An introduction the work of of Q. Reed Ghazala, artist, writer, musician, and inventor of circuit-bending.
Few men can claim to have invented a genre of music, much less an entirely new way of making music. Qubais Reed Ghazala (usually just Reed Ghazala) is one of them. Widely acknowledged as "the father of circuit-bending," his work is arguably among the most influential of the last few decades. For more about circuit-bending, see the article Introduction to Circuit-Bending.
Ghazala has created numerous instruments for such diverse artists as Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Blur and Mark Mothersbaugh. His website and articles have been the starting point for most beginning circuit benders. He is also the author of the book Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments, from Wiley Publishers.
The Beginning
Ghazala was already a member of a traditional rock band when he accidentally discovered circuit-bending in the late 1960's. A toy amplifier Ghazala had opened to work on shorted out against a metal desk when he shut a drawer. The short circuit caused the amplifier to make an upwards-sweeping tone, and circuit-bending was born.
From studying and modifying the circuit in the amplifier, Ghazala eventually created his first instrument, dubbed the Odor Box. It was used as a solo instrument in Ghazala's band at the time, though reaction was not immediately enthusiastic. After one of the band's first performances with the Odor Box, Ghazala had to sneak out a side exit to avoid the audience from harming him and his instrument.
One of the main appeals of circuit-bending for Ghazala was the range of sounds it provided. Synthesizers at the time cost upwards of $100,000. Circuit-bending provided a way to explore these soundscapes at a drastically lower cost. Even a decade later, Moogs were still out of the price range of the average musician. Driven by curiousity, Ghazala experimented with many types of modification.
Circuit-Bending Grows in Popularity
Ghazala began recording with bent instruments in the late '60s and continues to do so today. But circuit-bending entered the public consciousness much more slowly. The term "circuit-bending" did not appear until Ghazala wrote articles on the subject in 1992 for the now defunct magazine Experimental Musical Instruments. Over the next 6 years, that article became a 20-part series that established circuit-bending as an area of interest.
Ghazala continued to simultaneously broaden and deepen the world of circuit building. He created categories of instruments such as incantors, which are Speak N' Spells modified with circuits to create loops of random speech sounds. He also created completely unique instruments such as the Vox Insecta, an insect voice synthesizer housed in a stenograph machine from the 1940's.
Ghazala's recordings caught the attention of many other musicians in the 80's and 90's, when numerous mainstream artists contacted Ghazala to obtain instruments. Peter Gabriel, Blur, Mark Mothersbaugh and many others were among the artists who commissioned instruments, wanting to explore the sonic areas opened by Ghazala's work.
The mainstream popularity of circuit-bending came in 2000, when Ghazala launched his website, which made the original EMI circuit-bending articles, along with Ghazala's other writings, available to anyone with an Internet connection. This freely available information, along with the hundreds of cheap, easily modifiable electronic instruments in thrift stores the world over, has created a current renaissance in circuit-bending.
Reed Ghazala Today
The popularity of circuit-bending continues to grow as people search for new sounds and ways to use the endless sounds around them. Reed Ghazala continues to create music, instruments and art, along with education and guidance for the bending community. For more information about circuit-bending, see Introduction to Circuit-Bending.
Further resources:
Suite 101's Guide to Circuit-Bending
The Circuit-Bent Speak and Spell - Incantors
Q. Reed Ghazala's home page, www.anti-theory.com
