I’ve been using the Octatrack since 2013 🦾. The Octatrack was my main machine when learning live electronic improvisation as a live samplist with the late great Darwin Grosse with the original (no)poem, and Dino J.A. Deane. Way back then, when this blog was called Modulate This!, I created that mind map in MindMeister to help others learn this deep machine. A machine that truly rewards mastery.
I recently took another look at an old Octatrack mind map I made in 2013 and discovered it’s been viewed 82.8k times. Clearly, people have found it helpful so I spent some time dusting it off, cleaning it up, and updating it for 2026. I’ll probably keep tweaking it since it’s a living document in MindMeister, but it’s far enough along that I wanted to share it again.
You can view the interactive map here.
An Update on My Octatrack Journey.
Since 2013, I upgraded to the Octatrack MKII, and I still use it all the time.
For example, last year I released an EP created entirely on the Octatrack called Flip Phone, under my sample-flip project name Puppets Go Last. The EP was recorded in a single live take and then split into individual tracks. I find the Octatrack is just so fun to perform with, thanks to the epic crossfader (I’m looking at you, Tonverk). I also gigged this set throughout 2025.
I’ll be performing this set as part of my Doppelgänger show for the Dance Continua Festival after-party this Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13, 2026, along with tracks from my Beautiful Tomorrows multimedia set on Deluge.
Here’s my rig for the show, by the way.
I also use the Octatrack from time to time with the Carbon Dioxide Ensemble (CO2E) to live-sample a copper heart articulated with dry ice. Check out this crazy video which starts off featuring Octatrack!!!
Here is a video of a session Dino and I did which has some dialog back and forth giving you a sense for Dino’s approach to music.
Here is a fan video from a (no)poem show when we are on tour in the heartland. This was from Lincoln Nebraska.
A fun video taken at rehearsal for the City of Denver’s Open Doors event. Early one morning last week, Kuxaan Sum joined me in a mini preview set for the CBS 4 news crew. After the news crew left, we played on and recorded this as we were so inspired by the massive space of glass, metal and concrete and the AMAZING reverb characteristics. This is a some footage of our mini set.
“Stasis” is a tack on the album INSTANTIATE by A.I. Winter (a duo with Michael O’Bannon) performed on two Octatracks performed live at Electro-Music NY Festival on September 7th, 2014. This is a recording of that performance with each movement as its own track.
Here is a playlist of some of my Octatrack vids on my YouTube channel.
I hope you find the updated mind map helpful in your Octatrack journey.
Happy Octatracking!
Mark
P.S. Speaking of mastery, check out this article on the joy of mastery: “Why We Should Design Some Things to Be Difficult to Use”.
Ease of use encourages somebody to pick up your product. But the promise of mastery ensures that they will never want to put it down.
P.P.S. Modulate This! still exists as a category on my artist blog and is for synth tech & technique posts. You’re reading it now.
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