New Rhythm to Stumble Upon: Introducing Spotykach
Today, I am finally exhaling. After four years of late-night brainstorming, countless prototypes, and a journey that took us from a VST plugin to a hardware sampler, looper, and synthesizer, Spotykach is finally here. This isn't just a dual looper; it’s a playground we built together. It’s designed for those moments when you want to stop staring at pixels and start playing with the air in the room. It’s an instrument that invites you to stumble, to splice, and to find the beautiful accidents that live inside your sound.
The Spark: From a DM to a Partnership
The journey to Firmware 1.0 started four years ago on our Discord server. I remember the moment clearly: Vlad Litvinenko (Bleep Tools) shared a VST plugin he’d written for a quad slicer. The logic was brilliant, and I immediately jumped into his DMs to ask if he’d ever considered turning it into physical hardware.
That single question turned into a four-year obsession. Vlad and I began collaborating on everything—instruments (Simple Touch anyone?), educational materials, and the early DIY versions of what would become Spotykach. When we presented the first version at Superbooth 2023, built on our Simple Synth Designer board and wrapped in a hand-drawn faceplate inspired by traditional Ukrainian ornaments, we knew we had something special. We realized then that this shouldn't just be a "side project." It deserved to be a standalone instrument.
The Looping Playground
As we moved into full-scale development, our goal was to create a semi-modular dual-deck looper that behaved like a living organism. We designed Spotykach for hands-on performance, moving away from menu-diving and toward pure intuition.
The heart of the interface lies in the two LED rings that visualize your loops as they breathe. As you record, modulate, and manipulate your audio, these rings provide a physical sense of time. The faceplate itself is a tribute to the era of magnetic tape—the touch pads are shaped like spliced strips, giving you a tactile connection to your sound design. Whether you’re processing an acoustic cello or syncing it to a sprawling modular rig, we wanted Spotykach to be the centerpiece where your ideas finally take shape.
To Stumble, To Sip, To Create
We get asked a lot about the name. In Ukrainian culture, Spotykach is a traditional home-brewed liqueur—sweet, potent, and famous for making the drinker "stumble."
In the world of music, "stumbling" is usually seen as a mistake. But for us, the stumble is where the magic happens. We wanted to create an instrument that leaned into the off-kilter, the generative, and the unexpected. When you play with Spotykach, you aren't just repeating a phrase; you’re letting it trip over itself, move backward, and evolve into something you didn't see coming. It is a celebration of the "happy accident."
Refined by the Collective
Last year, we took a leap of faith. We opened the doors and invited our community into a pre-release phase to help us break, test, and rebuild the software.
For twelve months, your ideas pushed us to refine the core engines (remember when drift was green and glitchy?), sharpen the modulation, and iron out the clock sync and MIDI. Firmware 1.0 is the result of that collective brainpower. It has exceeded every expectation we had back when we were just looking at code on a Discord screen. It’s rock-solid, musical, and more "playable" than we ever dreamed.
Limited Edition and Hand Made
We produced a limited run of 300 Spotykach units at Synthux HQ in Rotterdam. As I write this, over 200 of them are already out in the world.
Every single unit is handmade. We’ve been living the process—from mounting components on the PCB and 3D-printing custom parts in-house to control light movement, to the manual design and hand-painting each box. We poured our heart and soul into the manufacturing to make sure every instrument feels as unique as the person playing it.
The Manual and Artwork
The manual deserves its own spotlight. I worked with Fabio Bartali, a Rotterdam-based graphic designer and exceptional synth nerd, to make something truly special. Fabio and I obsessed over every detail—editing text, perfecting drawings, and choosing a local printer to bring it to life. It’s printed with shimmering gold ink and features a custom artwork on the back.
That artwork comes from Tom Tebby, an artist I met at Superbooth 2025. Tom is a master of old-school collage—cutting, composing, and gluing paper by hand. He took inspiration from the Spotykach faceplate to create a custom piece that makes the manual feel less like a "data sheet" and more like a collector's item.
Technical Soul
While the spirit of the machine is about play, the engineering (which Vlad has spent years perfecting) is precise:
- Dual Independent Decks: Record, play, reverse, and overdub seamlessly. Switch between Reel, Slice, and Granular Drift modes while modulating incoming signals.
- Generative Modulation: Built-in, Eurorack-level modulation sources and envelope followers keep your loops evolving.
- Semi-Modular Workflow: Designed to sit at the heart of your setup, whether you're jamming dawless or integrating with a hybrid rig.
- Performance-Driven Interface: High-resolution LED feedback and "tape-splice" touch pads for immediate, tactile control.
Thank you for being part of this four-year journey with us. We can't wait to hear what you create—and where you stumble.
With excitement,
Roey Tsemah & Vlad Litvinenko