Developed by Native Instruments in the late 1990s, REAKTOR soon established itself at the heart of the music making universe. Utilised by artists such Trent Reznor, through to Haxan Cloak and more, the pioneering technology evolved into a fundamental, toolbox for the modern musician. Looking back towards the software’s initial introduction to the marketplace, Native Instruments picks out some of the most important bodies of music that have been made with REAKTOR.

Native Instruments co-founder Stephan Schmitt, and a self-taught programmer Volker Hinz saw the potential in computers to become powerful enough to synthesise real-time audio. They developed two modular synth programs for PC (Generator and Transformator) which were soon re-packaged as REAKTOR. It became the very bedrock on which NI is grounded as a company today. “I became fascinated [with] how people could continuously make new instruments,” explained NI co-founder Stephan Schmitt, recalling REAKTOR’s developmental stages. “With that shared sentiment, we grew along with the internet.” And as the webspace grew, REAKTOR completely recast the creative boundaries for any musician with a computer. All of a sudden, you were not limited by anyone else’s design decisions –– you could create the instruments and sounds yourself. The possibilities became infinite.

Twenty years since its conception and now into its sixth generation, REAKTOR continues to democratise music production globally. REAKTOR 6 introduced a major development in Blocks: a new rack-style modular framework in Reaktor that allows users to explore the speedy patching and flexibility of modular hardware, with all the benefits of digital. In essence, Blocks allows you to build a modular synth inside your laptop for a fragment of the price of a full Eurorack system. As every individual module and component is represented graphically, its ease of use is more welcoming than ever for newcomers looking to grip the software for the first time.

Praised for its boundless versatility, REAKTOR stands proudly as the modern torchbearer for experimental sound processing. From Radiohead to Squarepusher, and Merzbow to The Flaming Lips, read on to uncover artists’ testimonials of ten big musical works to which Reaktor formed the creative backbone.

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1/ Haxan Cloak Excavation

Haxan Cloak demonstrates his hardware love in his Excavation opus, always opting for the modular stuff over MIDI controllers – synths by Analogue Systems Apprentice and Harvestman, Doepfer sequencers, and the OP1 and pocket synth by Teenage Engineering. HC explains, “I tend to draw everything in by hand, sampling and building a lot of stuff from scratch with REAKTOR.” This notion complements his belief that “music comes from your brain” rather than a program. “Just because you buy a Jaguar, you’re not going to sound like J Mascis. Just because you buy REAKTOR, it doesn’t mean you’re going to sound like your electronic heroes.”