Expressive E Osmose: MPE Articulation Unleashed – A Deep Dive with Dash Glitch

The video opens with Dash Glitch reflecting on how the Expressive E Osmose has fundamentally shifted his approach to music-making. He frames the Osmose not just as a controller, but as a bridge between human emotion and electronic sound, emphasizing the instrument’s ability to translate nuanced gestures into musical expression. This is a recurring theme for Expressive E, whose products are designed to make digital instruments feel more alive and responsive.

Dash highlights the limitations of traditional MIDI and how the Osmose’s MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) capabilities break through those barriers. Instead of being confined to discrete notes, players can explore a spectrum of articulations—rolling, sliding, and modulating each note in real time. The keybed’s sensitivity allows for a direct, almost organic connection between performer and sound, which Dash argues is essential for keeping electronic music vibrant and human.

Dash demonstrates how the Osmose’s unique keybed and MPE engine can be harnessed to craft custom sound effects for psytrance. He begins by showcasing the “Sigh Squelches” preset, using wrist-driven bounces to create rhythmic, physical textures. These performances are recorded, then chopped and processed with trance gates and delays, yielding dynamic, sliced effects that retain the character of the original gesture.

The workflow here is tactile and iterative: Dash records multiple takes, selects the most compelling moments, and uses effects to further sculpt the sound. The result is a set of SFX that feel both organic and deeply integrated with the performer’s movements—an approach that’s only possible because of the Osmose’s high-resolution articulation tracking.

Several presets are put under the microscope, each revealing a different facet of the Osmose’s expressive palette. With “Creaker,” Dash focuses on aftertouch-driven movement, using subtle finger pressure to animate the sound and then applying EQ, delay, and LFO-based panning for stereo motion. Volume automation is used to create evolving dynamics across the bar, demonstrating how even simple gestures can yield complex results.

“Beak Tang” is explored as a hybrid between plucked and bowed timbres, with Dash layering two passes—one rhythmic, one more freeform—to build a textured transition. The “Dolce Cristallo” preset stands out for its glassy, tension-building qualities. By varying attack speed and pressure, Dash morphs between slow, swelling washes and sharp transients, using the sound to bridge musical sections or heighten drama at the end of a bar.

Other highlights include “Model String Wind,” which allows strumming between harmonics, and “Carbon Marimba,” where slow pressure transforms a percussive hit into a bowed, droning pad. Throughout, Dash emphasizes the uniqueness of each performance: because every gesture is captured in high detail, no two takes are identical, and the resulting soundscapes are rich with micro-variation.

The tutorial doesn’t stop at onboard sounds. Dash demonstrates how the Osmose can be integrated with software synths like Phase Plant, using MPE data to control pitch bends and timbral shifts. By routing MIDI from the Osmose into the DAW, he achieves organic, sliding basslines and injects nuanced noise modulation into software patches.

Layering is a recurring strategy: Dash records multiple takes, edits for the best moments, and combines acoustic-style gestures with digital effects. The result is a workflow that feels both hands-on and open-ended, leveraging the Osmose’s expressive capabilities as both a standalone instrument and a powerful controller for external sound engines.