Eric Archer – Drone Commanders, Sound Cameras & Circuit Bent Tabla Machines

Sound Camera – Eric Archer

Eric Archer’s oscillographic work has been featured on these pages before, then Natureisdata focused on the harmonic autographs from his bespoke plotter-oscillator set-up. But Oscillographics are only a tiny fragment of the story. Eric has modified and created a whole spectrum of surprising and unusual devices. Each hand crafted audio-visual mechanism a beautiful thing in itself.

Take his Sound Cameras for instance. Eric has designed a system whereby 8mm film cameras are converted into audio transducers. The output is connected to headphones allowing the roaming headphonic troubadour to go out on ‘listening expeditions’. Be sure to read through the notes especially his stepfathers analysis on what the Aurora Borealis might sound like.

Elsewhere you’ll find all manner of quirky brilliance. The gorgeously finished Bird Box Sequencer, which uses the linear feedback shift register method, can produce a single loop that could last up to 17 years!

Other favourites include the Circuit Bent Tabla Machines with added keyboard control to generate glitches and the irresistibly named, immaculately finished, Drone Commander. It should be noted that all audio devices have audio clips on the documentation pages.