[Moritz Simon Geist]’s experiences as both a classically trained musician and a robotics engineer is clearly what makes his Techno Music Robots project so stunningly executed. The robotic electronic music he has created involves no traditional instruments of any kind. Instead, the robots themselves are the instruments, and every sound comes from some kind of physical element.
A motor might smack a bit of metal, a hard drive arm might tap out a rhythm, and odder sounds come from stranger devices. If it’s technological and can make a sound, [Moritz Simon Geist] has probably carefully explored whether it can be turned into one of his Sonic Robots. The video embedded below is an excellent example of his results, which is electronic music without a synthesizer in sight.
We’ve seen robot bands before, and they’re always the product of some amazing work. The Toa Mata Lego Band are small Lego units and Compressorhead play full-sized instruments on stage, but robots that are the instruments is a different direction that still keeps the same physical element to the music.
Electromechanical instruments played and looped by human operator. No robots at all. Midi triggered no doubt. RGB,RGB,RGB,RGB…..
There was music playing or something. Fixated on PicoSkop.
I’m most intrigued by this Riefler keyboarded plotter gizmo at the beginning of the video. Haven’t found the answer yet, but I’m lookin!
https://www.typotheque.com/articles/from_lettering_guides_to_cnc_plotters fascinating stumble
This is cool. Matt Steinke of Octant was doing this 20 years ago. https://youtu.be/hBTFTQ4er3Q
Love the Octant link. Like Sonic Youth vs the machines.
The guy in the video: “It’s like a drum machine, but … it’s a machine.” What do you call a literally drum-playing machine?
Two of these robots are in fact playing instruments. The one that whacks on discordant glasses of water and the one that strums the bass guitar.