Maker Music Festival: Grand oeuvre

A collection of instruments based on the legacy of the occult science of the XVIe century.

I started thinking about links between electronic and alchemy whit a simple book based on the researchs of Frances A Yates, who studied the life of Giordano Bruno and most generaly the convertion of the old science to the new science.
In her book "G. Burno and hermetical tradition", she advance the thesis that modern science is not so different than occult science in this era : the protocol is the same, there is only the subject of the studie which change.
The scholars who made discoveries in these centuries (Newton, Copernic, Galileus etc) were qualified as alchemists, and has used hermetical symbols quite the same as schematics symbols to write scientifics or occults facts. For her, there is a kind of spirit which anim them to use old science to make it new, and I personnaly tried to put this spirit into synthesis.

My first research was to consider the philosophical stone, described in most of alchemy books, as a sound material. I merged this approach of the sound with the modular synthesis method, which allow one module per function, and I made a collection of modules called Grand Oeuvre (the alchemical work or great work).
This collection represent every steps of the Prima Materia (primary matter) during its way to become the Rebis, the Philosophical Stone. Each module could be an object or a principle of this transmutation.

This project, as the researchs of alchemists, has no end. I think I'll spend all my life to mixing alchemical book and electronic.

All my researchs are in public domain, you can use them (at your own risks) here :
https://github.com/Yliader/Grand-Oeuvre

What inspired you to do this?

I was inspired by alchemics books from the 16e century, so just before the merge of experimental science. The original idea was to make a one voice synth by taken ideas froms the boo, of the Tabula Smaradgina, which lays the foundation of alchemical science in europe. But with time, I've realized that the project has no end.

How long did it take to make it?

It will surely take my all life to design perfect circuits to put the philosopher stone into sound, that is the work of every alchemist since something like a thousand years.

How long have you been doing things like this?

I make electronic stuffs since I'm 4, mostly playing with resistors to blow the speed of tapes readers. I discovered the soldering in middle school, and at my majority I bought electronic furnitures and old broken stuff to see what I could do. I make alchemical synth since I discovered the work of Frances A. Yates, maybe 6 or 7 years ago, who consider alchemists as the firsts scientifics of the history.

How much did this cost to do?

I can't say how it cost, but very much than just money.

Have you done other things like this?

I work on another collection of synth based on pagan mythology.

What did you wish you knew before you started this?

I wish I knew more electronic things than historical things to do that for sure ! But I'm comfortable with the fact that this is a constant work in progress.

Are there plans available to make this? Do you sell this?

Because I'm french, all of the documentation for built these synths are in french. I have already a github to share documents, like schematics and PCB on kicad format :
https://github.com/Yliader/Grand-Oeuvre/tree/Modules
I sell some of them on Tindie :
https://www.tindie.com/stores/basilevalentin/

What’s next?

The next step is to distill the result obtained by crushing and sublimating the tones produced by the primary salt dissolved by the corrosive acids of antimony and vitriol in order to obtain an even purer sound substance.

Resoures?

https://yliader.wordpress.com/grand-oeuvre/

I work on the link between olds science and electronic since 5 years. I make my own instrument using principles of alchemy and other occults knowledge. I own a label on Brittany which try to encourages the practice of music based on the feelings of the artist more than on the spectacular side : https://ez-rec.bandcamp.com/

How I can help you:
I have some knowledge with electronic, and a little with programmation, but I'm stil very confortable with manual things like metal etching.
I duplicate K7 too !

How you can help me:
Some communicational advices will be great ! I'm totally not in the system of social medias, i still mistakenly think it's a waste of time, i haven't any smartphone or other thing like that, and i spend so much time trying to make things that when it's time to put them on medias, i'm discouraged.