Oh wow, this is so cool. Based on the layout and the sounds, it HAS to be heavily inspired by the Tenori-on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_Tenori-on, and I for one am very here for that.
The original ToneMatrix was in turn a knockoff of the Yamaha Tenori-on, which was actually a hardware product - a really pretty sophisticated if sometimes frustratingly limited self-contained controller/sequencer/synthesizer.
Yamaha stopped making the hardware somewhere in the early 2010s, but released a couple of iOS software versions (TNR-i, emulating the original Tenori-on sounds, and later TNR-e which changed the sounds to be more EDM and less... Yamaha).
Inevitably, as software is an eternal treadmill, Yamaha never bothered to update the apps past iOS 13 - but my TNR-W hardware still does the thing, much to the delight of my kids. (I bought one on a whim when my eldest was a toddler - it has survived 10 years of her and then her younger sister's bashing. They're teenagers now! Yamaha makes quality stuff when they feel like it.)
While it never set the world on fire, it also sold enough that used models are still around. If you do buy a used one, note that the original model with the metal case and white LEDs (TNR-W) are worth the premium over the newer white case/orange LED (TNR-O) models; the former are sturdier, have lights on both sides, and can run on AA batteries (TNR-O requires external power).
very cool. you'd think that with the web audio api there would have been an explosion of creative takes on music generation (like this one) but I am not sure it has happened...
Supports third-party plugins in a format called WAM2 (Web Audio Module version 2).
Collaborative, like Google Docs. Sign in and start a session, invite people. Turn a knob, and it turns for everyone.
Supports audio, midi, and video as well.
Supports custom Javascript sequencers (Function Sequencer plugin). You can (collaboratively) write a little javascript program, give it knobs dials and automateable parameters, and have it emit MIDI events.
There's some usability issues to still work on but it's quite fun to jam on. I used to host twitch sessions where people could sequence my TR-909 and minimoog, and then hear the instruments played back over twitch.
I like how it’s possible to make something that feels polyphonic even though there’s only one note playing at a time. (there are a couple time steps where I broke this constraint, but it’s the overall effect I was aiming for.)
I just tried yt-dlp, but its too generic for it to "know" how to download - so didn't work...so i think the suggestion from @stronglikedan is the next best thing...Of course, the absolute best thing would be to propose such a new feature on their github repo. :-)
https://www.maxlaumeister.com/tonematrix/?v=1&d=AEEgCAQBIIAE...
If I try very hard, I can focus on it as a single rising series of pitches. But otherwise, I here it more as a sixteen step repeating arpeggio.