Archive for the ‘Noise boxes’ Category
Aether Zither
Posted on: August 10, 2014
There seems to be something wrong with this video, but the result blends in nicely with the sounds generated by the zither:
Meng Qi is a noise boxes builder from China and versions of this instrument seem to be for sale, see http://mengqimusic.com/AetherZither :
Aether Zither 以太筝 - built by Meng Qi, is an electro-acoustic musical instrument. It’s playing surface is assembled with springs, speakers, knobs and touch points. The combination of mechanical and electric aspects makes it an one of a kind and fully expressive instrument.
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The Synthesis engine of AZ - Sidrassi, designed by Peter Blasser - is a true analog polyphonic synthesizer circuit. It has an unique approach regarding synthesis principle. There is a parameter called chaos - it controls the modulation depth among the voices, which would result in different level of noisy texture. Addtional to it, there are also touch points which allows the player to perform touch circuit-bend.
More information:
- Meng Qi website
- In: Art | Instruments | Noise boxes | Software | Sound art | Synthesizers
- 3 Comments
On YouTube I found this video today on the Ondes Martenot: an electronic instrument of the 1920’s which preludes today’s synthesizer. It is most widely known for its use in pieces by French composer Olivier Messiaen:
I actually own a high quality software emulation of the Ondes Martenot made by VSTi producers Sonic Couture and use it quite often due to it’s distinct sounds. One of the interesting things about the Ondes Martenot was the ribbon controller demonstrated by Jean Laurendeau in the video.
A similar ribbon controller in a modern plexiglas enclosure now made by Eowave is also part of my synth studio. Here the Blade Runner theme is played on a synthesizer using the Eowave ribbon as a controller:
So although the Ondes Martenot may be almost a century old and is not often used as an instrument on its own, it’s sounds and concepts are still alive today.
More information:
- Sonic Couture
- Eowave
- Ondes Martenot in Wikipedia
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Electronic music in the 1920′s – the ondes Martenot by Noise Addicts
Noise toys expo: Sounds Like Art
Posted on: April 14, 2013
- In: Art | Artifacts | Event | Exhibition | Installations | Instruments | Noise boxes | Sound art
- 1 Comment
Now in Mu Gallery in Eindhoven, Netherlands: the exhibition Sounds Like Art.
This is an excerpt of the description of the exhibition on the Mu Gallery website:
“In the vanguard of music, sound artists are always exploring new ways of creating music. Often the search will not only lead them to the new sounds they set out to find, but also to some unique instruments. Instruments which, besides being functional, can also be seen as works of visual art in their own right. Especially when they combine the aesthetics of craftsmanship with the possibilities offered by the latest in technology. Usually these works of art perform their humble services exclusively on the stage, where they can hardly be observed from up close. But in the exhibition SOUNDS LIKE ART the spotlight is not on the artists, but on the instruments they create. It has resulted in an exhibition in which we can hear and, most importantly, also see the unique interplay between form, material qualities, and technology of these new instruments.”
The artists participating are the Andy Cavatorta, who created a series of harps especially for Björk, which are played using gravity.
Other artists in the exhibition include Dutch hardware hacker Gijs Gieskes who compiles new synthesisers from existing electronics, and musician/artist Tom Verbruggen, better known as TokTek, who creates some ingenious sound-producing sculptures.
Noise wizard: Tim Kaiser
Posted on: January 15, 2013
- In: Instruments | Noise boxes | Sound art
- 2 Comments
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