the Earth, or create an open-ended hours-long live techno jam as you hang out.”
To set up a jam on Endlesss, users can send a link to their friends who can collaborate and add layers to a piece of music. These layers can be remixed and changed by anyone in the jam.
For the past year, the platform has been operating in beta with several thousand users.
Following the official release of the app, the company plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the next generation of the platform, which will include an expanded social network and some professional features. The app’s professional subscription tier plans to offer lossless audio and deep integration with professional equipment.
