The Freequency BLOOMER v2 [WiN-MAC]

• Product: BLOOMER v2
• Developer: The Freequency
• Version: 2.0
• Format: VST3, AU
• Requirements: Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 or later
• Source: shawbot.gumroad.com/l/BLOOMER

BLOOMER v2 is a MIDI chord-generation plugin from Shawbot’s The Freequency, shipping as VST3, AU, and Max for Live rather than a sound-producing instrument — its output is MIDI, routed into a separate synth or sampler track to be heard. A progression is generated by drawing a tension curve across a chosen key and scale, starting from a built-in archetype or drawn by hand, with voicing, depth, and intensity adjustable afterward. Individual chords swap from the same slot without redrawing the curve. $19, following an early-access tier now sold out.

Key Takeaway

BLOOMER generates a full progression from a hand-drawn tension curve rather than looping a preset chord pack, staying inside whatever key and scale is selected. It outputs MIDI only, with no built-in synth, so it needs to sit ahead of another instrument track to produce sound — how its chord choices get made beyond “patterns in songwriting” isn’t documented further.

One Curve, One Full Progression

BLOOMER’s core mechanic maps a drawn curve — rise, bloom, release — directly to the harmonic movement of a generated progression, rather than picking chords from a browsable pack or looping a fixed pattern. Setting a key and scale first constrains what the curve can generate, so the shape of the curve determines the tension arc while the key/scale selection determines which notes and chords are available to build it from.

That structure means the creative decision happens before generation, at the curve-drawing stage, rather than after — a user shapes intent first and gets a full progression back, instead of generating a batch of options and picking a favorite. Someone who wants to browse a library of finished progressions and audition several before choosing one will find BLOOMER’s workflow oriented the opposite way, toward one curve producing one result at a time.

Archetypes First, or Draw Your Own

BLOOMER offers two starting points for a curve: an Archetype, a pre-shaped tension curve provided as a starting point, or full free control, drawing the curve from scratch by hand. Both routes run through the same generation engine and land on the same adjustable voicing, depth, and intensity controls once a progression exists.

Starting from an Archetype gets a usable progression faster, since the curve shape is already decided; drawing free costs more time up front but gives direct control over exactly where the tension rises and where it resolves, rather than accepting a pre-built shape’s timing. A part that needs a very specific, unusual tension arc — an early climax followed by a long release, for instance — is better served by drawing that curve manually than by hoping an Archetype happens to match it.

Locrian Is Swapped for Harmonic Minor

The engine behind BLOOMER — confirmed on the free sibling release built from the same algorithm — offers seven scales: the modes of the major scale, with harmonic minor standing in for locrian rather than including all seven true modes. Harmonic minor adds a raised seventh degree that natural minor and locrian don’t have, giving the scale a stronger pull back to the tonic chord than a straight modal set would provide.

That substitution means a curve set to the “locrian slot” isn’t generating in true locrian harmony — it’s generating in harmonic minor instead, which resolves differently than locrian’s naturally unstable, diminished-tonic character would. Anyone specifically wanting locrian’s distinctive unresolved quality won’t find it as one of the seven available scales.

Editing One Chord, Not Redrawing the Arc

Per-cell chord editing lets a single chord in a generated progression be swapped by scrolling through musically valid alternatives for that slot, without regenerating or redrawing the entire curve. This isolates a fix to one chord that doesn’t fit the part, rather than forcing a full re-roll that could change every other chord in the progression along with it.

Full state recall means an edited progression saves and reopens with the project rather than needing to be regenerated at the start of every session. A progression edited down to a very specific chord choice stays exactly that way between sessions, rather than reverting to whatever the curve would generate fresh if run again.

No Instrument Underneath the Chords

BLOOMER generates chord data, not audio — there’s no built-in synth, sampler, or sound engine anywhere in the plugin, which is why its category tag is MIDI FX / Utility rather than Instrument. Drag-and-drop MIDI export is the mechanism for getting a generated progression out of BLOOMER and into an instrument track, since nothing inside BLOOMER itself produces a sound to route from a mixer channel.

A session with BLOOMER loaded but no instrument on the receiving end produces a fully editable, exportable progression with nothing audible attached to it. That absence is the tradeoff for BLOOMER staying a small, focused MIDI tool rather than bundling its own synth engine — the chord logic is the product, and whatever synth or sampler renders it is left entirely up to whatever’s already in the session.

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