SYSTEM//BREAK — Hack The Beats · Hack The Beats

/*
  @title SYSTEM//BREAK
  @by Hack The Beats

  Dark hybrid club track built around one metallic hook:
  techno pressure, house swing, trap halftime weight, and a broken-beat finale.

  The song is intentionally split into performance-ready channels.
  _METAL and _ACID begin muted so a DJ can introduce them live.

  @try Saw the hook: `s("square")` -> `s("sawtooth")` in HOOK
  @try 808 techno kick: `RolandTR909` -> `RolandTR808` in KICK
  @try Double the straight hats: `hh*8` -> `hh*16` in HATS
  @try Darker voice: `speed(.88)` -> `speed(.72)` in VOX
*/

setcps(142/60/4)

// Original synthetic speech samples for the vocal hooks.
samples('shabda/speech:system_online,hack_the_beat,run_it_back')

// Performance macros.
// Keep every position musical so these can be played live.
const pressure = slider(1500, 350, 5200, 10)
const space = slider(0.18, 0, 0.65, 0.01)
const drive = slider(1.4, 0, 6, 0.1)
const sub = slider(0.62, 0.30, 0.95, 0.01)


// 1-16: four-on-the-floor techno.
// 17-24: trap-style halftime kick.
// 29-32: techno kick returns beneath the broken beat.
KICK: stack(
  s("bd*4")
    .bank("RolandTR909")
    .gain(.88)
    .mask("<1!16 0!12 1!4>"),

  s("bd ~ ~ [bd ~] ~ bd ~ ~")
    .bank("RolandTR808")
    .gain(.86)
    .mask("<0!16 1!8 0!8>")
)
._punchcard()


// Straight hats build the techno section.
// The middle section switches to trap-style rolls.
HATS: stack(
  s("hh*8")
    .bank("RolandTR909")
    .gain("[.16 .38]*4")
    .mask("<0!4 1!12 0!12 1!4>"),

  s("hh*4 [hh*2] hh*4 [hh*8]")
    .bank("RolandTR808")
    .gain(.24)
    .mask("<0!16 1!8 0!8>")
)


// House influence: offbeat clap, open hat and rim with shuffle.
// Appears in the groove section and again in the final hybrid.
PERC: stack(
  s("~ cp ~ cp").gain(.42),
  s("~ oh ~ oh").gain(.24),
  s("~ rim [~ rim] ~").gain(.16)
)
.bank("RolandTR909")
.swingBy(1/3, 4)
.mask("<0!8 1!8 0!12 1!4>")


// Rolling techno bass. PRESSURE opens the filter and DRIVE roughens it.
BASS: note("c#2 ~ c#2 [~ c#2] b1 ~ d2 ~")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .lpf(pressure)
  .lpq(5)
  .distort(drive)
  .decay(.12)
  .sustain(0)
  .release(.06)
  .gain(.20)
  .mask("<0!4 1!12 0!12 1!4>")


// The trap section gets its own sub voice.
// It returns under the final four bars for extra weight.
SUB808: note("c#1 ~ ~ c#1 [~ g#0] ~ b0 ~")
  .s("sine")
  .attack(.005)
  .decay(.30)
  .sustain(.42)
  .release(.10)
  .distort(drive.mul(.22))
  .gain(sub)
  .mask("<0!16 1!8 0!4 1!4>")


// Signature riff.
// Bars 5-8 tease two notes.
// Bars 9-16 reveal the hook.
// Bars 17-24 drop it an octave for the halftime section.
// Bars 29-32 restore the full hook for the climax.
HOOK: stack(
  note("c#5 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ g4 ~")
    .s("square")
    .lpf(pressure.mul(1.6))
    .distort(drive.mul(.35))
    .gain(.10)
    .mask("<0!4 1!4 0!24>"),

  note("c#5 ~ g4 c#5 ~ e5 d5 ~")
    .s("square")
    .lpf(pressure.mul(1.8))
    .distort(drive.mul(.45))
    .delay(.18)
    .delaytime(.375)
    .room(space)
    .gain(.21)
    .mask("<0!8 1!8 0!12 1!4>"),

  note("c#4 ~ ~ g3 c#4 ~ e4 ~")
    .s("square")
    .lpf(pressure.mul(1.25))
    .distort(drive.mul(.55))
    .delay(.10)
    .delaytime(.25)
    .gain(.18)
    .mask("<0!16 1!8 0!8>")
)
._scope()


// Dark house chord stabs give the techno groove some lift and swing.
CHORDS: note("~ [c#4,e4,g#4,b4] ~ [d4,f#4,a4,c#5]")
  .s("gm_epiano1:1")
  .lpf(pressure.mul(1.25))
  .hpf(180)
  .room(space)
  .delay(.10)
  .delaytime(.25)
  .gain(.12)
  .swingBy(1/3, 4)
  .mask("<0!8 1!8 0!12 1!4>")


// Bars 25-32 break the grid.
// The last four bars deliberately run beneath the returning techno kick.
BREAKS: stack(
  s("bd ~ [~ bd] sd ~ bd ~ [sd ~]")
    .bank("RolandTR909")
    .gain(.66),

  s("hh*16")
    .bank("RolandTR909")
    .gain("[.10 .28]*8"),

  s("~ rim ~ [rim rim] ~ rim ~ rim")
    .bank("RolandTR909")
    .gain(.16)
)
.mask("<0!24 1!8>")


// Sparse spoken hooks. The bar-28 chop acts as the launch into the finale.
VOX: stack(
  s("system_online")
    .mask("<0!3 1 0!28>"),

  s("hack_the_beat")
    .mask("<0!15 1 0!16>"),

  s("run_it_back")
    .mask("<0!23 1 0!8>"),

  s("run_it_back")
    .chop(8)
    .mask("<0!27 1 0!4>"),

  s("hack_the_beat")
    .mask("<0!28 1 0!3>")
)
.speed(.88)
.hpf(180)
.room(space)
.delay(.22)
.delaytime(.25)
.gain(.68)


// Constant industrial air keeps the sections living in the same world.
ATMOS: stack(
  s("pink")
    .lpf(sine.range(500, 2800).slow(8))
    .gain(.026)
    .room(.75),

  s("crackle*8")
    .hpf(5000)
    .gain(.012)
    .room(.55)
)


// Starts muted. Bring it in with the mixer or capture it as a snapshot.
_METAL: s("metal ~ metal ~")
  .hpf(1300)
  .distort(drive.mul(.30))
  .room(space)
  .gain(.10)
  .swingBy(1/3, 4)


// Starts muted. Optional acid pressure layer for live escalation.
_ACID: note("c#3 ~ c#3 d3 ~ c#3 b2 ~")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .lpf(pressure)
  .lpq(8)
  .distort(drive.mul(.65))
  .delay(.12)
  .delaytime(.25)
  .gain(.14)