Orbit is a browser-based techno instrument built around Strudel, a JavaScript live-coding audio engine, instead of a traditional timeline-based DAW.
The interface is a wheel: seven concentric rings, one per instrument role (kick, percussion, hats, bass, lead/acid, atmosphere, FX), each divided into segments representing loops. A central Journey dial drives an automatic arc — intro, groove, build, peak, break, outro — by selecting which loops play based on each loop's assigned energy level. Any ring can also be grabbed manually at any point, including layering multiple loops on one ring.
The entire instrument state — every ring, knob, and dial position — compiles down to a single Strudel pattern (a stack of the active loops) that gets rebuilt and hot-swapped at the next musical cycle boundary. That's what makes an adjustment feel like reshaping one continuous piece rather than editing separate clips. It supports MIDI controllers (CC-mapped rings, gain, filter, macro dials), scene snapshots that save and recall the whole instrument state, and a recorder that captures a sequence of live gestures — journey moves, scene changes, FX presses — for hands-free playback later.
Built with vanilla JavaScript and Vite, @strudel/web for the audio engine and dirt-samples for the sound banks, and hand-built SVG/DOM for the UI — no UI framework.
Live at techno-studio.muditgulati.com.