Strapping on a pair of oversized headphones is a great way to shut out the world. But what if the beat was coming from outside the earpads?? For his latest trick, prolific sonic experimentalist Zimoun crafted a makeshift noise-maker out of a pair of mini-pizza-looking boxes, two prepared DC motors and a couple of cotton balls.
The minimal materials are a consistent favourite of the Swiss artist — they’ve made appearances in tabletop, wall, and a handful of whole room installations. Each of these creates an inescapable gentle thrum, but, here, the human scale makes for an interesting, intimate take on feeling the rhythm.
It’s kinda like when you’re on the bus and someone’s got their music cranked way up and you can hear the tinny sound, and it feels aggressive in a strange way — because all of a sudden you have to endure someone else’s usually terrible taste in tunes. But maybe this strange contraption could get heads nodding in time, starting some kind of showstopping Stomp-like number on the way to work. There’s only one way to find out.