Dissonant Rhythm Instrument

In classic Ross Manning instrument building style, the Dissonant Rhythm Instrument (DRI) is an automated musical instrument built from a concoction of found objects, materials, and salvaged devices. DRI sounds like a strung-out gamelan orchestra in their eighteenth straight hour of playing – somehow holding something together, while a whole lot more falls over the sides.

The construction of the instrument starts off with a couple of bits of wood nailed into a t-shape, with the longest piece stretching out flat to the ground. Mounted to this bit of timber can be any number of objects – so far Manning has used old drumkit cymbals, bits of scrap metal, metal plates, and tuned metal bars from a xylophone – the possibilites are pretty much endless. Attached to the top section of the cross-piece of wood is a cheap bodgy electric fan. Fastened onto the fan is a nylon rope, which runs over the length of the flat piece of wood (above the various metal objects) and tied off at the far end.

The instrument produces its music through the elegant simplicity of the electric fan, when switched on, sending the nylon rope into squiggly wave-like movements, striking the metal objects below. The length and height of the rope waves can be adjusted by changing the speed of the electric fan.

The first version of the DRI (pictured) was built for the Group Exhibition and Pro-Formance in Ballina, NSW, 2007. This version was manually switched on and off manually, usually on request from the passing audience. More recent versions now use motion detectors to switch the instrument on as people approach. Manning is also currently building several other DRI-inspired instruments, each striking bunches of metal rods – creating some sort of automated gamelan.

Live recording of Dissonant Rhythm Instrument (2007)