Patatap – Create music and animations with keystrokes
History: Patatap is a more focused creative tool, launched on March 25, 2014, by designer Jono Brandel in collaboration with the Japanese electronic music duo Lullatone. The project was born from an interest in mixing aural and visual senses and aimed to create an instrument that anyone, regardless of musical ability, could enjoy. It has been featured at various tech and art festivals, including the Japan Media Arts Festival.
Functionality: Patatap is a browser-based audio-visual synthesiser. When you press keys on your keyboard (A-Z), each key triggers a unique sound and a corresponding animated shape on the screen. Pressing the spacebar changes the entire palette of sounds and animations, offering a new set of 26 possibilities. This creates an immersive experience that showcases synaesthesia—where stimulating one sense (hearing) causes an experience in another (sight). It’s designed to be instantly accessible, requiring no downloads or prior skills.
Future Plans: The project is part of a portfolio of creative tools by its makers, who also developed Typatone (a tool that turns typing into music) and Curaturae. Its development is likely centred on maintaining compatibility with new web browsers and platforms.