The Electric Knife Orchestra

source: creativeapplicationsnet

Created by Neil Mendoza, The Electric Knife Orchestra consists of sixteen knives and one meat cleaver (all purchased from the $0.99 store) that have been brought to life to perform the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit Stayin’ Alive. The orchestra consists of six musical machines and all of the sound is created through the operation of these machines.

All of the instruments are controlled using one Arduino running firmware based on code available online here. The music was arranged in Logic, output using a USB to MIDI cable and then read by the Arduino using the MIDI circuit that is detailed on this page.

There are two machines that create sound by stepping stepper motors at the same frequency as musical notes. The Jacob’s Ladder uses a relay to control a 12,000V neon sign transformer and the three other machines work using MOSFETs connected to solenoids and car door lock actuators. Apart from the Jacob’s Ladder, the whole installation is powered using a computer PSU. The machines themselves are mainly constructed of transparent acrylic and were prototyped using aluminium extrusion and then designed in a vector graphics program and laser cut.
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source: neilmendoza

Neil is an artist exploring ways of breathing life into objects and spaces through the use of digital and mechanical technology. He was born and raised in the UK and is currently based in Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited by The Science Museum, The V&A, Watermans, PICNIC Festival, The AND Festival, ISEA, Kinetica, The Nottingham Playhouse, The Barbican, BBC Big Screens and The Museum of London, Oi Futuro, among others. He is also a co-founder of is this good?, a company dedicated to creating digital artworks and installations.
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source: logcomtr
Elektrik devreleri, düzenekler ve zamanlama… Hepsi bir araya geliyor ve 16 bıçak bir satırla 70’lerin efsane şarkısı Stayin’ Alive‘ı çalan bir orkestraya dönüşüyor.

16 bıçak ve bir satırla oldukça ilgi çekici olan bu değişik orkestranın Stayin’ Alive performansı biraz tehditkar biraz da ironik. İngiliz sanatçı Neil Mendoza‘nın kurduğu bu yaratıcı düzenekteki keskin enstrümanlar tek bir Arduino ile yönetiliyor. Müziği Logic programı üzerinde ayarlayan Mendoza, USB ve MIDI kablolarıyla sistemi tamamlıyor. Mendoza temel aldığı üretici kodlarını da paylaşmayı ihmal etmemiş. Sanatçının diğer işlerine buradan ulaşabilirsiniz.