CIRCUIT BENDING - LIVE
TEAM [3]
BARCELONA - [2024]
CIRCUIT BENDING - LIVE
TEAM [3]
BARCELONA - [2024]
CIRCUIT BENDING
JALEO IS A RESEARCH ON CIRCUIT BENDING, THE ACT OF MODIFYING EXISTING, OFTEN DISCARDED, ELECTRONICS TO GIVE THEM NEW LIFE.
THE FIRST STEP WAS TO COLLECT RAW MATERIALS: WE LOOKED FOR UNUSED, NON-WORKING, DISCARDED DIGITAL CAMERAS, TOYS, AND MONITORS.
THE PROCESS OF CIRCUIT BENDING IS A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN FREESTYLE EXPERIMENTATION AND REVERSE ENGINEERING. OUR PROCESS INVOLVED FREELY SEARCHING FOR GLITCHES, NEW FEATURES, AND DISTORTIONS IN THE ORIGINAL HARDWARE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PRESERVING AND NOT DAMAGING THE ORIGINAL COMPONENTS.
THE FIRST STEP WAS TO COLLECT RAW MATERIALS: WE LOOKED FOR UNUSED, NON-WORKING, DISCARDED DIGITAL CAMERAS, TOYS, AND MONITORS.
THE PROCESS OF CIRCUIT BENDING IS A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN FREESTYLE EXPERIMENTATION AND REVERSE ENGINEERING. OUR PROCESS INVOLVED FREELY SEARCHING FOR GLITCHES, NEW FEATURES, AND DISTORTIONS IN THE ORIGINAL HARDWARE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PRESERVING AND NOT DAMAGING THE ORIGINAL COMPONENTS.
IT IS A TRIAL-AND-ERROR PROCEDURE THAT CAN YIELD UNEXPECTED RESULTS, BOTH IN TERMS OF UNLOCKING NEW FEATURES IN THE DEVICE AND POTENTIALLY BREAKING IT COMPLETELY.
THIS UNPREDICTABILITY IS PRECISELY WHY WE ARE FASCINATED BY THIS TECHNIQUE AND FIND IT UNIQUE: IT DANCES ON THE SPECTRUM OF POSSIBILITIES AND EXPERIMENTS AND DESIGNS OVER SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS, CREATING A METHODOLOGY BASED ON ADAPTABILITY, HACKING, REUSING. THIS VISION ALSO REQUIRES CARE AND ATTENTION, CREATING A MAGICAL TENSION BETWEEN WHAT THE ARTIFACT COULD OR COULD NOT BECOME.
THIS UNPREDICTABILITY IS PRECISELY WHY WE ARE FASCINATED BY THIS TECHNIQUE AND FIND IT UNIQUE: IT DANCES ON THE SPECTRUM OF POSSIBILITIES AND EXPERIMENTS AND DESIGNS OVER SOMETHING THAT ALREADY EXISTS, CREATING A METHODOLOGY BASED ON ADAPTABILITY, HACKING, REUSING. THIS VISION ALSO REQUIRES CARE AND ATTENTION, CREATING A MAGICAL TENSION BETWEEN WHAT THE ARTIFACT COULD OR COULD NOT BECOME.
AUDIO & VISUAL INSTRUMENTS
VALENTINO
VALENTINO IS OUR FIRST ACCOMPLISHED INSTRUMENT, AN EXPERIMENT THAT PASSED AWAY AND CAME BACK TO LIFE MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO ITS FRAGILITY, BUT EVENTUALLY TURNED INTO A POWERFUL SOUND AND BEAT-MAKING INSTRUMENT.
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL DOCUMENTATION OF THE MAKING OF VALENTINO THROUGH THIS LINK.
VALENTINO IS OUR FIRST ACCOMPLISHED INSTRUMENT, AN EXPERIMENT THAT PASSED AWAY AND CAME BACK TO LIFE MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO ITS FRAGILITY, BUT EVENTUALLY TURNED INTO A POWERFUL SOUND AND BEAT-MAKING INSTRUMENT.
