I’ve been experimenting with using coils to listen in on electromagnetic signals in preparation for an upcoming project. More specifically, I’ve been using a pickup from an old broken electric guitar to listen in on the electromagnetic radiation generated by everyday objects. Things like mobile phones, televisions, motors, really anything that generates any kind of magnetic field. I’ve had some interesting results listening to the quasi-tonal sounds created by the various mechanisms in my car.
I first came across this technique when reading the excellent Nicolas Collins book, Handmade Electronic Music. In it, he also suggests using a telephone coil pickup to listen in on these signals, but they’re pretty rare these days so I haven’t had a chance to compare the two approaches.
After taking several walks through town and listening to various devices around my house, I gathered a large variety of source material and started experimenting with various processes in order to create short rhythmic phrases and evolving textures. Many of the textures I used were created by playing around with the harmonics of the ubiquitous 50Hz mains hum that dominates the electromagnetic landscape in any populated area through the country.
Here’s an extract from one of the outcomes of these processes: