A
Hackable System for MIDI and Signal Experimentation

Nallely – pronounced “Nayeli” – is an organic open-source Python
platform for modular signal processing and meta-synth creation. Nallely
lets you build your own modular instrument or machine from any signal
producing source: MIDI devices, sensors, webcams, or even other
computers on the same network. Signals can be generated, transformed,
filtered, or split, then routed back into MIDI devices or into any
application registered in a Nallely session. Designed for hackers and
musicians, Nallely supports live coding, complex MIDI routing,
generative music, and multimodal art.

Think of Nallely as a small brain, where each device acts a bit like
a biological neuron by receiving and emitting signals. Each neuron runs
independently on its own thread, and they can connect in countless ways
by exchanging messages with each other. By wiring them freely, you can
link neurons that in a “normal” brain would not usually communicate. The
result is a small brain that can behave like a regular one, or like a
brain under psychedelics, mapped in unusual ways, producing unexpected,
but always amazing results. Nallely is designed for experimentation,
happy accidents, and emergent behavior.

Inspired by the “Systems as Living Things” philosophy and by
Smalltalk, Nallely tries to be as dynamic as possible: you can create
your own meta-synth and build your custom MIDI brain while it’s running,
from any computer or phone on the network (with a touch-friendly
interface). Developed in Python, Nallely exposes an extensible core and
an easy-to-use Python API, so you can create your own neurons without
efforts, and have them integrated directly into the system in a seemless
way.

Nallely comes with a set of pre-existing neurons, including:

• abstraction of the physical world that can create sound using MIDI
  devices (the “voice” for your brain);
• signal-processing neurons that filter, transform, split, or generate
  signals;
• network buses, where distributed remote neurons coded in any
  technology can register and emit or receive signals;
• meta-neurons which can control, create, modify other neurons.

Currently, Nallely includes a few remote neurons coded in JavaScript,
introducing 3D visuals (mental imagery for your brain) that can be
controlled by signals received from your Nallely session (your modular
brain instance). It also includes a webcam-aware neuron, providing
visual input to your small MIDI brain (the “eyes” for your brain).

Nallely is available, open-source, free, and will remain free and
open-source.