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL DOCUMENTATION OF THE MAKING OF VALENTINO THROUGH THIS LINK.
CASIO GLITCHED TOY KEYBOARD
THIS TOY KEYBOARD HAS MODIFIED TO ADD 3 EXTRA FEATURES THAT RADICALLY CHANGE THE SOUND OF THE INSTRUMENT.
IT HAS A GAIN MODE, IN WHICH THE SOUND IS BOOSTED IN A VERY POWERFUL WAY THROUGH A BUTTON, A LIGHT MODE, IN WHICH THE SOUND IS DISTORTED THROUGH A PHOTORESISTOR MAKING IT LIGHT-SENSITIVE, AND A GLITCH MODE, IN WHICH THROUGH A POTENTIOMETER, THE PIANO PLAYS RANDOM SAMPLES.
THIS TOY KEYBOARD HAS MODIFIED TO ADD 3 EXTRA FEATURES THAT RADICALLY CHANGE THE SOUND OF THE INSTRUMENT.
IT HAS A GAIN MODE, IN WHICH THE SOUND IS BOOSTED IN A VERY POWERFUL WAY THROUGH A BUTTON, A LIGHT MODE, IN WHICH THE SOUND IS DISTORTED THROUGH A PHOTORESISTOR MAKING IT LIGHT-SENSITIVE, AND A GLITCH MODE, IN WHICH THROUGH A POTENTIOMETER, THE PIANO PLAYS RANDOM SAMPLES.
LA ROCA
LA ROCA WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH ANTHUANET FALCON AND ENRIC ARANDA DURING THE WORKSHOP: INSTAL·LACIÓ SONORA, ORGANIZED BY MUTAN MONKEY.
LA ROCA AMPLIFIES THE SOUND OF A MOTOR HITTING A ROCK AT VARIOUS SPEEDS THROUGH A PIEZO MICROPHONE, CREATING A BLEND OF METALLIC, INDUSTRIAL SOUNDS WITH THE NATURAL REVERB AND TEXTURE OF THE ROCK.
LA ROCA WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH ANTHUANET FALCON AND ENRIC ARANDA DURING THE WORKSHOP: INSTAL·LACIÓ SONORA, ORGANIZED BY MUTAN MONKEY.
LA ROCA AMPLIFIES THE SOUND OF A MOTOR HITTING A ROCK AT VARIOUS SPEEDS THROUGH A PIEZO MICROPHONE, CREATING A BLEND OF METALLIC, INDUSTRIAL SOUNDS WITH THE NATURAL REVERB AND TEXTURE OF THE ROCK.
AIRBOOSTER
THE AIRBOOSTER IS AN AIRPLANE TOY THAT WE REASSEMBLED TO HOST A BOOSTER EFFECT.
THE NEED TO BUILD A BOOSTER AROSE FROM OUR USE OF PIEZO MICROPHONES, WHICH CAPTURE PHYSICAL VIBRATIONS BUT TYPICALLY PRODUCE VERY LOW SIGNALS. WE ASSEMBLED A PRE-AMP CIRCUIT BASED ON A CLONE OF THE SUPER HARD-ON BY Z.VEX GUITAR PEDAL, AVAILABLE ONLINE.
WE ALSO REUSED AND REINVENTED THE TOY’S ORIGINAL CASE AND LEDS.
THE AIRBOOSTER IS AN AIRPLANE TOY THAT WE REASSEMBLED TO HOST A BOOSTER EFFECT.
THE NEED TO BUILD A BOOSTER AROSE FROM OUR USE OF PIEZO MICROPHONES, WHICH CAPTURE PHYSICAL VIBRATIONS BUT TYPICALLY PRODUCE VERY LOW SIGNALS. WE ASSEMBLED A PRE-AMP CIRCUIT BASED ON A CLONE OF THE SUPER HARD-ON BY Z.VEX GUITAR PEDAL, AVAILABLE ONLINE.
