The Toa Mata Band - Tiny Robots Playing Tiny Synths

Toa Mata Band - A little tribute

Published on Apr 8, 2013 Opificio Sonico·4 videos

"This teaser is a personal tribute to the band who inspired my work from the 80's ...enjoy!

The toys robots band playing live some tiny synthetizer and each member is controlled by an Arduino Uno which is hooked up to an iPad running a MIDI sequencer app.

The instruments used in this video are: Gakken SX 150 and SX 150 MKII, Dubreq Stylophone, Amdek PCK 100, Nintendo DS with Korg DS10 cartridge.
Arduino also controls the RGB LED WALL in the back.
Concept & Video by Giuseppe Acito


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Toa Mata Band Episode1 Published on Mar 5, 2013

"This video is about an electronic band of toys-robot that play some tiny music instruments drived by Arduino Uno and Clavia Nordbeat, a MIDI sequencer app for iPad."

Toa Mata Band - Episode2

Published on May 19, 2013

"Toa Mata Band is back and for the first time they perform live!
In this video some various drum-synth and glockenspiel keys are played by each robot and I'm jam together them.The performance was recorded live in four takes in early May 2013, and after edited and mixed in studio."

Toa Mata Band - Episode3 - Lego Synth Depeche Mode Cover - Everything Counts

"Everything Sounds" Published on Aug 11, 2014 Opificio Sonico

Follow-up to The Toa Mata Band - Tiny Robots Playing Tiny Synths

"Toa Mata Band is known as the World's first LEGO robotic band controlled by Arduino Uno which is hooked up to a MIDI sequencer. In this video, the third episode, the robots are playing some unconventional drum-percussions made by some food packaging are captured by a contact microphone (piezo) and processed in real time in the D.A.W. Ableton Live. A brand new device appears for the first time, it's a moving platform on x-axis, made of Lego bricks, gears and servo motors that permits to move with semitones-steps the tiny synth.

The song is a cover of the famous synth-pop band Depeche Mode, it's a personal tribute to the band who made my days in the 80's.

The performance was recorded live in July 2014.

This video is only a showcase of my works, it's not for commercial
use.

Artwork:Giuseppe Acito
Camera: Luca Zanna for ZeD video project
Music: Martin Lee Gore
Performed: Acito & Toa Mata Band

opificiosonico@libero.it
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\\\ Thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe my channel ///"

Toa Mata Band - Episode#6 [Orkestrionicle]

Published on Nov 11, 2017 Opificio Sonico

The latest video featuring the Tao Mata Band. Click here to bring up all posts in the series.

"The musical instruments and robot devices used in this episode are:
Rakit Drum synth (Tone Drumsynth), Boss HC-2 (Clap), Arturia BeatStep pro, Coron Rockaku-kun Drum synth (BD+Noise), DIY Glockenspiel, Sabian cymbals, Electro Harmonix Mini-Synthesizer (Bass Synth), Alesis Mod-Fx, TC-Electronics Hall of Fame, Korg mini Kaosspad, Mackie 1402 VLZ, Arduino UNO, Novation Launchpad, Adafruit motor shield."

"Time for a new episode of Toa Mata Band, this one is called 'Orkestrionicle'.

The Orchestrions were mechanic musical instruments that were developed in Germany in the early XIX century that would automatically play music and were designed to sound like an orchestra.

These music machineries were made of a complex system of gears, pulley and levers which were operated by a large pinned cylinder or by a piano roll*.

Their sound was usually produced by pipes, percussion instruments, but many orchestrions contained a piano player as well.

The 6th episode of Toa Mata Band is inspired by these amazing retro music machines, by adding to the LEGO® Bionicle robotic orchestra some acoustic percussions and a vintage mono synthesizer which creates (with help of a bunch of solenoids, robot arm and a MIDI step sequencer) a fully analogue electroacoustic ensemble.
This piece is the results of a live-robotics set recording, mastered in post production.

Giuseppe Acito (Opificio sonico)

:: Credits:
Making and Music: Giuseppe Acito
Camera: Maryanica
Performed: Toa Mata Band
The performance was recorded in October 2017.

:: Contact:
opificiosonico@libero.it
https://www.facebook.com/ToaMataBand
https://www.instagram.com/toamataband/
https://soundcloud.com/opificio-sonico
https://www.flickr.com/photos/opifici...
https://twitter.com/toamataband

*The PIANO ROLL is a punched paper roll that contains the note sequence arranged in length, height and time along the duration of the song.
It can be replaced and swapped for another roll with a different song."

