Blog 04: “Sound Machines”

By Ilia Urgen
Section B

“A visual instrument to compose and control electronic music in a comprehensive and responsible way.” – MediaArtTube, January 28, 2012. I love how this modern audiovisual concept is based on a timeless design used throughout the greater portion of the 20th Century – the record player.

I am truly fascinated and intrigued by this stunning piece of technology. As quoted by the creator, Sound Machines consist of 3 units, each unit resembling Vinyl record players. Each unit has the capacity of holding 3 tracks, just like traditional record players.

MediaArtTube, however, embodies this classical design with a 21st Century makeover. There is no direct contact of the needle to the groove in the disc in a Sound Machine. Signals received from the laser light of the “needle” is synced to a sequencer, producing a sound output.

Sound Machines are definitely a cool way to mix various digitally-transmitted tracks together, and I hope that we continue to see a greater implementation of this technology in everyday life.

(YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gk9n-2lBb8)