Wotja: Live Generative Music

The major complaint people have with Wotja is that it is too complicated. And to understand all of it is complicated. But I think of it as kind of like a video game - if I could figure it out in 2 minutes I would be bored. And with a video game, what do you end up with? Here, you can make music like no other app can. It’s fun to play with it and see what it can do. I have not completely figured it out so it’s kind of an endless experiment. The developers are always updating it, and are very responsive. If you have the time and are into ambient / generative music, I say go for it. You can also just use it at basic level and make great stuff. There really is nothing else like it.

First of all, the developer(s) are amazingly responsive, helpful, patient, kind, and enthusiastic. Communication is a pleasure. I've used the predecessor of this unique app in the past (Liptiki) and loved it. I've also briefly checked out Wotja last year. Sadly, I was overseas and blew up my MacBook. For the past several months I missed playing with this software! Wotja is a totally different format, so it might take a couple launches for the workflow to sink-in. It's not a DAW (digital audio workstation). It's an otherworldly environment that helps inspired creativity . . . especialy within it's melodic ambient wheelhouse. Of course, users are not trapped on this new planet. We are able to use Wotja as a sketchpad and then continue developing in a DAW, if one so desires. At the very, very least . . . this app breaks through creative blockage and is FUN to use after climbing over a little learning curve. For the price . . . FREE . . . you can't beat this. I've got my eyes on the paid version for the enhanced features. Tommy Zai gives this two thumbs up.

Wotja can be as simple as a visual and auditory experience that mixes written words and generative music. Wotja includes many pre-generated mixes and makes it easy for you to create random mixes with just a a couple touches. Wotja can also be a very deep modular environment where you can edit every aspect of your music and sound parameters. The music engine is very adaptive with rules and settings that you can set for how each part plays. The sound engine is where you get your hands dirty building and editing your modular “synth” creations using sound/tone sources, FX units, controllers and routing junctions. I don’t think I’ll ever get to explore all of Wotja’s features, but I do learn new things every day with the help of Intermorphic. Anytime I hit a wall, it gets knocked down pretty quick with explanations for those little things that aren’t readily apparent to me. If you are brave enough to take the dive into Wotja’s vast generative and modular music environment, understand that you have a vast amount of control and there is probably a setting that you can tweak to make your creation sound just the way you want.