WE ALSO REUSED AND REINVENTED THE TOY’S ORIGINAL CASE AND LEDS.
OSCILLOSCOPE
FASCINATED BY THE IDEA OF VISUALIZING OUR SOUNDS IN REAL-TIME, WE LOOKED FOR A WAY TO BUILD OUR OWN OSCILLOSCOPE.
FOR DOING THIS, WE REPURPOSED AN OLD INTERCOM. WE ADDED A JACK INPUT TO RECEIVE THE SOUND SIGNAL AND REINVENTED THE INTERFACE BY REUSING OTHER DISCARDED MATERIALS SUCH AS OLD COMPONENTS FROM A DISCARDED 3D PRINTER AND METAL STRUCTURES FROM POWER SUPPLIES AND COMPUTERS.
FASCINATED BY THE IDEA OF VISUALIZING OUR SOUNDS IN REAL-TIME, WE LOOKED FOR A WAY TO BUILD OUR OWN OSCILLOSCOPE.
FOR DOING THIS, WE REPURPOSED AN OLD INTERCOM. WE ADDED A JACK INPUT TO RECEIVE THE SOUND SIGNAL AND REINVENTED THE INTERFACE BY REUSING OTHER DISCARDED MATERIALS SUCH AS OLD COMPONENTS FROM A DISCARDED 3D PRINTER AND METAL STRUCTURES FROM POWER SUPPLIES AND COMPUTERS.
ALQUIMIA
JALEO HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT ALQUIMIA IN SSUAVE3000, ON THE 12-06-24 AS PART OF MDEFEST 2024.
WE ORGANIZED AN OPEN COLLECTIVE JAM. THIS WAS A MOMENT IN WHICH ALL OF OUR INSTRUMENTS WERE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE TO PLAY WITH, CREATING A GATHERING FOR COLLECTIVE JAMMING. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO LET THE COLLECTIVE SOUNDS, NOISE, AND PROCESS OF DISCOVERY ARISE AS PROTAGONISTS, RATHER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL MUSICAL SKILLS. EVERYONE WAS INVITED TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE DIFFERENT SOUNDS GENERATED BY OUR CREATIONS.
WE ORGANIZED AN OPEN COLLECTIVE JAM. THIS WAS A MOMENT IN WHICH ALL OF OUR INSTRUMENTS WERE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE TO PLAY WITH, CREATING A GATHERING FOR COLLECTIVE JAMMING. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO LET THE COLLECTIVE SOUNDS, NOISE, AND PROCESS OF DISCOVERY ARISE AS PROTAGONISTS, RATHER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL MUSICAL SKILLS. EVERYONE WAS INVITED TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE DIFFERENT SOUNDS GENERATED BY OUR CREATIONS.
AFTER THIS MOMENT OF CO-CREATION, WE ALSO WANTED TO SHARE OUR PERSONAL PROCESS OF EXPERIMENTING WITH THE INSTRUMENTS THAT WE BUILT AND SHOW THEIR POTENTIAL BY DESIGNING AND PERFORMING AN AUDIO/VISUAL LIVE PERFORMANCE OF JALEO.
WE DESIGNED THE SET TO REFLECT OUR PROCESS BY INCLUDING EVERY ARTIFACT WE BUILT AS PART OF THE PERFORMANCE. ALTHOUGH THE PERFORMANCE WAS MOSTLY IMPROVISED, WE STRATEGICALLY INCLUDED AND DISTRIBUTED OUR TOOLS AND THEIR FEATURES THROUGHOUT THE PERFORMANCE TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR UNIQUE ASPECTS.
WE DESIGNED THE SET TO REFLECT OUR PROCESS BY INCLUDING EVERY ARTIFACT WE BUILT AS PART OF THE PERFORMANCE. ALTHOUGH THE PERFORMANCE WAS MOSTLY IMPROVISED, WE STRATEGICALLY INCLUDED AND DISTRIBUTED OUR TOOLS AND THEIR FEATURES THROUGHOUT THE PERFORMANCE TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR UNIQUE ASPECTS.