Since 1990, Peter Bosch and Simone Simons have primarily been building autonomous music machines. All of these machines are dynamic: sound and movement are in constant development.
De Krachtgever, a wall of vibrating crates, is their best‑known work because it won the Golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica 1998 in Linz in the category of computer music.
Other installations featured in this broadcast include Was der Wind zum Klingen bringt from 1990, consisting of 48 independently controlled vacuum cleaners blowing into rubber hoses; Cantan un Huevo, a work that makes a multitude of bottles of various shapes and sizes resonate, commissioned by the Ives Ensemble in 2000; Mirlitones, commissioned by Dordtyart in 2012, consisting of long pipes with vibrating membranes; Bang Spring Time, in which long metal springs are made to sound, recorded in a church in Spain in 2023; and Acuática, recorded at the opera house in Valencia during the contemporary music festival ENSEMS in 2024. In this work, air droplets generated inside water bottles can be heard. Bosch & Simons have lived and worked in Valencia since 1997.
1 — Krachtgever, Boerderij Oud Brabers, Burghsluis, 2013 — 7:57
2 — Cantan un Huevo, Galerie La Box, Bourges, 2003 — 14:13
3 — Was der Wind zum Klingen bringt, Felix Meritis, Amsterdam, 1990 — 23:56
4 — Mirlitones, ICMC 2013, Kidogo, Fremantle, Australia, 2013 — 5:21
5 — Acuática, ENSEMS, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Valencia, 2024 — 5:11
6 — Bang Spring Time, Convento de los Dominicos, Forcall, Spain, 2023 — 2:30
Recordings 1, 2, and 3 can be found on the LP Our Music Machines (2023).
Mastering by Radboud Mens.
https://staalplaatlabel.bandcamp.com/album/three-music-machines
Photo: Was der Wind zum Klingen bringt, ENERGIEËN, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1990.
More information about Peter Bosch and Simone Simons:
https://www.boschsimons.com/en/
