livepilot 1.25.0 → 1.26.1

package/livepilot/skills/livepilot-core/references/affordances/devices/wavetable.yaml

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+id: wavetable
+name: Wavetable
+type: instrument
+category: synth
+aliases:
+  - "wavetable"
+atlas_search_query: "Wavetable"
+
+musical_roles:
+  - morphing ambient pad (position LFO)
+  - wobble bass (position modulation at LFO rate)
+  - supersaw lead (detune + position drift)
+  - vapor-wave pad (slow morph across bars)
+  - evolving texture source
+
+strong_for:
+  - morphing pads (Wavetable's position parameter = source of motion)
+  - wobble bass (saw-adjacent tables + filter modulation)
+  - OPN-style dense harmonic stacking
+  - pad textures that need to CHANGE over long durations
+  - synthwave leads (reduced detune spread)
+
+risky_for:
+  - traditional analog-emulation sounds (use Analog or Drift)
+  - FM-complex bells (use Operator or Vector FM)
+  - acid bass (use Analog's 303 mode)
+  - classic Juno pad (use Poli)
+
+subtle_ranges:
+  position: [0.0, 0.15]           # 0-1 of wavetable length
+  detune: [0, 10]                 # cents
+  lfo_rate: [0.1, 2.0]            # Hz
+  lfo_amount: [0.0, 0.15]
+moderate_ranges:
+  position: [0.15, 0.5]
+  detune: [10, 30]
+  lfo_rate: [0.05, 0.3]           # slower for morph pads
+  lfo_amount: [0.15, 0.45]
+aggressive_ranges:
+  position: [0.5, 1.0]
+  detune: [30, 80]
+  lfo_rate: [0.05, 8.0]           # wobble-bass territory
+  lfo_amount: [0.45, 1.0]
+
+pairings:
+  - device: Chorus-Ensemble
+    order: after
+    purpose: thickening pads (synthwave aesthetic)
+  - device: Auto Filter
+    order: after
+    purpose: wobble-bass filter modulation (dubstep)
+  - device: Echo
+    order: parallel
+    purpose: pad dub-tail via send
+  - device: Convolution Reverb
+    order: parallel
+    purpose: morph pad spatial placement
+
+anti_pairings:
+  - "Operator in same chain (use one complex synth per source)"
+  - "Heavy saturation on morphing pad (destroys the motion nuance)"
+
+remeasure:
+  - plugin_health
+  - track_meters
+  - spectral_balance
+  - stereo_width
+
+dimensional_impact:
+  structural: low
+  rhythmic: low
+  timbral: high
+  spatial: moderate
+
+appears_in_packets:
+  artists:
+    - oneohtrix-point-never
+    - aphex-twin
+    - skream-mala
+  genres:
+    - microhouse
+    - dubstep
+    - trap
+    - synthwave
+    - idm
+
+notes: |
+  Wavetable's position parameter IS the device's most distinctive
+  feature — LFO-modulated position gives continuously-morphing
+  timbre that no other LivePilot synth offers. For pads, map a
+  slow LFO (0.1-0.3 Hz) to position + another to cutoff for
+  multi-axis morph.
+
+  For wobble bass, same position-modulation at LFO rate (0.5-8 Hz)
+  + resonant low-pass filter.
+
+  See atlas signature_techniques for "Morphing ambient pad",
+  "Wobble bass", "Supersaw trance lead" recipes.

package/livepilot/skills/livepilot-core/references/artist-vocabularies.md

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+# Artist Vocabularies — Producer → Tool Translation
+
+A reference that bridges what the LLM knows about named producers (from training data)
+to what LivePilot can do in Ableton. For each artist: **sonic fingerprint** (what the
+sound IS), **reach for** (LivePilot devices / tools to use), **avoid** (what kills the
+aesthetic), **key techniques** (specific technique names from `sample-techniques.md`,
+`sound-design-deep.md`, or the atlas `signature_techniques` field).
