Audima Labs’ MIDI instrument Sway turns movement into music

Audima Labs’ Sway is a motion-controlled MIDI instrument designed to give more expressive control than a traditional keyboard or pad controller.

It tracks movement with sixteen onboard sensors and converts gestures into six dimensions of expression: Strike for velocity-sensitive hits, Sway for horizontal phrasing, Pulse for vertical modulation, Glide for smooth note transitions, Press for dynamic control, and Sculpt for two-handed shaping of chords and textures.

The company describes it as “the most expressive motion-control experience we’ve ever built,” and the hardware is tuned so every gesture responds cleanly and consistently.

The controller uses 16 sensors and 80 motion-reactive LEDs, along with an onboard theory engine that automatically arranges scales, chords, and octaves. This makes it easy to move quickly between melodic ideas without setting up custom mappings each time.

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A 3.2-inch OLED display, eight rotary encoders, and 20 buttons and pads give immediate access to layouts, clip launching, modulation routing, and system adjustments.

The companion software lets you customise note grids, map gestures to any parameter in your DAW or hardware synth, and save up to 36 presets, with firmware updates adding new features over time.

Sway connects through USB-C and MIDI in/out and is compact enough to travel with. At 45×17×4 cm, it fits into most producer backpacks while still offering full performance controls.

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According to Audima Labs, “Sway grows with you”, reflecting its updateable interface and flexible control scheme.

Each unit retails for US$830 and is currently only available through a waitlist; Batch 1 sold out in seven minutes.

Pre-order via waitlist here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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