all posts about sound sculpture and music
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I want a marxophone (video) but they go for hundreds of dollars on ebay.
This is a proof-of-concept test for making my own marxophone…
someday…
instrument-a-day 3: monomarxFebruary 3rd, 2010
I want a marxophone (video) but they go for hundreds of dollars on ebay.
This is a proof-of-concept test for making my own marxophone…
someday…
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instrument-a-day 2: glaciophoneFebruary 2nd, 2010
I pulled up some chunks of ice from a frozen puddle and bonked them
with another bit of ice.
with another bit of ice.
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instrument-a-day 1: scratchlightFebruary 1st, 2010
A warm-up instrument to start the month, and preparation for my
upcoming fun with coils workshop. I assembled a simple magnetic field
amplifier kit and used it to listen to the motor of a wind-up
flashlight.
upcoming fun with coils workshop. I assembled a simple magnetic field
amplifier kit and used it to listen to the motor of a wind-up
flashlight.
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laughing & singing with the toy pianoDecember 5th, 2009
I’ve been working on cyborging a broken down old toy piano.
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video of coney island installationMay 2nd, 2009
It’s still not quite ready for full-time operation, but now we can crank it up on special occasions!
[video on flickr]
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evil monkey live at galapagos tonight!April 2nd, 2009
11pm Thursday April 2 at Galapagos in Brooklyn — I’m performing with some freshly-built electromechanical instruments, some of which are shown here. On Sunday they’re going to become part of a permanent sound installation at the Coney Island Museum.
* evil monkey is on loan from the Coney Island Museum. I’ve wired him for midi control.
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live at barbèsMarch 5th, 2009
The Glass Bees and I played a bunch of my homemade instruments last night at Barbès in Brooklyn. (The show was made possible by Bethany Ryker, who brings interesting stuff to Barbès every Wednesday and to wfmu every Sunday.)
Here’s some excerpts from the show– thanks to bee Chris for editing and naming the songs!
You may be able to catch an interview and some more from the show on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered this Saturday or Sunday. [Update: the interview aired on March 7th and can be read & heard on NPR's site.]
photo: me and two bees with our granny-carts full of junkstruments!
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instrument-a-day 28: melt (after mineko grimmer)February 28th, 2009
Years ago I was in a gallery show with Mineko Grimmer, who makes sound sculptures of pebbles frozen in ice. As the ice melts, the pebbles drop into a pool or a wooden lattice and make irregular sounds.
I made my own version entirely out of things from my junk drawer: marbles, squashed pennies, old keys and dog tags, and some acorns I was saving in a tiny jar. What does it sound like? I won’t find out until the weather warms up.
Many thanks to Thing-a-Day for inspiring the instrument-a-day project for the second year in a row!
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instrument-a-day 27: semi-automatic bassFebruary 28th, 2009
This one didn’t really work out. It was supposed to be a sequel to last year’s automatic tension guitar, but it doesn’t work or sound nearly as good. I’m experimenting with cheap substitutes for the little clapper solenoids I used last year, which are now really hard to find, but so far the results are bad.
And it’s not even automatic! I didn’t get around to rigging up a computer interface, so I’m playing it with the funny little wooden keyboard you can see at the upper right. It sounds like this.
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