+
+This is NOT a recipe book. The LLM still makes every creative decision. These entries
+just ensure "make it sound like X" has a concrete translation path into LivePilot's
+tool surface, instead of the LLM guessing at device names.
+
+> Cross-references: when a technique appears in quotes like `"dub_throw"`, grep
+> `sample-techniques.md` or device `signature_techniques` for the full recipe.
+
+> **v1.18+ structured packets:** each artist below also has a machine-readable
+> YAML packet at `concepts/artists/<slug>.yaml`. The narrative here is the
+> human-facing overview; the YAML is the source-of-truth for director
+> compilation (see `livepilot-creative-director/SKILL.md` Phase 1). When
+> updating an artist, update BOTH — the sync check in
+> `tests/test_concept_packets.py` enforces parity. Schema:
+> `concepts/_schema.md`.
+
+---
+
+## Deep Minimal / Microhouse
+
+### Ricardo Villalobos
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Micro-sampled vocals and found sounds, off-grid percussion with
+South American polyrhythms, sub-bass at 40-50 Hz, tracks that evolve across 15+ minutes
+without repetition.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (slice mode), Snipper, PitchLoop89, Latin Percussion pack, Drone Lab
+(Harmonic Drone Generator for sub-bed), Lost and Found (found-sound palette),
+Convolution Reverb. `sub_low` analyzer band for kick fundamental diagnostics.
+**Avoid:** Quantized 4/4 drums, bright kicks, repetitive 8-bar loops, stock presets,
+aggressive sidechain.
+**Key techniques:** `"Vocal micro-chop (Akufen)"` (simpler), `"Villalobos sub-bass layer"`
+(simpler), `"dub_throw"` (mixing), micro-modulation (filter + pitch at <5% depth).
+**Genre affinity:** `minimal_techno`, `deep_minimal`, `microhouse`.
+
+### Akufen (Marc Leclair)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Micro-second vocal/radio clippings triggered percussively to form
+melodic + rhythmic content simultaneously. "My Way" album is the canonical reference.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (slicing mode, 1/64 length), Snipper (Building Max Devices),
+PitchLoop89 on sliced material, Auto Filter on drum bus.
+**Avoid:** Coherent vocal samples (longer than one syllable), pitched singing,
+long-sustain material.
+**Key techniques:** `"Vocal micro-chop (Akufen)"` (the NAME of this technique literally
+comes from this artist), `"micro_chop"` (sample-techniques.md), `"stab_isolation"`.
+**Genre affinity:** `microhouse`.
+
+### Isolée / Luomo
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Lush, slow-evolving microhouse with melodic pads, warm filtered
+bass, constant micro-variation (no 4-bar loop ever sounds identical to the last).
+**Reach for:** Drift + Chorus-Ensemble for warm pads, Poli for melodic stabs,
+Variations (Performance Pack) for morph-across-bars, Tree Tone for asymmetric
+note cascades, Wavetable with slow position LFO.
+**Avoid:** Rigid quantization, static patches, dry mixes.
+**Key techniques:** `"Neo-soul Rhodes-adjacent keys"` (drift), `"Morphing ambient pad"`
+(wavetable), `"reverse_layer"`, Variations-driven chord morph across 16 bars.
+**Genre affinity:** `microhouse`, `deep_house`.
+
+---
+
+## Dub Techno / Dub
+
+### Basic Channel / Rhythm & Sound (Moritz von Oswald + Mark Ernestus)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Space IS the instrument. Chord stabs feeding long filtered delay
+and reverb tails that carry the harmonic and melodic content. Kick-snare 4/4 but
+swimming in cavernous space.
+**Reach for:** Convolution Reverb (Farfisa Spring IR, Stocktronics RX-4000), Ping-Pong
+Delay with filter on return, Auto Filter on delay send, Utility for narrow-to-mono sub,
+Drift/Poli for chord stab.
+**Avoid:** Dry signals, short tails, bright top-end, pre-mixed "finished" presets.
