I’m really enjoying the Sound Builder series on Motherboard.tv, but this episode is brilliant. Now if I could just get the real-time version of that sped up footage! For more about Reed Ghazala checkout his bio and sounds from his instruments on anti-theory.com.
I really love this instrument. It’s simple to build and operate, yet the variety of sounds possible is broader than you would expect. This is the third Posc I’ve built. The first one I assembled into a small cardboard box. Let’s call it the Cardboard Posc. I disassembled the Cardboard Posc to build a prototype sound object for a dance piece.
For my third version I decided to build it into a transparent plastic case, formerly packaging for my iPod Touch. Let’s call it the Visible Posc. Right now it’s held together with a rubber band, but I’ll probably replace it with a screw or something to open it up for battery replacement. For more checkout these posts:
Part four of the Experimental Music Mondays series begins at 9:00pm on May 31, 2010 at the Kitty Cat Klub in Minneapolis with Heizerbaum & Panderton featuring Andrea Steudel from MinneapolisArtOnWheels.org, with sound artist Luke Heizerbaum (actually I don’t think that’s his real last name, but let’s go with it). Expect to see some fascinating projections including images from a microscope of a vinyl record as it spins on a turntable.
Next up is Ostracon (John Keston on electronics and Graham O’Brien on drums). We perform generative, improvisational compositions using the GMS (Gestural Music Sequencer), that converts video input into musical phrases. “Keston captures, layers, loops and processes melodic segments in real-time out of the stream of notes created by his gestural input, tailored with probability distribution algorithms. O’Brien accompanies these angular, electronic structures, with dynamic playing that, at times, verges on the chaotic. More about Ostracon can be found at audiocookbook.org and unearthedmusic.com.”
Closing the evening is Twenty Thirteen, “a trio, made up of Chris Robin Cox (Junkyard Empire, Minneapolis Free Music Society) playing electric trombone, Bryan Berry playing guitar through tons of effects and loops, and Kahlil Brewington laying down bad ass funky drums. The music is ambient, yet groovy as hell, and incorporates influences as diverse Portishead, Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, and classic hip-hop, drum n’ bass, and dub beats. It’s like nothing you have ever seen live. The band sometimes performs with a fourth member: a television, which sits facing away from the band, and channels can be changed by audience members; the band providing the soundtrack for a television they do not watch. It’s a bit of a social experiment.”
Recently I built a Posc (Pocket Oscillator by Sonodrome) and discussed it in this entry with an audio example. Shortly afterward I built the circuit into a cardboard box and used the instrument in a number of performances and recording sessions. Now I have disassembled my beloved cardboard box and created a new instrument for an upcoming dance performance. This updated prototype is made from a plastic saucer sled, a 4″ speaker, a recycled nine volt amplifier, and the Posc circuit.
I started by drilling a grid pattern of air holes for the speaker. I then mounted the speaker behind the grid as shown. Finally I soldered the Posc circuit to the nine volt amp and the amp to the speaker. Two nine volt batteries and some duct tape completed the prototype. The night of the build I handed it to Pramila Vasudevan, the choreographer for the piece, and was amazed by the sound quality, and the response of the instrument to her movements. The final product will most likely be fabricated out of fiberglass to improve the rigidity and resonance of the disc or “shield”.
Read on to see a few more photos of the instrument.
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Seoul based artist and engineer, Hojun Song, is one of the featured artists on the Creators Project. Hojun engineers custom MIDI controllers, satellites, and “The Strongest Weapon in the World”; an unbreakable machine that prints out beautiful messages. The Creators Project is “…a global initiative bringing together the world’s leading and most relevant innovators in music, art, film, design and architecture through a common passion for creativity and technology.” Other featured artists include Diplo, Muti Randolph, Richie Hawtin, Karl Sadler, Phoenix, with dozens more on deck. Check it out at www.thecreatorsproject.com.