Vocal synth with teeth is equally hilarious and horrifying
The concept makes sweet melodies as it scars your memories.
No, 2020 isn’t done with deeply unnerving technology just yet. The artist Love Hulten has built VOC-25, a vocal synthesizer where each of the keys is represented by a set of plastic teeth. Yes, it’s just as freaky in action as it looks. Play a piece and you’ll watch the teeth clatter as they form a digital choir. It’s inspired by inventor Simone Giertz’s quest to make an instrument out of teeth, but somehow manages to be more unsettling.
It’s very much a functional device. You load audio samples into the console through USB, while an Axoloti board translates MIDI input to DC currents through control boards inside the “monitor” of the PC-like device. Custom boards help direct your strange chorus. It’s a fully self-contained machine that can use built-in speakers to play back your output, although you can use a mono output to avoid unwanted noise.
Like Love Hulten’s other work, this is a one-off concept that won’t reach stores (not that we’d expect many to have the courage to buy it). Look at it another way, though — it’s proof synths can be conversation pieces in their own right.
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