Workshop with Darsha Hewitt: Hacking the Ballroom Beat

Workshop instructor:
Darsha Hewitt

Title:
Hacking the Ballroom Beat: Extracting Experimental Rhythms from the Sideman 5000 Drum Machine

08 - 10 February 2019

Description:
The Sideman 5000 is the world's oldest commercially available drum machine (which is currently on view in the exhibition Computer Grrrls). Made in 1959, it is big, heavy and fixated on playing Ballroom dance beats! But besides playing the Foxtrot, Rumba, Samba and the Waltz, the Sideman is old, unstable and full of unexpected sonic mechanical secrets. Workshop participants are invited to experiment with the obscure sounds hidden inside this historical drum machine and create samples and compositions with their findings. This is an open form workshop that encourages spontaneous collaboration and knowledge transfer between participants and across artistic and technical fields. The workshop ends with a listening session open to the public.

The Sideman 5000 is for EVERYONE! This workshop might be of particular interest to people with experimental musical interests and/or those who are curious about how old-world electromechanical sound technology works. This is an opportunity to get some hands-on experience with the Sideman and lear about how it works. Participants are encouraged to bring their own minimal audio/recording gear or work with the tools on-site (including contact microphones and mixer). A basic recording / editing setup will be available too.