+**Key techniques:** `"The dub chord"` (sound-design-deep.md — chord → filtered delay →
+return-filter becomes the melody), `"Reverb as harmony"`, `"Delay throws"`,
+`"Dub sub-bass"` (bass.yaml).
+**Genre affinity:** `dub_techno`, `dub`, `deep_minimal`.
+
+### Wolfgang Voigt (Gas)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Orchestral loops (Wagner, Mahler) sampled, crushed into 4/4 kick,
+blurred by heavy reverb into undifferentiated harmonic drone. Forest-deep ambient
+with a pulse.
+**Reach for:** Granulator III (Cloud mode, 200-500 ms grains), Harmonic Drone Generator
+(Drone Lab), Convolution Reverb (cathedral IR), Auto Filter (slow LFO sweep),
+Convolution Reverb at 100% wet on a send.
+**Avoid:** Crisp transients, bright EQ, dry tails, anything recognizable as a sample source.
+**Key techniques:** `"Grain cloud (Tim Hecker)"` (emit), `"Basinski tape degradation"`
+(vector_grain), `"extreme_stretch"`, `"tail_harvest"`, `"drum_to_pad"`.
+**Genre affinity:** `ambient`, `dub_techno`, `modern_classical`.
+
+### Shackleton
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Polyrhythmic 3-over-4 percussion, Middle-Eastern / ritual
+aesthetics, low-end heavy, off-kilter kick placement, vocal samples treated as
+found-sound.
+**Reach for:** Polyrhythm (MIDI Tools), Phase Pattern (MIDI Tools), Latin Percussion,
+Voice Box (vocal samples), Convolution Reverb, Microtuner (19-TET for ritual feel).
+**Avoid:** 4/4 kick grid, Western equal-temperament melody, stock drum racks.
+**Key techniques:** `"Make it weird without making it wrong"` (pack-knowledge.md),
+`"euclidean_slice_trigger"`, asymmetric polymeter.
+**Genre affinity:** `dub_techno`, `experimental`, `techno`.
+
+---
+
+## Ambient / Drone / Modern Classical
+
+### William Basinski
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Tape loops degrading across long durations. The DECAY of the
+source IS the piece. Usually a single 2-8 second loop played for 30-60 minutes
+with the tape physically eroding.
+**Reach for:** Vector Grain (Inspired by Nature), Looper, Convolution Reverb (long
+decay), Erosion, Dynamic Tube, Vinyl Distortion, cassette-IR Convolution.
+**Avoid:** Crisp digital playback, fresh samples (use degraded/compressed source),
+cuts between sections.
+**Key techniques:** `"Basinski tape degradation"` (vector_grain.yaml), `"tail_harvest"`,
+`"extreme_stretch"`, `"reverse_layer"`. Pair with Looper on a return for literal
+tape-loop emulation.
+**Genre affinity:** `ambient`, `drone`, `modern_classical`.
+
+### Stars of the Lid
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Sustained orchestral drones, no percussion, glacial pace,
+string tremolos blurred into single sustained note, 10-20 minute pieces.
+**Reach for:** Sampler (multi-velocity orchestral multi-sample), Vector Grain,
+Granulator III, Convolution Reverb (cathedral/warehouse), SONiVOX Orchestral
+Strings (pizzicato double-bass as bed), Tension (bowed cello).
+**Avoid:** Any percussion, drum samples, rhythmic elements, short sounds.
+**Key techniques:** `"Orchestral multi-velocity"` (sampler), `"Bowed cello low register"`
+(tension), `"Slow-motion sustain"` (vector_grain), `"spectral_freeze"`.
+**Genre affinity:** `ambient`, `drone`, `modern_classical`.
+
+### Tim Hecker
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Loud-but-fuzzy drone clouds, distorted harmonic content,
+digital grain from deliberately overloaded DSP, melody hidden inside noise.
