This Is What It Looks Like When An Instrument Gets Acupuncture

Though many people believe that the benefits of acupuncture are based on placebo, a new instrument and art project called Theometrica illustrates that the ancient, needle-based body therapy can immediately inspire change--at least when used with the right technology.

Creative Applications pointed us to a new exhibition by Oscar Palou and Alexander Müller-Rakow at Berlin University of The Arts' gallery, DesignTransfer, which implemented 99 prepared needles, distance sensors, and Max/MSP software on a spinning disk to make something that resembles sonic acupuncture. Move the needles and the frequency changes. The artists describe it as "an active space where geometrical constellations are being decoded into sound events."

They also noted that this prototype is the start of a research process that will investigate "the correlation among geometry, probability, and synthesis sound generation, with a focus in performance." If that means they plan on letting the world's most innovative beatmakers test this bad boy out, then we're game.

Our blood flows are already changing at the thought of Flying Lotus or Daedelus toying with Theometrica. It would be even cooler if multiple musicians used multiple prototypes to make a synchronized, acupuncture symphony out of this innovation. Alternative medicine has literally never sounded so appealing.

Hat tip to Creative Applications

@zachsokol