Kyklophonon II, 2018

[ sound sculpture / instrument ]



Kyklophonon II is a successor to the first instrument, Kyklophonon I, built in 2015.

This artifact is a kinetic sound sculpture and a musical instrument at the same time. Simple mechanical movements meet the forces of gravity in a very delicate equilibrium.

In engaging with it, the performer must come to grips with the machine’s own temperament.




With a main body cut out of plywood, standing on four iron columns, embodying saz strings, ball bearings, fishing weights and piezoelectric transducers, the Kyklophonon incorporates a number of peculiar mechanisms that can be either manually handled or automated.

The working principles are simple: a vertical system of freely sliding strings, tightened by suspended weights, is activated by a horizontal system of rotating discs with attached pins. This contact produces vibrations in the strings that are then amplified to become audible. Everything is variable: the notes can change through the sliding movement of the strings on the pulleys, the rhythm of contact can be adjusted through the mechanical sequencer.

Amidst mechanical precision and poetic error,
these artifacts carry about the imaginary dimension of the useless machine,
their technical nature muddled by their narrative capacities.