+**Reach for:** Vector Grain, Granulator III (Cloud mode with pitch spread), Emit
+(Inspired by Nature), Erosion, Saturator, Convolution Reverb with custom IRs,
+Dynamic Tube.
+**Avoid:** Clean signal chains, dry tracks, traditional mix philosophy (subtlety).
+**Key techniques:** `"Grain cloud (Tim Hecker)"` (emit.yaml — this technique literally
+named for this artist), `"granular_scatter"`, `"extreme_stretch"`, `"spectral_freeze"`,
+harmonic saturation on every bus.
+**Genre affinity:** `ambient`, `drone`, `experimental`, `idm`.
+
+### Jóhann Jóhannsson / Max Richter
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Sustained string orchestral beds, neo-classical piano fragments,
+occasional brass swells. Contemporary film-score aesthetic.
+**Reach for:** Sampler (multi-velocity string libraries), Tension (bowed cello, pp),
+SONiVOX Orchestral Strings, Upright Piano (Spitfire Bechstein), Convolution Reverb
+(hall IR), Orchestral Brass / Woodwinds (pp only).
+**Avoid:** Electronic percussion, modern production polish, compressed mix.
+**Key techniques:** `"Bowed cello low register"` (tension), `"Orchestral multi-velocity"`
+(sampler), `"Single sustained note pedal-down"` (Upright Piano from pack-knowledge.md).
+**Genre affinity:** `modern_classical`, `cinematic`, `ambient`.
+
+---
+
+## IDM / Experimental Electronic
+
+### Aphex Twin (Richard D. James)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Fast shifting timbres, melodic acid lines, detailed micro-percussion,
+gliding portamento leads, FM-heavy sound design, occasional brutal distortion.
+**Reach for:** Operator (FM with 6+ operators if layered), Analog (303-style acid),
+Simpler with MIDI auto-trigger for rapid drum variation, Erosion, Pitch Hack, Roar
+for distortion, Microtuner for non-equal temperament moments.
+**Avoid:** Single-textured drones, slow-evolving pads (opposite of Hecker), preset
+factory drum racks.
+**Key techniques:** `"Aphex ambient FM pad"` (operator — algorithm-specific), `"303 acid
+bass"` (analog), `"micro_chop"`, `"DX7 bell cluster"`, portamento-heavy mono leads.
+**Genre affinity:** `idm`, `electronic`, `ambient`, `acid_techno`.
+
+### Autechre
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Abstract rhythmic programming, non-quantized micro-timing,
+granular textures, generative processes where the track evolves by computation
+not composition.
+**Reach for:** Euclidean Rhythm generator (Sequencers pack), Phase Pattern, Slice
+Shuffler, Vector FM, Vector Grain, Bouncy Notes (Inspired by Nature), Performer
+(Performance Pack) for macro morphing, Microtuner (19-TET or larger).
+**Avoid:** Quantized beats, equal temperament, straightforward arrangement.
+**Key techniques:** `"euclidean_slice_trigger"`, `"Chaotic lock-in"` (vector_map),
+`"Modulated bell cluster"` (vector_fm), asymmetric polymeter.
+**Genre affinity:** `idm`, `experimental`, `electronic`.
+
+### Oneohtrix Point Never (Daniel Lopatin)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Synth-as-voice, dense harmonic stacking, vapor-wave tonality,
+sudden tempo shifts, cinematic sample work.
+**Reach for:** Wavetable (morphing pads), Meld (dual-engine layering), Emit (grain
+cloud vocals), Voice Box (vocal samples), Poli (retro pad), Pitch Hack, PitchLoop89.
+**Avoid:** Minimal production philosophy, subtractive thinking.
+**Key techniques:** `"Morphing ambient pad"` (wavetable), `"Retro stab"` (poli),
+`"Layered evolving pad"` (meld), `"vocoder"` chain with synth carrier.
+**Genre affinity:** `experimental`, `ambient`, `electronic`.
+
+### Arca / SOPHIE
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Hyper-detailed rhythmic programming, metallic percussion,
+vocal pitch extremes, physical-sounding hits, impossible textures.
