Yuri Suzuki Turns Music Into a Physical Experience That’ll Make Your Head Spin
For how innovative and clever Yuri Suzuki’s projects are he talks about them like they are for the upcoming eighth-grade science fair. Which, when you see them for the first time, almost makes sense. Globes, racetracks, and simple looking speakers make up the core of his portfolio. In reality though, all of his pieces simply share an accessible unpretentious design style. When you look at them closer you realize this style disguises complex inner workings and that, all of his pieces, when laid out together reveal his goal to bring music to life in the physical world.
“I always dreamed of creating a kind of system where people could understand music from colors or a drawing.”
We were lucky enough to speak to this humble musician, turned DJ, turned next level artist during some of his rare time away from his workshop in London about everything from his dyslexia and how it inspires his work to an amazing collaboration with will.i.am, huge projects making real life magic for Disney, and building a 3D record in the shape of a globe.
Can you tell me about your old band? That’s kind of how you got into the music industry in the first place, isn’t it?
Well I had always had a fascination with music but yeah that was my first real experience making music and playing in a group. We were a big band of like 11 people and I played trombone. But working with a large number of people was difficult, plus, there was my dyslexia.
Your dyslexia? How did that affect your time in the band?
So, basically, it started as an amateur band, but it quickly became serious and they wanted to do professional parties, compose music, and that sort of thing. But because of my dyslexia I couldn’t read a musical score to save my life. So, inevitably, I got fired from the band. At first it was quite sad, but then, I started experimenting with music myself. Back then I think synthesizers and drum machines really helped me understand how music worked.
So, that’s around when you started DJing? What kind of music were you making back then?
Yeah it was shortly after that when I started making disco, house, techno, and those kinds of things. I was curious about becoming a hardcore techno DJ. So I moved to Berlin in the early 2000’s. But it was difficult because minimal music was super popular at the time. So, after not being very successful, I decided to quit my fledgling career as a DJ anymore and study design. I moved to London and attended the Royal College of Art in where I studied a mixture of electronics and interactive design.
That’s when you started experimenting with making musical art?
Yeah my first art music project came together in college. I wanted to make something using actual vinyl records because I have a fascination with music and because so many DJs use records as a medium to play. I called it Sound Chaser and it actually uses like broken records to make like a racetrack. I chopped up records then basically connected the pieces together to form my own sort of sampled song. Then I built a tiny little machine on wheels that could play the chopped up records.
So it’s kind of like hot wheels for records! That’s awesome! What other musical projects did you make after that? Could you walk me through some of them?
Thanks! Of course, I would love to.
“I think most manufacturers make musical instruments more by sort of ancient design—whereas will.i.am and I, our project called Pyramidi flips that on its head.”
Can you tell me about that amazing speaker that you made for Disney, where you transfer sound through static electricity?
This is also something between electronic and acoustic. I was thinking about something like a medium—something in the middle between acoustics and electronics. So this idea is basically like a body signal in a way, with a current/electric signal. Once you touch other people’s ears, you actually can vibrate [them] and make a sound. So your finger is working as a speaker in a way. It’s quite interesting, because all sound in general is electronic, but the output is acoustic as well.
Do you know what Disney is using that for? Sounds like they would want it for real-life “magic,” or maybe wet willies?
I don’t know yet, actually, because I’m just now making it and have not really talked too much with Disney. I don’t know how they’re going to use it yet.
Insane…I would love to get my hands on it. How about your globe project? How the heck does that thing work?
For Sound of the Earth, I was trying to create, like, a 3D record. Since my graduation, I had traveled to a lot of different countries and collected different sounds and music, and was thinking about creating a kind of a sound globe/map that played in the same way as a record.
So, it incorporates music from all the countries you visited?
Yes, music—and also a few field recordings as well. For example, in Brazil I found very funky like techno music and when I went to South Africa I picked up some Roca music. So it’s kind of like a personal art project.
“People use synthesizers or acoustic musical instruments, but it’s nice to create the opportunity for people to experience music physically through an installation.”
How about your project with will.i.am?
About two or three years ago will.i.am and I had a brief discussion about sort of reinventing the idea of a musical instrument, which led to him creating this idea for a kinetic musical instrument. This idea was especially fascinating to me, because I actually used to work for a couple musical instrument manufacturers. I think most manufacturers make musical instruments more by sort of ancient design—whereas our project, called Pyramidi, flips that on its head. It’s a machine, which can actually play music by an artist mechanically.
