Amidst his various inventions and designs to further his massive sound
Tristan Shone shares more about his unique sonic vision with The Signal

ORBITER SIGNAL: Most musicians will advance their sound by developing unconventional ways of playing their traditional instrument. However, You have invented entirely new and unconventional instruments by modifying found machines and melding them with modern technology. What was your initial inspiration for this new aesthetic of sound?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: First, I’d like to say that all of the instruments are made from raw materials; there are no found materials or machines integrated into anything. I come up with a concept, design and then fabricate from scratch. That being said, I am a mechanical engineer and have always had an interest in devices and robotics. I remember the first year at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) where I went to school for engineering when I was 18, the classes were fine, but I went looking for a lab to work in on robotic devices. I ended up finding a mechatronics lab and convinced these PHDs to let my acne faced self to work on some of their projects. That really helped me and from then on I always worked in some sort of automation or mechatronic type lab while taking classes. So, while also playing in metal bands, Falkirk was the band at that time, a kind of Neurosis/Godflesh/Melvins/Meshuggah inspired doom band, these two things stewed for about 6 years without being combined. I worked for an artist Chris Csikszentmihaly (MIT Media Lab) on some projects in Boston, and eventually got bored with working for companies and decided to move to San Diego and study art at an engineering university, UCSD. In grad school I got into a lot more electronic dub and electronic and started to build speakers and explore a more DIY version of sound. I guess the deciding point for this aesthetic came after I finished a robotic sculpture for a show at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art; a kind of piece chronicling my negative attitude towards working in a cleanroom for a few years, and I felt very empty afterwards. I had made something that I couldn’t relate to or play with after completion. Likewise, I had stripped away my band and become a one-man band, guitar with laptop, which also seemed empty, lacking an organic live presence. From here I just decided that the best use of my time would be to build machines that I could interact with to make the heavy sounds I liked. The first was the Throttles, which was two bass throttles, each with motor force feedback, allowing me to battle with two simultaneous bass tones that I could crossover eachother and really experiment with their resonances.

ORBITER SIGNAL: With such innovative modes of audio engineering and visceral performance elements your sound appeals to people from many genres. How do you describe the sound of your progressive musical style?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: I think because this was a long process of natural development, I never really saw a difference from the newer sounding stuff with the Dub/Drone Machines and some of the more straight tempo industrial doom stuff I still make. However, from the outside and from a performance standpoint, lately I’ve begun to value the newer method of completely live, one-man performance (no sequenced material). The motions I coupled with these sounds were in my head for years: a drum machine sound, whether it was Cannibal Corpse, Meshuggah, or some Drum and Bass/Dubstep kicks, were always a mechanical motion of the body, and I made that into a hand slide, or fist pump. A textured and wavering bass sound that melted your face seemed sort of cheapened or weak as a plucked string; maybe as a Gibson 20 lb Les Paul, but an Ibanez? These sounds needed resistance and weight for me. So even though from I am making “machines”, they are really a very organic and human interface for me. Lately, as I get used to this setup, I am able to really use my body as a unit…I can change directions at any time and have everything fully on and the next moment be somewhere completely different: I am in really in control of everything which allows me to get downright spastic and still like what I am hearing.

ORBITER SIGNAL: Can you describe the color and shape of the sound you aspire toward?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: I’d have to say no, hah. I aspire to make heavy, organic, full-sounding music. I don’t think I can attach it to a color or shape.

ORBITER SIGNAL: What are some concepts or inventions you are currently developing?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: Well, this is always a concern: what are the future plans for machines! Well, I just made a bunch of these Big Knobs which are exactly that, large heavy map able knobs for controlling software parameters. What I like about these is they have detents and spring loaded plungers so they snap into position. This is something I want to explore. Having a range of instruments that are more quantized, that click into place almost machine like but with a human midi clock, is something I would like to explore. Of course, I have a huge amount of work to do in terms of touring with the new machines and recording sometime this year. Also, my first to-do item right now is to finish the new speakers I designed with a friend of mine, artist Matt Hope, now based in Beijing. These are very high end CNC machined full range touring speakers we have been designing for over a year now that I need to finish building.

