Like inventors from the future, transpiring out of thin air in the middle of central London to show off a contraption that makes the people's eyes explode with incomprehensible wonder, These New Puritans will soon be holding an exhibit to show off the totally unique instrument that gave their last album, Field of Reeds, a totally unique sound. The Magnetic Resonator Piano, or MRP, was invented by a music professor at London's Queen Mary University, and the Essex band love it, perhaps because it's the only one of its kind in existence and TNPs have always sought to distance themselves from shitmuncher contemporaries who don't even know who Benjamin Britten is.Ahead of the exhibit, which will take place at 180 The Strand and allow visitors to have a go at controlling the MRP with their bodies, I spoke to Puritans' collaborator and Angular Recording Co chief, Joe Daniel.VICE: What was the initial idea behind this exhibition?
Joe Daniel: I guess we thought it would be interesting to make something that fans of These New Puritans can actually engage with, and being able to interact with the Magnetic Resonator Piano will give visitors the chance to come up with their own These New Puritans-esque sounds.What's the deal with the MRP?
It's an invention they used on their last album Field of Reeds. It was created by a guy called Andrew McPherson who's a music professor at Queen Mary University, and also a bit of a wizard when it comes to inventing things. I think the band heard about it and were introduced to him. Basically, the MRP is a load of magnets fitted to a grand piano – this creates an electro-magnetic field, which causes the strings to behave in a particular way that sounds quite otherworldly.I see. So how is this contraption used in the exhibition?
The MRP is pretty much marrying together a grand piano and these electromagnets, which are rigged up to a computer. Through that, we were able to link it up to motion-sensor technology. Which means that you can control the piano just by standing in front of it and waving your arms about.Sounds like a piece of piss.
Well, the way in which the people interact with the MRP is surprisingly intricate – it's linked to your hands, your elbows, your knees and your feet, and each one of those is linked to a different element of the sound. So it might become more "shimmery" if you put your right arm up here, and if you stick your left elbow out, it might make a percussive noise, or a bass sound, or something. So there's quite a lot going on, it's not just mucking about with a few filters.Alright, sorry.
It's OK. We've also got some samplers set-up that are kind of a reproduction of something the band have on stage – people wear headphones and set off TNP triggers and samples like swords and and chains and glass breaking. It's hooked up to a light show too, so the movements will also trigger lights and projections.How did the band use the MRP when they were recording the album?
They were just sat at the piano, playing it.Right. Stupid question.
Hah, yeah. The MRP is an add-on that distorts the sound of the piano, but you play it in the traditional sense. What we've done is link it up to motion-sensor technology so you don't have to be a pianist to have a go.How will the exhibition work on a day-to-day basis?
People will be able to take turns using the MRP. At the moment, we're trying to get the script up and running so that two people can interact with each other on the MRP but that's to be confirmed. There will be a kind of sound bed that's going around the whole space and that's what people are performing along with when they have their go on the interactive piano.It's also quite interesting to put the music of TNPs in a space where you can explore it in a way that is different to watching a live band. It's difficult to play music in surround sound and when you watch them live it's another thing altogether. You'll hear different things from different parts of the gallery, which is something you can't really experience anywhere else. You wander round the exhibition and there are speakers everywhere, so it almost gives a spatial element to the music.Sounds great.
Yes! We've got quite a few special guests lined-up to do extra performances, including Gwilym Gold, Charles Hayward, the drummer from This Heat, and Will Dutta, who is a curator and collaborates with the band Plaid, and tons more.What's the space like?
I think we're about the third event to take place in the venue since it opened. It's an enormous old office block that's right on the Strand. It used to be the business offices for Enron and I think they left quite quickly, and it's been empty ever since. You can see the Thames out of one window and the Strand out of the other, so it's quite an interesting juxtaposition of such a massive empty space in a location like that. The lower floor will have a small shop where you can buy the record.I guess it will be pretty good for acoustics, too?
We'll see, it might be terrible.What will TNPs' involvement in the exhibition be?
There's going to be a launch night where they'll do a special performance. They will also all do the music and sonics for the soundbed that will be playing throughout the exhibition.Is the exhibition something the band were planning on when they recorded Field of Reeds?
No, I don't think it was, originally. I think the idea came about because of the very special and unique nature of the MRP, given that it was recently invented and is the only one that exists. They were the first band ever to use it on a commercially released recording and also it is integral to their album – I think it's on about eight tracks. They felt they should explore it further.There's also a vinyl release to accompany the exhibition, right?
