KOELSE Documentary – Making Music From Junk

KOELSE is a documentary is about four young men, who form a group called Association of Experimental Electronics (KOELSE). They gather electronic devices that others throw away and build musical instruments and art installations from this “waste”:

Their opinion of music, fun and the culture of consuming differs from the masses. What others see as a worthless piece of junk is valuable technology for them. Their whole idea is based on the idea of reusing this garbage.

KOELSE is not really a band, it´s also not really an art community. It´s more like a way of life that relies on working together and using the old technology again.

According to the group, their opinion of music, fun and the culture of consuming differs from the masses. What others see as a worthless piece of junk is valuable technology for them. Their whole idea is based on the idea of reusing this ‘garbage’.

via MirlitronOne

7 thoughts on “KOELSE Documentary – Making Music From Junk

  1. I have to say that this video really impressed me – the whole ‘integrated’ nature of what they do, that embraces technology, recycling, bending, hacking, serious electronics, hoarding (I particularly liked that!) and performance, even to the extent that the video documentary itself seems to be just an extension of their manifesto. Would that I still had their energy!

  2. Very interesting doc. I like their style. Though, when I see these types of collectives I’m always amazed that they can bey by without day jobs and such. Maybe they have them and they just don’t show them. Maybe they have very inexpensive lifestyles. I’d love to here how they do it.

  3. Pretty cool doc. The concept is not unique as circuit bending is not new anymore. Their main point is to counter balance consumerism by recycling what’s is deemed garbage by society. The doc was a compressed view of the life of the “band”. It does not mean they spent 24hrs a day in their lab toying. They could be civil servants like teachers for example. Notice all the paper notes (bills?) on the “leader’s” fridge.
    Sadly being human in any type of society makes you a social animal. The same reflex you see in others will be duplicated. Not to be attached to anything they created and learning to let them go will be their enlightened path. They should create a virtual museum for each “creature” and then let them go.

  4. That was great! I really enjoyed both the music and their message. I was hoping that one of their performances would be included, but I am guessing they weren’t allowed to shoot the show. Many thanks for posting this documentary. It was very well done, and it was very inspiring both from a creative and environmental standpoint.

  5. today i opened up a toy keyboard and started trying to mod it with switches and pots i had to rip out and unscrew from an old oscilloscope, when i started bending some of the parts of the instruments board i couldn’t believe how easy it was to get started, i believe what they say about the initial fear of opening up electronics.

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