Moritz Simon Geist. Juried Artist
Artist Statement
Bass, Techno, and Robots! Moritz Simon Geist is a media artist, engineer and robotic musician. Each sound in his mind-blowing performances is played by robots. Small motors beat on metal, 3D-printed robo-kalimbas vibrate with deep bass sounds, salvaged parts from old hard drives click and cut. Over several years Moritz Simon Geist committed to build, tweak, test and play all of his DIY robotic instruments.
Geist’s ‘Sonic Robots’ push the boundaries of the imaginable and invent a new plurality in music creation. In electronic music, many imagine humans playing machines. Few imagined these music machines being actual robots. In 2012, Geist ventured into this exploration with the invention of his well-known oversized 808 robot. The MR-808 robot is an iconic drum machine gone physical, no longer dwelling in the confines of circuitry alone. In the form of a 4 by 2 meter music box, filled with mechanical parts which play the instruments live, a new idea in electro and human-machine interaction was born. Now, he goes even further to pioneer the unknown and futuristic sound world of ‘Robotic Electronic Music’.
In this quest, Geist teamed up with the Berliner sound alchemists ‘Mouse On Mars‘ to dig deep into the history of mechanical music and experiments of early electronic music. What Moritz Simon Geist came up with is a stunning performance of what is possible today – to explore the sound of mechanics that continually describe our world. Geist creates a smashing soundtrack for both the precise automation and physical fragility that shapes today‘s society.
In 2018, Geist publishes his first record. It is the world’s first techno record played entirely by self-made futuristic robots. The 4-track EP will be out 12. Oct 2018, followed by the full-length album out 16. Nov. 2018. The Record will be released on Geists label Sonic Robots Records via Kompakt.
About the artists
Moritz Simon Geist is a music producer and artist based in Dresden, Germany. After studying mechanical engineering, he pursued a music career internationally. He works with robots to create electronic music. He debuted with the mechanical drum robot “MR-808” in 2012 and has since explored the sound making and producing of electronic music with robots and mechanics. His compositions are influenced by various electronic music styles as well as classical music. Geist has worked with artists such as Mouse On Mars, Tyondai Braxton, or Robert Lippok and has showcased his works and performances at several hundred occasions since 2012 such as the the Venice Biennale (Italy), the South By Southwest Festival, Teh Philharmonie de Paris, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg or ZER01NE South Korea. From 2017 – 2020 he held a master class at the NYU Berlin. The Rolling Stone Magazine listed him as one of the “10 Great Musical Discoveries” SXSW 2019. He was awarded numerous awards, like the German Pop Music Price 2022 (Lower Saxony), the Working Grant ZER01NE in Seoul 2023 or the VIA VUT Award 2019.
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