United StatesBrian Eno and Peter Chilvers are pleased to announce Bloom: 10 Worlds – a developed, augmented and expanded new edition of 2008’s game-changing original Bloom app, which explored uncharted territory in the realm of applications and was dubbed “The First Great iPhone App” by Gizmodo. Requiring no musical or technical ability, the egalitarian and user-friendly Bloom app enabled anyone of any age to create music, simply by touching the screen. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom’s innovative controls allowed users to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen. A generative music player took over when Bloom was left idle, creating an infinite selection of compositions and their accompanying visualisations. Bloom: 10 Worlds is a reimagining of the original – not simply a remaster. If the original Bloom was a single, then this would be an album. The widely broadened palette of sounds and images can be experienced via 10 new ‘worlds’, each exploring a new direction for Bloom. The first world the user encounters is an echo of the original app, with circles appearing where the user taps. Each subsequent world unlocks automatically, introducing new combinations of sounds, shapes, colours and rules of behaviour. Praise for the original Bloom “The very first iPhone apps were universally dull. And then Bloom came out. It was immediately obvious that something special was happening. The app was interesting on an artistic level – one that made you reconsider the relationship between technology and music. It raised the bar for musical iPhone apps.” Gizmodo “Hypnotic and ludicrously addictive.” The Guardian “A relaxing alternative to just about anything else you can do with an iPhone.” Wired Eno began collaborating with musician / software designer Peter Chilvers on Will Wright’s computer game Spore. Their shared interest in generative music rapidly lead to the development of a prototype for Bloom in 2008. In the intervening decade, they experimented further with the field, expanding their catalogue of apps with Trope, Scape and Reflection. In that time Chilvers has also acted as an engineer and technical advisor to Eno on a number of other projects. A series of multi-speaker installations around the world laid the groundwork for 2016’s The Ship, and they premiered Bloom: Open Space, a mixed reality installation in Amsterdam in 2018. In addition to his work with Eno, Chilvers co-founded the Burning Shed label and online store, toured with Underworld’s Karl Hyde as keyboardist and musical director, and has recorded instrumental albums and collaborations with vocalist Tim Bowness.
Lovely!
You have outdone yourselves with the visuals on this app! I also like rotating to landscape view for when I want to choose where sounds fall in the stereo field. I only wish I could watch this app on my AppleTV like I’ve done with Reflection, because this one is so aesthetically appealing (I recognize that’s a big ask, as AppleTV maybe doesn’t lend itself to the interactivity that iPhone or iPad offer).
United StatesFantastic
After several months enjoying this app I must pay my respect to the creators Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers. I’ve been using this app for various reasons: to get inspiration for a new song, to explore all the possibilities (many), to relax and meditate, to calm my pets. At times I will hit the play button and let AI play for me for hours at length. Of all the 10 Worlds my favorite are Petri, Karabekian and Mull. Some of the sounds are a bit harsh, while others remind me of Tibetan bells and such. Definitely an app to have whether you’re a musician or not.
United StatesNeeds more base tones
Would be nice to have a bass world
United StatesGreat improvement over the previous version
Digging it. I wish it had an option where the initial composition can evolve throughout all of the worlds (ex: I start in world 1, 5 minutes later the same composition automatically passes into world 2, 5 minutes later the same composition passes into world 3, etc.).
United StatesGreat ambience
It would be an amazing app if you included google’s chromecast support!!!
United StatesNice app ...
... It now plays in the background! Yaah! My only other very minor criticism is that some of the sounds on some of the worlds come in abruptly and harsh at times. I found this app a nice complement to the entire series of apps by Brian Eno. For instance, tap the screen with some good spacing between the notes in the “Mull” #5 World and you get something vaguely that reminds me of the “Music for Airports“ algorithm. Using the same world, if you tap rapidly with several fingers (densely) across the whole screen, you get something like a cascading harp effect ... somewhat reminiscent like that on the “Ambient 3: Day of Radiance” album. Out of all Eno’s apps, I still like the “Scape“ app the best. It is even more interactive whereby you can build your own other worldly sound scapes. If I were to suggest anything to the developers, I would say look at making a Scapes 2 type app that was different and would complement the first one. (BTW, I am STILL trying to figure out what heck the question mark slider does! Care to tell me or is it just a Red Herring?)
United StatesLove it
I love this app. The added richness over the original Bloom app really makes for great listening and playing. I enjoy that each “world” is revealed only after you’ve experienced the prior ones. It’s a nice touch that encourages listening over “world surfing”. The app is not for everyone but for folks who enjoy pleasant background sounds -not to mention the ability to create your own music - it’s quite worthwhile.
United States
Now supports background play. Airplay issue fixed. Swipes from outside screen no longer register as notes. Headphones and external speakers recommended.
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