Kayu Nakada

"Circuit boards from electronic instruments are extracted and short circuited with solder. These exposed boards produce sounds on their own, but also start to interact as I stack them with inserted sheets of metal, or suspend them to dangle and fold over each other. This is how I perform. Originally, I was inspired by the prepared piano. I have come to consider my practice of circuit bending as an extension of this, because I physically and electronically modify the internal structure of commercial synthesizers and drum machines, and work with timbre that emerges from a personally created state. At the same time, I also explore the unpredictable and indeterminate that occur from the short circuits. The stacking and dangling of circuit boards or the inserting of metal are techniques that I discovered to create more indeterminacy and unpredictability in the sounds that appear. I have created more than 40 of these circuits, which I call “Bug Synths (Bagushinse).” I select 6 to 8 of these each time I perform. I regularly play in live venues and art spaces as a solo performer, but also actively play in improvisational groups or exhibit these boards as sound installations."