Yuri Landman
Encyclopedia
Yuri Landman is a Dutch experimental luthier
who has made several experimental electric string instruments for a list of artists including Lee Ranaldo
of Sonic Youth
, Liars
, Jad Fair
of Half Japanese
and Liam Finn
. He has also been active as a comic book creator
, musician, and singer.
). In the follow-up, released in 1998, 'Het Verdiende Loon', Landman described his negative experiences on a daily job. For the second title he received the 1998 Breda Prize, an award for rising new comic artists in Holland. Since then he has published no other comic books.
Together with Cees van Appeldoorn, he forms the lo-fi
band Zoppo
playing bass and prepared guitar
in 1997. After 2 albums and several 7”singles, Landman left the band in 2000. Landman then formed the noise band Avec Aisance (aka Avec-A) with drummer/producer Valentijn Höllander and released a CD, Vivre dans l’aisance in 2004. After quiting Avec-A in 2006, he focuses mainly on instrument building.
Landman is musically untrained and cannot play chords. While with Avec-A, Landman began creating and building several experimental string instruments, including electric zither
s, electric Cymbalum
, and electric Koto
. Most of them are not regular instruments, but look more like multi-string crossbows and their sounds derive from string resonance, microtonality and overtoning spectra based on the no wave
aesthetics of Glenn Branca
and the microtonal consonant theory developed by Harry Partch
.
In the period 2000-2005 Landman created 9 prototype instruments. In 2006 he changes his musical focus and stops to perform and starts building for other bands. The Moodswinger
was the first instrument Landman made for the band Liars
. One copy of the instrument is part of the collection of the Musical Instrument Museum
in Phoenix
, AZ. After the Moodswinger he starts making more instruments for other bands as well.
From November 2006 to January 2007 Landman finished 2 copies of The Moonlander, a biheaded electric 18 string drone guitar, one for Sonic Youth
guitarist Lee Ranaldo
and one for himself.
is an experimental electric guitar with seven strings and three outputs. The first prototype of this instrument created in 2008 was made for guitar player Laura-Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes
. Afterwards he also made copies for Lou Barlow
and dEUS' Mauro Pawlowski
. For John Schmersal of Enon
he built the Twister guitar, an alternate version of the Springtime.
Besides building instruments Landman also gave musicological
lectures at venues, festivals and music related educational institutes about a theory based on physical laws
. One of these lectures was given at the Primavera Sound Festival
in 2008. Landman published the essay
3rd Bridge Helix - From Experimental Punk to Ancient Chinese Music & the Universal Physical Laws of Consonance in which he clarifies the relation between this prepared guitar technique and the consonant
values present in non-Western scales especially the musical scale used on the Ancient Chinese musical instrument the guqin
. He published an extensive 8 chapter guide how to prepare a guitar
.
In 2009 he finished instruments for The Dodos
, Liam Finn
, HEALTH
, Micachu
and Finn Andrews of The Veils
. For The Dodos and Finn electric 24 string drum guitars called the Tafelberg
and for Andrews an electric 17 string harp guitar
called the Burner guitar. He also starts to perform again after a Perpignan Festival hosted by Vincent Moon
and Gaspar Claus. Meanwhile he continues on building instruments for artists such as These Are Powers
, Women
and Kate Nash
and comes up with a second DIY-workshop for festivals for building an electric 12 tone Lamellophone.
Around 2008 he started giving lectures and presentations with his instruments, leading to a request in 2009 for a practical building workshop. This became the rise of the Home Swinger
project. A Gesamtkunstwerk
consisting of a DIY-workshop where people built their copy of the instrument and often followed by a rehearsal and an ensemble performance with multiple Home Swingers, drums, basses, and guitars in the tradition of the Rhys Chatham
and Glenn Branca
compositions. After the rise of the Home Swinger project, other building workshops followed. Events mainly took place in Europe and in Februari 2010 in the US at the Knitting Factory
and Eyedrum
. The Home Swinger instrument was selected as one of the instruments for the second Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at the Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Feb 2010. Together with the Moodswinger this instrument is also included in the permanent collection of the Musical Instrument Museum
in Phoenix AZ. Due to the ongoing tour schedule with the DIY-instrument projects, he discontinues the reproduction of his high end products for the bands, although he makes exceptions such as the development of a 42 string instrument for Peter James Taylor
ad nine exclusive instruments for the Belgium composer Serge Verstockt in 2011. For his own musical carrier he built several instruments with motors, crossed strings and most notable the 25 meter long string instrument
often featured at his ensemble performances. Because of his workshops he gets more connected to the experimental music
scenery sharing stages with acts such as Jad Fair
, Rhys Chatham
, Wu Fei
, Noël Akchoté
, Action Beat
, Dustin Wong (ex Ponytail
) and others.
