Kenny Roux is a sorceror, in the sense that any sufficiently advanced technology will always appear as magic. Of all the artists presented so far, Kenny stands as the archetype of the wild-eyed unhinged creative-scientist Bachelor Machines exists to celebrate. In conception and execution, Kenny routinely blow minds with the boggling audacity of his technological assemblages. Plus, he's a riot to hang out with.
This series remains one of my favourites in form and function. With special thanks to Dan Siney for sharing his photographs, BMO is delighted to re-present this collection documenting Kenny's treated magnetic record albums - sufficiently beautiful as objects in themselves, each of the items here is engineered for the deviant purposes of an uncommon genius. Played using a pair of customized turntables on which the needles have been replaced by magnetic tape heads, Kenny spins, stacks, and cross mixes these albums - each one differently modified by scraps of magnetic tape scavenged from old video cassettes, credit cards and bus tickets, adhered in a loose matrix around the disc's surface. The resultant cacauphony of scraping noise and pulsing texture is a true Cageian thril. The polyrhythmic sonic assault produced is mezmerizing, and must be heard to be believed. Stochastic nearly-audible chunks of film audio mix with sonified magnetic data - as the tape heads read clean through multiple layers of vinyl, Kenny can mix from top and bottom surfaces of the disc simultaneously.
The magnetic records are just one of innumerable machines Kenny has devised. Also pictured in this collection, a pair of briefs constructed from woven quarter inch video tape, which are 'played' by caressing the wearer with a custom glove fitted with play heads installed in the fingertips. Hilarious. Brilliance.
Kenny runs with a loose coterie of experimental circuit benders active in the Vancouver interdisciplinary scene, pushing an Arte Povera of amateur science and DIY sonic adventurism together into some artform as yet unnamed, and as such, disappointingly underappreciated beyond the rarified sphere of participant-enthusiasts themselves. Those curious should keep watchful ears open [and hearing protected] for the likes of David Grove, Lee Hutzulak, Joshua Stevenson, Coingutter, Flat Grey, and watch out for upcoming projects from the new-school build-your-own-tech punks coming up through the soldering haze, Frederick Brummer, Taal Mala, and the ominous Ghost Taco...
Audio and other materials of interest are available on Kenny's website, Hook and Sail.
Solder and Sons are also hosting a live recording of a Kenny performance here.
ART by Kenny Roux
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