New Instrument

During Summer 2022 I was the artist in residence at Andy Cavatorta Studio. While there, I created a new large-scale vocal sampler that is 2.5 metres tall and features 3 pendulums. Voice samples can be recorded live and assigned to each pendulum. When the 3 pendulums swing, the voice samples are played polyrhythmically according to the swing of each pendulum.

Hardware

The pendulums are constructed of strong steel. They are weighted with chrome weights that can be moved up or down the pendulum, thereby changing the speed of the pendulum's swing (think of an old-school metronome but upside-down!).

Software

The audio from a headset microphone is captured by PureData code running on Bela Mini microcomputers. In the PureData code, a custom coded sampler is running that assigns the voice to a pendulum. The code then plays back the voice when the pendulum is at the vertical position.