10. The Stroj - Metafonik: Soundtrack for metamechanics

 

I'm pleased to announce the release of album Metafonik  I've made with The Stroj collective. It will be our fourth album in 16 years of our creative existance and resistance.

Name 'The Stroj' comes from Slovene word ‘stroj’ which means 'a machine’. Pronounced as 'stroy', together with ‘the’, the phrase sounds as ‘destroy’, so The Stroj is a pun with two meanings: machine and destruction.

I have gathered The Stroj in 1997 in Laško, Slovenia. Originally The Stroj was a percussive band, consisting of eight members who used plastic and metal waste barrels, discarded machine parts and various working tools to make our own musical language. Distinctive percussive compositions, mechanically structured rhythms and industrial sounding  instruments marked our early musical work. Music from that period can be found on albums Ventilator (1999) and Gremo! (2002). When artist and musician Aleksij Kobal joined the collective, the group's music became enriched by original wind and string instruments, as recorded on the album Cona/The Zone (2006). All three albums were produced by Aldo Ivančič (Borghesia, Bast), who had an important influence on distinctive sound during this period. Until now, more than 30 musicians and performers collaborated with us and became a part of  The Stroj story. 

You can find more info about The Stroj collective here: www.thestroj.com

 

On our new album Metafonik we are developing the concept of material music, based mostly on heavy percussions, further with new electro mechanical instruments, electronics and computer. My vision of metamechanical music forced me to upgrade our instrumental arsenal with instruments from all eras of human creative history: most basic accoustic percussions and strings, electro mechanical inventions from past century as coils and piezo pickups and modern electronic devices which allows us to play live using field recordings and samples and manipulate them almost without limits.

Here's the video for our first single, released  Animation of sound which appears several times in second part of the video is called cymatics. It is a physical phenomena which arises when small particles of fine powders or liquids are exposed to mechanical vibrations. For this video I used strong loudspeaker as mechanical driver and fine metal powder and silver dust as medium. So what you see are real sound effects of the composition on matter.

 Our latest single from Album Metafonik is Zombie Hunters. You can download it free from SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/the-stroj/the-stroj-zombie-hunters

 

If you want to get your own copy of Metafonik, please contact me on metamekanix@gmail.com

9. Cymatics – The Spirit of Matter

Somewhere in the middle of 18th century Ernst Florence Friedrich Chladni (1756-1827) threw  a fist of salt on thin metal plate and rub its edge with a violin bow. He was very surprised when noticed that every tone he got from the metal plate rearanged salt in different pattern. He was so impressed with this discovery that he dedicated a major part of his life to further investigations on field of accoustics. He demonstrated his experiments all over Europe and published his discoveries in a book 'Entdeckungen über die Theorie des Klanges (Discoveries in the Theory of Sound)'. The book was published in 1787 and because of its importance he is today known as the father of accoustics. Chladni proved that the pressure derived from sound waves affects physical matter.

  

In the  sixties in past century, Swiss physician and natural scientist Hans Jenny (1901-1972) rediscovered Chladni's experiments and started with his own research on that field. He used piezo oscillators to vibrate different metal plates and membranes which allowed him to made further discoveries in a field he named cymatics. He derived that name from greek words 'to kyma' – the wave and 'ta kymatika' – matters pertaining to waves.

 

His discoveries were published in two volumes of book 'Cymatics – A Study of Wave Phenomena and Vibration (1967 /1972). Jenny noticed that patterns, created by vibrations, oscilations and rhythmical pulses can be found anywhere in nature. So he was convinced that biological evolution is a result of vibrations. His experiments were also presented in a great short movie 'Cymatics – Bringing Matter To Life With Sound' which can be found here:

I've accidentally see cymatics for the first time in the beginning of 2007 when watching Discovery Channel and in the evening of the same day I've already performed my first experiments with flour from my kitchen and dismantled loudspeaker.

