A couple of years back I made the WAMI which is a simple digital wave modulation instrument, which really means that it can make a bunch of cool sounds by waving your hands over it. Last month I saw a blog post on it on MAKE zine. The WAMI Dome was a project commissioned by my friend Jim Heekin Jr. for his leisurely use =)
Jonah Brucker-Cohen Wrote a brief description of it on the Make Zine Blog.
Thanks for the shout out! =)
Wami Dome from Oscar G. Torres on Vimeo.
Its done!
Jim’s WAMI dome is ready to be showed and played!
check it out:
Jim’s WAMI Dome from Oscar G. Torres on Vimeo.
If Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata was a cocktail,
what would it taste like?
Oscar Peterson’s “Tenderly”?
Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls Of Fire”?
The painocktail exists in a world of contradictions and exceptions where music and liquor are in harmony with mood and nothing is as it seems. It conveys a capricious indulgence and a merging of luxuries. It has no purpose but pleasure, mystery and defamiliarization. It embraces the imaginative strangeness and beauty that resides beneath the surface of ordinary life.
The pianococktail is a piano that mixes drinks based on the combination of keys played. Each key combination corresponds to a different spirit, liquor, juice and garnishes that are mixed to make cocktails that are appropriate to the mood of the song played. The concept that music can be drank in addition to being heard is not anything new. The Pianocktail was conceived in the middle of WWII by the writer Boris Vian. What better time than now, in the middle of an economic windfall, to propose to bring to life the imagined object of the pianocktial and indulge in a merging of luxuries?
Boris Vian in his novel “Lecume des Jours” (Froth on the Daydream) 1947 describes such a piano. But Boris only dreamed about the piano since the technical requirements to build it, where very obscure and very complex at the time. Its only till recently that technology has become available in a way that anyone can build such a machine, with the right tools and a little patience.
In 2006, G’raldine Schenkel created her version of the Pianocktail. Although very entertaining, it is missing the complexity needed to allow a user to create any drink the imagination may manage to conceive.
Florica Vlad and I decided to create an instrument that can mix liquids in a manner that will inspire expression in new unintended ways. The Pianocktail will be the product of Florica’s Thesis and my New Interfaces for Musical Expression or N.I.M.E. project.
The exiting part about this project being in N.I.M.E. is that I will be performing in front of a large audience at a public venue such as Exit Art which was the site for last year’s N.I.M.E. performance.
I can almost picture it now, a line of people waiting their turn to show their piano skills and get a mixed drink that is unique to the melody they played. What amazing and not so great drinks will be created!
Mouse on Mars is a band that has interesting electronic music but is lacking in the performance sector. Their youtube video needs a little more action. Its a personal opinion but the video should be as active as the music. There needs to be more motion by the camera, maybe some unique camera angles. When I think performance I think about audio visual and multi-sensory information. If you mute the video, you have very little action, very non-exiting content.
In contrast, Muse a band from the UK had a performance to a song whose beat is not as fast or energetic, yet the video and special effects made it seem magical and full of energy.
Visuals and camera angles play a crucial part on performances.
then again maybe I just enjoy American Pop
.
What is it about music that influences our behavior? When we go to a Bar, there is always lively music that for the most part, takes our mind off from our own life. When you go to Night clubs, you will always hear music with faster beats that encourage people to dance and is definitely too loud, to prevent conversations from occurring. People at clubs don’t want to talk they want to dance! In the opposite end of the spectrum, when you are in private, you may want to set the mood to make some lovin’. A good artist to throw into the record player is Barry White.
One way in which I use music is to get in a competitive mood before playing soccer. I tend to listen to fast music with semi-violent lyrics and loud guitars or drums/ base. Most of the time the music that I listen to before my games, carries over in my memory and when I am actually playing I remember the beat of the song. I remember a few games where the opposing team was cranking music really loud while they where warming up, before the game. The organized warm up routine and the loud music, made the team seem really united. Which usually intimidates individual in opposing teams. This intimidation can often lead to a break down in team organization and teamwork.
A good song to warm up to or get ready for a competitive match is “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes. There is just something very inspiring about the beat.
Music is very influential to our perception of things and can be used to reinforce or miss-lead perception.
Ok, so maybe its because I made the illustrations for the album cover, but I totally dig the music. Maybe its the fact that I digged the music that I made the album art? Who knows the bottom line is that its a good album.
Beau Black released his new album “Meant to be” and it rocks!
I love song number 5, “You Can’t Say Goodbye” from the album. There is something about the spacey sounds it has that I enjoy. Below you can see a rough video of Beau performing the song:
and you too can own the album from iTunes by clicking on the link above.
The new generation of WAMIs is in the works and functioning, its time to put the final touches on. I am very pleased with the sounds coming out of this bad boy. This WAMI definitely going to make some crazy beats.
And also I will put out the info aka DIY so you can make your own! =)
Wami Dome from Oscar G. Torres on Vimeo