String theorist
It sounds like a piano but hangs round your neck? Yuri Landman will have made it. Words by Ed Chamberlin
With all the festivals going on around Europe this summer, now is a good time to pay homage to the staple of rock music, the humble axe. Beavering away in his Amsterdam studio, Yuri Landman has mastered the art of building guitars that look like they were beamed down from Mars. in a good way, of course. We caught up with him between chord changes.
When did you first start building your own instruments and what kind of instruments did you start with?
In 2000 I made my first instrument: a third bridge zither. I wanted to create overtoning sounds by striking a string divided in two parts by an extra third bridge in between. The counterpart of the string (where the pickup is placed) resonates indirectly, giving a bell-like tone. Later I received about 10 cheap guitars from friends. I used the necks and parts of the electronics to create most of the prototypes and found objects like chairs, old printers, CD-players, amplifiers, typewriters, etc.
Are you exacting some sort of revenge against a sadistic former-guitar teacher?
Ha ha ha, no! I never had a teacher. Although I know how to play guitar, I’ve never practised a lot as a musician and I cannot play in the traditional way. The guitars are heavily adjusted with alternate tunings. I use duplets or triplets of Es or EAEAEA etc. Sometimes I tune the strings E-E+-E++, which causes a beautiful tremolo effect. Tszhingowowowow! Something like that.
Were you trained in music theory or are you self-taught?
I’m not trained at all. It’s more important to know about physics, woodworking and mechanical parts. After finishing about 20 instruments, I accidentally discovered a relationship between physics (string vibration) and musical theory.
When did you first start building instruments for other bands?
In 2006 I decided to spend time building instruments instead of playing them. So I approached the Liars (a US three-piece) and they liked what I made. After this first project I contacted more bands like Sonic Youth, Blonde Redhead and Jad Fair (the singer of Half Japanese).
Have you built any instruments, and then been surprised by the sounds created with them?
Yes, the song Leather Prowler from the Liars’ (eponymous) album is played with the Moodswinger. The sound on this recording is very close to a piano, which surprised me when I first heard it. It was funny, because they didn’t mention the Moodswinger on their album and in reviews journalists described it as a “dark piano”. This instrument is only 10% of the cost of a normal piano and is just 6kg instead of 150kg, so this suggests commercial potential.
Who has the honour of naming the instruments?
Most of the time I ask my musical friend Valentijn (H
