June 14th: Jacques Remus

For better or for worse, new technology is constantly providing more opportunities for people to pick up a new trade. The rise of blogs provides an easy outlet for people to spread their writing. Through Twitter or Facebook, anybody can act as a news reporter. The accessibility of the iPhone has created a generation of amateur photographers. There is a similar crisis in the music industry, as the creation and distribution of music functions largely through computers. The record labels, who once were necessary to a budding artist’s career, can be bypassed in favor of spreading one’s music through social media.

Is it perhaps because of these uncertain times in the music industry that one of the most innovate artists of this generation, Björk, chose to embrace technological advances on her latest album, rather than fight it. Björk’s album, Biophilia, is presented with an App for the iPad or iPhone. This App aims to provide a unique listening experience, as the user is able to manipulate the music as they listen. Each song on Biophilia becomes a sonic exchange between artist and listener. Much like Bjork, French artist Jacques Remus is attempted to reinvent how we experience sound. The musical devices he creates allow the user’s body movement to function as an instrument. In this way, the user’s role is changing from passive observer to essential creator of the audio experience. Rather than fight the DIY nature of our current art world, artists like Jacques and Björk are remaining as innovate as ever in how they interact with the public.

In addition to the new experience, the pursuit of alternative instruments is an essential part of the music of both Björk and Jacques. When recording Biophilia, Björk wanted to match the expansive nature of her music by using instruments that were expansive themselves. One such instrument is the Gravity Pendulum Harp. This instrument, designed by musical robot maker and MIT Media Lab alum Andy Cavatorta, largely relies on the natural motion of four 11-stringed pendulums. Software controls the rotation of each pendulum head to determine the note that’s struck when it passes the equilibrium position. Much like Björk, the process of how Jacques creates music is equally as important as the music itself. His dedication to the mechanical way he creates music is quite impressive. By using alternative instruments to create his music, Jacques is expanding the possibilities of what music can be.