A few weeks ago, Pitchfork ran an article about how Jeff Mangum composed a song for former Neutral Milk Hotel bandmate/Apples in Stereo frontman Robert Schneider’s mind controlled instrument called the Teletron. So I immediately emailed Robert’s manager Dan Efram to get an interview because not only do I love music technology, but I’m extremely interested in neuroscience.
Despite the fact that I had 100 questions for him, for simplicity purposes, I kept it to 3.
1. What was the motivation and desire behind creating the Teletron?
My wife and son gave me a Mattel MindFlex game for Father’s Day last year, this really cool futuristic toy that uses EEG sensors to control the motions of a little ball. As soon as I used the toy, I realized there must be some way to redirect the voltage to control the pitch of an oscillator with your mind, and cracked it open to figure out what was going on inside. I felt so impatient to hear what it would sound like to turn thoughts into musical pitches! It turned out the voltage was a perfect match for the control voltage input of my Moog analog synthesizer. I put some jacks and a knob into the new instrument and named it the Teletron.
2. How long did it take to develop and what were 3 main obstacles your team faced?
I worked on the project for over a month, poking around with a multimeter and researching some electronics theory. There was a lot of trial and error in getting the connection with my antique Moog, and I was almost convinced it wouldn’t work, so I really flipped out the first time I heard the alien tones of the Teletron changing with my thoughts.
The main obstacles were:
- The learning curve in re-learning some electronics I hadn’t broken out for some time
- Not having access to schematic diagrams of the toy, although I was able to find photos posted by a hacker online who had opened the MindFlex up
- The technical flaws inherent to my junky old synth
I am most interested in hearing sounds I haven’t heard before, and seeking out new ways to make music. I don’t plan to manufacture the Teletron, although I would be happy to make the mods if someone wanted me to. The Mattel MindFlex is a commercially available toy that is relatively inexpensive when you think of it as a mind-controller for synthesizers. I actually posted directions online in the form of a YouTube instructional video to make the simple modifications yourself, and I have seen at least one Moog user who built his own Teletron. There are other such toys you could just as easily use, and I am sure a whole wave of better controllers is on the horizon.
Recently I have done a few performances with two Teletrons driving two synthesizers, each representing the left or right side of the brain of a “conductor,” who wears the EEG sensors while reading a printed score in an experimental notation. Stereo sound and 3D projections are involved to simulate the experience of the conductor in the minds of the audience.
If you’re interested in seeing how this works, here is a lecture and performance Robert gave with his friend and Apples bandmate Ben Phelan a weekends ago at the AUX Experimental festival in Athens, GA (note: the music starts about halfway through and is not complete).
And here is a short clip of the first performance Robert gave, last October at LVL1, a Louisville, KY hackerspace, with artist and noise musician Robert Beatty, whom they have been actively collaborating with on a Teletron installation (they recently performed a score at Duke University, where Robert spoke to a neuroscience class).
For more information on Robert, check out his band’s site here.
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