Layer System
RESERVOIR generates up to 12 simultaneous layers of MIDI. Each layer runs its own instance of the rhythm engine, perforation engine, and pitch pattern, but shares global parameter settings (density, scale, articulation, etc.).
Layers coordinate via a global Layer Interaction mode that determines how each layer’s perforation and event stream responds to the activity of the others.
Layer Count
| Parameter | ID | Range | Default | Description |
|---|
| Active Layers | activeLayers | 1–12 | 8 | Number of active generating layers |
Interaction Modes
The five modes are selected via the Layer Interaction parameter and apply globally across all active layers.
| Mode | What It Does | Lineage |
|---|
| Independent | Each layer generates with no coordination. Maximum textural complexity and density — every layer follows its own logic without regard to others. | Free polytonality. Ives’ layered independence (The Unanswered Question). Ligeti’s micropolyphony — many independent voices creating emergent texture. |
| Inverse | Each layer’s perforation pattern is the rhythmic inverse of its predecessor — where one rests, the next attacks. Layers become more active when other layers are quiet, producing call-and-response interlocking. | Antiphonal traditions. Renaissance double-choir writing. Reich’s phasing inverse complements. |
| Complementary | Layers fill each other’s gaps (hocket). When one layer rests, another plays. Creates interlocking patterns where the composite texture is denser than any individual part. | African hocket technique — melody distributed across multiple performers, each contributing fragments. Machaut’s isorhythmic motets. Balinese kotekan interlocking patterns. |
| Synchronized | Holes align across layers. Gaps and attacks coincide, creating a unified rhythmic texture that breathes as one voice. | Messiaen’s rhythmic unisons. Orchestral tutti — all instruments articulating together as a collective body. |
| Monophonic | Single-voice priority across layers — new attacks cut off any still-sounding notes. Only the most recent layer event sustains at any given moment, producing a single sequential line distributed across the layer pool. | Last-note-priority monosynth tradition. Bach’s two-part inventions distributed across timbres. |
| Parameter | ID | Options | Default |
|---|
| Layer Interaction | coordMode | Independent / Inverse / Complementary / Synchronized / Monophonic | Independent |
Complementary (hocket) is a productive starting point — it produces the most immediately musical results across most algorithm combinations. 8 layers in Complementary mode create a dense but clear texture where no two layers compete for the same rhythmic space.