.
with 18 strings: 6 normal strings and 12 sympathetic strings. Although it closely resembles an electric version of a harp guitar
it is actually an electric sympathetic string
guitar, because the droning
strings are not meant to be plucked, but resonate on the played tones from the six normal strings. The drone strings cross the plucked strings at an angle, and are attached to the machine head
by a raised headstock
.
Based on a biplane
, Landman combined the theorbo
with the electric guitar. The 12 droning strings create a natural reverb, with specific desired frequencies, depending on in which tones the strings are tuned. The standard tuning for the droning strings is a circle of fourths divided over two octaves.
Besides this acoustic reverb possibility the guitar is also a stereo
guitar. The two rotated pickups individually send out different signals coming from different strings, to make it possible to play two different guitar parts on one instrument at the same time. The nut and bridge
allow repositioning of the strings, modifying the Moonlander into a coursed instrument
.
The Moonlander is visually a hybrid of the offset-waist body shaped lake placid blue Fender Electric XII
with matching headstock and the Vox Mark VI
. The name is derived from the 1979 computer game Moonlander aka Lunar Lander
.
The guitar has four separate outputs:
Similar to the Liars' Moodswinger
, two blue copies of this instrument have been made, one for Ranaldo and one for Landman himself. In the same year Landman finished another experimental instrument for Jad Fair
of Half Japanese
.
Experimental luthier
Experimental luthiers are luthiers who take part in alternate stringed instrument manufacturing or create original string-instruments altogether. Notable experimental luthiers include Yuri Landman, Bradford Reed, and Hans Reichel....
who has made several experimental electric string instruments for a list of artists including Lee Ranaldo
Lee Ranaldo
Lee M. Ranaldo is an American singer, guitarist, writer, record producer, and visual artist, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth...
of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Liars
Liars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
, Jad Fair
Jad Fair
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
of Half Japanese
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
and Liam Finn
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
. He has also been active as a comic book creator
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
, musician, and singer.
Biography
Yuri Landman started as a comic book artist and made his debut in the comics field in 1997 with 'Je Mag Alles Met Me Doen' (in DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
). In the follow-up, released in 1998, 'Het Verdiende Loon', Landman described his negative experiences on a daily job. For the second title he received the 1998 Breda Prize, an award for rising new comic artists in Holland. Since then he has published no other comic books.
Together with Cees van Appeldoorn, he forms the lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
band Zoppo
Zoppo
-People:* Paolo Zoppo, painter of 16th century Brescia, Italy;* Zoppo di Lungano, Italian painter of the 17th century.-Other:* Zoppo , Dutch indierock band, see Yuri Landman...
playing bass and prepared guitar
Prepared guitar
A prepared guitar is a guitar that has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques...
in 1997. After 2 albums and several 7”singles, Landman left the band in 2000. Landman then formed the noise band Avec Aisance (aka Avec-A) with drummer/producer Valentijn Höllander and released a CD, Vivre dans l’aisance in 2004. After quiting Avec-A in 2006, he focuses mainly on instrument building.
Landman is musically untrained and cannot play chords. While with Avec-A, Landman began creating and building several experimental string instruments, including electric zither
Zither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
s, electric Cymbalum
Cymbalum
The cimbalom is a concert hammered dulcimer: a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box with metal strings stretched across its top...
, and electric Koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
. Most of them are not regular instruments, but look more like multi-string crossbows and their sounds derive from string resonance, microtonality and overtoning spectra based on the no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
aesthetics of Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
and the microtonal consonant theory developed by Harry Partch
Harry Partch
Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument creator. He was one of the first twentieth-century composers to work extensively and systematically with microtonal scales, writing much of his music for custom-made instruments that he built himself, tuned in 11-limit just intonation.-Early...
.
In the period 2000-2005 Landman created 9 prototype instruments. In 2006 he changes his musical focus and stops to perform and starts building for other bands. The Moodswinger
Moodswinger
The Moodswinger is a twelve string electric zither with an additional third bridge designed by Yuri Landman. The rod which functions as the third bridge divides the strings into two sections to cause an overtone multiphonic sound...
was the first instrument Landman made for the band Liars
Liars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
. One copy of the instrument is part of the collection of the Musical Instrument Museum
Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix)
The Musical Instrument Museum is a music museum in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the biggest museum in the world of its type. It has a collection of over 15,000 musical instruments. It includes instruments from nearly 200 countries and territories in the world...
in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, AZ. After the Moodswinger he starts making more instruments for other bands as well.
