das it, mane

Magnetic Resonator Piano

The MRP is an electronically-augmented acoustic piano which retains a rich acoustic sound with the added properties of electronic manipulation. Electromagnets induce vibrations in the strings independently of the hammers. This can create infinite sustain, crescendos, harmonics, pitch bends and new timbres which are controlled from the piano.

When the keys are played lightly and no hammers strike the strings, the electromagnets create sustained tones with acoustic qualities of the piano such as the sympathetic resonance between strings but without the percussion. Notes can be bent away from where the strings are tuned and harmonics explored.

The MRP uses 88 electromagnetic actuators to cover the complete range of the piano. When current passes through an actuator, the string is pulled upward and returns when the current is turned off. By modulating the current at the frequency of the string or one of its harmonics, the string is made to vibrate sympathetically without being struck by the hammer.

The band These New Puritans used a magnetic resonator piano in their album Field Of Reeds and have created an interactive exhibition called Magnetic Field about the MRP which was open to the public this week. This is the first time that the instrument has been used in a piece of popular music and it gave the album a very unique sound, if the special piano is not immediately obvious to the listener. The magnetic resonator piano is such a key part of the album; the pitch-bending ability creating unexpected sounds which have not been approached before. Without its use, Field of Reeds would not have become what it is and the piano really unites all the other instruments used. The whole album was recorded in a way far from that of a standard rock band, working with classical ensembles and filling space with ambient sound - reflective of the instrument.

Jack Barnett of These New Puritans said about the use of the MRP in the album:

"Every sound was accounted for, there was one kind of piece of the puzzle we hadn’t quite figured out which was this very specific sound we were after…someone by chance told us about the instrument… it was like nothing I’d ever heard"

More information:

Magnetic Resonator Piano

These New Puritans

Love can be a fascination and an obsession but it forms from a moment so small. 

That moment when you find something in somebody that you haven't seen before which instantly changes your whole world.

The first second is the most beautiful stage of love and from there it grows.