On Web Culture

Source: mediaeater.

It would have been cool to be at Coachella this year to see Rage Against The Machine reformed. Also cool would have been Björk headlining the first night. She is using the reactable in her set now which is this funky device:

Source: YouTube.

Boing Boing did a write up on Björk’s wild sound machines, you’ll need to scroll about 2/3rds of the way down the webpage to get to the bit on the reactable. Apple have published an interview with Alan Pollard who is the technical director for Björk’s live shows. Despite the fact it’s an interview flogging Apple’s products, it’s an interesting read and they talk about the reactable on page 2:

Then there’s the reactable, an electronic instrument created by a band of digital luthiers at the Audiovisual Institute at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Its glowing round tabletop “reads” blocks that are placed on its surface. Each block represents a sound, a sample or a filter that can augment anything else on the tabletop. The user can change the pitch, duration or volume of each block/sound by simply moving it. “It’s a very neat thing, it’s revolutionary,” says Taylor. “The only catch is trying to figure out how to play it like an instrument during the show.” The digital music maestro usually ends up using the reactable to create haunting, UFO-like sounds. The instrument is also visually stunning and Taylor’s solos are projected onto several large screens.

reactable, live in Terni, Italy – March, 2007

Source: YouTube.