David Hilowitz Music Goes Wild: Spotykach, the Open-Source Looper That Stumbles into Genius

Looper in the Woods: First Impressions

David Hilowitz Music opens by stumbling onto the Spotykach at Superbooth, surrounded by trees and confusion. This isn’t your average looper – it’s open source, built by SynthUX Academy, and looks like it was designed for hands-on, experimental chaos. The vibe? Imagine a rave bunker where tape decks got a PhD in weird science.

Straight from the jump, you can tell David’s not sure what to expect, but the device’s tactile controls and expressive layout pull him in. The Spotykach wants you to get your hands dirty, not just click through menus. This is a box for creators who are tired of polished, predictable gear, and want something that kicks like a drunken horse when you poke it.

Decked Out: Double Trouble Looping

Spotykach is all about symmetry – two decks, A and B, mirroring each other and ready for sonic battle. David arms the decks for recording (with an OP-1 as his sound source, but any audio will do), and the controls beg you to twist, nudge, and reverse until your loops start to mutate. The pitch knob is gloriously continuous, letting you fling your sound up two octaves or lock it to intervals if you’re feeling civilised.

Add in effects like Flux (a delay with attitude) and Grit (bitcrushed filth), and you’ve got a palette that ranges from playful to downright mangled. Overdubbing is a breeze, and you can bounce sounds between decks for layered chaos, turning simple ideas into toaster-fights of texture. Don’t expect to stay in control for long – that’s the point.

Three Modes, No Mercy: Real, Slice, Drift

Spotykach channels almost a century of looping mischief, with three modes that each bring their own flavour of madness. Real mode is your classic tape machine – pitch up, loop speeds up. Slice mode? Straight out of 90s pitch-shifter territory, chopping your sound into slices so you can bend pitch without bending time. Stack up multiple playheads for glitchy mayhem and you’re halfway to an IDM breakdown.

Then there’s Drift: granular synthesis for the brave. Grains overlap, textures morph, and suddenly your pedestrian loops are morphing into alien soundscapes. The device leans into its experimental heritage, refusing to play by anyone’s rulebook. Like David says, this is a playground for sound, not a museum piece for tape purists.

"putting them together into something that is very playable that you can just explore and discover sound in between your sound"

© Screenshot/Quote: Davidhilowitzmusic (YouTube)

Embrace the Chaos: Happy Accidents Welcome

"you never know exactly what you're gonna get"

© Screenshot/Quote: Davidhilowitzmusic (YouTube)

Spotykach is a stumbler – literally, that’s what its name means in Ukrainian. And it lives up to it with unpredictable results that keep you guessing every time you hit record. David admits he’s shot and reshot his sessions, always landing somewhere new, even with the same source material. That’s the magic: it’s not about recreating, it’s about discovering.

The controls are cryptic, the results are wild, and the workflow is tailored for musicians who get their kicks from bouncing between accidents. Built-in modulation and the freedom to transfer loops back and forth between decks means you’re never stuck in a rut. If you want a groovebox that slaps you awake, this is it.

See It, Don’t Read It: Spotykach in Action

Words can only do so much here – you’ve got to see Spotykach in David’s hands to understand how wild it gets. The video is full of hands-on demos, real-time sound warping, and actual music being built and broken down. If you want to hear the toaster-fight between granular and 90s slicing, or just watch loops fall apart gloriously, don’t settle for this summary. Watch the video and let the chaos wash over you.

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Oscillator Sink’s Spotykach: Loops That Breathe in the Half-Light

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The Unperson’s Budget Bunker: Studio Hacks and Mixing Realness

DavidHilowitzMusic Gets the Lowdown on the OP-1 in Berlin

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Tags FM1, Kenyon Kalimba, OP-1, Spotykach, Zoom Recorder