Playing Music And Turntables Without Records
Japanese musician and composer Otomo Yoshihide has followed in the footsteps of John Cage with his Ensemble series in which he plays with turntables – deriving music from them without ever placing a record on the plate.
Basically he allows the needles to bounce against different parts of the turntable creating patterns that yield a solid rhythm. His piece ‘Hyper Writer’ consists of one turntable, four needles and a metal plate. When the plate starts to spin the needles move in different ways, creating a composition of hissing and clicking sounds.
In 2008, Otomo collaborated with Yasutomo Aoyama on ‘Without Records’ an installation that used over 100 turntables. The record players were modified in various ways; with an extra string on the needle or an obstacle on the plate which caused the needles to move in different ways thus creating differfent rhythms. The total effect was orchestral.
If you want to hear more music from Yoshihide then check out his myspace page
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