ORBITER SIGNAL: Is it more exciting for you to design and create the machines and hear them come to life then it is to write and arrange compositions?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: I think they are all equally exciting, but I will say writing and arranging compositions is more difficult because I have to sit in one place at my studio for a long time and avoid the temptation of the bbq and beer sitting at our warehouse. Once everything is setup in the space, I end up spending a lot of time just playing dubstep and various mixes through the sound system and enjoying myself. Eventually, usually late at night I get into a groove and can really find myself in the zone. Designing, building, and fabricating, is very easy since I am always moving from task to task, listening to music, interacting with fabricators or machining etc. It’s when I have to stop moving that it’s difficult, I think I got that disease from my father.

ORBITER SIGNAL: How would you feel if you walked into a concert hall one day and everyone was performing utilizing machines of your design?

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: Jesus, I don’t know, I mean it would be an honor, but I have such a personal relationship to these that I honestly can’t picture it yet! I think it’s the same feeling as collaborating, I am not ready for it. I have a projection for the energy level and quality of sound that I am searching for and I feel like I need to keep at what I am doing and not get distracted with other people and things. I did recently get in touch with some dubstep producers about utilizing some machines in their live set, so I think that might be a start in that direction.

ORBITER SIGNAL: I noticed there seemed to be buttons on the handle of one of your machines. This would suggest that not only are you using all of your available limbs and voice to generate tone, but each of your fingertips are also triggering samples. If you could please walk us through each element of your setup and explain how you’re capable of achieving such a full dynamic auditory experience by optimizing your full range of motion.

AUTHOR & PUNISHER: Ok, I’ll go through the newer setup with what I call the Dub Machines. For both sets of machines, I have controlled the main rhythm section with my right hand and arm. There is a linear encoder strip that reads the position all the time and there are buttons on the handle. Using an Arduino USB programmable microcontroller I am able to program in different options, meaning different midi outputs occur if say button 1 and 3 are pressed and the slide is at the front. I can also have the back and forth motion control a software knob. The sounds are set in software. I should say, there are endless options as to how these “black box” instruments are programmed…they are not just triggers, they are continuous, high resolution inputs for software. Continuing…also attached to the Rails rhythm controller I have a foot pedal often used for reverb level and a Big Knob for whatever strikes my fancy.

Next I use the Rack & Pinion bi-level sliding keyboard for my synth bass (4 total bass synths running simultaneously). These are adjustable so that 2 keys can be right on top of each other so that separate sounds of the same pitch can be slid along together…this gives me some dynamic. There are no labels for pitch, I pretty much just learned where they were, much like on a violin. There are 4 Big Knobs clamped onto the top Rack for all sorts of modulation. The Rack also works with linear encoders and programmable microcontrollers.

The Headgear is my 8 channel microphone (featured in this issue of Make Magazine as a DIY) that wraps around my mouth. This is kind of like a harmonica (could also be mounted on my body like a Neil Young Harmonica, but I like the visual of it on the stage before I am there…a visual presence and a sense of anticipation/anxiety. This acts as both a multi mic with effects/vocoders whatever on each mic, but also an Arduino based velocity sensitive midi trigger. This device came out of the desire to make drum beats while playing guitar (something I plan to tour with/as eventually), except now I can’t remember how to play guitar, haha. The headgear is the device that allows me to do all of my ambient overtones and more organic beatboxing on top of other rhythms.

Finally the large footpedal that has been with me from the beginning is a very strong reliable usb/midi pedal footboard with 16 buttons that controls all of my channel switching in Ableton/Reason. I use this for all sorts of things.

Check out an Author & Punisher live set during June Gloom at Che Cafe June 26th [special guest: Justin Bartlett]
be prepared for maximum volume which, in the words of our ancestors, yields maximum results