You know the game “I spy…”? Every object in the room becomes a musical instrument, activated by the robotic MIDI percussion of the dadamachines automat toolkit. Watch this brilliant performance by the ensemble clipping., led by producers Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson, plus turntablist Kid Koala, on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
Great description here:
The pot lid didn’t sound the way we wanted. “What about our Webby?” I suggested. The award statue’s metallic spring had just the right amount of wobble — a ride cymbal with a drip like Dalí. What you’re about to see has never been attempted at the Tiny Desk before: small, MIDI-triggered robots strike and vibrate glass bottles, coffee mugs, plastic wrap and a pizza box to make futuristic music out of the present’s refuse and rubbish.
Nice lineup here:
- Daveed Diggs: vocals
- Jonathan Snipes: electronics, harmonium, melodica, table of nonsense
- William Hutson: percussion, loon call, table of nonsense
- Sharon Udoh: vocals, piano
- David Rothbaum: bass
- Kid Koala: turntables
The automat toolkit is a beautifully engineered way to do this. Much as I love DIY, there’s something to be said about robust, predictable hardware, and designer Johannes Elias Lohbihler (dadamachines) built a wonderfully executed, musician-friendly device. So to answer NPR’s query, “what band besides clipping. could pull this off?” — many artists and bands! That frees you up to explore your own voice, and your own nearby things that-can-be-struck-by-robots.
It’s a vintage video now, but here’s the launch video, still relevant:
Barker did a nice set on these, too:
https://dadamachines.com/products/automat-toolkit
And let’s have some more clipping., too, including this freshly minted music video:
And more great sounds, including another Kid Koala collab) — feels deeply relevant to this moment: