In the diverse and often eclectic world of multimedia art and live performance, PlexusPlay stands out as a one-man powerhouse, combining euphoric dance music, reactive visuals, LED wearables, audience interactivity and jazzy synth xylophone in a high-energy live multimedia experience like no other.
The creative endeavor of Matt DiBiase, PlexusPlay is also an impressive example of designing a brand, running a business, forging relationships and collaborations, and constantly innovating, all while crafting shows, composing music, and performing. It's a feat! In our conversation, Matt shares insights into his creative process and how a solid foundation in TouchDesigner empowers him to push the bounderies of multimedia art, delivering experiences that resonate deeply with audiences.
ORIGINS, INSPIRATIONS + DEVELOPMENT
Derivative: How did this all start? What inspired you to integrate wearables, immersive visuals, interactive elements in your electronic music performances?
PlexusPlay: I’ve always been a human driven by movement and high energy experiences. As a kid I played African dance songs on marimba, tennis, and plenty of super smash brothers melee. In university I studied jazz performance and neuroscience, which deepened my knowledge of composing and improvising, while also unveiling a passion for understanding audiovisual systems like our brains. Since then, I’ve found purpose in combining live music and technology for an experience that extends beyond traditional jazz club or night club settings; shows that invite audiences to move, to participate - instead of presenting to a seated crowd. EDM festivals and immersive art venues quickly became the best testing grounds for shaping these experiences and finding engaged audiences.
Some of my biggest artistic inspirations:
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KNOWER - LA jazz electronic duo that inspired me to add visual projections onto my body, and branch out of jazz into more electronic dance while continuing to play live (and also to not be so serious! They have fun every show).
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Zedd - outstanding audiovisual synchrony in his show production, taste for placing iconic lead vocals over electric DJ tracks (addicted to a memory being a favorite song of mine).
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Virtual Riot - heavy and colorful bass EDM DJ that regularly reinvents sound design, builds music production tools, and integrates new software and hardware in his live show.
3 WAYS TOUCHDESIGNER INFLUENCED LIVE MUSIC SETS
Derivative: What brought you to use TouchDesigner in your shows, and how has it shaped your performances?
PlexusPlay: The three main ways TouchDesigner influenced my creative process and performances are:
- Real-time workflow for creating show visuals and live performance reactivity.
- Extending controller reactive data beyond a screen.
- Enabling audience interactivity to control / influence the show (via their smartphones or my controllers).
1) Discovering Real-time Workflows with TD Ableton in Covid (2021).
I was first attracted to TouchDesigner by the ability to animate visuals in real-time (i.e. watching the final product as you make it). After starting with Cinema 4D in 2020 I soon got tired of long render times, craving something more reactive to my music for live performance - enter TouchDesigner :) Once I realized how seamlessly TD integrated with Ableton I was hooked. In 2021 I studied tons of TouchDesigner patreon creators (Elekktronaut, Paketa12, Polyhop, Acrylicode…) and made my own weekly TD Ableton Animator project files, linking MIDI and Macro Knobs in Ableton Live directly to visual elements. I’ll be releasing these “TD Ableton Animators” on my own patreon this summer 2026, allowing musicians to drag and drop their track into Live and easily create visuals for their shows.
2) Beyond a Screen - The PlexPixel LED Suit (2022)
I’d been performing for about 4 years in a white cloth suit with my projector visuals cast onto me and the wall, when one day walking around my neighborhood I thought “what if I could put the visuals on my body?”. A few engineer friends told me I was crazy to want that much pixel density. One even told me I should just strap an iPad to my chest instead! But I knew if I could get enough LEDs to convey basic motions up down left right and a few simple shapes it opened up a ton of creative possibilities. I found a friend in the LED community (Anthony Rubalcaba) who was crazy enough to take on the hardware build, and my fellow TouchDesigner friend Vinay Khare and I designed the TD Ableton network to receive a video input TOP and output DMX data as artnet over Wifi to the hardware controller (untethered while on stage and free to dance and move!).