From November 2006 to January 2007 Landman finished 2 copies of The Moonlander, a biheaded electric 18 string drone guitar, one for Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
guitarist Lee Ranaldo
Lee Ranaldo
Lee M. Ranaldo is an American singer, guitarist, writer, record producer, and visual artist, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth...
and one for himself.
2008 - present
The SpringtimeSpringtime (guitar)
The Springtime is an experimental electric guitar with seven strings and three outputs. The instrument was created in 2008 by Dutch luthier Yuri Landman for guitar player Laura-Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes.-Technical information:...
is an experimental electric guitar with seven strings and three outputs. The first prototype of this instrument created in 2008 was made for guitar player Laura-Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes
Blood Red Shoes
Blood Red Shoes are an indie rock duo from Brighton, England. They have released two full-length albums, Box of Secrets and Fire Like This, plus a slew of early singles on limited 7" vinyl pressings.-Formation:...
. Afterwards he also made copies for Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and dEUS' Mauro Pawlowski
Mauro Pawlowski
Mauro Antonio Pawlowski is one of the key figures in the Belgian contemporary music scene. He was born in Koersel and is of Italian and Polish descent....
. For John Schmersal of Enon
Enon
Enon was an indie rock band founded by John Schmersal, Rick Lee and Steve Calhoon. Currently, Enon is situated in Philadelphia, though the band is known for being part of the New York music scene.-Biography:...
he built the Twister guitar, an alternate version of the Springtime.
Besides building instruments Landman also gave musicological
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
lectures at venues, festivals and music related educational institutes about a theory based on physical laws
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. One of these lectures was given at the Primavera Sound Festival
Primavera Sound Festival
San Miguel Primavera Sound, commonly known as Primavera Sound or simply Primavera, is an annual music festival which takes place in Barcelona, Spain in late May and, in some years, early June...
in 2008. Landman published the essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
3rd Bridge Helix - From Experimental Punk to Ancient Chinese Music & the Universal Physical Laws of Consonance in which he clarifies the relation between this prepared guitar technique and the consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
values present in non-Western scales especially the musical scale used on the Ancient Chinese musical instrument the guqin
Guqin
The guqin is the modern name for a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family...
. He published an extensive 8 chapter guide how to prepare a guitar
Prepared guitar
A prepared guitar is a guitar that has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques...
.
In 2009 he finished instruments for The Dodos
The Dodos
The Dodos are an American indie rock band consisting of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber.- History :The Dodos began playing music together in 2005, when musician Meric Long, who had been gigging steadily in San Francisco as a solo singer-songwriter, was introduced to Logan Kroeber through a mutual...
, Liam Finn
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn is a New Zealand musician and songwriter. Born in Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child...
, HEALTH
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, Micachu
Micachu
Mica Levi, known by her stage name Micachu , is an English singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. She is classically trained and is best known for experimental music in a variety of genres.-Biography:...
and Finn Andrews of The Veils
The Veils
The Veils are a London based Indie/Alternative rock band fronted by lead singer and songwriter Finn Andrews. They are known for their chaotic and highly cathartic live performances and Finn's often scarily possessed stage presence. Head of Rough Trade Records Geoff Travis has referred to Finn as "A...
. For The Dodos and Finn electric 24 string drum guitars called the Tafelberg
Tafelberg
Tafelberg is Dutch and Afrikaans for "table mountain". It may refer to:*Table Mountain, a flat-topped mountain overlooking Cape Town, South Africa*Tafelberg, Suriname, a mountain in Suriname...
and for Andrews an electric 17 string harp guitar
Harp guitar
]The harp guitar is a stringed instrument with a history of well over two centuries. While there are several unrelated historical stringed instruments that have appropriated the name “harp-guitar” over the centuries, the term today is understood as the accepted vernacular to refer to a particular...
called the Burner guitar. He also starts to perform again after a Perpignan Festival hosted by Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon is an independent filmmaker from Paris mainly known for his field work music videos of indie rock related musicians as well as some notable mainstream artists like Tom Jones, R.E.M. or Arcade Fire. Besides making music videos he also makes experimental films and documentaries...
and Gaspar Claus. Meanwhile he continues on building instruments for artists such as These Are Powers
These Are Powers
These Are Powers is an experimental music group from Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. The band mixes polyrhythm with samples and other electronic sounds and noise rock.-History:...
, Women
Women (band)
Women are an art rock band from Calgary, Canada. Their debut album Women was released on VanGaalen's label Flemish Eye on July 8, 2008 in Canada and on Jagjaguwar in the United States on October 7, 2008...
and Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
and comes up with a second DIY-workshop for festivals for building an electric 12 tone Lamellophone.