+**Reach for:** Collision (mallet + metal percussion), Tension (plucked prepared string),
+Corpus (physical modeling on non-pitched sources), Vector FM, Vocoder, Pitch Hack,
+Snipper.
+**Avoid:** Sampled drums, acoustic percussion realism, conservative mixing.
+**Key techniques:** `"Inharmonic bell drone"` (collision), `"Metal-string drone"`
+(tension), `"Noise Bow"` (corpus), extreme pitch shifts on vocals.
+**Genre affinity:** `experimental`, `hyperpop`, `electronic`.
+
+---
+
+## Hip-Hop / Sampled Music
+
+### J Dilla
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Sampled breaks and soul loops, intentionally "drunk"
+off-grid drum programming, warm saturated mix, chopped chord stabs from records.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (slicing mode on classic breaks — Amen, Funky Drummer,
+Impeach the President), Saturator, Vinyl Distortion, Erosion, Electric Keyboards
+(for Rhodes chopped from vinyl), Tape Delay simulation via Grain Delay.
+**Avoid:** Quantized drums, bright mixes, modern trap-style hi-hats.
+**Key techniques:** `"J Dilla micro-timed kit"` (simpler.yaml — literally named for
+this artist), `"slice_and_sequence"`, `"stab_isolation"`, `"Tape-warped EP"`
+(electric).
+**Genre affinity:** `hip_hop`, `lo_fi`, `soul`, `downtempo`.
+
+### DJ Premier / RZA
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Dusty chopped-soul loops, dirty kicks, snappy snares with
+reverb, chord-stab-driven arrangement (the stab IS the song).
+**Reach for:** Simpler (classic mode, crop tight around stab), Saturator, Erosion,
+Vinyl Distortion, Convolution Reverb (plate or spring IR on snare), Golden Era
+Hip-Hop Drums pack.
+**Avoid:** Clean samples, modern drum samples, synth bass.
+**Key techniques:** `"stab_isolation"` (sample-techniques.md), `"slice_and_sequence"`,
+snare-through-Convolution-Reverb-at-100%-wet-on-send.
+**Genre affinity:** `hip_hop`, `boom_bap`.
+
+### Madlib
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Obscure-sample-flipping, dense percussion layers, dusty mix,
+hip-hop-adjacent-but-weird (jazz samples, library music, world music sources).
+**Reach for:** Simpler (slicing on any non-obvious source), Chop and Swing pack
+(sampled-soul samples), Latin Percussion, Voice Box, Roar for saturation.
+**Avoid:** Obvious sample sources (Dilla-style soul loops), clean production.
+**Key techniques:** `"micro_chop"`, `"vocal_chop_rhythm"`, `"reverse_layer"`,
+unusual source material + straightforward drums.
+**Genre affinity:** `hip_hop`, `lo_fi`, `experimental`.
+
+---
+
+## Dubstep / Bass Music
+
+### Burial
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Vinyl-crackle 2-step garage shuffle, ghostly pitched vocals,
+low-mid bass (not extreme sub), atmospheric urban-decay aesthetic, rhythmic
+imperfection.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (vocal chopping), Grain Delay, Convolution Reverb (long
+atmospheric tail), Vinyl Distortion, Chop and Swing pack (vinyl crackle racks),
+Skitter and Step pack (garage hats), Erosion.
+**Avoid:** Pristine digital, modern dubstep wobble bass, 128 BPM.
+**Key techniques:** `"vocal_chop_rhythm"` (sample-techniques.md — Burial-inspired,
+literally), `"granular_scatter"`, `"reverse_layer"`, vinyl-crackle-at--36dB-under-track.
+**Genre affinity:** `dubstep`, `uk_garage`, `ambient`, `downtempo`.
+
+### Skream / Mala (DMZ-era dubstep)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Sub-bass wobbles, half-time drums (140 BPM with beat on 3),
+reggae/dub influence, heavy sidechain.
