Musicians Create Hands-On Experience At Denver Music Festival
DENVER (CBS4)- South Broadway in Denver is set to be a music-lover's paradise this weekend with the Underground Music Showcase (UMS) officially underway.
Hundreds of musicians and other entertainers will take to the stage in more than 20 venues. One of the groups is quite literally putting the music in the public's hands.
"We make modular synthesizers and guitar pedals," Alex Anderson, Sales & Marketing Manager of William Mathewson Devices (WMD), said.
WMD in Denver manufactures musical hardware and electrical instruments for artists all around the world. Yet their latest creation is unlike anything they've made before.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," Anderson said.
Anderson along with Jackson Harkness built what they call "The Flux Interpolater." It's an interactive art display shaped like a pyramid, connected to a synthesizer, and designed to give UMS visitors a real hands-on experience.
"You've got all your fingers and your palm and two wires on each side," Jackson explained, showing a set of circuit handprints he helped design for the project. "If you touch it then you connect the wires and create the sound."
Every handprint on the pyramid controls a different sound. The harder it is pressed, the louder the sound gets.
"What's really exciting is with the speaker inside the pyramid, it actually vibrates when it gets going really loud," Anderson said. "So it won't just be auditory, it'll be physical, too. You'll feel a connection with the piece."
Whether or not someone is a musician, Anderson said the unique instrument can bring the community together to learn and create their own harmonies.
"Showing people about music creation, music production and also the technology side is something that really excites us," he said. "We're really excited to see people smile."
LINK: Underground Music Showcase
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team as the morning reporter in 2012. After serving as weekend morning anchor, Kelly is now Covering Colorado First for CBS4 News at 10. Connect with Kelly on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @KellyCBS4.