It's basically all new tracks that include a deconstruction of some of the parts of Field of Reeds, with an emphasis on accentuating the MRP elements of the album. What's interesting about that is that Graham Sutton, who is also known as Bark Psychosis, is releasing his first Bark Psychosis track in like, ten years on the record.Great, looking forward to it!
Come on the Saturday of the exhibition. It's also Record Store Day, so we're going to be having a lot of guest performances every hour or so. It should be fun.@MitchSyrettThe exhibition, titled Magnetic Field, will take place in the brutalist environs of 180 The Strand from the 15th till the 21st of April.
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Joe Daniel: I guess we thought it would be interesting to make something that fans of These New Puritans can actually engage with, and being able to interact with the Magnetic Resonator Piano will give visitors the chance to come up with their own These New Puritans-esque sounds.What's the deal with the MRP?
It's an invention they used on their last album Field of Reeds. It was created by a guy called Andrew McPherson who's a music professor at Queen Mary University, and also a bit of a wizard when it comes to inventing things. I think the band heard about it and were introduced to him. Basically, the MRP is a load of magnets fitted to a grand piano – this creates an electro-magnetic field, which causes the strings to behave in a particular way that sounds quite otherworldly.I see. So how is this contraption used in the exhibition?
The MRP is pretty much marrying together a grand piano and these electromagnets, which are rigged up to a computer. Through that, we were able to link it up to motion-sensor technology. Which means that you can control the piano just by standing in front of it and waving your arms about.
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Well, the way in which the people interact with the MRP is surprisingly intricate – it's linked to your hands, your elbows, your knees and your feet, and each one of those is linked to a different element of the sound. So it might become more "shimmery" if you put your right arm up here, and if you stick your left elbow out, it might make a percussive noise, or a bass sound, or something. So there's quite a lot going on, it's not just mucking about with a few filters.Alright, sorry.
It's OK. We've also got some samplers set-up that are kind of a reproduction of something the band have on stage – people wear headphones and set off TNP triggers and samples like swords and and chains and glass breaking. It's hooked up to a light show too, so the movements will also trigger lights and projections.How did the band use the MRP when they were recording the album?
They were just sat at the piano, playing it.Right. Stupid question.
Hah, yeah. The MRP is an add-on that distorts the sound of the piano, but you play it in the traditional sense. What we've done is link it up to motion-sensor technology so you don't have to be a pianist to have a go.How will the exhibition work on a day-to-day basis?
People will be able to take turns using the MRP. At the moment, we're trying to get the script up and running so that two people can interact with each other on the MRP but that's to be confirmed. There will be a kind of sound bed that's going around the whole space and that's what people are performing along with when they have their go on the interactive piano.
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Yes! We've got quite a few special guests lined-up to do extra performances, including Gwilym Gold, Charles Hayward, the drummer from This Heat, and Will Dutta, who is a curator and collaborates with the band Plaid, and tons more.What's the space like?
I think we're about the third event to take place in the venue since it opened. It's an enormous old office block that's right on the Strand. It used to be the business offices for Enron and I think they left quite quickly, and it's been empty ever since. You can see the Thames out of one window and the Strand out of the other, so it's quite an interesting juxtaposition of such a massive empty space in a location like that. The lower floor will have a small shop where you can buy the record.I guess it will be pretty good for acoustics, too?
We'll see, it might be terrible.What will TNPs' involvement in the exhibition be?
There's going to be a launch night where they'll do a special performance. They will also all do the music and sonics for the soundbed that will be playing throughout the exhibition.
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No, I don't think it was, originally. I think the idea came about because of the very special and unique nature of the MRP, given that it was recently invented and is the only one that exists. They were the first band ever to use it on a commercially released recording and also it is integral to their album – I think it's on about eight tracks. They felt they should explore it further.There's also a vinyl release to accompany the exhibition, right?
It's basically all new tracks that include a deconstruction of some of the parts of Field of Reeds, with an emphasis on accentuating the MRP elements of the album. What's interesting about that is that Graham Sutton, who is also known as Bark Psychosis, is releasing his first Bark Psychosis track in like, ten years on the record.Great, looking forward to it!
Come on the Saturday of the exhibition. It's also Record Store Day, so we're going to be having a lot of guest performances every hour or so. It should be fun.@MitchSyrettThe exhibition, titled Magnetic Field, will take place in the brutalist environs of 180 The Strand from the 15th till the 21st of April.