Glass Beats are synonymous with Free & Open Source Music. This website is the official home of the Glass Beatstation and related content. Thank you for your interest in accessible and versatile Music Technology for all!

The Background:

The Glass Beatstation was initially created by Athan Spathas, who found an unused Launchpad (pictured below) in his cousin’s garage. He set out to repurpose this generic midi device that doesn’t make sound into a portable device that could make music when connected to a laptop without using software without limitations. It ended up becoming an affordable, portable and modular interface for music production that runs on Linux (A Free & Open Source Operating system).

It essentially integrates a loopstation, a sequencer, a sampler and an effects board all into one.

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He ported the project to run on a Raspberry Pi, a small computer designed to teach computer science to children. By adding a high quality Analog-to-Digital Converter to it, all of the computation and audio processing could happen in a device that can fit in the palm of your hand!

He performed on this setup regularly, and eventually implemented a touchscreen version of the device so it could be used in conjunction with (or without) the launchpad. He also gave a number of talks and workshops on the project

Athan giving a talk in 2019 at SeaGL in Seattle

The code is currently being entirely refactored and is open for feedback / contributions on github. Keep on the lookout for the project to have more events in the future and signup for our email list if you would like to stay updated!