MAKEN0ISE Revisits the Dream Machine: Allen Strange’s Patch Reimagined

The video opens with a nod to the experimental lineage of electronic music, referencing Allen Strange’s classic ‘Dream Machine’ patch as documented in his influential book. Make Noise acknowledges that their current system doesn’t mirror the original function blocks exactly, but the spirit of Strange’s design is alive and well. The patch is described as a loose adaptation, extending beyond the original outline and embracing the unpredictability that defines much of the Make Noise ethos.

The concept is simple yet profound: once the patch is running, it essentially performs itself, blurring the line between composer and instrument. This approach is rooted in the 20th-century tradition of self-generating music, where the system’s behaviour emerges from the interplay of random and structured elements. The Make Noise team sets the stage for an exploration of how much of this randomness is, in fact, predictable—a question that sits at the heart of modular synthesis.

At the heart of the Dream Machine patch is the interplay between random voltage sources and more predictable modulation. The video highlights the use of stepped random voltages—courtesy of the Wogglebug—alongside sequencers and LFOs to shape the evolving soundscape. These random voltages are not left to run wild; instead, they’re carefully routed through attenuators and function generators, allowing for nuanced control over their influence.

Predictable elements like sequencing and cycling envelopes provide a skeleton for the patch, ensuring that the chaos remains musically meaningful. The result is a system where random voltages modulate parameters such as clock speed and dynamics, but always within a framework that keeps the output coherent. The Make Noise approach here is less about pure unpredictability and more about harnessing randomness as a creative tool within a structured environment.

The patching process is methodical yet open-ended, demonstrating several classic modular techniques. The stepped random voltage from the Wogglebug is multed and sent through an attenuator before reaching Maths Channel 4, which is set to cycle. The end-of-cycle gate from Maths is then used to clock René’s X Channel, creating a feedback loop where each sequence of 16 steps is played at a different, randomly determined speed. This clever use of clocking ensures that the sequence never settles into a predictable groove, keeping the listener on their toes.

Further complexity is added by clocking René’s Y Channel and triggering additional Maths channels, which in turn control the opening of DXG channels for dynamic sound gating. The video also shows how both sides of the Spectraphon are sequenced in tandem, with one side following the other for tight, interlocked melodic movement. Random voltages are used to modulate envelope lengths and rise times, subtly shifting the patch’s rhythmic and timbral character as it evolves.

Dynamics are not neglected: stepped random voltages are summed with offsets and routed to control the X-Pan’s auxiliary level, ensuring the output never drops to silence unless desired. Additional random sources are summed with sequencer outputs before hitting the VCO, and the patch even incorporates inverted sequencer outputs to modulate secondary clock rates. The result is a patch that feels alive, constantly shifting yet always under some degree of control—a hallmark of the Make Noise style.

The latter part of the video is a showcase of creative modular workflows, illustrating how random and structured elements can be woven together to build complex, evolving soundscapes. The Make Noise system is shown switching between multiple René states, each with distinct scale values, using the Wogglebug to control the transitions. LFOs are brought in to modulate clock speeds, further increasing the patch’s unpredictability.

Gate and access patterns are altered as the patch shifts through different states, with the Z axis introducing additional variety. The result is a living, breathing piece of music that is both dreamlike and meticulously constructed—a fitting tribute to Allen Strange’s original vision. The video closes with a philosophical reflection on the synthesizer as a dream machine, inviting viewers to imagine what new sonic worlds might emerge when human and machine creativity collide.