Schattenorchester 3 by Peter Vogel

SCHATTENORCHESTER III, 1998/99, a techno orchestra.

Interactive mechanical-electronic sound installation, variable dimensions, 13 instruments, control desk with 14 photocells
(react on shadows), projection lamp, amplifier, 2 loudspeakers.

“Simple 8/8 bars determine the repetitive rhythms and the sounds are no longer identifiable through the preparation of the instruments.
In the previous orchestras you could guess the sound at the sight of an instrument, here strings don't sound like strings, brass doesn't sound like brass and wood doesn't sound like wood.
The preparations consist of temporarily bringing the sound body into contact with felt dampers or metal parts. This disturbs the original vibration behavior, creating non-harmonic overtones.The method was first used on pianos by John Cage in the 1950s, whereby he clamped all kinds of materials (screws, felt and many other things) between the strings and thus drastically changed the sound. The simple rhythms were originally intended as a contrast to the complex sound, but at the time I was influenced by techno music (the techno wall of sound was created in 1996), where little attention is paid to rhythm and a lot to “sound”.
So I embarked on the somehow outmoded experiment of creating the normally electronically generated techno sounds by preparing archaic instruments. The bizarre shapes of the instruments - although constructed purely functionally - reinforce the actual absurdity of this techno orchestra.”

Workbook Peter Vogel, Modo Verlag Freiburg.

For over four decades, pioneering sound artist Peter Vogel has been making electronic audio sculptures and staging performances that respond and encourage viewers to discover patterns through repeated interaction.

petervogel-heritage.de