+**Reach for:** Wavetable (wobble bass), Drum Essentials (dubstep kits), Echo
+(dub-style delay), Auto Filter synced, Saturator, Ring Modulator via Operator.
+**Avoid:** Full-step beats, bright overtones, fast tempos.
+**Key techniques:** `"Wobble bass"` (wavetable), `"Reese-style bass"` (bass.yaml),
+`"Delay throws"`, half-time drum programming.
+**Genre affinity:** `dubstep`, `bass_music`, `dub`.
+
+---
+
+## Techno / House Canon
+
+### Richie Hawtin (Plastikman)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Subtractive minimalism, single evolving source, percussive
+percussion, dub-influenced space, long arrangements that progress by subtraction.
+**Reach for:** Analog + Simpler, Convolution Reverb, Auto Filter with long LFO,
+Utility for narrow-to-mono sub, Drone Lab for sustained sub-bed, Minimal techno kits.
+**Avoid:** Thick layering, preset chains, reverb washes, additive arrangement thinking.
+**Key techniques:** `"Hawtin subtractive pad"` (analog.yaml — literally named for
+this artist), `"Micro-Modulation"` (sound-design-deep.md), `"Subtraction over
+addition"` principle, single-source filter-automation as melody.
+**Genre affinity:** `minimal_techno`, `deep_minimal`.
+
+### Robert Henke (Monolake)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Detailed granular textures, pitch-shift-delay signatures,
+generative-adjacent sound design, cinematic electronic.
+**Reach for:** Granulator III (Henke made this), PitchLoop89 (Henke emulated hardware
+his influences used), Convolution Reverb, Ableton's core synths via elaborate
+mod-matrix setups.
+**Avoid:** Simple preset chains.
+**Key techniques:** `"PitchLoop89 dual detune"` (from pack-knowledge.md —
+canonical Henke pair with Convolution Reverb), `"Granulator III Cloud mode"`,
+`"tail_harvest"`.
+**Genre affinity:** `minimal_techno`, `experimental`, `ambient`.
+
+### Jeff Mills
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Relentless percussive techno, minimal melody, sci-fi synth
+stabs, unbroken 4/4 drive, layered hi-hat patterns, long arrangements.
+**Reach for:** Drift (stabs), Operator (sci-fi bells), Drum Essentials 909 samples,
+Phase Pattern (organic hat timing), Echo (tight delay on stabs), Saturator.
+**Avoid:** Melodic harmony, breaks, restful moments.
+**Key techniques:** `"Retro stab"` (poli), relentless 909 programming,
+`"phase_pattern"` for hi-hat humanization.
+**Genre affinity:** `techno`, `detroit_techno`.
+
+### Moodymann / Theo Parrish
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Dusty house with live soul samples, lo-fi aesthetic, warm
+bass, organic feel from sample manipulation not quantization.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (classic soul chops), Electric Keyboards (Rhodes), Saturator,
+Chop and Swing pack, Vinyl Distortion, Bass (Creative Extensions), Live Drums kits.
+**Avoid:** Pristine digital synthesis, quantized drums, modern house production.
+**Key techniques:** `"Tape-warped EP"` (electric), `"slice_and_sequence"`,
+`"stab_isolation"`, vinyl-saturated drum bus.
+**Genre affinity:** `deep_house`, `soulful_house`, `hip_hop`.
+
+### Daft Punk
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Filtered disco loops, vocoder vocals, funk guitar samples,
+side-chained 4/4, pitched-down vocal hooks.
+**Reach for:** Vocoder, Auto Filter (band-pass sweeps), Simpler (disco loop chops),
+Bass (Creative Extensions), Chorus-Ensemble, Compressor (heavy sidechain via
+Envelope Follower).
+**Avoid:** Non-sidechained kick/bass, clean vocals (use vocoder), long arrangements
+without filter automation.
