Rough-hewn Hertzian Multimedia Instruments

Three DIY electronic instruments that the author has used in real-life multimedia performance contexts are scrutinised herein. The instruments are made intentionally rough-hewn, non-optimal and user-unfriendly in several respects, and are shown to draw upon experimental traits in electronics de- sign and interfaces for music expression. The various different ways in which such design traits affects their performance are outlined, as are their overall consequence to the artistic outcome and to individual experiences of it. It is shown that, to a varying extent, they all embody, mediate, and aid actualise the specifics their parent projects revolve around. It is eventually suggested that in the context of an exploratory and hybrid artistic practice, bespoke instruments of sorts, their improvised performance, the material traits or processes they implement or pivot on, and the ideas/narratives that perturb thereof, may all intertwine and fuse into one another so that a clear distinction between one another is not always possible, or meaningful. In such a vein, this paper aims at being an account of such a practice upon which prospective researchers/artists may further build upon.