Kauschlauch Modulations

• Christian Faubel
• [email protected]
• Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany

Keywords: Analog, Neural Network, Sound Art, Polyrhythm, Synchronicity.

Kauschlauch Modulations is an installation constituted by a network of analog neural oscillators (Faubel 2014; 2016), in which structure appears as a result of the cooperation and connectivity. These emergent structures are rendered tangible and audible by motors hitting on a Kauschlauch (medical silicone tube). The sound of the resonating tube is picked up with piezo-pickups. Three of the oscillators run on very slow timescales, the full cycle of an oscillation is set to times of around 2-3 minutes, these three oscillators drive pulleys that change the resistances of three potentiometers. These variable resistances are part of network connecting the two oscillators driving the motors that hit on the chewing tube. With a cycle of one of the slow oscillators the connectivity between the two varies from fully to weakly connected and as a network effect the coordination pattern between the two hitting motors varies from full synchrony to little coordinated movement. Different rhythmical patterns emerge.

The two other slowly varying oscillators modulate the movement amplitude of the two motors. These motors are in constant rhythmical movement, but sometimes they don’t reach the chewing tube and silence is produced.

The work shows how temporal structure and complexity emerge out of a simple network of only 5 analog neural oscillators and out of their cooperation on a wide range of timescales.

References

• Faubel, Christian. 2016. “Machine-machine communication without hierarchies and protocols”. In xCoAx 2016, Proceedings of the Fourth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics and X. 201-210. Bergamo, Italy.
• Faubel, Christian. 2014. “Rhythm apparatus on overhead”. In Proceedings of the 2014 conference on New interfaces for musical expression. 491–494. June, London, UK.