Two years later I managed to prepare first cymatic project Kymatikon. I used cymatics to visualize live concert with The Stroj collective on a big screen in Kinodvor cinema in Ljubljana. It was the first presentation of cymatics in Slovenia and the video is avaliable here:

http://vimeo.com/4441357

From 2010 I'm using my own system for cymatic visualization named Kymatikon regularly in different musical projects of my own and I'm still thrilled with results as I was the first time I've seen it.

Here you can see a compilation of my favourite experiments:

8. Philosophy For Non-philosophers: About Metamechanics

Some time ago I was invited to present my metamechanical work and philosophy in special educational series called Philosophy For Non-philosophers, produced by TV Slovenia and Slovenian National Commision for UNESCO. In this episode I explain some basic concepts of metamechanics through demonstrations from my working lab called Sonic Central.

7. Federmeister turns on himself

After twenty four years of active drumming and sixteen years of leading The Stroj collective the time comes to do something strictly by myself. Past three years I was driven by idea to build a gear which will allow me to create music completely independant and against all odds.  I've started with a board, typewriter and some springs and mechanical toys to made my first soundboard named Efektor. It was a great fun at the beginning and I explored sound possibilities of my table orchestra like a small kid with big plans.

 

It sounded great at first, but when I connected it to the stronger PA first problems had begun. Feedbacks and crosstalk problems took me another year to find out proper pick up places, good preamps and audio interface capable of recording and sounding on professional level. When I managed to overcome problems with amplification I've connected Efektor with computer and midi controllers, which allow me to manipulate mechanical sounds with electronic effects, live looping, adding pre recorded parts and controlling a computer with my feet while performing. 

Finaly, as a drummer and rhythmanalyst, I could not resist to add my coil drums to the sonic arsenal of my own. 

Through this process and following the motto »Let's make something out of what they made of you!« Federmeister was born. Past six months he's rehersing hard and composing songs which I could not imagine before I've become him.

Federmeister is turned on and ready to go. Sound bless you, Federmeister! And keep the beat on the sonic highway of your becoming...
 

Do not hesitate to contact me if you want to experience how my retrofuturistic  metamechanical gear sounds live when Federmeister  takes over controls. Live acts, custom made performances, workshops, lectures, composing, cymatic visualizations... Name it, we make it!

6. Musical therapies on University Rehabilitation Institute

About a year ago I've managed to get  in contact with dr. Hermina Damjan, the Head of University Rehabilitation Institute Soča in Ljubljana. I wrote her about my idea to construct some simple electro mechanical instruments and percussions, adapted to their patients and my wish to collaborate with their institution and patients.

After inceptive meeting with dr. Damjan and her colleagues, they became interested in my proposal so I prepared a presentation for their patients to see if they were interested to join my programme. I decided to use theremin and efektor for the presentation because my experience shows they seem to be the most interesting instruments on presentations like this, when I usually have to break the ice of astonishment and suspicion.

 As you can see they became really enthusiastic about trying them out, so I've got the permission for two workshops per week, one for the children and one for adaults.
In next step I've managed to get some funds from Municipality of Ljubljana to built the instruments. I've built a small replica of efektor, amplified typewriter, simple string instrument in addition with theremin and a drum. I've also used some effects and a looper which allows anyone, no matter how weak his music abilities are, to create exciting soundscapes and improvised compositions where nothing can go wrong because it always happen for the first time. Therapists from the institute agreed that  performing properties of those instruments should have a positive effect on motoric abilities of their patients suffering stroke, traumatic brain injuries and neuromuscular diseases.

And so it all began...

 
I must admit I was a bit nervous before my first session with patients. During preparation of gear I remembered Jack Nicholson from One Flew Over The Cockoo's Nest which gave me a quick releif: I should just be a clever clown, showing them some fun with sound and invite them to participate and form a unique band. Interaction, awareness, response, feeling of power, getting the tune, falling in rhythm, tuning in and creating limitless world of sound in spite of limited abilities, that's all about...and it's all Rock'n'Roll!-)