Magnus Harmonica by Analog Tara / Tara Rodgers
A composition of overlapping drones using 1950s-60s toy electric organs as source material. Many of these organs were produced by the Magnus company, whose founder took inspiration from the Ford motor company in advancing the mass production of musical toys. Magnus organs, with their pitched tones often overpowered by the noise of the motor inside, were once marketed to teach children proper ways of playing music. These objects continue to circulate second-hand and beyond, with sounds that show the effects of age and disrepair.
This piece was presented at the Signal Flow Festival, Mills College, Oakland, CA, 2004, and an excerpt is included on the Women Take Back the Noise compilation (Ubuibi, 2006): http://ubuibi.org/wtbtn/
A multi-instrumentalist composer, producer, and historian of sound, Tara started her career as a self-taught jazz pianist and has since made a wide range of techno and ambient music, and generative sound compositions in SuperCollider. From NPR Music: "Assertive work, bold in the precision and subtlety it takes to mix such signals with thrill and grace and restraint.”