More info, including photos & video, after the jump!
The Music Technology and Technical Direction programs at CalArts joined forces to create the Machine Orchestra. They had a class together where they basically built robotic instruments that rocked (makes most of my college classes look lame). As the official Karmetik website states (more articulately than I ever could): “The Machine Orchestra brings together custom-built robotic musical instruments and human performers with modified instruments, unique musical interfaces, and hemispherical speaker-pods.” In January, the Orchestra premiered their work at Walt Disney Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. Here’s a kind of “making of the band” video filmed before their premiere:
This past Thursday, I saw the Machine Orchestra perform live at the Walt Disney Modular Theater at CalArts. The robotic instruments made it a very visually stimulating concert and the music itself was great too. The concert combined Far East/South Asian music with electronic music. The ethereal Far East music mixed with the harder, beat-driven electronic music created a surprisingly complimentary sound. The sound paralleled the overall concept of the show--a symbiotic performance of live musicians and robotic instruments. Here's a sample of that sound and footage from their January premiere:
My photos from Thursday's performance:
One group of musicians, that performed twice, included a sitar player, cellist, dancers, and one crazy awesome robotic drum:
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GvSzWG9SI/AAAAAAAAAMM/svETt8RlFjM/s400/indianrobot.jpg)
Here are some of the robots that helped with the electronic, rock, and even hip-hop sounds that were a part of the show:
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_Gwc75gDHI/AAAAAAAAAMs/VLYBbT3tYG0/s400/11.jpg)
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GwcDdLNTI/AAAAAAAAAMk/4SaGmwUawx0/s400/22.jpg)
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GwbmjHEeI/AAAAAAAAAMc/IEf0a117aH8/s400/33.jpg)
One of the interfaces was a trampoline! The robot and this performance were both called “B.O.I.N.G.”:
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GxnGlfhOI/AAAAAAAAAM8/5QVFwyO4RKM/s400/IMG_0999.jpg)
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GxmflvFwI/AAAAAAAAAM0/8RY14N824kE/s400/IMG_0997.jpg)
Trimpin, the mentor for this entire event, also gave a special performance with his laptops and a piano he modified just a couple of days before the show:
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GzgjTwfZI/AAAAAAAAANc/95ENgCjdlWA/s400/01.jpg)
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_GzgPwuJ0I/AAAAAAAAANU/rn0idteIpj8/s400/02.jpg)
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5-rwEGEkTAY/S_Gzfho3uYI/AAAAAAAAANM/Vh484wkdDUg/s400/03.jpg)
I had a blast watching Trimpin and the Machine Orchestra and I would like to thank and applaud all the CalArts facility and students that made it happen!
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