Introduction: Audio Massage Furniture

About: Education: Makerbay.org - contact@makerbay.org Sailing robots: Protei Inc & Scoutbots CEO Personal: contact@cesarharada.com

this furniture is prototyped for 2 main functions :
1- composing and listening to electronic music while laid directly on the speaker
2- furniture to give a full massage with audio synchronised files

Step 1: Drawing the Idea

At uni we had this music remix workshop : i wanted to participate but i also wanted to feed my research on forcefeedback interfaces ... so i develloped simultaneously
- a musical remixed synchronised with
- a massage performance, lighted and filmed
- the making of a sensitive stimulating furniture (research sketches)

Step 2: Body Path

The massage is engineered like an electronical cicuit : i try to follow the nervous system and energy lines. The two black lines are the lines i draw with my hands on the body of my patient.

I used this schema also to synchronise my work with the lighting assistant and the musician : the position and the gesture of my hands on the body of the patient indicates what instrument to play or what colour to project on the scene. So Left cicuit is only for colour. RIght cicuit with timecode and musical notes for the musician with 5 different electronic instruments coresponding to body parts.

Step 3: Partition


LINE 1 = DERUSH
choosing music samples to thrill the patient : from very delicate to super hardcore music back to delicate music to be looped and repeated on request.

LINE 2 = COLORS
Blue : deep and slow
green : mysterious
orange : energetic
red : furious
These colors are projected on the scene during the performance.

LINE 3 = EXPRESSIVE MUSICAL DRAWINGS
To learn music it's very practial to make an expressive illustration of the music, like this you can analyse personaly music, understand the structure.

LINE 4 = DEFORMED BODY
in my case as the massage choreography is quite simple and cyclic it is possible to draw a deformed human body adapted to the timecode + orange lines for my hands path.



During the live performance i only need the 2 last lines to make sure the music and massage movements are synchronised (thanks to the time code).

Step 4: Unplugged Structure

OBJECT 1 = LAPTOP
Powerbook 12' Mac with USB and firewire cables

OBJECT 2 = EXTERNAL HARDDRIVE
For this application as all my music (including VST instruments for midi) are in th external HD, connected by firewire to laptop

OBJECT 3 = MIDI KEYBOARD
Midi piano keyboard connected by USB to laptop. The sound played is coming out the keyboard as it's sound master output is much more powerfull and easier to drive than from the computer small keys.

OBJECT 4 = MASSIVE 2 x 450 Watt SOUND AMPLIFIER
connected by speakon cables to

OBJECT 5a = FILTER
This filter separates an audi mono signal into high and low tones to redistribute them to

OBJECT 5b = BOOMER
The 38 cm (diameter) and 500 Watt boomer is impressive but unexpectedly unexpensive ( 27Euros !)

OBJECT5b = TWEETER
dynamic tweeter motor and speaker shape (21 euros : expensive !)

All objects are not under tension on the photo

Step 5: Filter, Speakon Connector

Right to left :
-speakon connector to IN
-filter with lightbulb fuse
-up OUT to Tweeter
down OUT to Boomer

all connected with audio cables

Step 6: Music Composing Workstation

so this is the composing station with every control at a hand distance.

Step 7: Deaf DJ Studio

I simply covered the boomer with a thick paperboard and a textile to lay confortable and warm while working. Note the tweeter is oriented directly to my head direction by placed quite far. be carefull : you might want to feel the hit of music vibration as strong as possible but it may vary a lot depending what instrument you are using so preferably make tests before covering the speaker with your loudest percussions and sub-bass waves (some bass are "painfull" for the speaker but are almost unhearable especially under 50 HZ ).

I highly recommend the use of this furniture for deaf DJ's

WARNING : THIS MACHINE IS EXITING AND ADDICTIVE BUT IT ACCELERATE DIGESTIVE PROCESS. THE EFFECT ON ORGANS VARIES FROM PERSON TO PERSON ... it's GRRREAT

Step 8: Massage Rehearsal

my performance incroporates a massage, this is a reharsal in a doggy basement ...

Step 9: Video of the Audio-massage Performance Coming Soon

video of the audio-massage performance coming soon !!!
You have no understood some things but a video of the performance including the work of the lighting assistant and the musician is coming soon.
Who will be volunteer to test this machine and the experimental massage ? hehehe ! please come back soon ! cesar harada