Koka Nikoladze is a composer and instrument makers who makes electromechanical musical instruments. He also works with found objects in what he calls audiovisual compositions 1) that are made up of many video and sound samples cut and layered onto one another. His work is often interested in timbre and texture and he often relies on making either electromechanical or digital hocketing for his melody and harmonic progressions.
A hand cranked wheel based beat machine that activates various household objects that act as lamellophones as they are plucked by the rotary wheel. The wheel acts as an 8 track 32 step sequencer that can be customized by inserting small wooden pins into the rotary wheel and also by replacing any one of the 8 lamellophone tongues. 2)
Various springs and found objects are activated by electromechanical stepper motors to play percussive and rhythmic patterns that are hocketed between the various elements in the device. 3)
Similar to the first beat machine but this one uses stepper motors to activate ping pong balls that strike various found objects. Also acting like a hocketing percussion machine this one take more influences from drum sets with low percussive noises being used like drums. 4)
Having a small 1 ocatave keyboard this instrument causes a stepper motor to spin at various speeds that coincide with musical pitch based off the note played on the connected keyboard. The instruments make use of a piezo microphone to pick up the quite rotational elements of the stepper motor acting as an electroacoustic sound generator. 8)
Another stepper motor based instrument, this one features several embedded springs to allow for spring reverb. 9)
Various long tines, springs, strings, and rubber bands are mounted onto a box that has a piezo pickup mounted inside to amplify the sounds they make when bowed, struck, and plucked. 10)
A motor is connected to a wheel that is parallel to the strings of a guitar. This wheel has magnets attached to it and when it spins moves the magnets over the strings of the guitar causing the strings to vibrate much like the effect of a e-bow. 11)
Musical interfaces translate movement into computer information for the use of electronic music. Koka Nikoladze makes a distinction between this and musical instruments that make sound through acoustic or electroacoustic means.
An electromechanical controller for computer generated music. There is a rotary arm with a small lead wire that spins, on the exterior of the wheel are a number of holes where led lights can be placed and when the rotary wheel spins its small metal tip makes contact with the led lights causing them to complete an electrical connection that makes them light up. This electrical signal is used to control electronic musical actions. 12)
A small optical sensor that is mounted into a half tubular box and used as a sensor for the movement of a musical bow that can be used for computer music. 13)
Youtube Channel- 14)
Vimeo Channel- 15)
Old Website- 16)
New Website 17)
Short lecture by the artist featuring a number of his musical inventions- 18)