Ototo music kit, anything can used to make music

13 Feb 2014

(Left) The base Ototo kit (Right) Example of rocking out with an Ototo (via Kickstarter)

Have you wanted to turn an eggplant into an instrument? What about that roll of aluminum foil? Well, if Yuri Suzuki’s team at Dentaku reaches its crowdfunding goal on KickStarter this month, the Ototo kit will allow users to turn any object into the musical instrument of their dreams.

The Ototo kit is based on a small synthesizer, which allows the user to build a musical instrument using any material that can hold an electrical charge (including water, eggplants, metal and more). The synthesizer is functional all on its own, but connecting a conductive object or material to it makes that material respond musically to touch. It’s important to note that each material enables a unique musical experience, based on its texture, so have fun and test various materials.

The synthesizer comes equipped with a 12-key configuration that acts as one octave and includes four sensor inputs – two for texture, one for loudness and one for pitch. The device connects to an external object via crocodile clips and once connected, Ototo offers seven different sensors to customize the user experience, including sensors that change the musical note using sliders, rotation of the external object, amount of light, force, touch, breath and joystick motion. Changing any of the seven sensors creates a different musical element, which makes each interaction with Ototo unique.

For users that want a more professional experience, the Ototo synthesizer can be connected to a computer via USB and functions as a MIDI controller. The user can customize the synthesizer to control a range of different program functions and the device is compatible with Apple’s Garageband, Ableton Live and more.

The handheld device comes equipped with a 3.5mm headphone output, 128 Mbit Flash memory and is powered using 2 AA batteries or via micro USB. It can used as a synthesizer and sampler and is based on open source to allow for total customization.

The design team behind Ototo said it created the device to innovate user interaction with electronic music and design. The team sought to expand the user experience to allow for a faster, freer creation process. The project is currently on KickStarter and needs a £50,000 cumulative pledge to launch. The company has currently raised more than £16,000 with more than three weeks to go.

Prepare for a deluge of experimental music shows…