Test 1 - KOMA Elektronik - Field Kit (Electro Acoustic Workstation)

KOMA Elektronik - Field Kit (Electro Acoustic Workstation), Test 1
This is the first of many tests involving the KOMA Elektronik Field Kit, a device that allows for creative experiments that are reminiscent of Musique concrète. This experiment utilizes the solenoid as a percussion device that triggers the mbira (thumb piano). Below the piano is one contact mic, while a second one (channel 2) is just beneath the mbira keys. The LFO drives the solenoid and, combined with the AM radio using stackable CV cables, forms the audio for channel 3. Channel 4 is used for the effects bus for the minikaosspad2, which uses a few effects. The video is shot with the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera.
koma-elektronik.com

[@exitritual]

That hum/drone that starts going around 14:05 and extends for over a minute is wonderful. What a great sound.

[@immersiveworlds]

thanks, drones can never go on long enough, in my mind!

[@whoneedsanation]

The way the solenoid interacts with the tine on the kalimba is so cool like it's being repelled away

[@elikubler-ross5997]

this was a very thorough exploration of a few possibilities. nice.

[@ajamariaarchuleta2937]

Absolutely beautiful!! Thank you! I'm sold!

[@immersiveworlds]

Aja Maria Archuleta cool! It should get even better when their effects unit comes out soon!

[@immersiveworlds]

BTW, someone asked about the cables, they are Tip Top Audio Stackables. Very fun!

[@unclehomunculus]

it's bloody great - so inspiring - thank you for sharing!

[@immersiveworlds]

Uncle Homunculus thanks!

[@BadWisdom523]

Great video! If you haven’t seen either The Shout or Berberian Sound Studio; you really should!

[@Alphastare23]

Just got one of these, love it.

[@a.a.pedersen8675]

This guy did such a great job with this video I subbed at like 1 minute

[@immersiveworlds]

wow, thanks, means a lot!

[@patrickking8861]

Love it!!!! I bought mine tonight. Have a load of weird enough guitar pedals so I hope that’ll be enough to produce some decent stuff.

[@immersiveworlds]

The music demo starts at 4:24

[@iosmusicman]

Thanks. Subbed. Just got my field kit so looking forward to your series. Cheers. Lee

[@unclehomunculus]

when the radio come in at the end - wow!

[@KelvinHemas]

Very vell made video, thanks. Sounds insane, in a mesmerising kind of way.

[@immersiveworlds]

thanks, these are fun to make!

[@avantlanuit]

Good demo

[@immersiveworlds]

thanks!

[@MrZilgen]

that was nuts

[@Rafaelfo.]

is this device mono or stereo output? the sounds like stereo but from the connections it looks like mono.

[@nikpharesmusic5768]

Amazing!!! Thinking I’m going to order mine today?! I already have a contact mic, stack of fx pedals and my trusty Tascam portable recorder😁

[@immersiveworlds]

awesome, hope you share some of your creations!

[@nikpharesmusic5768]

@@immersiveworlds Ordered it from Perfect Circuit, Christmas gift to myself🤣. Will definitely share some explorations.

[@immersiveworlds]

@@nikpharesmusic5768 nice, enjoy!

[@bigmanlizard7326]

holy shit man from 16:30 im buying one of these

[@immersiveworlds]

piss pie well worth the price

[@TheMentalcore]

what kind of solenoid are u using here?

[@pinkbismuth4457]

Say I have a analog effects unit, and I plug it into the aux, I can then click the aux button on the mixer to use the effects? And if it is off it bypasses them?

[@immersiveworlds]

I think this will work; keep in mind that the mixer can add a bit of high frequency noise

[@pinkbismuth4457]

@@immersiveworlds thanks, I’m looking to use this with the dust collector by fine gear (the analog effects unit I mentioned. Both have cv so I’m hoping I can have some fun with them.

[@immersiveworlds]

@@pinkbismuth4457 the Dust Collector looks amazing!

[@temporoboto]

💙

[@andreitimotin3599]

SOMEBODY HAS TO MAKE A KONTAKT LIBRARY WITH SOUNDS SAMPLED FROM THIS "INSTRUMENT"...I WOULD BUY IT FOR SURE

[@SoOkwerd]

What kind of contact mics are you using ??

[@immersiveworlds]

they are the stock ones that come with the Fieldkit.

[@tomasposkus1977]

Cream of the crop

[@piotr803]

Great video. Weird association but your voice reminds me a bit of Sam Harris. Similar accent perhaps?

[@immersiveworlds]

I hadn’t noticed!

[@1710000huh]

you just sold me one

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I heard the sounds but I didn't hear them being modified much. Isn't that kind of the point? To run these sounds through LFO's and such?

