The Quietus - A new rock music and pop culture website

News

Introducing The Mammoth Beat Organ
John Doran , October 1st, 2018 09:50

Pneumatic Weird Britain! Madcap instrument builder Sam Underwood and mechanical techno maestro Graham Dunning unveil a glorious new creation

Two New Weird Britain stalwarts, the mechanical techno producer Graham Dunning and designer of outlandish instruments Sam Underwood, have combined forces to make the mammoth beat organ.

Their massive machine - part fairground organ, part jerry rigged sequencer, part mechanical drum machine, part drone generator - had its debut at Supersonic festival in Birmingham this Summer but now you can watch two films on its development and function here.

The pair describe their instrument as "a modular, mechanical music contraption" and add that it is "designed as a two-player, semi-autonomous musical instrument, it plays unusual, sometimes erratic compositions drawing on drone music, minimalist repetition and fairground organ techniques."

The pair have stated that this is only the beginning: "With the core system in place [we] are keen to develop existing and new modules that exploit the unique way this contraption functions. [We] hope to drive this development through performing regular live shows across the world. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this."