USA: "They Might Be Giants" use robotic instruments on stage

Record ID: 401683

  • Title: USA: "They Might Be Giants" use robotic instruments on stage
  • Date: 14th June 2007
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK UNITED STATES (JUNE 1, 2007) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN FLANSBURGH OF THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS SAYING: "The challenge in working with the robots is that the sounds they make although they're similar to sounds that you're used to in a human band, they're not quite the same and there's velocity issues like how hard the instrument gets hit, that
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA3QO7ZWVE5XDFSJY8NOZ6JNEZO
  • Story Text: "They Might Be Giants" are giving electronic music a facelift. The band known for its geek chic sound and creative flair have teamed up with the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots (LEMUR), and put on a concert in New York City where the duo perform with a host of robotic instruments.
    About 30 robots are included in the show, making sounds that shake, zing, bing and ding. The instruments are hooked up to a computer and are programmed to follow a composer's instructions. They operate smilier to digital player pianos, as they translate computers signals into motion -- hitting various objects including metal plates and wood blocks.
    Linell says playing with robots feels like a natural fit for the band that started out using cassette tapes for their back up music.
    By far the most animated instrument is the Guitarbot - which has four strings and plucks its strings like a guitar with complex sounds. The range can be heard in John Linnell and John Flansburgh's performance of "Vestibule," in which the Guitarbot has an uncanny sitar-like sound.
    While syncing the robots up precisely to the band's performance can be tricky, Eric Singer, the founder of LEMUR and creator of the Guitarbot, says the show is "one big happy human-robot can't we all get along ensemble here."
    Both Linell and Flansburgh agree that robots won't be replacing humans on stage any time soon, but they enjoy the creative sounds the robots make and say they will consider using robots on their next album.
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