PriZm

PriZm is an enchanting percussive instrument with a singing soul. The name of the instrument, PriZm, comes from its similarity in shape with the optical "Dove prism". This instrument looks especially great in the dark, with its blue lights glowing.

The sounds of PriZm in its higher register may remind one of chimes and toy piano. But once the pitch gets lower, PriZm drifts from clear bells into a darker and mysterious world. Through its entire register overtones are distinctly ringing and wobbling in ever changing and unpredictable directions.

The initial idea for PriZm was to make a percussive instrument that has lights integrated in its body. When the tubes are struck they glitter and shine like stars and precious stones.

During the development process we were experimenting with materials, and made a wonderful discovery. When hitting a loosely hanging rod we could hear a quiet wobble. We froze, held our breath and hit the rod again. The same sounds were there! We hadn't heard of an instrument with such sonic qualities before. And it was immediately clear to us that exactly these wobbly sounds represent the core character of PriZm. So we created a new instrument group : Wobblophones - instruments with a strong presence of overtones and unstable pitch.

And this is also what our sampling project Wobblophones is about : building and sampling our self-made instruments, experimenting with new ways of making musical sounds and exploring the wobbly sounds.

(Size 3m x 0.5m x 1.7m)