TERRAIN turns your samples into a playable circular spectrogram – for free!There’s a new experimental tool in town. TERRAIN, a free online “reality fragmentation unit,” transforms any audio file into a circular spectrogram you can play like an instrument.
Designed as a browser-based granular environment, TERRAIN invites producers and sound designers to upload their own samples and start manipulating them in a highly visual way instantly.

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Instead of a traditional waveform or piano roll, TERRAIN maps your audio onto a ring-shaped stage where time is circular and frequency is radial. The top of the circle (12 o’clock) marks the start of the file, while low frequencies sit near the centre and highs stretch toward the outer edge – turning your audio into a navigable landscape.
You interact with the sound by placing “grains” on the ring, with each grain repeatedly triggering tiny fragments of the source material. Drag a grain handle around the ring to change where it “listens”. A moving needle shows playback position, while visual pulses mark when a grain fires, making rhythm and motion easy to grasp at a glance.
From there, it’s all about movement and transformation: grains can drift, randomise their position, reverse direction and evolve rhythmically, creating everything from tight, pulsing patterns to hazy, dream-like textures.
Up to eight grains can run simultaneously, each with independently adjustable parameters like pitch, pan, length, gain and filtering, plus modulation options for added movement.
The best part? It’s free to use with no downloads or signups required – simply upload your audio and start reshaping it directly in the browser!

Learn more at Terrain.
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