In addition to the several sound controllers that Knurl is able to manipulate live, the Knurl bow was created to control the parameters of the triggered sounds with the movement of the performer right hand. This instrument-interface was based on the research of Andi Otto: the fello.
This device has its own microcontrller (a tiny computer) programmed to send the data of the 3d dimensional axis when you press its button. By its accelerometer sensor, it discerns the subtlest movements and gestures of the performer's hand, offering a mor intuitive way to control variables of sounds.
On Knurl, I use this device to control Frequency, Loudness and Filtering with these 3 axis (X Y and Z). The device is printed with recycled material and has a built in battery that holds around 2 hours of playing.
It works indepindependently from the instrument (Knurl). In the project This isn't solo, for example, I have used the same design to control parameters of digital sounds on Ableton.
The Knurl is a unique musical instrument designed for versatile sound production and tactile playability. Crafted with creative programmeer and 3D Printing technology, it features a textured, cylindrical body that allows for a variety of musical techniques, enabling dynamic control over different strings and its resonance.
Its design integrates elements of digital synthesizers and string instruments, offering 6 different layered sounds suitable for both live performances and studio recordings. The Knurl’s compact size and ergonomic shape make it ideal for musicians seeking an expressive and portable instrument to expand their sonic palette.
It contains:
Sensitive strings: trigger, play, stop, and manipulate digital sounds with the touch of the strings.
Rotatable sensor: Map the rotation of the instrument to a variabel you wish
Bow sensor: Play digital sounds with the movements of your motor
Machine listening system: Create harmonizers or individual sound agents with the sound of the played strings
String poliphony: In the latest version I have been exploring the possiblity of adding a motor to play multiple strings at the same time.
Besides that, on its digital system you play with:
Live looping and recordings
Sound Effects
Digital synthesis
Granular sounds
Dimensions: 102 × 30 × 30 cm
Output: 4 channels
Include: 2 cables , case, bow device (not the bow itself!)
For string quartet
The music gestares of this work are Inspired on muscular contraction ocurred during the pregancy. This work was performed and premiered by a string quartet in Manaus in 2015. I wish to have more version of this work, so get in touch with me in case you are a string quartet and interested!
For cello solo
Glance was composed as an audiovisual exercise in one of my classes about film music.
I also explore multiphonics on cello and some concepts about time of music. I've been always facinated by time memory and sonic resilience in contemporary music. In this piece, it is possible to perceive a spacial calculation between its elements aiming to reach this purpose.
The Multiphonics on the cello contributes for a better combination between distortion and new spectrum explored in this piece.
Watch performances by:
For cello solo
Êxodo was one of my first music work I composed when I moved from Brazil to Leipzig (Germany) in a pretty cold winter of 2017.
I was reading a Brazilian actor and philosopher Nilton Bonder, whose book 'The imoral soul' helped me to contemplate the some questions about human existence and the search for space and identity.
Through his analysis of the flight of Moses and the Jewish people from Egypt, the author reflects about 4 necessities of the body when facing challenges. He observes these 4 types reactions as a ‘code’ of the soul and moral ideas that relate the individual to society.
Each movement represents one of these emotions (Choleric, Sanguinic, Reluctant, Undisciplined ) . The intention in this work is to create a music interpretation of the manipulation of space through gesture and emotion. Each movement, although scored, has a commitment to an unusual contemporary rhetoric.
Find score here
Watch performances from:
Gabriel Prado
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