Trimpin: The Sound of Invention

Trimpin is a Seattle-based sound artist who creates incredibly unusual and delightful kinetic musical sculptures. The bizarre mechanical contraptions often driven by computers. For example, he's built a six-story-high xylophone in a spiral staircase, a fire organ, a MIDI-controlled toy piano ensemble, and automated wooden shoes knocking in a pool of water. Peter Esmonde, who was my editor at several places in the early 1990s, recently directed a documentary about Trimpin, titled Trimpin The Sound of Invention. I haven't seen the film yet, but it has had terrific reviews. That's no surprise to me, as Peter was always great at telling stories at the intersection of art, science, and technology. Here's the Trimpin movie site and there are more clips at Vimeo.