Magnetikpunk: Playing Vintage Reel-to-Reel Tapes as Musical Instruments

A Japanese experimental music group called Open Reel Ensemble plays reel-to-reel tape recorders from the 70s & 80s as musical instruments (give it a sec to get going):

Brilliant! A YouTube commenter notes: “Very cool, looks like you’re fishing for sound waves.” Here’s another video of them playing…this one’s like a reel-to-reel version of DJing with turntables:

I went looking for information about how they’re producing these sounds and found this profile of the group from 2018.

Over the years, the group has developed new techniques. As Motherboard explains, each member can now “program” sounds directly on to the recorders, creating a strange blend of digital and analog technology. With multi-track recorders, Open Reel Ensemble is able to switch individual tracks on and off, too. Sometimes they’ll record blocks of sustained noise, at various pitches, to be triggered and disabled like notes on a guitar. These allow the band to play intricate chords and melodies on stage. “We’re finding new techniques every day,” Wada said, “exploring rotation and movements, and the relationship between magnetics and sound.”

I bet they are amazing to see live.

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