About Bonboa the human behind the machines

Look, I'll be honest. Bonboa is one person: me, Joris Röling, in the Netherlands. There's no corporate headquarters, no mission statement mounted on a wall, and no one here has ever used the phrase "synergize our core competencies" without laughing.

Bonboa makes music tools. Specifically, I make Bacara, a generative MIDI plugin. It started in May 2021 as a personal project ("what if I could make my synths write their own melodies?") and turned into something other people wanted to use. I was as surprised as anyone.

I don't do it alone, though. Friends test Bacara, argue with me about it and write material for it. Renger Koning is a composer. Jeroen van Zutphen plays jazz, and his notes on bass voices went into the styles. Tim Niewenhuis owns MIDI Amsterdam. Chris Brown and John Gilbert put the Windows builds through their paces. Richie Hawtin gave his feedback on Bacara's first life, the Node.js version he used on stage. All of them beta tested, and Bacara is better for it.

Dave Smith, Renger Koning & Joris

Dave Smith (the father of MIDI), Renger Koning & Joris Röling

The Company (Such As It Is)

Bonboa is a one-person software company in the Netherlands. I'm not a player. I build tools for musicians because the levers a DAW hands you are not how I think about music. The team fits in a phone booth (if those still existed) with room to spare, and it ships features while the big companies are still scheduling meetings about scheduling meetings.

I believe in transparency, no vendor lock-in, and the radical idea that software should be fun to use. If a feature doesn't make you smile at least a little, I haven't finished building it yet.

Oh, and Bacara's been on stage with Richie Hawtin. In its former life as a Node.js CLI tool, it powered generative MIDI performances in Portugal and at IRCAM Paris for a Steve Reich tribute. I didn't plan that as a credential. It just happened, and I'm still quietly thrilled about it.

My Approach (It Involves Coffee)

I build things by using them. Every feature in Bacara exists because I needed it myself, in my own "why isn't this doing what I want at 2 AM" moments. This means I catch the annoying bits before you do. Usually.

My development philosophy:

  • Make it work — solve the actual problem
  • Make it right — so it doesn't fall over when you look at it funny
  • Make it feel good — because life's too short for ugly UIs and clunky workflows

I also believe in the power of happy accidents. Bacara's deviation engine was designed to produce them on demand.

What I Actually Promise

I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers. But here's what I can promise:

I Do

  • Ship real updates, not just changelogs
  • Actually read your emails (and reply!)
  • Fix bugs like they insulted my mother
  • Keep the demo fully functional
  • Respect your CPU and your patience

I Don't

  • Sell your data (I barely know what to do with my own)
  • Phone home unnecessarily
  • Use dark patterns or nagging pop-ups
  • Pretend a machine will replace musicians (it won't)
  • Take myself too seriously (evidence: this page)