Kieran Foster aka illformed, developer of the Glitch² FX plugin, has passed away, and in memory, the plugin is now a free download.
Sad news has reached me from the plugin world. Kieran Foster, known to most as the developer illformed, dblue, and MaDHaTTeR, has passed away at the age of 47. Closest friends have created a memorial on the website
To commemorate him, one of his developer friends equipped the illformed Glitch² with VST3 support and released it as freeware so that Kieran’s spirit will be alive in the music we make with his plugins.
Who Was Kieran Foster?
Kieran Foster was a talented British software developer, musician (Bandcamp), and art creator known under the names illformed, dblue, and MaDHaTTeR.
Many people knew him as a long-time member of the Renoise forum, where he helped shape Renoise into what the Tracker-based digital audio workstation is today.
Taktik, a Renoise forum administrator, wrote a memorial, looking back at his friendship with Kieran.
Alongside this, he founded the plugin brand illformed, where he released several plugins. He achieved his breakthrough with the Glitch plugin in 2005, an innovative FX plugin that caused a stir in the music production scene. Let’s take a look at what he created.
What Is illformed Glitch²
Glitch², released in 2013, is the successor and further development of the original illformed Glitch plugin, used by many producers.
Like the first version from 2025, it’s a creative multi-FX plugin designed for reshaping, slicing, retriggering, reversing, stretching… audio all in tempo-sync. It was the first multi-FX plugin of this type. Sugar Bytes made their own take on it in 2008 with Effectrix.
At its core are little effects modules: distortion, shuffler, stretcher, reverser, retrigger, gater, delay, LoFi, tape stop, and modulator. Each module is tweakable with a few parameters, plus filter, mix, pan, and volume so that it fits your sounds.
Unlike a typical multi-FX unit, the step sequencer plays a central role. In this case, the steps in the sequencer are not note data but effects on/off. Each time the sequencer passes through the set step, the effect or effects shape the sound.
The sequencer comes with an intuitive pattern editor with drag’n’drop and the ability to draw, erase, resize, split, and join blocks with ease.
A scene bundles the sequencer pattern, the timing, and the setting of each effect. They can then be triggered with a press of a key. You can have scenes with a single effect or multiple effects that are triggered simultaneously or separately. Up to 128 scenes can be triggered via MIDI notes and stored in a program.
For extra crazy fun, there are randomize and mutate functions at almost every level. You can even animate the randomizer in the sequencer.
RIP Illformed
Kieran Foster left us far too soon at the age of 47. His plugin is one of the most fun FX plugins ever developed. And when version 1 came out, it was one of the most innovative. It’s a staple in the arsenal of many musicians and has been used in countless productions.
I never had any contact with him, so his plugin is the only reminder of him. Thank you for making his plugin available as freeware for the future. So we still have Kieran Foster’s work in our sounds, even though he has left us forever.
illformed Glitch (2) is available now as a free download. It runs as a VST, VST3, and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
More information: illformed
This is really sad news. I spoke with Kieran via email quite a few times “back in the day”. Same age as me and born in a city only 20 miles from me. Top bloke. He sure left a mark on the music scene. In his honour, let’s get glitchy!
Glitch was an essential plugin, that seriously contributed to the creation of the genre. It was a big deal back in the day. I hate reading these stories. My condolences go out to his family and close friends. I don’t use the plugin much these days, but I reckon I might find some opportunity in the future.
I was 19 when I first downloaded the original dblue_glitch and used it in FL Studio 7 (circa 2007) and for years I used it in practically every track I made. It was an integral part of my producer experience and it helped structure my taste and sound. So sad knowing someone who was so brilliant and innovative is gone at such a young age. RIP Kieran.
It was really forward thinking and unique concept for the time. And still is! RIP
Very sad to hear this. I’ve been using that plugin since its inception and have always stuck with it as it’s so versatile! A brilliant design. Thank you, Kieran.