Fiddle Henge
Fiddle Henge, is an electroacoustic instrument that I created to investigate themes related to performance practice, virtuosity, timbre and resonance. Fiddle Henge is a robotically controlled array of four violins mounted on a 24” bass drum that is played by a motorized acrylic disk. Fiddle Henge was inspired by a collection of mechanical musical instruments and automata from the turn of the 20th century before phonographs and recorded music forced them into obsolescence, namely the Mills Violano-Virtuoso. Similar to the Violano-Virtuoso, the circular bow of Fiddle Henge allows tones to sustain indefinitely. Where Fiddle Henge differs is being able to operate the position of the violins in relation to the speed control of the circular bow, opening up new possibilities for timbral and resonant discoveries.
Water Feature
In his solo project, Water Feature, Ross improvises with feedback and noise sound sources on his self-made electroacoustic instrument of the same name. Widely ranging from harsh noise to scintillatingly present ASMR textures, this instrument has an extensive sonic palette that can readily shift character. By experimenting with different tunings of the membrane of the drum and the of the strings, Ross is able to exploit dense microtonal beating patterns from feedback that arises in the instrument’s electroacoustic mixing configuration. Ross has had the pleasure of touring throughout the Midwest and East coast of the continental US on this instrument in various DIY and experimental music venues and has released the first in a series of self produced tapes on the instrument titled Banjo Music Volume 1.
