Driftwood Synths (2026)

I built these driftwood synthesizers as part of my artist residency at Snug Harbor in May of 2026. Over the course of my time there I spent a lot of time scouring the shores of the Kill Van Kull looking for interesting marine debris items and I thought these pieces of driftwood were particularly striking. I decided to build a light based synthesizer and run the electronic cables through the pieces of driftwood allowing the circuit design to be integrated into the driftwood structures. I wanted to use light to control the synthesizers because it can be used to tie the sound heard to a natural process. For instance, when a large cloud blocks the sun, you hear the synthesizers drop in pitch and rise when the sun shines back through.

I also hammered out a steel bowl to mount the structures on, with the idea that by filling it with water, I could get water reflections to “play” the synthesizers. Another way of getting a natural element to “ply” the synthesizers. I’m still working on that part, but for the residency performance I mounted LED’s near the photo-resistors in the circuit so I could control the pitch and timbrel quality of oscillators.

In the performance I improvised with two of my driftwood synthesizers and my good friend/collaborator Sun Yoo improvised with me on Electronic Saxophone.

Photo Credit: Lance Reha/Snug Harbor