Circuit bending

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Circuit bending is the practice of changing the circuits inside cheap electronic devices—like toys and small synthesizers—to create new sounds. People usually open the device and add things like switches and knobs to control the sound. It’s often linked to noise music, but many artists use it in different styles.

The idea comes from experimenting with affordable sound-making electronics such as toys, keyboards, drum machines, and learning toys. Serge Tcherepnin, who designed Serge modular synthesizers, described early work in the 1950s with a transistor radio, finding points that sounded different when touched and wiring them to body contacts on the case. In the late 1960s, Reed Ghazala had a similar moment when a metal object shorted a RadioShack amplifier and produced strange sounds; this inspired him to build circuit bent instruments on purpose. He coined the term “circuit bending” in 1992 and is often called the father of circuit bending. In 1984, Swiss duo Voice Crack began making music by bending everyday electronics, calling it “cracked everyday electronics.”