VAPORWARE SERIES Review
Freakshow Industries have released a new set of plugins under the title “The Vaporware Series”. These “three” plugins are on the smaller side of things featuring grotesque cartoonish yet vibrantly colorful art, reminding me a bit of the Puremagnetik plugins. As with all Freakshow Industries plugins, there’s an option to buy or“steal” them, wether this is legitimate theft or just fun flavorful marketing is not for me to say.
THE DREAM EATER
This is my favorite of the series, a multi-tap delay with ringmod in the feedback loop. One of my favorite ways to use cluster delay wrapped up in some weird alien swamp monster.
It’s face eyes take control over the delay parameters, with the tongue setting the tap count. Two tentacle antennae eyes control the dry wet balance and a planet, which I assume is the monster’s lunch, sets wether the shifter is in the feedback path. Two eyes protrude from fingertips that control the frequency shift rate and style.
It’s fun playing around with different frequency shifter settings and shorter delay times to create swelling pitch effects. Long delays with a high delay count and short spread create some fun glitchy sounds. I find its a bit trial and error but there’s definitely some sweet spots, things also get fun with external modulation.
MOUTH OF SORROW
Other than the UI, this one doesn’t quite feel like a Freakshow plugin. Mouth of Sorrow is a three voice chorus, each chorus can have unique modulation shapes, but the rates are on the slower end of things and the modulation shapes don’t make for a whole lot of variety. It’s a pleasing sounding plugin, but just sounds like a chorus. The “mind” control provides some nice diffusion, but I’d have liked to see something a bit weirder in this one, maybe bring some of that frequency shifting from Cosmological Delay into this or at least some distortion, or build upon the theme and put some formant shifting into each voice.
The UI is again quite grotesque and disturbing, if you need a chorus and want it to look like a three eyed member of human anatomy with open wounds, this is the plugin for you, I will say the eyes and eyelashes look pretty wicked.
VAPOR 3
The third “plugin” in this lineup is simply nothing, at least Mouth of Sorrow has a UI. Labelled “true vapor” there isn’t even anything to download.
I really like what Freakshow industries does, really fun obscure plugins, mostly weird in terms of UI, but this still inspires new creative approaches to music production compared to more sterile straightforward interfaces. I am still a bit disappointed that there isn’t more to Mouth of Sorrow, but Dream Eater is quite fun. I hope they keep making plugins and doing their thing, everyone loves their marketing and I feel their visual styling creates a fun vibe.
Check out their plugins at https://freakshowindustries.com/