3) Audience Interactivity + Growing a Fanbase (2023 to Now)
After we built the PlexPixel LED suit, I began exploring TouchDesigner’s ability to talk to web apps and the internet. I’d always dreamed of allowing audience inputs to change the sonic and visual environment inhabited by a live music performer. For a first attempt at this, we had the audience “choose their own adventure” by voting on multiple choice options via a mobile web app.
TouchDesigner visualized the votes as they came in during the countdown, determined the winning song, and then triggered the Ableton timeline at the proper point in the setlist. All I had to do was press play to start the show, and the audience playlisted the rest while I performed alongside. It was a novel and exciting feeling walking out on stage not knowing which path we’d take (and also lots of prep making the music and visuals for all potential paths!)
2024 - 2025 Interactivity for Festivals, Music Releases, and Los Angeles Tech
Now with a solid wearables and visuals pipeline built out, I’m focusing most of my attention on:
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Interactivity without Smartphones - more efficient and simpler forms of interactivity for remote performances (phones often don’t work from large crowds or being off grid).
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Consistent Releases - a monthly musical release calendar (both an original and remix release every month + content for socials / music videos).
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Finding immersive venues in Los Angeles (currently based) and around the world to bring these experiences to larger audiences beyond music festivals.
3 USE CASES OF TOUCHDESIGNER & ABLETON IN LIVE MUSIC SETS
Derivative: How do you integrate TouchDesigner into your live performances, particularly in relation to Ableton Live and other tools?
PlexusPlay: TD Ableton (TouchDesigner's full integration with Ableton’s API) has enabled a handful of different ways for the show to work since it’s bidirectional (Live can control TD, or TD can control live). It starts with syncing both timelines using the TDAbletonSong COMP:
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Syncs Timelines: Contains precise time data of Ableton Timeline to sync TD timecode of show visuals anywhere I’d press play in the Ableton session.
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Syncs Play/Pause: Allows pausing my show in Ableton timeline to Pause visuals in TouchDesigner timeline.
TD Ableton Song COMP closeup
Most often I have Ableton control TouchDesigner:
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TDAbleton Midi COMP:
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MIDI data from my electric xylophone (Malletkat) or midi clips triggers visual backdrops / PlexPixel LED suit.
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MIDI data from custom controllers like the TouchMe MIDI controller into Live then TD.
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TDAbleton DeviceParameter COMP - Macro Knob Data (live or ableton automation):
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Audio input from songs or live in my Ableton session moves Ableton’s Envelope Follower Max4Live device mapped to Macro Knobs then TD to control visual backdrops / PlexPixel LED suit.
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Direct Automation of Macro Knobs in the timeline for more precision controls visual backdrops / PlexPixel LED suit.
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Once I gained experience producing one video stream from TouchDesigner via a single track with effects knob macros in Ableton, I scaled this to three different tracks with different functions for my live show. Two control the video input to my LED Suit and LED glasses, and one triggers the Everytime We Touch system allowing the audience to control when the song drops (more on this network below where TD controls Live). You'll notice the NDI video output to front of house to sync the wearables to stage lights is a combination of the LED suit and LED glasses outputs.
But also the reverse is possible where TouchDesigner controls Ableton:
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TDAbletonMidi COMP:
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MIDI devices can go straight into TD and send MIDI output back into Live.
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TDAbletonDeviceParameter COMP can send continuous Knob Data back to Live enabling Live Camera or other creative Triggers to control sounds over time.
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hand point data
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face tracking
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collision detection
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- TDAbleton Song Arrangement View Locator Triggers - Audience controller input into TD triggers Ableton timeline at specific moment (Touch Me MIDI controller for a song’s drop, or Audience votes on mobile app playlisting the setlist)
CREATIVE PROCESS
Derivative: Can you describe the creative process behind crafting the Touch Me midi controller interactivity where audience members trigger music drops, and the role TouchDesigner played in it?
