Artwork:
Anna Naemi Willer
MAPLE POOLS
is the preferred soakage of artist Klaus Nielsen when conducting experiments in electronic music. Nielsen exploits organic sounds and circuitry of all ages and dimensions. Genres include ambient recyclotronica, dub disco, and glitch hop.
Based in Denmark, Nielsen started deejaying in the early 90’s and has explored a variety of musical avenues including several years as keyboard player in indie rock bands Mew (1997-2001) and Sterling (2004-2006). Together with Andreas Asbirk, he formed the two piece sample-based rock outfit HeWhoRock (2004-2010).
Always pursuing sounds previously unheard, Nielsen retrieved from the live scene in order to construct his own instruments and devices. Studying electronics, life, and other areas of scientific research, he has continuously been designing and building his Wall-of-Recyclotronic-Sound parallel to the music production. The machine consists of salvaged and recycled parts and builds on the principles of Ray Wilson, Serge Tcherepnin, and others. Nielsen never wears tights.
MUSIC
available on all major streaming services
Éngista (EP 2023)
Coherenet Scattering (album 2022)
Spikes and Jitter (single 2021)
Brain Wave Modulation (ep 2021)
Out of Control (soundtrack 2023)
Read more on BBVA's web page
SOUND ART
The Sound of Earth’s Magnetic Field
is an audio installation representing the planet’s magnetic field and its movements over the past 100.000 years. It was originally designed for a unique public square in Denmark, on which 32 speakers are dug into the ground and hooked up to a 32-channel sound system so that each speaker can be controlled individually. The system is called The Sound Wells and plays different content 3 times a day all year round. The Sound of Earth’s Magnetic Field ran from 24-30 October 2022.
Photo: Eduardo Simões
For this project time series of data representing the field fluctuations at 32 different locations on the planet were prepared at the Technical University of Denmark’s Division for Geomagnetism. The sonification process employed is called data mapping, which means that the magnetic data is not transformed into sound, but instead used to control sound – kinda like a musical score. The magnetic field itself does not make any sound, since its movements are far too slow. Instead, a soundtrack was designed to give the listener the impression of a living planet in constant flux - an artistic rendition of the magnetic field. Audio recordings of organic sounds (e.g. rocks tumbling, wood creaking and breaking) were prepared and processed, and the movements found in the data were then mapped to different parameters of the playback (e.g. pitch, volume, speed).
The piece was created in collaboration with Nikolai Linden-Vörnle (aka KamikazeVildsvin) and Clemens Kloss (scientist in the loop). Read more about the project on the European Space Agency’s webpage, and listen to a 2-channel version on SoundCloud.
On Tour
In collaboration with the Finnish speaker company Genelec, a 16-channel version of the audio installation was on tour in Europe during 2023. Check out Instagram for photos and videos of the events:
- 19 June 2023 | CityCube in Berlin | On invitation by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics the project was performed during the Closing Ceremony of their General Assembly.
- 31 May – 9 June 2023 | Vienna International Centre | On invitation by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs the installation was set up in the lobby of the Centre. (Read interview here)
- 23 April 2023 | Austria Center Vienna | On invitation by the European Geosciences Union the project was performed during ESA's opening Townhall Session of the General Assembly.
For the Berlin performance visual artist Kamil Czapiga (Cosmodernism) produced a beautiful film using magnets, ferrofluid, and other liquids.
In addition, a 4-channel version has been incorporated into a geophysical art work, Pas de deux de Neodymium et Praseodymium, by the Swedish artist Filippa Berglund. The work was on display from 4 March – 31 December 2023 in Silkeborg Bad’s exhibition Amazing Nature.
ELECTRONICS
Nielsen is a proper solder junkie. Since 2015 he has been building an analog modular synthesizer from scratch using recycled components and house hold appliances. Most modules are built from schematics designed by some of the many DIY masters: Ray Wilson (Music From Outer Space), Yves Usson (Yusynth), Ken Stone (CGS), and many others – a few modules are original designs. But all PCBs and front panels are designed, etched, drilled, and populated by Nielsen. The overall principle of the building process is to adapt the designs to that whatever electronic scrap Nielsen is able to pull out of the dumpsters. The cabinet is built from an old IKEA book stand. Check out the Instagram profile for individual modules, and reach out if you’d like to use some of Nielsen’s designs.
