Launching today
Karakara
The modern revival of vanBasco's MIDI karaoke player
5 followers
The modern revival of vanBasco's MIDI karaoke player
5 followers
Karakara revives vanBasco's MIDI Karaoke Player for the modern era and finally brings it to Mac. Most MIDI players are either heavy DAWs or minimal viewers with no karaoke; Karakara is the dedicated, fun middle: detachable multi-window UI, syncedkar lyrics + fullscreen mode, 16-channel mixer, 88-key piano (USB MIDI), swappable SoundFonts. Offline, no ads.
Hey!
If you had a PC in the late '90s/early 2000s, you might remember vanBasco's MIDI Karaoke Player, floating windows, a piano that lit up to the music, and lyrics scrolling for karaoke night. It was freeware, it was magic, and it died: 32-bit, Windows-only, never updated.
Karakara is my attempt to bring it back. Rebuilt from scratch (Electron + React + TypeScript, SpessaSynth for SoundFont synthesis), but keeping the soul: the detachable multi-window layout, a 16-channel MIDI mixer, an 88-key virtual piano you can play with a USB MIDI keyboard, synced `.kar` karaoke with a fullscreen mode, swappable SoundFonts, themes (including a Retro VB one), and a searchable library.
It's offline-first, no accounts, no ads, no telemetry. Free on the Microsoft Store (Windows), and €5.99 one-time on the Mac App Store (the Mac price funds development).
Would love feedback from fellow MIDI nerds, karaoke people, and anyone who misses that era. Happy to answer anything