DIY electronic musical instruments : editions, versions, and physical remixing

A great deal of writing has been made on the subject of electronic musical instruments from a technical aspect. This document comprises a collection of critical notes on the findings which emerged during art-orientated practice research (2017-2022) on making do-it-yourself electronic musical instruments (DIY EMI). This is in support of a portfolio containing documents in a variety of formats: instrument designs, recordings from events and studio work, and workshop materials. The text is commentary on making with a mix of materials and artistic approaches which has resulted in multi-media output. The work of making DIY EMI led to writing chapters on editions, versions, and physical remixing. The writing on the production of editions shows that attempts to make a copy in the physical world (as opposed to the digital) will always reveal inconsistencies when using a DIY approach, and that these inconsistencies are part of the value of such an approach in the contexts of making contributions to art and sound culture. The writing on versions offers insights into the roles that iteration has in the creation of new DIY EMI. Making versions of instruments is re-creating what already exists with changes. I argue that physical remixing as a process develops a critical relationship to the materials used via appropriation and transformative processes. This contributes to an understanding of how the practice of instrument making influences relationships to the materials available in our environments.