The MR-808 Interactive installation is a social experiment in music and social drumming with robots. An oversized robotic drumming device designed for social music creation, invites you on playful exploration of sound, digitization and DIY sound techniques.
All the sounds and music patterns generated by the audience, collaboratively program the drum music robot device and compose the music in real time. The installation works interactivity and responsively, and allows intuitive switch of boundaries between passive and active visitor or transform listener into creator. Selected programmed rhythms trigger the mechanisms of the music robot and the sounds and beats of the music robot device begin in front of the audience. The music robot enables the visualization of uninterrupted connections between mobile digital interfaces and physical actions, resulting in the visualizing movement and sound creation in a unique way.
The project is inspired by the famous electronic drum machine TR-808 from the early 1980s, which was the first affordable device for drum sounds programming. Mentioned machine served as a substitution for a real drummer, had also had a tremendous impact on the development of music genres such as electro, techno and hiphop. The first MR-808 instrument was developed by the Sonic Robots collective in 2013 under the guidance of artist Moritz Simon Geist, where eleven machine sounds were replaced with mechanical actuators and physical tone producers to generate sound using motors and electromagnets. Between 2015 and 2016, the installation was upgraded with an interactive component and the MR-808 Interactive was created.
CV Moritz Simon Geist
Moritz Simon Geist – performer, musicologist, classical musician and robotic engineer. He is especially devoted to technologies for prototyping and 3D printing. Through his creative work, he wants to invent the future electronic music – one that would include robots. His projects, which include both robotic music performances and robotic sound installations, have been staged and shown at many European festivals and exhibitions in recent years. He collaborated with many renowned performers, e.g. with Mouse on Mars and Robert Lippok, and he received numerous international awards for his art work. He is currently teaching technological development and society at New York University in Berlin.
A selection of international venues where art work of Moritz Simon Geist was presented: Venice Biennale (IT), South By Southwest (US), Mutek Barcelona 2017 (ES), Ars Electronica (AT), Mapping Festival (CH), NCCA Moscow (RU) , Transmediale (DE), Rokolectiv Festival (RO), Amsterdam Dance Event (NL), WWW Tokyo (JP), Jerusalem Light Festival (IS), Co-Pop Cologne (DE).
Link: https://www.moritzsimongeist.com/
Production: Kersnikova
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The exhibition is part of konS ≡ module events hosted by konS project partners throughout Slovenia.
The partners of the konS project are: Kersnikova Institute, Project Atol Institute (Zavod Projekt Atol), Ljudmila, Aksioma Institute, Zone Institute (all Ljubljana), University of Nova Gorica – Academy of Arts (Nova Gorica), Maribor Youth Cultural Center, Velenje Youth Center, LokalPatriot (Novo mesto)