Around 2008 he started giving lectures and presentations with his instruments, leading to a request in 2009 for a practical building workshop. This became the rise of the Home Swinger
Home Swinger
A Home Swinger is a musical instrument created by Yuri Landman. The instrument has 12 strings, an electronic pickup and a movable rod to alter the pitch of the instrument....
project. A Gesamtkunstwerk
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
consisting of a DIY-workshop where people built their copy of the instrument and often followed by a rehearsal and an ensemble performance with multiple Home Swingers, drums, basses, and guitars in the tradition of the Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
and Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
compositions. After the rise of the Home Swinger project, other building workshops followed. Events mainly took place in Europe and in Februari 2010 in the US at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
and Eyedrum
Eyedrum
Eyedrum is a non-profit art space and venue in Atlanta, Georgia focused on contemporary art and experimental music ranging from contemporary chamber music, sound sculpture to drone noise music, and art rock. Up until Jan. 1, 2011, they were located in the Old Fourth Ward district, and had three art...
. The Home Swinger instrument was selected as one of the instruments for the second Guthman Musical Instrument Competition at the Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Feb 2010. Together with the Moodswinger this instrument is also included in the permanent collection of the Musical Instrument Museum
Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix)
The Musical Instrument Museum is a music museum in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the biggest museum in the world of its type. It has a collection of over 15,000 musical instruments. It includes instruments from nearly 200 countries and territories in the world...
in Phoenix AZ. Due to the ongoing tour schedule with the DIY-instrument projects, he discontinues the reproduction of his high end products for the bands, although he makes exceptions such as the development of a 42 string instrument for Peter James Taylor
Action Beat
Action Beat is an instrumental improvisational noise rockband from Bletchley, UK, consisting of a rotating line up of three or more drummers and four guitar players and a bass player. The band was founded in 2004 by core members Don McLean and James Carney...
ad nine exclusive instruments for the Belgium composer Serge Verstockt in 2011. For his own musical carrier he built several instruments with motors, crossed strings and most notable the 25 meter long string instrument
Long string instrument
The long string instrument is an instrument where the string is of such a length that the fundamental transverse wave is below what we can hear as a tone . If the tension and the length result in sounds with such a frequency the tone becomes a beating frequency ranging from a short reverb to...
often featured at his ensemble performances. Because of his workshops he gets more connected to the experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
scenery sharing stages with acts such as Jad Fair
Jad Fair
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
, Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
, Wu Fei
Wu Fei
Wu Fei is a composer, performer, and improviser from Beijing, China. She mainly performs on the ancient Chinese zither called guzheng, and also sings and plays the piano....
, Noël Akchoté
Noël Akchoté
Noël Akchoté is a French guitarist mainly active in the free improvisation, experimental music and free jazz.-Biography:Trained from the age of eight he debuted as a guitarist in 1990...
, Action Beat
Action Beat
Action Beat is an instrumental improvisational noise rockband from Bletchley, UK, consisting of a rotating line up of three or more drummers and four guitar players and a bass player. The band was founded in 2004 by core members Don McLean and James Carney...
, Dustin Wong (ex Ponytail
Ponytail (band)
Ponytail was a 4-piece art rock band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on the label We Are Free. Their sound has been compared to Deerhoof as well as Ecstatic Sunshine, since Dustin Wong was a founder of that band, and due to the band's experimental guitar work and unique vocal stylings...
) and others.
Instruments
In the period 2000-2005 Landman created 9 prototype instruments.- The black 4-string movable 3rd bridge zither.
- The red capozither, shown on the cover of Vivre dans l’aisance.
- Robocop, a 6 string heavily adjusted guitar with 2 additional bridges and 3 outputs.
- The 12 string overtone zither, the first prototype of Aaron Hemphill’s Moodswinger.
- The blonde 3 string stereo-guitar, 1 bass string tuned B, and 2 thin B tuned guitar strings.
- The green 7 string trio-guitar, 1 bass string, DAD tuned guitar string and 3 G#-strings.
- The Electric Spring"
- The electric cymbalumCymbalumThe cimbalom is a concert hammered dulcimer: a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box with metal strings stretched across its top...
, 72 strings, 12 pickups, one for each tone. - The blue 4 string supertremolo-guitar, with no fretboard, but an adjustable pitch control for the left hand.
Moodswinger
The Moodswinger was the first instrument Landman made for the band LiarsLiars (band)
Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
.
