The iconic Roland analog gear that helped define early dance culture has been on everybody’s lips this year, with the recent #808day celebrating the company’s legendary TR-808 drum machine and leading into the announcement of a special 808-enhanced DJ mixer earlier in September.
However, too much love for the 808 is never enough, because now we’ve discovered a giant robotic equivalent that recreates its charms in an oversized novelty fashion.
Brought to our attention by art and culture blog Creators Project , the MR-808 Interactive is an updated version of an earlier installation that replicated the sounds of the 808 as an assortment of robotic drums, featuring various arms and percussive objects working in sync with software elements like Ableton . The key change is that viewers can now actually interact with the installation.
“A music robot is nice to watch, but it’s even better to play on your own,” creator Moritz Simon Geist told Creators Project. “We developed the Interactive Version, where a RaspiServer and tablets are used to form a step sequencer, with which the audience at an exhibition or in a museum can collaboratively create a beat.”
Read the full story over at Creators Project , and watch the demonstration video below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU2BB7RFBLM]