+**Key techniques:** `"Classic Robot Voice"` (vocoder), `"Noise-Carried Drums"`,
+band-pass-filter automation on disco samples, `"Reese-style bass"` (bass).
+**Genre affinity:** `french_house`, `disco`, `nu_disco`.
+
+---
+
+## Footwork / Juke / Jungle
+
+### Rashad / Spinn / Traxman (footwork)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** 160 BPM, vocal-chop hyper-rhythms, sparse kick programming
+(unpredictable), stuttered soul/hip-hop samples, triplet feels inside 4/4.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (slicing on vocal/soul samples — short chops), Slice Shuffler
+(MIDI Tools), Polyrhythm at 3:2 ratios, Trap Drums 808 samples (sparse use).
+**Avoid:** Quantized-on-grid drums, sustained elements, bright leads.
+**Key techniques:** `"vocal_chop_rhythm"` at aggressive tempo, `"slice_shuffler"`
+on 1/16 chops, `"micro_chop"`.
+**Genre affinity:** `footwork`, `juke`, `drum_and_bass`.
+
+### Photek / Source Direct (jungle / atmospheric DnB)
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Chopped amen breaks, sub-bass on long held notes, jazz/string
+samples in melodic role, technical drum programming.
+**Reach for:** Simpler (Amen break slicing), Bass for sub, SONiVOX Strings (pp
+pizzicato as ghost layer), Convolution Reverb.
+**Avoid:** Stock breakbeats, synth bass in place of sub-bass.
+**Key techniques:** `"slice_and_sequence"` at 174 BPM on Amen, `"Reese bass"` (analog),
+`"Villalobos sub-bass layer"` (simpler) for sub.
+**Genre affinity:** `drum_and_bass`, `jungle`.
+
+---
+
+## Synthwave / 80s / Retro
+
+### Com Truise / Tycho
+**Sonic fingerprint:** 80s analog polysynth nostalgia, gated reverb on drums,
+chorus-heavy leads, warm analog bass, arpeggiated sequences.
+**Reach for:** Poli (Juno-style), Analog, Drift (warm synthwave pad), Chorus-Ensemble,
+Gated Delay (Creative Extensions — the gated-reverb-drum aesthetic), Arpeggiator.
+**Avoid:** Modern dance production, aggressive compression, digital-only chains.
+**Key techniques:** `"Juno-style detuned chord"` (poli), `"Warm synthwave pad"`
+(drift), `"Supersaw trance lead"` (wavetable) at reduced spread.
+**Genre affinity:** `synthwave`, `vaporwave`, `electronic`.
+
+### Boards of Canada
+**Sonic fingerprint:** Degraded-tape analog warmth, detuned synthesizers, child-voice
+samples, 70s children's TV aesthetic, slow tempos.
+**Reach for:** Drift (warm detune), Simpler (degraded samples with Erosion), Tape-
+Delay via Echo, Grain Delay, Vinyl Distortion, Electric Keyboards (tape-warped).
+**Avoid:** Pristine samples, modern drum production, bright mixes.
+**Key techniques:** `"Tape-warped EP"` (electric), `"reverse_layer"`, `"Dense grain
+cloud"` (vector_grain) for vocal processing.
+**Genre affinity:** `downtempo`, `lo_fi`, `electronica`.
+
+---
+
+## How to use this file
+
+When an LLM-invoked workflow includes language like "make it sound like X" or
+references a specific producer/group:
+
+1. Match the artist name (or closest analog) to an entry here.
+2. Read the **Sonic fingerprint** and the **Reach for** device list.
+3. Query the atlas: `atlas_search(artist_device_name)` to confirm availability.
+4. Read the named **Key techniques** — each one references either the
+   per-device `signature_techniques` in the atlas or a technique name from
+   `sample-techniques.md` / `sound-design-deep.md` for concrete steps.
+5. **Avoid** section is a negative-prior — don't fight against it.
+
+This file is intentionally incomplete. Add artists as workflows surface them.
+The structure matters more than exhaustive coverage.