PlexusPlay: So much of music and live experiences are built on tension and release – I wanted this moment to be equally as dramatic. Playtronica reached out to me first asking me to use one of their products, and when I saw the Touch Me controller I knew it would be perfect for the “EveryTime We Touch” cover I had set to release early 2026. The build before the drop cuts out right on the lyric “Touch” which allowed me to have a nice “time stops” moment where the song sat on a drone of the tension chord (V7 chord C7 for musicians) as the two participants slowly brought their hands together. As their hands touched, Playtronica’s controller sent MIDI data into Ableton, which TD Ableton relayed to TouchDesigner to both trigger the ableton timeline for the drop and also trigger the corresponding show visuals. Sonically, when their hands touched I had “release sounds" a simple key unlock, the tonic chord (in chord F minor) linked to a bright moment in the visuals, and then the lyric “Everytime we TOUCH” finally resolved on the drop.
Check out the full official music video for Everytime We Touch featuring choreography and synced animations made and produced using TouchDesigner!
PLEXPIXEL LED LIGHT SUIT
Derivative: How does your LED suit sync with your music during performances, and what role does TouchDesigner play in that?
PlexusPlay: The PlexPixel LED suit has two modes it switches between: content playback and live reactive. In both modes, Ableton Live provides MIDI timing and knob data that TouchDesigner receives, generates video from, sends into the pixel map, and outputs individual LED data wirelessly as DMX via a Wi-Fi router to the suit’s controller.
I’ve designed a handful of TouchDesigner networks to generate the suit’s video content. Each one generates moving lines, climbing ramps, gradients, and basic patterns like windmills, spirals, and checkerboards mostly via Ramp TOPs. I also have a series of images that crop the video output to the suit to specific limbs of my body (arms, legs, torso).
Content Playback Mode - This is mostly done for very intricate moments or choreographies where I’m engaging the crowd and not playing my MIDI xylophone. With this system, I have super precise control over the suit’s patterns and how they move with each Ableton macro knob. Once I animate the sections of the song I want for playback, I export the suit video with a movie file out TOP and use a separate macro knob, DAT, and Movie File In TOP to select the suit movie file for each song.
Live Reactive Mode - Just as music producers often trigger sound samples live, I store short “video samples” for each song as triggers. My xylophone sends MIDI input from Live into TDAbleton’s AbletonMIDI COMP to trigger these video samples in TouchDesigner which then go to the pixel map and output as DMX to the suit.
TECH CHALLENGES
Derivative: What challenges have you faced with merging technology with live performances, and how have you overcome them?
PlexusPlay: Making a unique show goes against the grain - Not everyone will like it.
In terms of its durability, the PlexPixel LED suit has definitely not been an easy ride! We’re now on version 3 and it’s seen significant improvements in the hardware design. The human body is truly magical with the many ways it can move, but it doesn’t play well with cables bending all the time. We've spent a little over two years designing and testing for how to balance durability with flexibility for the suit so it can last on the road while also fitting snug and packing down well for travel.
ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS
Derivative: What advice would you give to musicians or visual artists looking to integrate interactive elements into their work?
PlexusPlay: Here’s my top tips, and the first three I cannot underscore enough!
1) Start simple with the interaction, most people don’t spend their time learning TouchDesigner and Ableton! Make the interactivity more obvious than you’d think to start. The tech can still make it feel magical, but the idea should be basic.
Simplicity requires ruthlessness today with everything that’s available to us; as AI brings more slop/noise into the world, simplicity and directness are only becoming more valuable. You can always increase complexity once people understand it and expand the scope, but if they don't get it from the start you've already lost them.
2) Tell a story that’s fundamentally human. I’m working so hard to do this with every piece of music and larger creative work I’m pursuing now. People want to relate, they want to see themselves in your work. Choose work that’s compelling and design each project (and your artistic life at large) like it’s a movie - diligently plan out the scenes, shots, and plot. You’ll be more excited to share each stage knowing the big picture.
3) Values (aka your Brand) is more powerful than product or skill, determine your values first. I say pick 5. PlexusPlay’s 5 values are:
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Play – fun, interactive
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Service – community, mentorship, teamwork
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Craft – skill, musical talent
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Expression (create a safe space for people to be themselves)
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Reflection (calibrate, regulate, health, balance).
