The tinsmith's (Buchla) easel
Sep 27, 2020, 06:27 PM
Malaysian tinsmith reimagined by Cities and Memory.
"This reimagined piece started out by mapping a drum pattern, against which samples and individual hits from the tinsmith's tools were placed alongside individual beats to give a skeleton rhythm - this drum track was then removed, leaving the tinsmith to generate the beats for the track with just a minor percussive accompaniment.
"The bulk of the track is made up of five interlacing patterns from a Buchla Easel, the arpeggios of which represent the constant movement of the tinsmiths as they work - the different layers are to represent the interlacing of different type of percussive strike from the tinsmiths' tool overlapping.
"The overall effect is a both a tribute to the industry of the workers, but also a warning sign that traditional handicrafts such as this are under threat from automation as we move further into the 21st century."
Part of the Future Cities project - find out more at https://www.citiesandmemory.com/future-cities
"This reimagined piece started out by mapping a drum pattern, against which samples and individual hits from the tinsmith's tools were placed alongside individual beats to give a skeleton rhythm - this drum track was then removed, leaving the tinsmith to generate the beats for the track with just a minor percussive accompaniment.
"The bulk of the track is made up of five interlacing patterns from a Buchla Easel, the arpeggios of which represent the constant movement of the tinsmiths as they work - the different layers are to represent the interlacing of different type of percussive strike from the tinsmiths' tool overlapping.
"The overall effect is a both a tribute to the industry of the workers, but also a warning sign that traditional handicrafts such as this are under threat from automation as we move further into the 21st century."
Part of the Future Cities project - find out more at https://www.citiesandmemory.com/future-cities