Kuwakubo Ryota‘s fluid (first spotted by Jan) reformats live electronic jamming into a hand-held device. The device allow users to create music by stacking loops using a simple loop function, a drum pad and other switches and controls.
The mass-produced finish of fluid makes the rudimentary percussive sound and sequencing tools easy to comprehend. So, one can bang on fluid, squelch the basic synthesiser, loop the noises and alter the tempo.
Kuwakubo’s work is a timely counterweight to today’s commuting masses that pass through the city, clutching personal audio technology that serves to isolate, as opposed to the connectivity that recent times have promised. A handheld electro radio jamming unit appears to have more in common with the internet forum-based media used to share ones music, video, photography and writing. Here the artist provides us with another dynamic electronic means by which to connect with fellow players.
Part of the Possible Futures: Postwar Art and Technology exhibition, through December 25, at the ICC, Tokyo.
The show features also Modulobe, gravicells, and Room with Edited Soundscape.
More about it in the excellent report by PingMag.