Teenage Engineering and Love Hulten designed a drum machine 'with heart disease'
Teenage Engineering's latest drum machine probably isn't the one you're going to use to add drums to your next track. The company partnered with designer Love Hulten to create CHD-4 in an effort to raise awareness of congenital heart disease.
The rhythm machine has four modules that produce rhythms based on echocardiograms (ECGs) of four children with heart defects. The scan results revealed the shape, rhythm and BPM of their heartbeats, Teenage Engineering said. He added the data to a four-track circular sequencer. The patterns can be played together or individually to create sounds that illustrate "every child's irregular heartbeat". A video gives an idea of the kinds of haunting soundscapes the machine can create:
"Drum machines are defined in order: beats, pace, and rhythm," Hulten said. "This machine disrupts that system, the same way life is disrupted when a child is born with congenital heart disease." The machine also has an OLED display which represents audio and rhythm similar to a proper ECG machine.
It's an art project, no doubt, but it's a fascinating project that raises awareness of an important issue. If you're lucky and have enough pockets, you might be able to add CHD–4 to your collection. It will be auctioned on Valentine's Day (February 14), with all proceeds going to the Swedish Heartchild Foundation.
Teen Engineering/Love Hulten
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Teenage Engineering's latest drum machine probably isn't the one you're going to use to add drums to your next track. The company partnered with designer Love Hulten to create CHD-4 in an effort to raise awareness of congenital heart disease.
The rhythm machine has four modules that produce rhythms based on echocardiograms (ECGs) of four children with heart defects. The scan results revealed the shape, rhythm and BPM of their heartbeats, Teenage Engineering said. He added the data to a four-track circular sequencer. The patterns can be played together or individually to create sounds that illustrate "every child's irregular heartbeat". A video gives an idea of the kinds of haunting soundscapes the machine can create:
"Drum machines are defined in order: beats, pace, and rhythm," Hulten said. "This machine disrupts that system, the same way life is disrupted when a child is born with congenital heart disease." The machine also has an OLED display which represents audio and rhythm similar to a proper ECG machine.
It's an art project, no doubt, but it's a fascinating project that raises awareness of an important issue. If you're lucky and have enough pockets, you might be able to add CHD–4 to your collection. It will be auctioned on Valentine's Day (February 14), with all proceeds going to the Swedish Heartchild Foundation.
Teen Engineering/Love Hulten
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
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