« Other Gods | Main | Science Fiction and War » January 24, 2003

Circuit-Bending

Reed Ghazala is a musician, a visual artist and an electronic alchemist. He's the father of a whole school of electronic instruments, all built using a technique Reed calls "Circuit-Bending." Essentially, he rewires sound devices—old Speak & Spell toys, cheap Casio keyboards, etc.—in subtle and technically incorrect ways. This changes the sound and functioning of the device completely and results in a remarkable instrument that no one would have ever set out to make, but that anyone who appreciate unique noisemakers can appreciate. Some of the people and groups who've enjoyed Reed's noise machines include Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson's Pat Mastalotto, Faust, Chris Cutler, Towa Tei, Yann Tomita and Blur.

Reed sells his homemade instruments and offers his services for bending the circuits in your own devices. On his site you'll find his sound and visual art, reviews and info on how to do your own circuit-bending.

http://www.anti-theory.com

Posted by Kadrey at January 24, 2003 07:42 PM

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