Toa Mata Band - Episode#5 [The man & the machines]

Published on Jan 21, 2017 Opificio Sonico

Some gear/synth spotting: Soundmachines NS1nanosynth, EHX MINI-SYNTHESIZER, Moog Animoog (not sure what the second app is), Boss Hand Clapper, and Novation Launchpad.

"I was 11 when during a Sunday afternoon of 1978 Kraftwerk appeared for the first time in an Italian TV show. For me it was a dazzling discovery, one that has changed my life , so I went into my room , took a tape and recorded the audio from the tv speaker!! I still keep that precious recording and I've played it again and again for a long time.

Since that day I was waiting the time when the robots make a real functioning band and play music live, and nowdays a lot of music robots around the world are growing up, giving new ideas and creative communication to the music.
This is my inspiration to this Kraftwerk 's tribute, regarding their vision of the future and to their brilliant approaching to the music with a touch of irony that even now is still influencing a thousand of music producers around the world.

My video contribution from Toa Mata Band (a tiny orchestra of Lego® robots driven by Arduino®) represents a version of the iconic tune 'The robots' using nowdays open-source technologies, microcontrollers, 3D printer, robot arm, music DAW, smarthphones, pocket synthesizers* and more... trying to give a new way to read the message we got from them 40 years ago.

Hoping you'll enjoy it, I want thank you for watching!

Giuseppe Acito (Opificio Sonico)

*Also see the 5 prologues already uploaded on this channel [above]

:: Credits:
Artwork: Giuseppe Acito
Camera: Mattia P. Acito
Music: Hutter\Schneider\Bottos [Kraftwerk]
Performed: Toa Mata Band
Wear: DilIborio

The performance was recorded in December 2016.

:: Booking: http://www.fpartists.com/artisti/toa-..."

Previous videos by Opificio Sonico.

Toa Mata Band - Episode4

Published on Sep 2, 2015 Opificio Sonico

Previous posts here

"Toa Mata Band is known as the World's first LEGO robotic band controlled by Arduino Uno, which is hooked up to a MIDI sequencer. In this video (the fourth episode) the robots are playing another tribute, this time to the coolest electronic music duo ever. Enjoy!

The performance was recorded live in July 2015.

Artwork: Giuseppe Acito
Camera: Giulio Masieri
Music: de Homem-Christo\Bangalter
Performed: Toa Mata Band

:: Booking: http://www.fpartists.com/ar...

https://soundcloud.com/opif...
opificiosonico@libero.it
http://www.opificiosonico.com"

Toa Mata Band - Live in Prague#1

Published on Jan 24, 2015 Opificio Sonico

Toa Mata Band

"In this video the mechatronic orchestrion Toa Mata Band perform at Cafe Neu Romance 2014 the World's first international robot performance festival (part of European Robotics Week 2014). The performance was filmed at the NTK Galerie in Prague (CZ) the 26th November 2014, it's a showcase for the press preview and the first of a series of video clip extract from this festival. Keep in touch!

:: Artwork: Giuseppe Acito
:: Camera: Luca Zanna, Ales Nemec
:: Organizer: Christian Gjørret for Vive Les Robots!

:: Booking: http://www.fpartists.com/artisti/toa-...

opificiosonico@libero.it
http://www.opificiosonico.com
https://www.facebook.com/ToaMataBand
https://www.flickr.com/photos/opifici...
https://twitter.com/OpificioSonico"

Toa Mata Band - Kop AKA / Tour de France - LIVE ROBOTICS from Lockdown

Published on May 9, 2020 Opificio Sonico

"Toa Mata Band is known as the first LEGO® music #robots orchestra made of #Bionicle figures.

Each band member is built using Lego Bionicle and Technic pieces.

It's a system of electric motors, rubber bands and pulleys connected to the figures arms that allows them to play an array of different touchable synthesizers, drum machines, smartphones and electronic percussions."

Florian Shneider posts

Toa Mata Band - Live in Trieste

Published on Jan 13, 2015 Opificio Sonico

Roland MC-09 PhraseLab & tiny robots triggering drums. See here for more.

"In this video the mechatronic orchestrion Toa Mata Band is performing live at the Trieste (IT) Science+Fiction Festival 2014 opening party.

It's an extract from the last live-set which contains brand new songs, was recorded live the 29th October 2014.

:: Artwork: Giuseppe Acito
:: Camera: Christopher Scherlich

:: Booking: http://www.fpartists.com/artisti/toa-...

https://soundcloud.com/opificio-sonic...
opificiosonico@libero.it"