Technology is always changing, quickly becoming dated or even obsolete as new updates are released. Remember LaserDiscs? What about 8-tracks? For Japanese musical trio Open Reel Ensemble, analog contraptions meet digital combinations to make unique and experimental sounds. Using reel-to-reel recorders from the 1970s and 1980s as musical instruments, the stage and studio setup is just as interesting as the recordings.
To achieve mesmerizing and ethereal tunes like “Tape Bowing Ensemble,” the group attaches bows to the analog tape wound around a reel, and they’ve been known to strum the tape like a guitar, tap suspended lengths with drumsticks, or spin reels like DJ turntables. Open Reel Ensemble uses multi-track recorders to gather the sounds, which can then be separated or layered during performances.
Delving into a nostalgic technology, the group describes their hybrid contraptions and techniques as “magnetic folklore instruments. They tap into a sense of nostalgia for reel-to-reel, also known as magnetic tapes. They’ve described their genre as “Magnetikpunk.”
Open Reel Ensemble has performed during several of Issey Miyake’s fashion shows in Paris and continues to play at international festivals. Hear more on the group’s YouTube channel and website.
You might also enjoy ensemble member Ei Wada’s work under the moniker Electronicos Fantasticos.
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