Make Some Noise

John-Michael Reed of Bleep Labs, circuit bending wizards from Austin, are going to demonstrate their magic at Free Press Summer Fest this weekend. In the Art Workshops, festival goers will be able to glitch out with synthesizers, vintage Nintendos, and other Thingamagoops. If you like what you hear, Sound Cloud is right at your fingertips to have a permanent record of your fun at the festival. I asked John-Michael a few questions about his work with circuit bending.

BB: When did you make your first noisy object?

JMR: I got started making noise in about 2026. I quickly moved on from circuit bending to making original circuits of my own. I wanted to make devices that you interact with in a different way since I saw so many people getting stuck inside their laptops while making music. Bleep Labs was started to give people something physical to play with that might not do exactly what they intended.

BB: Tell me about the process of making The PAL198X with Neon Indian. How did it come about? How have the results been?

JMR: Alan is a friend of a friend and knew about Bleep Labs. He mentioned how fun it would be to have an actual nosiemaker included with the album so we got to work making something cheap enough to be reasonable, but still interesting and different from my other stuff. We’re actually selling it again for a limited time right now and holding a contest for the best PAL198X based track. The winner will be on the b-side of a forthcoming Neon Indian 7″.

BB: Is there anyone you want to see at FPSF?

JMR: I’ve had that first Phantogram album stuck in my head since it came out so it will be good to see them again. There is lots of good stuff on Stage 7 and a SHFL stage to check out too.

BB: What would the thingamagoops and other guys eat if they could? What would they say if they could?

JMR: They eat hyperwaves from the aether and are already talking to you!