Walter Kitundu – Sound Artist – Invented Instrument 27Sep08 | 0
The Sound Artist
Walter Kitundu, 35, is a multimedia artist, composer and builder who creates hybrid instruments out of turntables and strings.
One such instrument he created is the Blue Steel String 1200 Phonoharp, which uses the turntable to pick up vibration.
“Many people for years have been trying to isolate the turntable from vibration, precisely because it’s so good at picking it up,” Kitundu says. “So I turned that on its head. When I pluck the strings of the phoneharp, the vibrations are actually varied into the body of the turntable, and they’re amplified by the cartridge.”
Depending on the instrument, Kitundu will pluck the strings or blow them. He says because they’re so sensitive, they can be used as both percussive and melodic instruments.
Some of his instruments are inspired by traditional instruments like the Japanese koto or the West African cora, he says, while others he imagines.
“I build them, and I find out what they sound like after they’re built,” he says.
Born and raised in Tanzania, Kitundu says he was always taking things apart as a kid.
“I’ve blown up a couple of turntables in the process of making new things, but those have always been great learning processes,” he says. “I call it trial and terror.”
Kitundu also says he likes going to flea markets and finding ways to creatively reuse things he finds.
“I find that if you limit your palette and you limit your tools, you have to think more creatively about how to use them,” he says. “And sometimes that leads to novel solutions.” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94932341