[@immersiveworlds]

I guess I would say that there is not one proper use. You could modify the sounds, or just use the DC driver, the sensors, the extra LFO, the CV radio. I would say it's a Swiss army knife of sound experimentation.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Well, I suppose that's true.

[@immersiveworlds]

Phew!

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

What exactly does this thing do? Is it just a fancy $500 mixer for Eurorack?

[@immersiveworlds]

quite a few applications.

[@nobodyneverknows]

lol

[@martingreally1843]

Just bought one loved your video but I must say I’m very disappointed in the kit it’s self an over priced kids toy really . Unless you’ve got lots of other devices that do something sonically this is the most you’ll get out of it . I might as well have bought a bike a mic and a delay pedal . I’d probably get a better result . This is no slight against you as I’ve said love what you do . But I think mine will be getting sent back to Berlin

[@immersiveworlds]

Hi, I see your point. I think it is true that you need other gear as it may not be an effective device all by itself. Good point!

[@riversandstones1644]

I hate to say this, but this is really just noise, what a boring demo. You can´t play this thing like a synth (leave a loop and fiddle the knobs), I think it really takes away a lot of its potential. I was expecting something more interesting, disappointed.

[@immersiveworlds]

Darn, darn, darn. All this time, riverandstones, I was hoping to get your approval.

[@immersiveworlds]

Your KZbin name reminded me of DT Suzuki, so it occurred to me, “If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

[@riversandstones1644]

I really know what you where trying to do here, I really do. But I repeat, ur playing it like a synth, its not a synth.

[@immersiveworlds]

Of course, if the argument here is one of taste-based on the use of the word “noise”-then it would be appropriate for you to say, I don’t like music/sound A, I prefer music/sound B. Of course, reading Gans and Bourdieu and bringing in both the American and French views on taste, we would say that even taste is a construct. It is rooted in our upbringing, our social class, among other factors. But even if we didn’t get into the taste issue, we could look at this loaded word “noise,” which, on most of the modular and experimental boards/KZbin channels is actually used in a positive, not negative, connotation. In the contemporary world, so-called noise-which is a purely subjective and political construct, cf. Jacques Attali-is seen as an interesting foundation for music and performance. You know, no doubt, of Russolo’s political and practical works in regards to noise, as well as the many others who came after him in the musique concrete and electro-acoustic avant-garde traditions of the 1940s onward, who all advocated for experimentation as a means of pushing music/sound forward. You have likely also reflected on the rich traditions that consider non-western systems of sound, music, and ambiance-in ethnomusicology-such that we are forced to reflect on our own musical traditions-say Western tonality-as mere possibilities of all of the sonic infinities possible. But, perhaps this is too foundational. Let’s even analyze your word “synthesizer.” I have no doubt you have considered the early histories of sound synthesis-the variety of electronic and acoustic sources that have been used to create both the consumerist synthesizer (FM synthesis) and the non-linear experimental (Buchla) traditions-and no doubt that the “combining or bringing together” (etymology) implied in synthesis means, to you, that any combination of sources, forms of modification, inputs and outputs may result in sound synthesis. I would be curious to know your definition of a “synthesizer” because it is an expressive and expansive one that most of us use, not a limiting one. Likely, the easiest solution to your reflection is to look at the many pages of the “50 Ways to Use the Field Kit” manual, but I would point to page 38, Patch 5 - Angry Chef. It involves the use of an electric motor hitting a pan which is amplified via a piezo which then modulates the envelope follower. I suppose that KOMA doesn’t understand what they are doing since it would appear that they are advocating for the “noise” of a motor hitting a pan. They also must be off base with their own product as they have installed a DC driver (that powers fans and solenoids) on the unit, a CV radio (which, you know since you have likely seen Wouter’s, and others’, videos in which they speak of the legacy of radio “noise” music from the work of John Cage in the CV radio block of the Field Kit), and sensor/signal outs and CV/trigger outs that can only, by, definition, be used to control synthesizers or other sound units that have CV capability. Here is what you miss: what makes the Field Kit amazing is that IT DOESN’T HAVE ONE prescribed use or musical/sound context in which it can be applied. I just wonder, have you actually seen or worked with a Field Kit? This is mainly written for the others who share an ethos of community, care, and experimentalism in creating videos, discussions, and other social sources of commentary on these forms of music. Perhaps you could consider such contributions to moving forward with sound and music in a positive sense. Or, you could find the next video to tag with “I hate your music, this is noise.”

[@hiemehbarron9768]

It’s not a synth, it’s a kalimba. It has been realizing it’s own potential for thousands of years.

[@Vladtheimpaler5211]

Seriously? A bunch of shit noise? Wow music has really progressed!

[@immersiveworlds]

So your goal on KZbin is to insult others?