I'm an award-winning composer, engineer and historian of technology. I present talks, make radio shows and perform live with Spacedog - my band of humans, theremins and uncanny robots.
The badgermingo - one of Prof. Elemental's animal experiments
The badgermingo is one of many fine creations from gentleman rapper Professor Elemental, highlight of the Marlborough’s recent Steampunk Hidden Cabaret. We were there, performing with vocals, theremin and robotic bells at the end of the night. Elemental’s set was packed with brilliant songs about animal experiments, machines and tea. This grainy image scarcely does justice to his marvellous creature, which the audience were fortunate enough to glimpse on the night. Judging by the lyrics to Animal Magic, the badgermingo is no cryptozoological wonder but the result of one of the Professor’s own extreme taxidermy experiments.
I’ll be playing again at the Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, at their next Steampunk event on 21 February 2009. Details to be confirmed – but I expect to be appearing with the robotic bells, theremin, saw and Good Companion – a rigged Imperial Typewriter. I may also bring along Uncanny Valerie – the ‘all-knowing’ robotic dolly oracle.
This is the second ever Marlborough Steampunk event – I also played there and briefly demonstrated the Edison Phonograph at their inaugural event last December. This event was curated by Tarik Elmoutawakil who went to enormous trouble to make the room look spectacular.
I was really taken by the crowd’s passion for ingenious mechanical devices and for curious electrostatic machines. It made me feel very at home. I’m new to the whole Steampunk milarky but was pleased to discover my robotic inventions fit into the Steampunk ethos very well. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of my wardrobe. At the last gig, Mike Blow and I hot footed it from a Spacedog rehearsal to get to the event. Mike was there in his jeans and green trainers and I was dressed like an old hausfrau, in an ‘ergonomic’ saw-player’s sack. Any advice on how to overcome the wardrobe crisis looming in February would be much appreciated.
This is the Mk III robotic bell rig, designed to make it easier to take the bells to venues -- earlier versions saw the bells inside a shed or scattered around a gallery, in dozens of separate boxes. Here, I’ve mounted them on an old shop fitting, salvaged by Vivien Angliss from a place in Bedfordshire that was closing down.
The Mk III bells had their first outing in the Malborough Theatre’s inaugural Steampunk night (Brighton -- curated by Tarik Elmoutawakil). I’ve also taken them to the Gasworks Gallery, Vauxhall (for a Resonance FM night, curated by Ed Baxter) and to a Spacedog night at the Freebutt, Brighton. I’ve been using them quite a bit in my own compositions for bells, saw, theremin and vocals. But here’s a video of the bells playing a classic -- it’s Troika, from Prokovief’s Lieutenant Kije. Over the next few weeks, I’ll endeavour to post more videos of the bells in action.
Technical notes
The bells are being percussed by servo-driven, spring-mounted beaters. These are controlled by a LynxMotion SSC-32 servo control board, which is receiving serial signals from Max/MSP. As you can see, the springs make the beaters remarkably responsive -- they can even tackle the odd semiquaver. See also the Mk I version of the bells, in Swinging London -- my automaton show for the South Bank Overture Weekend.
Sarah Angliss plays the saw at the Tusk & Garter Club, Brighton (photo Peter Kalen)
Fancy learning the saw? Then you’ve come to the right page – just get yourself a saw, a bow and some rosin and read my potted tutorial.
I have been playing the saw for thirty years – as a teenager I was taught to play by folk musician Bunny Nun in Watford. I’ve taught many other people to play the saw – include the members of the mighty sawchestra in The Lost and Found Orchestra (Yes/No productions). I now regularly use the saw, alongside the theremin, in my award-winning live act Spacedog. And I’m an occassional guest at Foz Foster’s Sawchestra, most recently at The Sci Fi Festival, London, 2011, where we accompanied Der Golem live on theremin and saw.
Looking for a saw player? Send me an email at sarah[dot] spacedog [at] gmail [dot] com
Early test with Hugo the vent doll, before his head was roboticised, featuring my short saw solo.
Here’s a brief tutorial on the musical saw, a European skiffle instrument with a haunting, almost voice-like sound:
The sound of the saw is so unexpectedly beautiful, some listeners find it hard to believe where it’s coming from. Played well, the saw really does sing. Its brilliant, ethereal sound is rather like the sound of a human voice. Saw players stroke the edge of the saw with a cello or bass bow (sometimes home-made) to make it vibrate. Occasionally they percuss it with a soft beater. They bend the instrument to swoop from one pitch to another, giving the instrument its characteristic portamento sound.
The musical saw is a wonderful ‘skiffle instrument’ – a cheap, everyday object that has been appropriated by musicians who have no money to buy classical instruments. I’ve encountered players of this traditional European instrument in Britain, Holland and the USA.
playing the saw
Examples of saw playing
You can see some examples of my saw playing in the video on this page, which also features an early test with my robotic vent doll Hugo (before his head was moving). I can also be seen playing saw here and there in the Reverb Jam.
