£135 (currently on offer for £90), anukari.com

Anukari provides a virtual 3D environment for sound creation and effects processing with a flexible modular workflow that lets you build patches piece by piece like a Meccano model.

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After three years of development and prototyping with a lengthy beta phase, Anukari v1.0 is finally available. The brain child of former Google engineer Evan Mezeske, Anukari’s 3D physical modeling engine relies on GPU acceleration, processing at 48 kHz internally. The reason behind this is that a GPU is better suited to making thousands of calculations than a CPU, but as a result, Anukari requires either an Apple Silicon-based Mac or a Vulkan-compatible GPU on Windows.

The Anukari modelling engine operates as a simulation of 3D space and is capable of connecting hundreds of virtual objects, anchors, and springs to generate and modulate the sound. Using a virtualisation process known as 1:1 mapping or GPU pass-through, each object within the Anukari environment is managed by its own processing thread with threadgroup memory and barriers to keep every element synchronised.

The way of Anukari

When you dive into Anukari, it’s confusing at first. The fundamental difference between this and other synth plugins is not the fact that it’s using a physical simulation or modeling synthesis; it’s the idea that the structure of the instrument is patch-dependent. This means there is no familiar standard signal flow, as you would find in a subtractive synthesizer that follows an oscillator to filter to envelopes direction. Instead, Anukari has different objects which can be placed in the virtual 3D environment to create a patch.

The basic premise of building sounds in Anukari is similar to an acoustic environment in that you need a sound source and a transmission device to complete the virtual circuit and allow the instrument to be triggered by the keyboard’s note input and carried to the main outputs. Each of these tasks can be performed by a number of different objects, but luckily there are categories that show you where to look.

In the Core section, you can find components that will make up the primary physical structure of your instrument.

This includes a Body, which is a moving object mounted onto one or more Springs, which can then be connected to an Anchor to restrict the Spring’s movement. Where it gets slightly more complex is that sound is created when an Exciter acts upon a Body which is linked to a Microphone. That means without the Exciter, which could be a mallet, audio input, oscillator, bow, or plectrum, there is no sound being created, and without the Microphone, there is no sound being captured. Once you understand this workflow, you can start experimenting with different objects, and you quickly learn that different Exciters create different timbres.

The limitless flexibility of Anukari

Although the process sounds rather abstract, the visual 3D environment actually makes it rather intuitive, and you can always flip through the preset library to find a template to build from or simply find out what is sonically possible with Anukari. As you load more elaborate patches, you’ll notice that they require more resources to run smoothly. Another key difference between Anukari and most other synth plugins is that there is little limitation on how many sound generation devices you can run within a single patch.

Naturally, this presents somewhat of a conundrum for inexperienced users. A MiniMoog, for instance, has a finite structure with three oscillators, a filter, and two envelopes, which clearly defines the creative playing field for building sounds. Anukari, on the other hand, puts this power in the hands of the user, which could be a little overwhelming if you don’t fully understand the scope of tools or don’t have a specific sound design concept in mind.

Once you’ve explored a little and gotten over these learning hurdles, you can start tinkering with Anukari’s more powerful sound manipulation tools, including its range of modulators and effects. Modulation is extremely versatile within Anukari, giving you access to LFOs, and Macros, which can receive automation data from your DAW, as well as MIDI CC, Pitch Bend, Pressure, After Touch, Note Follower, Trigger Envelope, and Envelope Follower devices. Each Modulator can be linked to almost any object in Anukari, including another Modulator, allowing you to determine how your keyboard is interacting with the instrument you’ve created, or providing the control to shape the sound according to the musical arrangement in your DAW.

There is also a range of 16 different effects modules that can be added between the source and capture points. Some of the highlights include a reverb with six algorithms, a formant filter, a grain delay, a vocoder, and a frequency shifter. Each effect can also be altered with one of the Modulation objects, which is ideal if you already have something textured or rhythmic going on. Furthermore, Anukari can also be used as an insert or send effect in your DAW. This is also a useful way to introduce yourself to the 3D environment, as you are using another instrument as your sound generator and Anukari becomes a platform for adding weirdness in varying degrees.

Can Anukari find a place in my next pop, hip-hop, or EDM track?

Probably not. If you’re looking for an instantly gratifying plugin that churns out usable presets, look elsewhere, as this is certainly not what Anukari is designed to be. Instead, it’s a flexible platform for sonic exploration, which is likely to appeal to a different group of users. A sound designer, for instance, who works in motion pictures or games, especially in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, will quickly find a way to put Anukari to use in their workflow. Equally, an electronic music artist on the minimal, experimental side of the spectrum will appreciate its open-endedness as an instrument or effects processor.

While there are times when I discover sounds reminiscent of modeling synths like AAS Chromaphone or Logic Pro’s Sculpture, I couldn’t compare the user experience to any other software, except perhaps Bitwig’s The Grid environment, a modular synth like VCV Rack, or the Kyma sound design platform from Symbolic Sound. The difference is that Anukari relies on virtual 3D physics, which puts it in a category of its own. While this makes Anukari a niche tool, it’s definitely an engaging creative instrument if you give yourself the time to step outside the norm.

Above all, I find Anukari’s strength to be its ability to create something unexpected. Like any instrument, the fun starts once you’ve separated the aspects you like from the ones you don’t, and the environmental nature of the platform makes it ideal for those who like to think conceptually about sound. So, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I heard Anukari used on Max Cooper’s next EP.

Key features

• Modelling synthesizer
• VST3, AU, AAX and standalone
• Flexible visual 3D environment
• Powerful effects and modulation
• Multichannel audio compatible (up to 50 channels I/O)
• MPE and microtuning support
• Video and audio capture (including DAW mix)

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