Engram is a sampler that turns broken AI hallucinations into music

<figure> <img alt="Engram - an instrument with 16 pads, 8 knobs, a few buttons and all the usual nonsense on a rug." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Thoughtful Things" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-27-at-4.42.53-PM.png?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Music startup <a href="https://thoughtfulthings.ai/">Thoughtful Things</a> has just launched the Kickstarter campaign for its first instrument, <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evmaki/engram-generative-audio-sampler-and-groovebox?ref=section-homepage-view-more-discovery-p1&amp;category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktMzM5#use-of-ai">Engram</a>. It's a sampler and groovebox that uses AI to mangle incoming audio and even hallucinate completely new sounds. This isn't Suno in a box, though. This isn't a "push-button, get-song" device, aimed at creating something that sounds ready for top-40 radio. It's about creating experimental, uncanny sounds and pushing AI audio models beyond their limits.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Engram isn't connected to the internet. Instead, it runs a "tiny AI" locally. According to the Kickstarter listing, the model is designed in-house and custom-trained. The company says: </p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> …</blockquote> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1001193/engram-sampler-ai-hallucinations-music">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>