"Benders" Make Sweet Noise from Old Toys [Slide Show]
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THINGAMAGOOP: Looking like something out of a Tim Burton movie, these "Thingamagoops" are actually analog synthesizers that use a photocell rather than a keyboard to make sound. The quality and type of light affects the sound that each Thingamagoop makes. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
INK JET INSTRUMENT: A festival attendee twists switches and knobs on Lesley Flanagan and Andy Doro's "Plinkjet," a musical instrument constructed from ink jet printers, wood, guitar strings and audio outputs. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
LEARNING THE ROPES: Theresa Machado, a Brazilian living in New York City's East Village, works diligently to learn the art of bending children's toys into musical machinations at one of the festival's workshops. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
MINI MEGAPHONE: Another creation by Doring allows him to blow into a Little Tikes Company megaphone toy that he modified. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
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HOME STUDIO: Brian Doring shows off the "bent" instruments he created for his band, Alias Pail, at his apartment in Harlem, New York City. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
SPEAK & SPELL AND PLAY: Rhode Island's Pete Edwards (who goes by the moniker Casper Electronics at Bent Festivals) takes a cue from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and "bends" a Texas Instruments Speak & Spell into an electronic instrument. Courtesy of Casper Electronics
CURIOUSLY STRONG: At the festival, Brian Doring, the leader of the band Alias Pail (which specializes in coaxing unique sounds from altered electronics), transformed this Altoids tin into an instrument by patching it into a Casio VL-Tone keyboard. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
HANDS ON: Attendees at the fifth annual Bent Festival held recently in New York City take apart keyboards and toys during one of the festival's workshops, using the parts to construct electronic musical instruments or obscure works of art. Courtesy of Craig Thompson
"Benders" Make Sweet Noise from Old Toys [Slide Show]So-called "circuit benders" rearrange old toys and musical instruments to produce a chorus of drones, whistles and bleeps
