The Ratchets
"The Ratchets" (1998) by Jens Brand are a 30 min concert for eight computer-operated, motorized wooden ratchets.
The Ratchets
Eight wooden ratchets are connected to motors mounted onto the walls of the concert space. Speed and direction of the motors are computer-operated. There is no stage. The seats for the audience are placed randomly facing different directions.
Ratchets are among the oldest musical instruments in the world and can be found in almost all cultures. Their popularity and global use obviously rests with the loud sounds they are capable of producing. They belong to the “noisemaker” family of musical instruments.
Ratchets uses the instrument to mechanically reconstruct the electro-acoustic phenomenon of “white noise.” Given the nature of the instrument, the concert is necessarily very loud.
Interface construction and programming Sukandar Kartadinata
