Music startup Thoughtful Things has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its debut instrument, Engram. The device is a sampler and groovebox designed to use artificial intelligence to mangle incoming audio and generate entirely new, unpredictable sonic hallucinations.
Beyond "Push-Button" Music
Unlike platforms such as Suno, Engram is not a "push-button, get-song" device aimed at creating radio-ready tracks. Instead, it focuses on experimental, uncanny sound design, pushing AI audio models beyond their conventional limits. The hardware operates entirely offline, running a custom-trained "tiny AI" model locally on the device.
Ethical Training and Open Firmware
Thoughtful Things emphasizes the integrity of its training data. The company states that its audio models are trained on open datasets containing only audio licensed for commercial use (such as CC-BY). They have explicitly committed to never using pirated or stolen data. Furthermore, the company plans to open up Engram’s firmware, allowing users to tweak the system or load their own custom AI models.
A "Field Recorder" for Latent Space
Founder Evan King describes Engram as a "field recorder for latent space." The instrument draws inspiration from circuit bending, encouraging users to manipulate and even "break" the internal AI models to achieve unique glitch effects. During the Kickstarter campaign, Engram is available starting at $675, with a projected retail price between $850 and $900.
