In this segment from Bitwig Studio's Grid tutorial, the host demonstrates how a unipolar LFO can stand in for a traditional phase signal to drive a step sequencer. By default, the LFO sweeps from zero to one in a triangle shape, which maps closely enough to a standard phase signal that the two run in near-perfect alignment at the same rate.
The more interesting territory opens up when you swap in non-traditional LFO wave shapes. A shape that lingers briefly at its most open position before snapping back means the filter is removing most of the signal for the majority of the cycle, which introduces a rhythmic breathing quality even when notes are held continuously.
The bit closes by pointing toward polyphony: when each voice gets its own copy of the LFO, each one runs independently, which sets up a much richer space of rhythmic variation than a shared clock would allow.