Electronicos Fantasticos!

Electronicos Fantasticos! (stylized in all caps; Spanish for fantastic electronics), also known as Nicos (ニコス), is a Japanese project led by Ei Wada and known for their use of recycled electronics, such as electric fans, CRT televisions and barcode readers, as electronic instruments.[1][2] The project has a collaborative team called the Nicos Orchest-Lab (ニコス・オーケストラボ) that exchanges ideas and techniques for production and performances.[3]

Electronicos Fantasticos!
エレクトロニコス・ファンタスティコス!
Electronicos Fantasticos! at Roppongi Art Night 2019.
Background information
Also known asNicos (ニコス)
OriginTokyo, Japan
Years active2015 (2015)–present
Labels
Websitewww.electronicosfantasticos.com

History
Ei Wada, the founder of the project.

Electronicos Fantasticos! was founded in February 2015 in Sumida, Tokyo by Ei Wada as a resident art project. As a child, he was convinced that a music festival was under the tower shaped like crab legs embedded in a CRT television. However, he was told that a music festival like that did not exist, so Wada decided to create something similar to his dream.[4] He began collecting appliances and going under Stay Production. On November 23, he held his first concert called the First Ensemble Encounter.[5] That same year, Nocos Orchest-Lab was founded.[6] In 2016, he participated in the Kenpoku Art Ibaraki Kita Art Festival with a team set up in Hitachi that tuned locally collected CRT TVs and electric fans into musical instruments.[7]

In November 2017, the group held the Electro-Magnetic Bon-Dance under Tokyo Tower, intended to mourn the dead but was also extended as a memorial service of electronics that played a major role in Japan's economic growth. The event was open to older people, children, and others interested, including engineers from electric appliance companies.[8] In 2018, they were given an honorary mention STARTS Prize by Ars Electronica.[9]

Music style and influences

The group uses various recycled electronics as instruments, using various electronic components.[10][11] A circuit board on the neck of the guitar can modulate the frequency of the CRT screen, which then changes the sound that's produced by the scanner as it reacts to the screen and outputs a digital signal.[12] Fan guitars operate similarly with movement modulating the sound.[13] Nicos Orchest-Lab has produced many modified electronics, dubbing them with names such as the CRTelecaster, Telelele, and TV O-daiko.[14]

The group has also experimented with barcodes and similar patterns with a barcode scanner.[15] They have also experimented with clothing with a dress with patterns similar to a barcode dubbed the Barcodress.[16][17]

Their genre has been described as "barcode techno" and as a "multimedia EDM show" as many members and participants of the group come from various places.[18][19]

Members

More than 70 members have joined the project from many fields ranging from engineers, designers, musicians, and management. The group is spread out in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hitachi and Nagoya.

  • Ei Wada (和田永)
  • Sonosuke Yamamoto (山本颯之助)
  • Rika Kawashima (川島里香)
  • Akira Ataka (安宅晃)
  • Maiko Aoyama (青山真以子)
  • Rinichi Washimi (鷲見倫一)
  • Koki Naka (中康輝)

References
  1. "Retro Modern?". Guitar Moderne. August 21, 2020.
  2. "Put down your synths, barcodes are the new way to play techno". RouteNote. July 30, 2020.
  3. "Electronicos Fantasticos Is Your New Favourite Barcode-Based Techno Music Group". SuperUltra. February 26, 2020.
  4. "ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS!". STARTS Prize. 2018.
  5. "和田永「エレクトロニコス・ファンタスティコス！」～滞在制作篇 II～". Arts Council Tokyo.
  6. "和田永「エレクトロニコス・ファンタスティコス！」". Topping East (in Japanese). July 23, 2018.
  7. "和田永 ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! Presents「電磁盆踊りRETURNS! 2020」". DOMMUNE.
  8. "和田永のニコス、快快らによる「電磁盆踊り」がDOMMUNEで無観客生配信". Natalie. August 21, 2020.
  9. "Electronicos Fantasticos! at Shibuya-San". Shibuya-san.
  10. "Electronicos Fantasticos at Shibuya-san". Time Out.
  11. González, Saúl (March 6, 2020). "Electrónicos Fantásticos, el grupo musical que hace instrumentos con piezas viejas de PC". Vandal Videojuegos (in Spanish).
  12. Marchese, Kieron (February 14, 2020). "barcodes play techno music using hacked scanners by electronicos fantasticos". Designboom.
  13. Fenlon, Wes (June 2, 2020). "These guitars made from old CRTs and PC fans absolutely slap". PC Gamer.
  14. Dorn, Lori (September 2, 2020). "An Entertaining Musical Performance Featuring Inventive Instruments Made From Recycled Electronics". Laughing Squid.
  15. Deahl, Dani (February 10, 2020). "These modded scanners let you play techno using barcodes". The Verge.
  16. Ebert, Grace (February 25, 2020). "Barcodes Function as Techno Instrument That's Played with Reused Scanners". Colossal.
  17. "Radar DIY : ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS!". Wavefloor. March 8, 2020.
  18. "アーティスト・和田永の魅力を解く――「鉄工島FES 2018」ミーティング初日レポート". Cocotame. November 3, 2018.
  19. Busby, Jadwiga. "Insight: Electronicos Fantasticos turn disused electronics into a cutting-edge new musical". CLOT Magazine.
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