Once you know what impact you want to make, what message you want to send with your work, you’ll be way more driven to create it (and creatively MARKET it, marketing is half the game if not more).
4) Known your Strengths & Build a Team of Specialists where Everyone Benefits.
Being a freelance creative or artist is much like running a startup business. For projects beyond my expertise in producing music and creating TD Ableton visuals, I sought collaborators who were specialists in those areas, such as developing the audience interactive smartphone web app for TEDx, or pixel mapping the PlexPixel LED suit and transferring data wirelessly.Think of it like a potluck. Everybody gets an amazing feast when people bring their best dishes, and you are the host who sends invites and keeps track of the types of food. If everyone stays in their areas of expertise, you can do something much more powerful and impactful.
5) A Career is compounding, build your competitive advantages to last. It took me several years to develop the LED suit to be durable enough for regular touring, so I recommend starting with something super durable that can scale your project throughout its entire lifecycle. This permits you to always be releasing content and also save money towards expensive projects.
6) Let Ableton manage TouchDesigner’s timing. I’ve been told by many industry professionals that Ableton is the best timekeeper for controlling TouchDesigner playback. Touch is great for looping installations but anything more complicated like music shows or reactive audiovisual work is best done combining the two with TDAbleton.
BEGINNER RESOURCES
Derivative: Are there any specific resources or communities you found particularly helpful when learning TouchDesigner?
PlexusPlay: Elekktronaut for building your first networks, developing aesthetic taste, fun and relaxing learning.
Interactive Immersive HQ - broadest knowledge of different TD capabilities made for beginners.
Matthew Ragan course for complex systems built on efficiency to scale
Find your community online and locally!!!! - in particular I’ve loved working with:
–Vinay Khare custom .toe commissions (remote from India).
–Rina Shkrabova hardware/software integration (Los Angeles based).
FYI – I offer private consults, and my patreon will have increasingly more resources for musicians and creators to develop their own builds with TDAbleton crosstalk - feel free to reach out! (contact info at bottom of post).
NEW DIRECTIONS
Derivative: What new directions or projects are you exploring, and how do you see TouchDesigner fitting into them?
PlexusPlay: There’s a lot on the horizon for PlexusPlay that I’m excited to share. I’ve recently become an artist in residence at the Creative Technology Center in Los Angeles. Here, I’m gamifying my EDM festival shows with their immersive projector and video LED floor setup, all receiving video from my laptop as 3 NDI video outputs via ethernet.
Harmelody Visualizer: seeing the music theory and contour of a melody together.
I’m going to be putting out lots of content with one of my favorite TD Ableton systems I created collaboratively with PolyHop back in 2021. This visualizer displays individual melody notes with 10 animation presets. Each preset corresponds to a commonly used 4 note chord, and aims to display that chord’s level of consonance or dissonance as the melody plays. So much of music is driven by tension and release. I wanted listeners to be able to see melodic contour and harmonic feel simultaneously.
Your breath controls a meditation’s music and visuals.
I collaborated with a company called Inward VR to create a meditation system using your iPhone, TouchDesigner, and Ableton to allow your breathing to control the next musical phrase and corresponding visuals in a meditation experience. I composed the music as triggered scenes in Ableton’s Session view and had the Zig Sim app for iPhone sync with TouchDesigner to trigger the music and visuals for each breath.
PlexuSpex (new LED glasses)
My friends Lucas Sloan and Lunatecz (Luna Ivana) designed these new LED glasses to offer a different show package.
The debut song for the glasses “Look Look” and the music video will go live late May 2026 on youtube and DSPs.
Adding Laser control via MIDI with TD Ableton and Beyond Laser Software. I bought my first Pangolin Laser and I’ll be diving into TouchDesigner’s Pangolin CHOP to integrate TouchDesigner, Ableton, and Beyond for even more fun beyond the screen soon.
Thank you all for reading and feel free to reach out on Instagram if you have any specific questions and I also have more assets and physical merch on my website. Peace, love, and stay creative!
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