Ever wondered what a completely handmade instrument made from wooden gears and powered with 2,000 marbles and a hand crank would sound like? Yeah, me neither.
But Swedish musician Martin Molin has brought such a whimsical monstrosity to life. Behold: The Wintergatan Marble Machine.
This Unbelievable DIY Instrument Is Powered by 2,000 Marbles
As the devices cycles it activates a vibraphone, bass, kick drum, cymbal and other instruments that play a score programmed into a 32 bar loop comprised of LEGO technic parts. The marbles are moved internally through the machine using funnels, pulleys, and tubes. It's an artful amalgam of dozens of beautifully carved wooden parts, tracks, pulleys and funnels for collecting and rerouting spent marbles.
Molin, filmed by Hannes Knutsson, has filmed the laborious process of creating the machine on two years. What was originally supposed to take two months to complete took 14, according to Wired.
“…The closer the machine gets to be finished the harder it gets to finish it,” Molin explained recently. “It is strange how that happens, when the finish line is in sight, everything slows down automatically except the avalanche of new unforeseen problems. We need to start making music now and spend less time picking up marbles from the floor soon soon soon. But it is happening. When it is finished, music will follow.”
He originally planned out the machine using 3D software, but Molin soon abandoned that approach in lieu of a more on-the-fly method. He began creating each piece and gradually adjusting it as needed.
It's so mesmerizing from every angle…
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