Motorik / Krautrock
Genre: Krautrock · Tempo: 120 BPM · Time signature: 4/4 · Length: 16 steps · Style: the steady, hypnotic 'Apache beat' motorik rhythm associated with Neu! and the Krautrock tradition
Open this pattern in the interactive Patchpad (with playback)
The pattern
| Instrument | Steps (1 = start of the bar) | Velocity | Timing and chance |
|---|
| kick | 1, 5, 9, 13 | 105 | on the grid, always plays |
| snare | 1, 5, 9, 13 | 90 | on the grid, always plays |
| hat-closed | 3, 7, 11, 15 | 50 | on the grid, always plays |
Digitakt II
Tracks
- T1: kick
- T2: snare
- T3: hat-closed
Settings
- Kick and snare (T1/T2) both fire on steps 1, 5, 9, 13 with TRIG page VEL locked to 105 and 90 respectively and 0 µtime every time — the perfectly steady doubled hit is the entire definition of the motorik 'Apache beat', don't p-lock any variation in.
- AMP page DEC on hat-closed (T3) locked to a short, consistent value around 20 (of 0-126) for a tight, dry offbeat click with no ring — steadiness over character.
- MOD page 1 DEP on all three tracks (T1-T3) locked to 0 — no modulation movement anywhere in this pattern, the hypnotic effect depends on zero variation bar to bar.
Digitone II
Tracks
- T1: kick (ALGO 1, plain low carrier)
- T2: snare (high-FDBK FM noise)
- T3: hat-closed (high-FDBK FM noise, thinned)
Settings
- Kick and snare (T1/T2) both fire on steps 1, 5, 9, 13 with identical settings every time: Kick — SYN page 1 ALGO 1, RATIO C 0.40; AMP page ATK 0, DEC 50, SUS 0, REL 20. Snare — SYN page 1 FDBK 95; AMP page ATK 0, DEC 40, SUS 0, REL 15. No per-step variation anywhere — the perfectly steady doubled hit is the entire definition of the motorik 'Apache beat', don't p-lock any variation in.
- Hat-closed (T3, steps 3, 7, 11, 15): SYN page 1 FDBK 80; FLTR page 1 TYPE set toward HP (~85). AMP page DEC locked to a short, consistent 20 (of 0-127) on every hit — steadiness over character, the same tight, dry offbeat click as Digitakt/Syntakt.
- MOD page 1-3 DEP locked to 0.00 on all three tracks (T1-T3) — no modulation movement anywhere in this pattern, the hypnotic effect depends on zero variation bar to bar, matching Digitakt's LFO page 1 DEP=0 rule.
Syntakt
Tracks
- T9: kick (BD Classic)
- T10: snare (SD Classic)
- T12: hat-closed (CH Classic)
Settings
- Kick and snare (T9, BD Classic / T10, SD Classic) fire together on steps 1, 5, 9, 13 with identical TRIG PARAMETERS page VEL (105/90) and 0 µtime on every hit — resist the instinct to humanize this one.
- SYN page DEC on hat-closed (T12, CH Classic) locked to a short, unchanging value around 20 (of 0-127) — the same tight, dry offbeat click as Digitakt.
- SYN page OVER on kick (T9, BD Classic) left at a low, fixed value around 10-15 — this pattern is intentionally the most minimal and repetitive in the library, don't push it toward distortion or variation.
Notes
The classic motorik 'Apache beat': kick and snare struck together on every quarter note, with a steady, unchanging offbeat hat — deliberately robotic and endlessly repetitive rather than groove-based, in the tradition of Neu! and the wider Krautrock scene. An original pattern, not a transcription.
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