Grooverider — Observatory

Tap Enter the Observatory (or Play) first. Browsers won’t make sound until you tap something on the page.
iPhone and iPad: turn the silent switch off. Browser audio stays muted while the phone is on silent, even with the volume up.
Headphones help. The stereo width and the drones are a big part of the sound, and phone speakers lose most of that.
MIDI controllers only work in Chrome or Edge on a computer. Everything else works on phones.

Samples… loads a built-in sound. Import audio (or drag a file onto the page) uses your own, up to 60 seconds. Record mic captures up to 10 seconds.
The menu under the title switches presets. Re-roll gives a new variation with the same settings.
Save keeps the sound you have made as a seed file; Load opens one. Seeds saved in the phone app open here, and these open there.
Long, sustained sounds — voice, strings, field recordings — make the best pads and drones.
Your audio never leaves this device; everything runs in the browser.

Performance field: drag left and right to move through the sound, up and down to make it brighter or darker.
TEXTURE goes from long, smooth grains to short, dense ones.
DRIFT sets how far and how fast the sound wanders on its own. Low drifts over minutes; high churns.
SPACE is the reverb, from a room to an ocean. PITCH is how far the grains scatter in pitch.
DRONE holds one spot in the sound and lets it evolve endlessly.
KEY and SCALE keep everything in tune. Choose Free to unlock. Key assumes the sound is in C.
Detail opens the fine controls: shimmer, tone, register and more.

Rings: drag up or down, scroll, or use the arrow keys. Hold Shift for fine steps. Double-click returns to the preset value.
Space plays and stops. Esc closes panels.
Render WAV saves 8 seconds plus the reverb tail to your downloads.

Click MIDI and allow access. Then just play: notes set the pitch, and chords spread the cloud across the notes.
In Detail, Latch keeps a chord after you let go; Gate only sounds while keys are held.
Knobs: click Learn, click a control’s MIDI badge, then turn a knob. For Play, Re-roll or Drone, click the button, then hit a pad.
Your mappings are saved in this browser.

For a drone: DRONE on, SPACE high, DRIFT low. Then leave it alone for a minute — it keeps changing.
For movement: DRONE off, raise DRIFT, and nudge Scan in Detail.
Shimmer adds a halo an octave up. A little goes a long way.
If the sound crackles, lower Density in Detail or close other tabs.

Standing Room Only