This week Glass went along to experience the Magnetic Field at 180 The Strand presented by The Vinyl Factory, an interactive audio / visual installation by These New Puritans with sound provided by Sonos. The installation was centred around the Magnetic Resonator Piano (MRP) – an electronically augmented acoustic piano which uses a series of electro-magnets in combination with sensors to resonate and bend the piano’s strings, creating infinite sustain, crescendos, pitch bends, sounding alternately like something from the distant past or the distant future.
We were invited to interact with the MRP via motion-sensor technology and interacting with the bands’ unique sound, creating our own individual sonic experience via a series of triggers, loops, and samples.
In celebration of the installation, The Vinyl Factory will release a beautiful new limited vinyl edition by These New Puritans, featuring a brand new reworking of Field Of Reeds, cannibalised and produced by Jack Barnett and Bark Psychosis using the original album, alongside outtakes from those sessions and unused field recordings. Limited to 500 copies, and housed in a 12” sleeve featuring a photographic print and heavyweight 180-gram vinyl, each copy will be individually signed and numbered by the band – available to buy online.
The MRP was used for the first time in popular music on These New Puritans album Field of Reeds. The album brings you closer to the band, with its highly dynamic, intense and emotive sound that completely bypasses any fads or fashions in today’s music.
by Annie Fong
Images courtesy of: Sonos, The Vinyl Factory