An example of saw playing that’s easy to come by is in the film ‘Delicatessen’. One of the central characters plays the saw beautifully on his roof. Occasionally, I’ve heard what I think is percussive saw playing on recordings by the chanteuse Edith Piaf.
I’ve heard that saw playing is still quite common in Holland, for instance in bars in Amsterdam. My grandfather Emlyn was a saw player – sadly he died many years before I was born.
These notes have been online since the mid-1990s and much copied and circulated – feel free to circulate them further but do please credit this source. I’ll add a tutorial video when I get a little time.
Thanks! Sarah
I'm performing live at the Lovebytes Festival, Sheffield, QEDCon, Manchester, and the Catalyst Club, Brighton, and composing music for CE3K-inspired Electronic Encounters and some other forthcoming collaborations (stay tuned for news). I'm also hard at work, re-engineering some Spacedog robots, and selecting films for Rocket Lolly, Spacedog's two-hander with Project Moonbase at the Edinburgh Science Festival in April.
News: January 2012
Juice for the Baby, Spacedog's debut album, is here! I'm ducking out of the Kinetica Art Faire this year but am huddled indoors, writing, sleuthing (investigating a recording in the archives) and devising a new biologically-inspired musical instrument - all will be revealed soon.
News: December 2011
Juice for the Baby, Spacedog's debut album, launches in mid-December. Join us for the launch gigs at the Marlborough, Brighton, on 9 December and the Horse Hospital, London, on 14 December.
News: November 2011
A busy month writing and editing the forthcoming Spacedog album - stay tuned for news.
News: October 2011
I'm focusing on my writing this month (so am quite the hermit) but I'm squeezing in the occasional live performance here and there.
I'm looking forward to working with Helen Keen in her Spacetacular on 20th. I'm writing a code-based work for the new label Chordpunch and some owlish music for that fine wordsmith Professor Elemental.
Spacedog are booked into the studio at the end of the month to complete work on our album.
News: September 2011
A busy month writing, preparing a get-together of maker musicians for the Brighton Maker Faire After-show party. I've also been electrifying a teapot for the Chi-Tek - an exhibition by MzTek of female tech artists at the V&A. And with my fellow Spacedog Stephen Hisock, I made an appearance on the 10th Anniversary edition of BBC Click.
News: August 2011
The Spacedog song For Laika is now available on iTunes (and the album is on its way). Meanwhile, we've been busy preparing our set for Green Man, including the first outing of our torch song for Tommy Cooper.
I'm procrastinating over a teapot which I'm going to electrify for a MzTek event at the Victoria and Albert Museum in September.
I took a short trip to a very rainy Edinburgh Fringe where I played at an event for Edinburgh Skeptics in the Royal Observatory and made some plans for a Spacedog show next summer.
Apart from that, I've been busy writing. More news on that shortly, I hope...
News: July 2011
I'm interviewed by Leila Johnston in this month's Wired UK magazine and will be appearing with my fellow Spacedogs at a Wired: The Future of Music on 20 July.
I've rounded up a bumper crop of links and soundclips for my BBC Radio 4 doc The Bird Fancyer's Delight, which is broadcast on 5 and 9 July and is also available on Listen Again. Thanks for all your cheery emails about the doc, to ProjectMoonbase for mentioning it in their podcast PMB038 and for the many national papers who gave the documentary such lovely reviews - I'm glad people enjoyed it! On Sunday 10 July, the doc was featured on Graham Seed's Pick of the Week (Radio 4). A good week!
My latest collaboration with Richard Wiseman is a free and fun magic trick for your iPhone. It's called Paranormality and it's been put together for the launch of his book by the same name in the US. Thanks to Phillis on Derrren Brown's blog for giving the app a mention - thousands of people have now downloaded it and are busy bamboozling their friends.
News: June 2011
Playing theremin for Louise Colborne's homage to Loie Fuller (pioneering cybernetic dancer c1900) and composing sounds for Sonus, an homage to the analogue age with Spacedog, ArtHertz, Rushes Soho Shorts Festival and Ridley Scott Associates. Discovering how easy (or difficult) it is to publicise events in 2011 without Twitter - will report back!
Getting ready for BEAM - a brand new festival of electronics and music at Brunel University (24-26 June). I'll be speaking, running a workshop on optical flow and performing live with my fellow Spacedogs. I'll also be playing a short theremin set at the Speaky Spokey, a new arts salon in Brighton (Wed 22 June).
Putting the finishing touches to a sonic-themed BBC Radio 4 documentary, with producer Neil McCarthy, due for transmission on 5 July 2011.
Presenting a workshop for Hack Circus at Interesting, in the Conway Hall, London, 18 June, and performing theremin at a family day at the Science Museum, 19 June.
This is the second ever Marlborough Steampunk event – I also played there and briefly demonstrated the Edison Phonograph at their inaugural event last December. This event was curated by Tarik Elmoutawakil who went to enormous trouble to make the room look spectacular.
