Dorkbot.detroit 02

The second of Dorkbot.detroit's meetings focused on Circuit Bending and home made electronic instruments. Our event this was hosted at Green Brian Comics in Dearborn, MI (thanks Dan!). The evening began with Flint, MI based artist, Adam Mokan, introducing us to the basics of circuit bending as well as giving us a look inside some of his projects and showing us how they work. Adam then teamed up with Steev Thompson for a noise performance using their circuit bent instruments.

Steve Curtin presented his ever growing project involving PLLs and PIC microprocessor based frequency generators. His performance then took the audience to the other end of the sound spectrum with his droned and layered audio.

Adam Mokan
-is a software developer, experimental musician, and all-around dork
based out of Flint, Michigan. Since an early age, Adam has been an avid tinkerer
and electronics hobbiest. Adam has salvaged parts from old arcade consoles,
kids toys, and more to create and array of sound generators and effects. He
tours and performs using these instruments with his noise/jam project called
8-Bit Porno. He also maintains several solo and collaborative projects and runs the
small experimental label called Russolo's Brain.

Listen to Adam and Steev's performance.

Steev Thompson
Michigan-based experimental musician that runs a label
called 'xdiedenroutey' and is part of a noise project called Athenian Mercury
and also a solo project called Roxanne Jean Polise, among others.

Listen to Adam and Steev's performance.

Steven Curtin
A hybrid musician/engineer. He has been building and playing
electronic instruments and guitars for over twenty years, including work for such
companies as Passport and Ensoniq. At Dorkbot he will be presenting his latest
project involving PLLs and PIC microprocessor based frequency generators for just
intonation and other tunings.

Listen to Steve's performance.

These musicians have a unique bond with their instruments in that they have worked with them from the inside and ultimately have created the sound that is produced. Atheistically it was interesting to juxtapose Adam Mokan and Steev Thompson with Steve Curtin since the audio that both created were opposite ends of the performance spectrum. Both use the same basic electronic techniques to create their instruments, but the sounds that are produced go into very different realms.

View pictures and videos of the session.