Tom bugs interview

After the workshop in lisbon were we produced This (we put together), i thought it was a good idea to publish an interview in this blog from Tom Bugs from Bugbrand, after a couple emails ,here it is.


Tom, you have been working for a long time in music and producing your own instruments.
In your opinion whats the importance of diy electronics in contemporary music ?

The Inspiration - music is by no means a science. Inspiration comes in many forms and from many angles. A major aim for my own productions has been to make devices that will surprise you with new ideas - both in terms of sounds and also in interface, how you play the instrument.
The Process - the world moves quickly, there is a culture of throwaway or more-more-more. By making something yourself you take the time to sink yourself in to the process. By using hardware rather than software you have a fixed system that you can learn and come back to again and again. One of the problems I have with computer music today is that there is often *too many* possibilities - the controls of your instrument keep on shifting, so it is hard to learn that instrument.


Also have you feeling that homemade instruments and circuit bending are bringing more people to the electronic music scene?

Maybe! The synth DIY arena is very active today, though its still very niche too - definitely not for everyone. Circuit bending is certainly a great leveler - anyone can get involved very easily. The internet is probably the single most important factor in nurturing this as it presents so much information and sharing possibilities.



In your workshop in lisbon i saw that most people didn't have electronic knowledge, and they don´t feel threaten by it.
What your opinion on that ?

Hehe, well, the design we made in the workshop was very much designed so that it could easily be put together by anyone, even without experience in electronics. As I say at the beginning of such workshops, electronics can be a darn confusing when starting out (and beyond too) - people get put off if their first attempts at electronics don't work, so it is good to make a complete project which you can be pretty certain will work first time. That hopefully gives a good feeling for carrying on to other projects!
There is so much info about on the net for beginning electronics, but it can be very hard to see the wood for the trees - there is a lot of different things to try to get your head around, so doing a complete project kit is a good way to be introduced.



Like i said in the beginning this is a small interview, so do you have any last words for all the enthusiasts out there ?

Well, going back to the first question, I should say that I've actually only been doing electronics for about 5 years (oh, and also that it has pretty much crushed my more musical / recording output too!).
I've had virtually no 'proper' training - I've just learned by trying things out lots and lots, with info from the net and from books.
If you want to, jump on in!



Thanks for the kind words hope to see you soon here in lisbon again.

Bugbrand

Labels: circuit bending, diy, interview, tom bugs