Massive Arduino-and-solenoid percussion array controlled by a Wiimote

Patrick Flanagan is a one-man band who performs under the name "Jazari," with a giant, elaborate, solenoid-and-Arduino-driven percussion range that's controlled by Wiimote, letting him conduct it like a mad wizard as it whirls and thunders. And the music is fully rockin'.

JAZARI (via Beyond the Beyond)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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freddymcmurray

The only thing worse than a drum circle is an automated drum circle.
Anonymous

Free bird!
Anonymous

This makes me wonder if there are set ups with the same idea (program and let a machine do the playing) for musicians who have become disabled.
Moti Z

Pat Metheny’s rather insane Orchestrion thing deserves a mention here, I think…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsYEOUKS4Yk
Uniquack

It seemed like a lot of the drumming patterns were automated and by slight movements, different patterns were initiated. At what point is the automation of musical instrumentation moving away from technically “making” music in the traditional sense and more the combination of pre-existing recordings that are made not with an electronic speaker but by something that is essentially analogous (premade patterns played by solenoid drivers on a drum), even if traditionally we saw them as separate? If someone did this with an audio program on a computer, or an MC switching between sounds on a bunch of LPs, we’d say they were playing us music, and there is skill in the artful combination of patterns. I’d guess that’s what this is closest to. It’s sort of a “meta-musical” instrument.
Anonymous

STFU !!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b-tWK6AeLY&feature=related
zikman

what. a. badass.
LeFunk

too much cowbell
Cowicide

Doesn’t need more cowbell, just right… just right.
Ernunnos

I’m sorry, kids. There just wasn’t enough Crash Worship left over for you. Ran all out of nudity, fireworks, and wine to go with our percussive music. You’ll have to make do with some dude with Wiimotes.

Poor bastards.
Anonymous

I would much rather here multi-percussion music coming from the souls of a human on each instrument because machines cannot be espressivo. It gets very monotonous and tedious and you almost have to turn it off at the first quarter. Definitely not knocking the innovation, though. People have been on the quest for animated music for centuries. Pat Metheny, now does it. Bravo for the effort!
Xenu

Needs more cowbell.
HDN

Pshaw…How is he at Rock Band?
Anonymous

Hmmm.. to be honest:

I love the music, but I’m wondering.
I own a Wii and hav done some minor Wiimote hacking (Mostly rework the Wiimote Whiteboard and 3D stuff).

The mote is quite inaccurate and so I wonder what parts of the performance are soley preprocessed rythms without any actual interference by the artist and what parts are ‘real artistic performance’.
I doubt that the whole greatens of rythms, loundess, sounds, arrangement, switching instruments can be done just by positioningshaking, pushing those buttons.

None the less, even on the engineering side: AWSOME !
mnewnam

Does this remind anyone else of Animusic (http://www.animusic.com)?
kahomono

For all we know the entire sequence was preprogrammed, playing from that laptop in the back, and and the Wiimote work was just showmanship.

Just sayin’
- Boba Fett Diop
  
  For all we know, the entire set-up is being ridden by Robot Shango.
optimuz

Very cool – until the guy pratting around with the TV remotes appears.