Ligature

Published on Nov 30, 2012 by shiverware

"'Ligature' is an instrument created from a prepared 1965 manual typewriter integrated with a collection of discarded hard disk drives, circuitbent to extract the varied and complex electrical signals associated with the drive motors. A person playing "Ligature" instantly has a sense of familiarity and nostalgia, mixed with unexpected and complex controllability of sound. Because the platen makes intermittent contact with the body of the typewriter even when a key is not struck, the interaction of the harddrives is routinely on the verge of chaos.

In this video, the musical work performed is called "Anachronism" an original improvisational framework composed for the "ligature" instrument. The work explores the juxtaposition of mechanical technology (levers, springs and pulleys) with digital technology (circuits, wires and components). The artist is encouraged to repeatedly engage and disengage with the amplified sounds from the hard drives in order to emphasize and deemphasize the mechanical sounds of the typewriter. Composed and performed by David Gerhard."