Springtime
The Springtime is an experimental electric guitar with seven strings and three outputs.Moonlander
The Moonlander is a biheaded electric guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
with 18 strings: 6 normal strings and 12 sympathetic strings. Although it closely resembles an electric version of a harp guitar
Harp guitar
]The harp guitar is a stringed instrument with a history of well over two centuries. While there are several unrelated historical stringed instruments that have appropriated the name “harp-guitar” over the centuries, the term today is understood as the accepted vernacular to refer to a particular...
it is actually an electric sympathetic string
Sympathetic string
Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments...
guitar, because the droning
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
strings are not meant to be plucked, but resonate on the played tones from the six normal strings. The drone strings cross the plucked strings at an angle, and are attached to the machine head
Machine head
A machine head is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses, a geared apparatus for applying tension and thereby tuning a string, usually located at the headstock. A headstock has several machine heads, one per string...
by a raised headstock
Headstock
Headstock or peghead is a part of guitar or similar stringed instrument. The main function of a headstock is holding the instrument's strings. Strings go from the bridge past the nut and are usually fixed on machine heads on headstock...
.
Based on a biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, Landman combined the theorbo
Theorbo
A theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...
with the electric guitar. The 12 droning strings create a natural reverb, with specific desired frequencies, depending on in which tones the strings are tuned. The standard tuning for the droning strings is a circle of fourths divided over two octaves.
Besides this acoustic reverb possibility the guitar is also a stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
guitar. The two rotated pickups individually send out different signals coming from different strings, to make it possible to play two different guitar parts on one instrument at the same time. The nut and bridge
Bridge (instrument)
A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
allow repositioning of the strings, modifying the Moonlander into a coursed instrument
Course (music)
A course is a pair or more of adjacent strings tuned to unison or an octave and usually played together as if a single string. It may also refer to a single string normally played on its own on an instrument with other multi-string courses, for example the bass string on a nine string baroque...
.
The Moonlander is visually a hybrid of the offset-waist body shaped lake placid blue Fender Electric XII
Fender Electric XII
The Fender Electric XII was a purpose-built 12-string electric guitar, designed for folk rockers. Instead of using a Stratocaster-body style, it used one similar to a Jaguar/Jazzmaster body style. It was also a departure from the typical "Stratocaster"-style headstock, instead featuring a long...
with matching headstock and the Vox Mark VI
Vox Mark III
The Mark is an electric guitar made by Vox. The instrument is also known as the Vox Teardrop, but this is not the official name. The Vox Mark came in three variations, a 6 string , a 9 string and a 12 string...
. The name is derived from the 1979 computer game Moonlander aka Lunar Lander
Lunar Lander
Lunar Lander is the name of several video games. In all variations of the game, the player must portion a limited amount of fuel to land on the moon without crashing...
.
The guitar has four separate outputs:
- The output for the bridge pickup, like on any other normal guitar
- The output for the droning strings pickup
- Output 3 for the upper rotated neck pickup, for a stereo option
- Output 4 for the lower rotated neck pickup, for a stereo option
Similar to the Liars' Moodswinger
Moodswinger
The Moodswinger is a twelve string electric zither with an additional third bridge designed by Yuri Landman. The rod which functions as the third bridge divides the strings into two sections to cause an overtone multiphonic sound...
, two blue copies of this instrument have been made, one for Ranaldo and one for Landman himself. In the same year Landman finished another experimental instrument for Jad Fair
Jad Fair
Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
of Half Japanese
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is a punk rock band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in their Coldwater, Michigan bedroom around 1975. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out of tune guitar...
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DIY Workshop instruments
- Home SwingerHome SwingerA Home Swinger is a musical instrument created by Yuri Landman. The instrument has 12 strings, an electronic pickup and a movable rod to alter the pitch of the instrument....
- Quickstep Electric kalimba
- Caterpillar Drum guitar
- White Eagle tailed bridge guitarTailed bridge guitarSome electric guitars have an extended bridge for their tremolo system, named a tailed bridge guitar because of its shape. Most of these tailed bridge guitars were designed in the sixties and used in surf music....
- Empire State Rocker
- Chorus monochordMonochordA monochord is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument. The word "monochord" comes from the Greek and means literally "one string." A misconception of the term lies within its name. Often a monochord has more than one string, most of the time two, one open string and a second string...
Audio
- Chi pratica lo impare zoppicare (Drowning Man Records, 1998)
- Nontonnen promo 7" (Blackbean & Placenta, 1998)
- Double the fun splitt 7" (Drowning Man Records, 1999)
- Belgian Style Pop (Drowning Man/Transformed Dreams, 1999)
Video
- Not like my sister behaves (2004)
- A second too lazy (2005)
- Like my friend blue (2005)
External links
- www.hypercustom.com Official website of Yuri Landman's instruments