So, it’s not actually a recording of the artist; it’s the device actually playing the music itself?
Exactly! It’s not passive playback like just music from a speaker, it’s all happening in front of you. There’s a mechanically playing guitar, piano and drum set. It’s a really really distinct way to hear music. will.i.am’s inspiration for it was sort of an attempt at answering how the music industry could work in the future. People don’t buy records or even cd’s, they just download music. So I think he’s thinking about the music industry of the future, as this would allow people to have real acoustic playback like a live show in their home.
How do you feel about the lack of physical music? Your work certainly suggests part of your goal is to make music a physical manifestation.
I think it’s quite interesting, because there’s only like two ways to express music these days, and that’s either acoustic or electronic. People use synthesizers or acoustic musical instruments, but it’s nice to create the opportunity for people to experience music physically, through an installation. Live music can have a different effect because of a speakers shape or the physical space a speaker is placed in. So I think I want to try something in the middle. Plus, with my dyslexia it can be hard for me to understand music so I always dreamed of creating a kind of system where myself, and people like me, could understand music physically.
So your dyslexia really influences the way you make your art?
Yes I think so. I think dyslexic people are quite good at understanding graphics in the world but when it comes to like literature or numbers it is hard because those can be quite difficult to interpret. But if it’s described as kind of some shape or some color, it’s easy for me to understand how things work. I always dreamed of creating a kind of system where people could understand music from colors or a drawing. That’s part of why I make art like I do so people like me can understand music physically and visually and others can see music take shape.
Was that part of the allure in becoming a DJ? Were you physically spinning records back then or did you play CDs?
I did a bit of both. I prefer records because it’s amazing to be able to see something turning in front of you and producing sound. But that’s challenging as well because there can be a lot of problems like bad acoustics or warped records whereas CDs can sometimes be more reliable.
Where do you think music will go in the future, in terms of the physical and the digital?
I think we’re in a funny time right now, because things changed a lot in the music industry due to illegal downloading. The mediums used to be records and cassette tapes, and it was difficult to make copies of them because of sound quality. If someone copied records to cassette tapes back then, the sound quality ended up being really, really bad. But now it’s so easy to download good-quality tracks. But something interesting about this is that a lot of people use mobile phones, or something like that, to play their music. People used to care about sound quality and getting better hi-fi systems, but now most people don’t really care about the quality of the device they are listening on.
So I think there is a lot of potential there, and people like will.i.am, with his Beats headphones, are tapping into that. I think coming up with interesting ways to listen to music is the next big step, and will.i.am is always speculating about how the future should work. That’s part of why I like working with him; he has the future in mind.
Who else inspires you?
There are a lot of people but I used to work and study under. Maywa Denki for instance, they basically produce very artistic musical instruments. They definitely inspire me. I also used to work for a company called Teenage Engineering; it’s a really amazing company producing musical instruments and music projects. There’s a guy named Jesper Kouthoofd who works there that’s really amazing. I worked under him for about a year and he’s a spectacular designer but at the same time he’s thinking about how a beautiful design can create unique sounds and be art at the same time.
How about musicians?
Obviously, people I’ve collaborated with—like will.i.am, who I actually used to listen to a lot before I met him; Jeff Mills; and then Mathew Herbert, who I’m working with now on a project. OK Go and this small division in the BBC called Radiophonic Workshop are really amazing. Underground Resistance, Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert, DmX Krew, Bjork and so many others. Unfortunately, I don’t go out so much for the night crowd these days. I like to see DJs, but I feel too old going out… Oh, and of course Daft Punk!
Don’t ever feel too old for going out! Any last words you would like to instill in our readers about music? Art? Anything?
I think sonic art and music art is a very amazing field, and so many people are trying to make music in interesting ways. But compared with visual art, music is difficult to express because there’s nothing visual about it—it’s all invisible. But at the same time sound can be even more intriguing when you add that visual element, so it’s nice to try and do that. I guess just keep listening to the music that’s all around you!
Check out all of Yuri’s amazing projects including a musical kettle, a voice operated drum set, and his many other interactive musical projects here.
