When I write music, I draw inspiration from my surroundings and past experiences. Additionally, simple intervalic ideas often evolve and grow into a complete piece. As a creative practitioner, I take pleasure in developing new ideas from things that others may not have assigned meaning to yet. Recycling ideas and materials align with this concept.

I designed three oscillators utilizing a single NPN transistor repurposed from the circuit board of my previous project. These oscillators were employed in recording compositions, though they remained uninstalled in an enclosure as I was in an experimental phase. One day, upon finishing a salt container, I realized its size was ideal for a small speaker. The portability and dimensions were a perfect match, prompting the idea to house the oscillators in this container.

Initially, I considered combining the oscillators and speaker into a single unit. However, aiming for greater versatility and functionality, the final design evolved into two separate components — speakers and oscillators. This modification allows external sources to be connected to the speaker for sound testing purposes.

I admit that I tend to keep nice boxes or containers for no apparent reason, and a Danish cookie box is no exception. When one of my Thanksgiving guests brought it, I couldn’t resist adding it to my storage box collection, which includes containers like an Altoids tin box. I plan to use these containers for creating sound objects, and the Danish cookie box became the first installment.

This project incorporates a piezo-electric disc to capture vibration sounds from the container’s body. It’s connected by a spring that facilitates vibration, creating a reverberated resonance. The resulting sounds are linked to a TS connector for external amplification. Additionally, there are five large buttons that produce clicking noises, transmitting data to a computer over WiFi through OSC (Open Sound Control). To enhance functionality, I integrated a gyroscope sensor to capture movement, with the intention of using this setup for new_LOrk, New York University’s Laptop Orchestra.

While this may seem overly straightforward for characterizing a ‘machine,’ the nomenclature is derived from the original packaging (Fleischmann’s Yeast, Instant, Bread Machine). In essence, it functions as a microphone preamplifier specifically crafted for piezo applications in water, essentially operating as a hydrophone.

These boxes include amplifiers and inverting circuits designed to convert the signal from a piezoelectric disc (with a larger one placed in the center of the box) into an XLR signal. The intended use is to place another object on top of this box to capture sounds. It is specifically designed for my work on ‘reciprocal response’ for new_LOrk.